Hey Chuck: We're All Looking
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
The headline on Bengals.com today is “Bresnahan Looking For Answers.” Well, I’m looking for answers too, and I’m looking right at Bresnahan. I think we should fire our defensive coordinator, if not solely as a wake-up call to the defensive players and the rest of the team, but also because I’m not completely sure he’s qualified to hold his position.
I’m not alone. Another Bengals fan site has even started a Fire Chuck Bresnahan petition.
I first trained a critical eye on Bresnahan before our Week 16 game with the Broncos last season (2006). I read the Sports Guy’s 2006 Week 16 NFL Picks, and he included a pretty damning quote about Bresnahan:
Someone In The Know once told me, "Bet against Chuck Bresnahan (Cincy's defensive coordinator) against any good coach. He stinks. Smart coaches and smart QBs always have a field day against him."
At the time, I tried to ignore this quote.
1) Sports columnists aren’t to be trusted too much because they’re always puffing themselves up.
2) I guessed the Someone In The Know was a low-level assistant, like a video-coordinator or some other guy who loves football and is willing to do anything just to be on a team. These guys are happy to give quotes and run down the performance of people who are far more accomplished and qualified than they are.
3) That Denver game wasn’t lost so much because of bad defense but because Kyle Larson couldn’t hold a football.
But I couldn’t completely get this quote out of my mind, and I’ve had the sneaking suspicion that the problem with our defense starts with the coordinator. Just look at the amount of emphasis we’ve put on defense in the last few drafts. We’re getting talented people in, but that’s not improving things yet. We’ve been waiting for the play of the defense on the field to match that of the offense, and that hasn’t happened.
Here are some money quotes from Bresnahan, I’ll let him make my argument for me:
"I didn't have them ready to play. Somehow we missed very simple adjustments we've made the entire offseason. There was nothing special in the game plan and I take (the mental mistakes) personally."Italics added by DMo.
“There's just no excuse," Bresnahan said. "It's very easily corrected, but until we do it consistently, we're going to have problems." This week "we're making it a point to be disciplined in everything you do. From the meeting room to walkthroughs to practice to getting it right."
Here’s an idea: Try stressing discipline and consistency from the beginning of training camp.
The thing is, I think we all realize that there’s only so wide a window of opportunity. In 2005, we all went into the playoffs thinking we had a chance, but we were young. Last year was the time to take the next step, but our defense held us back. If that happens again this year, then what? How big is that window of opportunity? We can’t wait around for the defense any more, and I say that the turnaround needs to start with a new coordinator, and that it needs to start now.
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Keys To The Game
Week 3 – Seahawks
Did I say last week that I thought this defense could be average, what was I smoking? I don’t think the Bengals defense is as bad as they looked Sunday for reasons I will explain later. However, the Brown’s game showed 2 of the biggest weaknesses of the Marvin Lewis era, inconsistency and poor game management. Marvin is a good coach and talent evaluator, but the Bengals always play to the level of their competition, and Marvin makes bad in-game decisions. The 2 plays that really stick out are the 3rd and 1 on the Browns’ 2 yard line in the 3rd quarter, and the pass to Braylon Edwards on the Brown’s final drive.
On the five running plays prior to the 3rd and 1, Rudi Johnson ran for 2, 9, 14, 8, and 1 yards. Clearly the Bengals did not have trouble running the ball. However, the Bengals decided on 3rd and 1 that they had to do a sneak attack no huddle and run quickly to the line to catch Cleveland off guard. Why do that when the Browns couldn’t stop Rudi from the regular set? So the Bengals pop to the line for an obvious QB sneak at 400 pound Ted Washington in which every Browns player crowded the line. A total waste. Then after wasting 3rd down, Marvin decided not to go for it on 4th down. If you are not going for it on 4th down, then run a real play on 3rd down and do not waste the down.
Braylon Edwards catch on the final drive seemed to have 2 bad calls by the officials, one, it appeared Edwards fumbled, and two, a very generous spot of the football. Contrary to the opinion of the announcers working the game, down by contact is a reviewable play. This rule was changed last season, and here is the NFL press release:
New Rules for 2006:
• Down by contact calls may be reviewed by instant replay. Previously, a fumble was not reviewable if the ball carrier was ruled down by contact. If the ruling of down by contact is changed, the ball belongs to the recovering player at the spot of the recovery of the fumble.
The Browns received a 1st down by just a few inches, but the spot and fumble were possible for review and Marvin did not challenge. Not only did he not challenge, Marvin called time out to stop the clock. Even if Marvin did not think he would win the challenge, he should have challenged anyway if he planned to use a timeout. Challenge that the sky is blue, or challenge Romeo’s moustache is crooked, or anything that could possibly gain a few inches given that you will be using the timeout anyway. The Bengals lost 2 minutes and 40 yards of field position due to letting the play stand.
Alright enough of last week.
Keys to the Game.
Seattle is much like the Bengals in that they are known more for their offense, and they underachieved in 2006. However, Seattle is more balanced in that their offense is not as good, and their defense is not as bad. Seattle has not looked too good so far in 2007, but a road trip to Seattle is one of the toughest to make in sports. The Bengals are again operating on a short week due to the extra day needed for travel to Seattle. They still must refocus and play a much stronger game if they want to get the season back on track. As of now, the Seahawks are favored by 3 points.
When the Seahawks have the ball: The Bengals defense is not as bad as their performance Sunday against the Browns. All preseason, the Bengals played base defense with very soft zones and the pundits went crazy on how bad the D was. I said wait until the regular season because it is obvious they aren’t scheming for anything. Then in week 1, the Bengals had a great scheme that brought pressure all game to the Ravens offense. Think of all the hits on Steve McNair, and the confusion caused that led to turnovers, it was a great day. Then in week 2, the Bengals appeared to have no game plan specific to the Browns. I think they believed they could beat the Browns with their base defense. The Bengals brought few blitzes and all were picked up cleanly by the Browns. The biggest issue with that is on the D-line. Justin Smith was matched up against a rookie and Robert Geathers was matched up against Shaffer the pancake taker. It’s easy to see why Bresnahan would believe the Bengals could go with a base defense. This should worry Bengals fans that both defensive ends were invisible on Sunday against the Browns tackles. Derek Anderson was not under pressure once all game. I still believe the Bengals defense can be average, but if at your best you are average, what happens at your worst? Well we saw that on Sunday. Remember, the Colts lost 44-17 to the Jaguars last December, a week before pasting the Bengals, and 6 games before they were in the Super Bowl. In the NFL, if you do not show up to play, you will be embarrassed, even if you are the Super Bowl champs. The Bengals coaches and players did not show up for defense on Sunday.
The Bengals defense will have a tougher task this week with the Seahawks, but not much. The Hawks offense is overrated based on past seasons in which they rolled through the weak NFC West. The NFC West is stronger now and Seattle has already lost a division game this season, last week to the Cardinals. If the Cardinals defense can hold Shaun Alexander to 70 yards rushing, the Bengals can also. Alexander is 30 years old which usually marks the decline of most RBs. Matt Hasselbeck is a much better QB than Derek Anderson, but the Bengals will not see weapons like Braylon Edwards and Kellen Winslow this week. All depends on which D shows up, the week 1 swarming D, or the week 2 return to preseason D.
When the Bengals have the ball: The Seahawks defensive line is average and led by Justin Smith clone Pat Kerney. They are backed by a strong LB core with underrated LB Lofa Tatupu and the versatile Julian Peterson. The defensive backfield is weak and highlighted by 2 free agent safeties. A few seasons ago, Seattle felt they had their safeties of the future in Michael Boulware and Marlon McCree. McCree left through free agency, and Boulware turned from sensation to disappointment and was traded away. So the Bengals have a definite weakness to exploit if given the opportunity. They must be careful though as Peterson and Tatupu are excellent in pass coverage and can drop much deeper than the average LB. If the Bengals can get Rudi going, they will force the Seattle LBs to hover closer to the line of scrimmage. Then it becomes a game of the Bengals picking the right times to exploit the weak Seattle safeties. The Bengals line, starters and subs, have done a good job in protecting Palmer so far this season. LB Peterson is a dangerous pass rusher and the Bengals will need to find him on every play. However, this week should be no different than previous weeks as the Seahawks D-line is equal to the Bengals D-line. And minus Tatupu and Peterson, the Seahawks defense is probably worse than the Bengals. This just shows what a difference 2 strong LBs can have on a defense.
Matchup of mullets: TJ vs Marcus Trufant
What is this guy trying to say? Is this some hippie west coast Greenpeace cheer for a football game? “Stop the Sea Fence, save the whales!!” From the looks of him, I would assume he is very pro-sea fence as long as everything caught in the fence lands in his refrigerator. SEAHAWKS WIN
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Did I say last week that I thought this defense could be average, what was I smoking? I don’t think the Bengals defense is as bad as they looked Sunday for reasons I will explain later. However, the Brown’s game showed 2 of the biggest weaknesses of the Marvin Lewis era, inconsistency and poor game management. Marvin is a good coach and talent evaluator, but the Bengals always play to the level of their competition, and Marvin makes bad in-game decisions. The 2 plays that really stick out are the 3rd and 1 on the Browns’ 2 yard line in the 3rd quarter, and the pass to Braylon Edwards on the Brown’s final drive.
On the five running plays prior to the 3rd and 1, Rudi Johnson ran for 2, 9, 14, 8, and 1 yards. Clearly the Bengals did not have trouble running the ball. However, the Bengals decided on 3rd and 1 that they had to do a sneak attack no huddle and run quickly to the line to catch Cleveland off guard. Why do that when the Browns couldn’t stop Rudi from the regular set? So the Bengals pop to the line for an obvious QB sneak at 400 pound Ted Washington in which every Browns player crowded the line. A total waste. Then after wasting 3rd down, Marvin decided not to go for it on 4th down. If you are not going for it on 4th down, then run a real play on 3rd down and do not waste the down.
Braylon Edwards catch on the final drive seemed to have 2 bad calls by the officials, one, it appeared Edwards fumbled, and two, a very generous spot of the football. Contrary to the opinion of the announcers working the game, down by contact is a reviewable play. This rule was changed last season, and here is the NFL press release:
New Rules for 2006:
• Down by contact calls may be reviewed by instant replay. Previously, a fumble was not reviewable if the ball carrier was ruled down by contact. If the ruling of down by contact is changed, the ball belongs to the recovering player at the spot of the recovery of the fumble.
The Browns received a 1st down by just a few inches, but the spot and fumble were possible for review and Marvin did not challenge. Not only did he not challenge, Marvin called time out to stop the clock. Even if Marvin did not think he would win the challenge, he should have challenged anyway if he planned to use a timeout. Challenge that the sky is blue, or challenge Romeo’s moustache is crooked, or anything that could possibly gain a few inches given that you will be using the timeout anyway. The Bengals lost 2 minutes and 40 yards of field position due to letting the play stand.
Alright enough of last week.
Keys to the Game.
Seattle is much like the Bengals in that they are known more for their offense, and they underachieved in 2006. However, Seattle is more balanced in that their offense is not as good, and their defense is not as bad. Seattle has not looked too good so far in 2007, but a road trip to Seattle is one of the toughest to make in sports. The Bengals are again operating on a short week due to the extra day needed for travel to Seattle. They still must refocus and play a much stronger game if they want to get the season back on track. As of now, the Seahawks are favored by 3 points.
When the Seahawks have the ball: The Bengals defense is not as bad as their performance Sunday against the Browns. All preseason, the Bengals played base defense with very soft zones and the pundits went crazy on how bad the D was. I said wait until the regular season because it is obvious they aren’t scheming for anything. Then in week 1, the Bengals had a great scheme that brought pressure all game to the Ravens offense. Think of all the hits on Steve McNair, and the confusion caused that led to turnovers, it was a great day. Then in week 2, the Bengals appeared to have no game plan specific to the Browns. I think they believed they could beat the Browns with their base defense. The Bengals brought few blitzes and all were picked up cleanly by the Browns. The biggest issue with that is on the D-line. Justin Smith was matched up against a rookie and Robert Geathers was matched up against Shaffer the pancake taker. It’s easy to see why Bresnahan would believe the Bengals could go with a base defense. This should worry Bengals fans that both defensive ends were invisible on Sunday against the Browns tackles. Derek Anderson was not under pressure once all game. I still believe the Bengals defense can be average, but if at your best you are average, what happens at your worst? Well we saw that on Sunday. Remember, the Colts lost 44-17 to the Jaguars last December, a week before pasting the Bengals, and 6 games before they were in the Super Bowl. In the NFL, if you do not show up to play, you will be embarrassed, even if you are the Super Bowl champs. The Bengals coaches and players did not show up for defense on Sunday.
The Bengals defense will have a tougher task this week with the Seahawks, but not much. The Hawks offense is overrated based on past seasons in which they rolled through the weak NFC West. The NFC West is stronger now and Seattle has already lost a division game this season, last week to the Cardinals. If the Cardinals defense can hold Shaun Alexander to 70 yards rushing, the Bengals can also. Alexander is 30 years old which usually marks the decline of most RBs. Matt Hasselbeck is a much better QB than Derek Anderson, but the Bengals will not see weapons like Braylon Edwards and Kellen Winslow this week. All depends on which D shows up, the week 1 swarming D, or the week 2 return to preseason D.
When the Bengals have the ball: The Seahawks defensive line is average and led by Justin Smith clone Pat Kerney. They are backed by a strong LB core with underrated LB Lofa Tatupu and the versatile Julian Peterson. The defensive backfield is weak and highlighted by 2 free agent safeties. A few seasons ago, Seattle felt they had their safeties of the future in Michael Boulware and Marlon McCree. McCree left through free agency, and Boulware turned from sensation to disappointment and was traded away. So the Bengals have a definite weakness to exploit if given the opportunity. They must be careful though as Peterson and Tatupu are excellent in pass coverage and can drop much deeper than the average LB. If the Bengals can get Rudi going, they will force the Seattle LBs to hover closer to the line of scrimmage. Then it becomes a game of the Bengals picking the right times to exploit the weak Seattle safeties. The Bengals line, starters and subs, have done a good job in protecting Palmer so far this season. LB Peterson is a dangerous pass rusher and the Bengals will need to find him on every play. However, this week should be no different than previous weeks as the Seahawks D-line is equal to the Bengals D-line. And minus Tatupu and Peterson, the Seahawks defense is probably worse than the Bengals. This just shows what a difference 2 strong LBs can have on a defense.
Matchup of mullets: TJ vs Marcus Trufant
What is it with DBs and mulletts? Do mullets make you run faster? I am going to do an experiment on 10 random people by timing them in the 40 yard dash with and without mullets. I will post the video and results on this site. The AAS (American Academy of Sciences) is very interested in the study. Again, TJ will get to win the mullet battle head to head on the field. BENGALS WIN
Matchup of Moustaches: TJ vs Mike Holmgren
Holmgren, Dungy, Cowher, Reid….Super Bowl coaches have moustaches, Marvin are you paying attention? SEAHAWKS WIN
Duel of the uglies: Jeff Rowe vs. CB Kelly Jennings
Jennings is going to have a tough day all around as he will be the ugliest looking on the field, and he will also be made to look the ugliest on the field. He will be the target on most of Palmer’s throws and probably will not get much help from the 2 new safeties. BENGALS WIN
Battle of old men: DE Bryan Robinson(33) vs OG Chris Gray(37)
For the first time, this battle could be decided on the field. It is doubtful they will see each other, but knowing what is at stake, my money is on Robinson finding this old man and putting him out of his misery. BENGALS WIN
Biggest loser fan: Stormtrooper vs Sea Fence?
What is this guy trying to say? Is this some hippie west coast Greenpeace cheer for a football game? “Stop the Sea Fence, save the whales!!” From the looks of him, I would assume he is very pro-sea fence as long as everything caught in the fence lands in his refrigerator. SEAHAWKS WIN
Trashiest looking cheerbabe: Tiffany vs Kristi
Someone really needs to help the cheerleaders give answers that make sense. In her bio, Kristi’s favorite vacation was “Vacationing in huts in the middle of the water in Bora Bora,” is that possible? Much better is her response to how she stays fit, “Eat healthy foods and working out with all my favorite Sea Gals!” YEA! Wouldn’t we all like to see that? SEAHAWKS WIN
Little known Seahawks fact: This isn’t really a little known Seattle fact, this is more of a forgotten story from the Bengals trip to Seattle in October 1990. This is the Bengals 5th visit to Seattle since a 1990 incident in which a Seattle woman identified in court records as Victoria C. alleged that she had consensual sex with one Bengals player, and then was raped at the team hotel in suburban Seattle. She accused 12 players in the rape while saying 8 others watched. Afterwards, she accepted a $30,000 payment from several players and signed a contract to keep quiet. Later, she said she did not understand that a waiver she signed meant that she would not get any more money.
The case was taken to a grand jury which deliberated and decided that she must abide by the contract. The "Release of All Claims" that they upheld freed all parties of liability and barred Victoria C. from pursuing a Federal lawsuit. No criminal charges were filed against any of the players. Several Bengals players filed a countersuit to have their names cleared in public.
The case was taken to a grand jury which deliberated and decided that she must abide by the contract. The "Release of All Claims" that they upheld freed all parties of liability and barred Victoria C. from pursuing a Federal lawsuit. No criminal charges were filed against any of the players. Several Bengals players filed a countersuit to have their names cleared in public.
DO NOT LET CHRIS HENRY OR ODELL THURMAN GO TO SEATTLE WITHOUT A LAWYER
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What I Didn't Like
Monday, September 17, 2007
First let me say there are new pictures up.
I decided to make the trip up to the asshole of Ohio and go see the Bengals take on the Browns in Cleveland. The day started off as I expected, we got up early, went to tailgate in the famous Muni Lot and were preparing for the Bengals to whoop up on the Browns.
First let me tell you about the tailgate experience. Some of the fans were great, there was some good natured ribbing and chants of "Asshole" as I walked by in my Palmer jersey. All of this was expected. What was not expected was being tripped, hit, kicked. Having beers thrown at me. Football to the face. Beers being stolen from the cooler. I mean c'mon, I used to stick up for Cleveland but man, you guys proved you have earned your reputation.
Then to the game, what can I say, the Bengals offense came, but the defense did not make the trip.
It was not all bad, I got to hang out with some good people. See god ole Gary who looked like he might die when I first saw him (happy belated Birthday). Most importantly, I learned a new tailgate game. The fans called it Louisville Chugger, and trust me this is one that is going to get a lot of play in Longworth parking lot.
The best part of the day was seeing the sign stating "You are now Leaving Cleveland, Ohio" and I smiled. Because while I get to go home far away from Cleveland, all of those idiots are stuck in one of the worst places on the planet.
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I decided to make the trip up to the asshole of Ohio and go see the Bengals take on the Browns in Cleveland. The day started off as I expected, we got up early, went to tailgate in the famous Muni Lot and were preparing for the Bengals to whoop up on the Browns.
First let me tell you about the tailgate experience. Some of the fans were great, there was some good natured ribbing and chants of "Asshole" as I walked by in my Palmer jersey. All of this was expected. What was not expected was being tripped, hit, kicked. Having beers thrown at me. Football to the face. Beers being stolen from the cooler. I mean c'mon, I used to stick up for Cleveland but man, you guys proved you have earned your reputation.
Then to the game, what can I say, the Bengals offense came, but the defense did not make the trip.
It was not all bad, I got to hang out with some good people. See god ole Gary who looked like he might die when I first saw him (happy belated Birthday). Most importantly, I learned a new tailgate game. The fans called it Louisville Chugger, and trust me this is one that is going to get a lot of play in Longworth parking lot.
The best part of the day was seeing the sign stating "You are now Leaving Cleveland, Ohio" and I smiled. Because while I get to go home far away from Cleveland, all of those idiots are stuck in one of the worst places on the planet.
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