44.4 completion percentage and 64.1 passer rating against the Jets is “very good”?
Don’t get me wrong. For your sake, I hope he emerges as a top 10 QB and takes the Bengals to the playoffs. I’ll be surprised as hell if that happens, but one can hope.
Amazing video(!) but it was kind of a bad play and it has absolutely nothing to do with the outcome of the play. Still awesome to watch though.
He has made plays when it matters. Our 3rd down success in the preseason has been really good.
How was it a bad play? He executed the lead blocker on the play, allowing his teammates to destroy Turner in the backfield.
The idea is to disrupt the blocker AND put yourself in a position to make a tackle. Mays had no idea what he was doing. Turner was changing direction and running into his own lineman before Mays even shows up. That play was blown up without Mays even being involved.
Andy Dalton’s stat line: 5 for 17 (29% completion percentage), for 40 yards. A.J. Green: 1 catch, 3 yards.
No kidding. He got a 15 yard personal foul penalty. Watch out indeed.
To be honest, I haven’t seen a single second of the game, only the play by play and stats on nfl.com. But I think I would have liked to see that first half. And I think the Packers may be searching the waiver wire for a backup QB not named Graham Harrell. Maybe Colt McCoy or T. Jax would look good in the Green and Gold.
Yeah, Dalton didn’t have a good game, and neither did our offensive line. The Bengals have got to do better in the red zone. At one point the Bengals had the ball 2nd and goal on the 1 yard line and couldn’t score a TD and settled for a FG. That’s pathetic.
Its hard to really get a good handle on how good this offense is going to be without the starting RB playing and with such vanilla schemes. The defense is missing some parts too.
Good game Packers. I had forgotten the wheels Aaron Rogers has. Scrambled for TWO TD’s. Bastard!
I’d take little to nothing from this game. The Packers were 0-2 and sloppy as hell in the preseason, and the defense had been lazy and boring. So McCarthy gave Capers free reign to call his blitzes, to go outside the traditional vanilla base defense, and to play aggressive, and it caught the Bengals a bit by surprise. The game was much more important to the Packers defense than it was for the Bengals offense, and they played like it.
It was nice to see the defense looking very good, but I really don’t think they can count on an offense being caught off guard and unprepared once the regular season starts. Of course I still think Andy Dalton is a mediocre QB who looks better than he is because he has AJ Green and that the Bengals will go as far as the defense can take them, but I wouldn’t put too much stake on this one preseason game.
Yeah, I’m not too worried about it. I don’t get too up or down over preseason games. The Colts with Manning regularly went 0-4 in the preseason and would average 12 wins a season for over a decade.
We do have some injury concerns though. Starting MLB, starting RB, backup RB, Dre Kirkpatrick, Adam Jones, Brandon Ghee, Jermaine Gresham…all out so far in the preseason with injuries.
**Oakland Raiders
2011 Record:** 8-8
Key Additions: OG Mike Brisiel, CB Ron Bartell, DE Dave Tollefson, CB Shawntae Spencer, LB Phillip Wheeler
Key losses: LB Kameron Wimbley, CB Stanford Routt, RB Michael Bush
Strengths: Defensive line, running back/wide receiver (when healthy), safety, kickers
Weaknesses: Cornerback, team depth
Questions: Does Carson Palmer have anything left and will he show something after a full year of training camp? Can Darren McFadden and Denarius Moore stay healthy? Can the defensive line carry the rest of the defense?
Overview: The Raiders had early success last season before being shocked by the death of Al Davis and season-ending injuries to Jason Campbell and Darren McFadden. Hue Jackson went all-in and made the (likely bad) choice to trade high draft picks away for Carson Palmer. Despite Palmer’s rust, the Raiders were 7-4 and appeared to be on track for a playoff berth before imploding to 8-8 and losing the division tiebreaker to Tebow’s Broncos.
New owner Mark Davis wasted no time remaking the team; hiring a real GM in Reggie McKenzie, showing Hue the door and replacing him with youngster Dennis Allen. Players-wise, the team remains relatively intact, with a few overpriced players such as Wimbley and Routt replaced with cheap alternatives like Ron Bartell and Philip Wheeler. Still, this team is mired in salary cap hell, and McKenzie knows it’ll take time and patience to fix it. The team has some stars but lacks depth, and injuries are already starting to take a toll, as the Raiders may end up playing rookies like Miles Burris (4th rounder) and Rod Streater (UDFA) at OLB and WR, respectively.
If the team (especially McFadden) stays healthy and Carson shakes off the rust (he’s looked terrible in preseason), they could sneak into the playoffs. But I think injuries and a tougher schedule (AFC North, NFC South) will ultimately doom them to growing pains while McKenzie and Allen rebuild the team.
Prediction: 6-10
I am going to revel in the struggles of Carson “The Quitter/100% Wife-Driven” Palmer. Especially when the Raydahs play Cincy in the Nati. The boos will be resounding.
San Francisco 49ers
2011 Record: 13 – 3, NFC Championship Game
Key Additions: WR Randy Moss, WR Mario Manningham, WR A.J. Jenkins, RB LaMichael James, OG Leonard Davis, CB Perrish Cox, OG Joe Looney, FS Trenton Robinson, RB Rock Cartwright
Key losses: WR Josh Morgan, SS Reggie Smith, FS Madieu Williams, LB Blake Costanzo, OL Adam Snyder
Strengths: D-Line, Linebackers, RB, TE, Special Teams, Coaching
Weaknesses: O-Line, WR, Secondary
Questions: Will the Defense hold up to injury?, Can A. Smith continue improving?, Will WR influx have a significant impact on offense?, Can secondary improve?, Will the right side of the O-line hold? Can they recover form the injuries at OLB?
Overview: Strong motivation coming off of a devastating NFC Championship loss will help, but this team needs to remember to start from the beginning again, instead of trying to pick up where they left off last year. If they get ahead of themselves, it will affect the season. Alex should be solid again, but will need to take the next step to compete in even the top half of offenses. WR is a weakness in my eyes just because Moss, Jenkins, and Manningham still need to prove they can stand out. The O-Line also needs to improve in pass protection. They are more than solid during run plays, but show a significant drop off with passing. If the receivers can succeed in creating separation, the O-Line (especially the right side) improves pass protection, and they stay creative in their play calling, the offense should post some respectable numbers at the least. The defense should be one of the top in the league once again, but the same questions remain from last year. Outside Linebacker has been an injury concern. They lost Rookie Darius Fleming for the season, Rookie Cam Johnson, Aldon Smith, and Eric Bakhtiari have also been dealing with injuries. This could have a big impact on their pass rush if they can’t stay healthy here. The secondary has been a question mark for some time. The cornerback position has additional depth, but safety is still a concern. With both of last years backups leaving, there are some unproven players attempting to step up, and so far no one has stood out. Goldson and Whitner are both great in run support, but can be a liability in coverage at times. I have seen both of them give up some big plays. The secondary has to get better so it can react to these fast passing offenses.
Prediction: 10-6 and Super Bowl Win
I’m probably optimistic because this is my favorite team, but Alex Smith has shown to have a knack for comebacks when he has something to work with. The Secondary for the Saints was terrible last year, and he ripped through them. However, the Giants were able to take out their key threats in Davis and Crabtree. I don’t think that will be the case this year, I think Jenkins comes into the spotlight midway through the season, and Manningham will take care of business in the slot. I think the O-Line will be good enough to hold, and additional strength to the running game only adds problems for defenses. Special teams will remain strong, defense will drop slightly, offense will show big improvement.
Barring injury, Joe Looney will probably not suit up at all this year, and I don’t think Rock Cartwright is going to make the final roster.
I hope you’re right about Looney. He was brought in for depth, and a possible development at RG, but he hasn’t seen much action so it will be interesting to see where he fits. Practice squad maybe?
I think Rock might be kept over Dixon, even though he’s a little older. Niners need someone to fill the leadership roll held by Costanzo. I haven’t heard much regarding that, but I believe they still have over 20 players to cut/add to practice squad, so maybe neither makes it. I added them to key additions because they could potentially have a big impact, but I know it’s far from guaranteed, especially in their situations.
At one point in the Seahawks-Raiders pre-season game tonight, the score was 21-0. Nothing too odd about that, until you look at how they got there; two field goals, two touchdowns (one missed PAT), and a safety.