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Many on here realize the "KY" in my screen name is for Kentucky. I live in a suburb of Cincinnati in Northern Kentucky. Here then is a preview of our next opponent, "your" Cincy Bengals.
Overview. The Packers "do it right" and build from within. The Bengals are a patchwork team, built from some vets they drafted, cast-offs from other teams, and raw draft picks, playing a year or two before they are ready. That said, they do have one thing going for them. They are uniformly pissed off. The Bengals were beaten on a freakish, last second play by Denver last Sunday. The "Bungals" feel they got screwed and this is a must game for them. They will play very hard and make a good effort on Sunday.
Bengals on offense. The Bengals have a pretty good running game. Cedric Benson was the #4 pick for the Bears in the draft. He was also cut by the Bears after he was busted on trumped-up charges down in Houston. Eager to unload the immature Benson's big contract, the Bears quickly released him. He plays for around the minimum and runs hard and is surprisingly quick.
The Bengals OLine suffered a loss before they got started. ROT Andre Smith held out, came in late and fat, & broke his foot in his first practice. What's left is an average group who are so-so at both run blocking and pass protection.
The average OLine means trouble for QB Carson Palmer. Once seen as one of the league's top QB's, Palmer has come down a peg or two. He still possesses a live arm and is a strong leader. His mobility is limited. He's a big guy and never was that fast. Now a serious knee injury in 2005 and various ankle ailments have rendered him pretty immobile. Good pressure can hinder him and take him out of his game.
His receivers are a good group. Chad Ochocinco (how bad do you hate that name?) is now the league clown, but still a very effective player. The Bengals foolishly let '08 leading receiver TJ Houshmandzadeh escape to Seattle in FA. Newcomer Laverneus Coles is doing his imitation of the invisible man. Chris Henry may be the best slot receiver in the league and is lethal running deep seam routes, but he has leg miseries. These WR's can do some damage and match up very well with our secondary. Dom Capers needs to send solid pressure to make Palmer throw early.
The Bengals on defense are a patchwork group. A few kids, a few cast-offs and some high draft picks. DC Mike Zimmer was the star of HBO's "Hard Knocks" and he leads a fiery group that reflects his personality. Dhani Jones, Tank Johnson, and Roy Williams , are the cast-offs on this side of the ball. Two former #1 picks are the corners, Ray Maualuga & Keith Rivers play for the Bengals, not USC at LB.
A very interesting match-up is in the DLine. Robert Geathers is the Bengals LDE. He can be a world beater for a game, then he may disappear for a couple games. If Geathers is fired up and on his game, Barbre will need help from somebody chipping. Geathers is a strong player and can edge rush as good as anybody in the league when he feels like it.
On D the Bengals play a base 4-3 with many variations. They zone blitz some, play 3-4 some and run a lively mix. Their safeties gamble and are too aggressive at times. MM and the boys can burn this D in the deep middle with the right game plan.
The Bengal's season is on the line. This game with the Packers starts a difficult run for Cincy. The Steelers play 'em next week, then the Bengals go to Cleveland. They all know they need this game. They will be ready to play. That said, there are too many match-ups that fall solidly in the Packer's favor. I look for Cincy to hit a few plays, but fall well short, GB 31 - Cincy 17
Overview. The Packers "do it right" and build from within. The Bengals are a patchwork team, built from some vets they drafted, cast-offs from other teams, and raw draft picks, playing a year or two before they are ready. That said, they do have one thing going for them. They are uniformly pissed off. The Bengals were beaten on a freakish, last second play by Denver last Sunday. The "Bungals" feel they got screwed and this is a must game for them. They will play very hard and make a good effort on Sunday.
Bengals on offense. The Bengals have a pretty good running game. Cedric Benson was the #4 pick for the Bears in the draft. He was also cut by the Bears after he was busted on trumped-up charges down in Houston. Eager to unload the immature Benson's big contract, the Bears quickly released him. He plays for around the minimum and runs hard and is surprisingly quick.
The Bengals OLine suffered a loss before they got started. ROT Andre Smith held out, came in late and fat, & broke his foot in his first practice. What's left is an average group who are so-so at both run blocking and pass protection.
The average OLine means trouble for QB Carson Palmer. Once seen as one of the league's top QB's, Palmer has come down a peg or two. He still possesses a live arm and is a strong leader. His mobility is limited. He's a big guy and never was that fast. Now a serious knee injury in 2005 and various ankle ailments have rendered him pretty immobile. Good pressure can hinder him and take him out of his game.
His receivers are a good group. Chad Ochocinco (how bad do you hate that name?) is now the league clown, but still a very effective player. The Bengals foolishly let '08 leading receiver TJ Houshmandzadeh escape to Seattle in FA. Newcomer Laverneus Coles is doing his imitation of the invisible man. Chris Henry may be the best slot receiver in the league and is lethal running deep seam routes, but he has leg miseries. These WR's can do some damage and match up very well with our secondary. Dom Capers needs to send solid pressure to make Palmer throw early.
The Bengals on defense are a patchwork group. A few kids, a few cast-offs and some high draft picks. DC Mike Zimmer was the star of HBO's "Hard Knocks" and he leads a fiery group that reflects his personality. Dhani Jones, Tank Johnson, and Roy Williams , are the cast-offs on this side of the ball. Two former #1 picks are the corners, Ray Maualuga & Keith Rivers play for the Bengals, not USC at LB.
A very interesting match-up is in the DLine. Robert Geathers is the Bengals LDE. He can be a world beater for a game, then he may disappear for a couple games. If Geathers is fired up and on his game, Barbre will need help from somebody chipping. Geathers is a strong player and can edge rush as good as anybody in the league when he feels like it.
On D the Bengals play a base 4-3 with many variations. They zone blitz some, play 3-4 some and run a lively mix. Their safeties gamble and are too aggressive at times. MM and the boys can burn this D in the deep middle with the right game plan.
The Bengal's season is on the line. This game with the Packers starts a difficult run for Cincy. The Steelers play 'em next week, then the Bengals go to Cleveland. They all know they need this game. They will be ready to play. That said, there are too many match-ups that fall solidly in the Packer's favor. I look for Cincy to hit a few plays, but fall well short, GB 31 - Cincy 17
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