Previewing the Bengals

From the diaries. -Chris

Cincinnati Bengals (1-3)

The Cincinnati Bengals come into this contest with the Kansas City Chiefs needing a win.  Carson Palmer and Chad Johnson are obviously frustrated as noted by their sideline shouting match in their last Monday night game against the New England Patriots.  Chad Johnson seems like one of those teammates that is probably great to have in the locker room when the team is winning then immediately starts complaining when they are losing.  Carson Palmer took the fall for an under thrown ball in the New England contest saying it was his responsibility.  Regardless of what is going on in the Bengals locker room , this is still an offensive powerhouse.  There is nothing to take lightly about this offense.  Carson Palmer and Chad Johnson are obviously the highlights but TJ Houshmandzadeh picks up the slack when teams double down on Chad.  They can put up big points at any point in the game.  And when they get a lead, Rudi Johnson is a 1,300 yard rusher that can pound it out with the best of them.  

If the Chiefs have a chance in this game, they will have to slow their offense down because they will certainly be able to score on us.  But, don't worry, I think we can put up some points as well.

When The Chiefs Have The Ball

There isn't much to say about the Bengals defense.  They are just bad at almost every position.  Heading into the off-season the biggest concern was the secondary.  The only thing they have done to improve the pass defense is adding Leon Hall in the first round of the draft.  As great as this offense is, they gave up more yards than they gained last year.  That's saying a lot considering you have a pair of the league's elite wide receivers, a QB only behind Manning and Brady, and an unsung hero in Rudi Johnson.  Huard will get some help from  Larry Johnson as he should be able to get the ball moving early.  Justin Smith is one bright spots on the defensive line, but isn't much of a threat in the run game.  He ended the season with 8 sacks and 81 tackles proving that he can get to the quarterback.  It's even more important that LJ get going early so that we can slow the game down.  We won't win a 37-34 shootout type game.  We don't have those types of weapons anymore and we just don't have the offensive firepower.  

But what we can do is keep their defense on the field and utilize the clock to our advantage.  6, 7 and 8 minute minimum drives are the key.  Even if they don't end up with any points, we must make them go 80 yards every time down the field.  Short fields will kill us against an offense like this.  First key to the game should be getting LJ involved early so that we can run that clock.  Against a suspect secondary like this, Huard should be able to get confident early, especially if LJ is running well.  We are certainly going to need Huard's arm in this game.  If Solari is going to open up the play book a bit more, then this is the week to do it.  Huard can take some chances here to get some points on the board.  

Advantage: Chiefs

When The Bengals Have The Ball

This offense on the other hand, is very explosive.  Palmer, Houshmandzadeh and both Johnsons can systematically take defenses out of games.  Palmer uses the pass to open up the run game.  It's impossible to run a dime or a nickel the whole game or else Rudi can and will beat us.  Key number one should be to stop the "future HOF".  Chad Johnson definitely gets very impatient when he is taken out of the game early.  I'm sure that Chad loves football and wants to compete.  But, judging by past experience, if he is taken out of the game early, then he is a non factor the whole day, instead seemingly focusing on next week's TD dance.  Just like last week's side line shouting match, we need to frustrate CJ.  TJ Houshmandzadeh usually benefits from Chad's off days and will definitely be involved.  He led this team in receptions and tied for the team lead in touchdowns last year.  His numbers are just as, if not better, than Chad's a lot of the time.  He tends to be more consistent and is tall and will go up and get the ball.  

Carson doesn't make many mistakes in the passing game.  Over 4,000 yards and 28 touchdowns last year is eerily similar to some of Trent's better years with the Chiefs.  Ty Law can not play 10 yards off the line of scrimmage against somebody like Houshmandzadeh.  Palmer will sniff that out a mile away and we'll be seeing 10-15 yards slants all day.  

Stopping these guys will be a group effort.  Jared Allen and Tamba Hali will need to garner some pressure on the outside to make Palmer uncomfortable.  If he has time to throw, he can pick us apart.  Our corners don't have the catch up speed to hang with these guys.   Donnie, Harris and DJ need to clog the middle of the field and take away passing lanes in obvious passing situations.  I'm hoping that our d-line will be able to get a good amount of pressure on their own so that we can get more people into coverage.  

Advantage: Bengals

Special Teams

Both teams are pretty average on special teams.  Eddie Drummond is proving to be a bust so far this season.  Their kick returner, Glenn Holt, hasn't done much this season either.  He has one big return for 65 yards, but at least thats more than us.  Shayne Graham is a solid kicker as Dave Rayner is proving to be so far this season.  With the amount of points that will probably be scored in this game, special teams won't be as important as it usually is.  

Advantage: Even

Coaching

Herm's defensive philosophy he has brought to Kansas City will certainly be tested in this one.  Slowing them down is the key here.  Herm understands that they're going to score some points so we have to be aggressive offensively (at least I think he understands that...).  Marvin Lewis is, ironically, a defensive minded coach who actually held a coaching internship in Kansas City at one point.  He was the Steelers linebackers coach during their run in the 90s and made a name for himself as the defensive coordinator of the 2000 Ravens (arguably one of, if not the best defense of all time).  Both these coaches know each other very well.  Lewis has let this team get away from him though which gives the edge to Herm in this one.  This team is 1-3 and really struggling to find itself at this point in the season.  He recently ripped this team apart in the media saying they just don't care and they're selfish.  With a  team in disarray like that, it's tough to pick them.  

Advantage: Chiefs

Intangibles

Don't forget about the Arrowhead advantage.  The Jacksonville crowd never got a chance to get into the game which hurt the team.  A pumped up crowd ready to see some points scored is what this team needs.  We need to bring back the days when the crowd would win games for us.  It is very difficult to beat the Chiefs at home.  Taking their ability to audible out of the game can be a huge advantage to our defense.  While most teams practice with speakers on in the stadium, most say you never realize how loud it is until you're down on the field audibling out of a play and your center can't even hear you.  While both teams are desperate for a  win in one way or another, Cincinnati needs it more than we do.  They were actually picked to compete this year unlike the Chiefs.  This is a team that needs to win and will do anything to get it.  Unfortunately for the Chiefs, a team this desperate, and with this much talent, tend to have a lot of breaks go their way.  

Advantage: Bengals

Prediction:

Chiefs 30
Bengals 24