Monday, September 21, 2009

Bengals Week 2 Observations

* This win made last week's loss hurt even more. The Bengals looked like a completely different team yesterday and if only they could have capitalized against Denver last week. But we didn't so lets focus on the positive of this game.

* Cedric Benson ran the ball like a man possessed yesterday. He didn't just look good he looked very good. Benson is best when he can run between the tackles and make his move after cutting past the line. Benson runs with good burst and good power. Benson ran for 141 yards on 29 carries for 4.8 a clip.

* With Benson moving the ball it opened up the passing game. Palmer distributed the ball to 8 different receivers with Ochocinco getting 4 receptions for 91 yards. However the day wasn't perfect for Palmer. At times in the first half Palmer looked very uneasy especially when passing toward Charles Woodson.

* The defense really help up well for the Bengals. They got a big stop at the end of the first half. Palmer INT's gave them one score and a short 11 yard field. Outside of a 80 yard drive early in the first half the defense locked down. You have heard that Antwan Odom racked up 5 sacks, rookie Rey Maualuga added on for himself.

* Sloppy game for both teams Bengals had 13 penalties for 100 yards. Luckily the defense played solid, most of those yards were on Interference calls on Chris Crocker, I wouldn't want to be him in Zimmer's meeting today.

* I spent a lot of time watching the O-line play and I was very pleased with how well they held up. They gave up 2 sacks on Palmer but cleared a lot of holes for Benson. Whitworth has been pretty strong on the left side, although he did have two holding calls, and Kyle Cook has really impressed at the Center position. The line is really starting to gel.

* I am afraid that this team will be a little bit of Jeckyl and Hyde. We gave up a game last week that we were supposed to win and took a game this week that we should have lost. Lets hope that we can get consistent and win some games. What I like about this team is our defense can keep us in any game. If we can eliminate penalties and turnovers we can really be a strong team. Getting Benson started we have seen is what is key for this offense. I am encouraged after this win.

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