Cut Your Losses

Sorry for no posts at all this week. It has been crazy and filled with in-laws and non-stop running. I was able to make it to the game last night and get caught up on some Bengal and NFL news today...FINALLY!! Where to begin...

Let's start with cuts. As you may or may not have known, the NFL had to go through some cuts/roster moves this week trying to get down to their final teams to start the season. The Bengals did just that and dropped from 85 to 76 on their offseason roster. They still need to drop or move 1 more to get down to 75 before the 27th of this month. Here are the moves that were made, in case you are curious and/or super excited to see grown men get their dreams dashed.
 
First the guys that got moved to IR on the roster for injuries:
Brandon Ghee, CB - wrist injury
Shaun Prater, CB - knee injury
Taveon Rogers, WR/CB - shoulder injury
Robert Sands, S - chest injury
Travelle Wharton, G - knee injury

The final curtain call:
Luke Black, DE
Aaron Brown, HB
Tyler Hansen, QB
Matt Murphy, G

Some of these guys are really no surprise. I would say that I am more surprised it wasn't a few others added on or instead. However, we all know cuts aren't over and the practice team still needs to be built. And may I say, what a waste for Luke Black. I know this happens all of the time when teams are thin. This poor guy comes out undrafted, the Bengals are thin in the preseason at DE and pick him up. First of all why? It is the preseason. Who cares if we are thin. Throw someone else in, see what others are made of, move guys around, teach guys new roles. Instead they pick up this guy, he gets a brand new jersey sewn, he drinks a lot of Gatorade, he practices for 1 week, he plays in one game. Then comes the phone call. Does anyone else think this is a waste? A waste of a jersey, a waste of a helmet, a waste of Gatorade, a waste of paper to sign him, and a waste of time! Did anyone else catch that this is preseason? Now we cut him. Good for him for the second chance, for the networking, for the chance to play against HoF players in the Packers. Bad for him...it's over sucker. Thanks, have a nice day. There's the door...a waste and sad. I understand when games mean something, but that is just silly. Now I have to write his name up there under the cuts when others have had time to lose their roster spots and are still there. So, I would say it is a waste of my time too!

Moving along...Bengals v Giants in PBS. Wow, so this is what champions look like. Too bad they were wearing G's on their helmets. Aaron Rogers, minus a few minor errors looked good. He threw well, they had some good plays, and Cedric made us think...was it the right choice to let him go. Our D was decent. There were a couple turnovers and sacks. Newman and Micah Johnson seemed to come up big. Leon Hall looked good on some of the coverages, and the line did pretty well. Muckelroy stepped up in his moment and the guys had some good stops. They seemed a little faster off of the their blocks with the qb breaking the pocket to run, however still had a hard time in the chase. Not to mention they gave up 27 points. 

The real problem was the offense. There were turnovers, missed opportunities, bad calls from the replacement refs, and the first team seemed to be really trying to force everything. The chemistry wasn't there. We still cannot seem to get the running game going. Sure, I get that BenJarvus Green-Ellis is out, as well as Bernard Scott, but it seems like our blocking was a little off too. The back ups did do a lot better this week, after a more than dismal appearance last week. Leonard looked better, but never broke free enough to be an explosive addition. Brown...well why talk about him, he's gone. Boom Herron did actually move the ball a little and looked good on a pass where he managed to scrape and claw for a few extra yards on the play. Nothing that was very notable from any of the backs though...I take that back, they didn't fumble! Overall, our running game with this back ups is still a C-, at best. So what happens when we need these back ups to step in in the regular season? Is it just too bad for us? 

Now, the rest of what we call the offense. I get that Andy really wants to be cool and hang with A.J.. However, he was over throwing him, not placing the ball well in the endzone, and A.J. didn't seem that in to it. I felt like Dalton was just really trying too hard to solidify their chemistry for America. In the mean time, he missed other opportunities with other receivers whose jersey numbers were not 18. Even on the 1 yard line, 1st and goal, he tried twice on the same to play to get the ball to him in tight coverage, unsuccessfully, when there was always at least one guy calling for the ball, wide open in the end zone. I understand that it is comfortable, Green is a go-getter, and everyone in America thinks they are besties, so it makes it more natural to go to him. That is NOT how we are going to win games, especially not make it to a Super Bowl. This is a new year. Teams are going to have plans for him. He isn't going to be wide open 95% of the time anymore. Teams know how to pressure Andy now. They know what he is capable of, therefore, he is going to have to find new targets. Dalton, also needs to step up his own game. Forget arm strength, he needs to place the ball better, over defender's heads. A.J. is taller than a lot of the NFL back fields. If Andy can get it up there and not too far ahead of him, he will get it. Andy, also, obviously needs to see the whole field and the line needs to keep these defenses at bay. We, as a team need to learn to execute better in the endzone. This isn't all Andy's fault. Guys need to fight to be open and they need to get those extra yards. There is no reason why we start a 1st and 10 play on the goal line and end up at 4th and 10 or 12 or whatever when it is all said and done. I know, I know, Binns really had the TD. He wasn't touched when he rolled in, but if you have replacement referees and a coach that isn't going to challenge it, you are going to have to find a way to fight through it and get it done. For God's sake, anyone with the ball could have fallen forward and scored. Instead we settle for a field goal. This is exactly what the Bengals were about last year. They can't finish drives. I don't know if it is the coaching, the play calling, or bad QB decisions. What I do know, is it sucks. If it sucks for us as fans, it sure as hell has to suck worse for the players. Something needs to be done here. This is an area where we struggle and it is getting old. This is not how people win their divisions and certainly not how they win championships. Your defense can only do so much. Someone needs to step up. And on all that is holy, stop forcing passes to Green! God has given all of the lucky passes to Tebow, his chosen son...not you Andy. Use your tools!

Other game notes: Marvin Jones showed up big again with a 15 yard touchdown pass from Gradkowksi. Sanu made a couple tough catches and made a good move to get extra yards at one point. Justin Hilton caught a long ball from Hansen and looked really good doing it. I am rooting for him because he seems the most thankful for the opportunity and an all around good guy. I think the practice squad is definitely in his future, though. He will grow and learn there and we may hear more from him in the future. Like I said above, Muckelroy did well at MLB in Maualuga's absence and Micah Johnson really stepped up, sacking, and recovering fumbles. Newman is coming into his own as a Bengals, with his interception. He did a good job covering. Cochart had a couple nice catches in at TE. Other than the small victories for individual players, the whole game was a bust. 

Who cares about the loss, though, it doesn't matter anyway. What matters is our offense was exposed and seems to be up to the same old tricks. I am curious to see them next week against the Colts and Luck, who are playing really well in the preseason. Hopefully Gruden gets at these guys and Marvin stops being Marvin (he seems to be the common denominator here with the offense issues, so I will blame him like the masses do). On another note, there isn't much more time to shave this team all of the way down, so expect more drop updates soon. Who do you think should go next or what do you suggest we do to fix this red zone finishing problem? I am curious to hear what others think.

On a non Bengals note (well for now anyway). Lance Armstrong stopped fighting the doping charges after all of the witnesses and proof were submitted. Now he has to give up his medals and wins. Baseball players are still doping and blaming everyone they can, in turn, keeping themselves and their records out of the the Hall of Fame. Who knows who else is doping. The moral of this story is: Stop doing drugs! If you can't perform, don't. You are ruining sports and wasting my time if everything you win is being stripped. When will all of these guys finally get it that they are going to be caught!? No one likes a cheater! Didn't your mother teach you anything? Oddly enough, in a sport where you think they would dope (the NFL), they only dope on marijuana. They are still tough, getting slammed everyday, and wearing heavy equipment. Take note every other sport in America...a little smoke is just a joke, but a pill or shot is makes you a stupid idiot and America shake their heads in disappointment. Now Lance has no wins and 1 nut...hooray for him! 

Who Dey!