Stillers @ Bungals Pregame Analysis (Game #3, @ Cinci)
The Stillers travel to Paul Brown Stadium in Cinci, looking
to rebound after last week's scalping at the hands of the Chiefs.� The Bungals themselves are smarting a bit,
after taking the Raidas to the wire before losing in OT.� �
* When the Bungals have the ball, they'll bring
a fairly dangerous offense to the table.�
QB Jon Kitna is erratic and plenty prone to foolish blunders, but he's
also capable, as Stiller fans can attest to, of getting red-hot and throwing
daggers through and over a defense.� Kitna
has a nice complement of weapons, led by RB Corey Dillon.�� The former Huskie is a combination of size,
speed, and strength, although he's not the quick, slashing kind of back that
typically troubles the Stillers.� 3rd-year
WR Chad Johnson has emerged as a legit threat, and he's third in the AFC in
receiving behind our own Plex and Ward.�
Peter Warrick has never developed into the all-around threat that Cinci
envisioned when they drafted him with the 4th pick of the 2000 draft, but he's
not chopped liver by any means, and he's gotten off to a decent start this
season.� Highly touted rookie Kelley Washington
and also L. Hamilton back up at WR.� Backup
receiver PJ Housmandzadeh usually gives the Stillers fits, but fortunately PJ
is out for this game with a hammy.� After
facing two of the very best TEs in all of pro football the past 2 weeks, the
Stillers finally get a breather.�
They'll only have to deal with Reggie Kelly and Tony Stewart, and aside
from Stewart's volatile track-side temper J, this shouldn't be that difficult.�
The O-line is nowhere close to the one we saw last week in
KC (that is, the Chiefs' O-line, not ours), but it's not all that
shabby.� Former first-rounder Levi Jones
mans the LT, with rookie 2nd-rounder Steinbach, Braham, and Goff working the
interior.� Willie Anderson mans the RT
spot.� Jones started 14 games last year
and the Bungals are counting on him to really blossom this season.� Overall, this isn't an immensely talented
line, but they've got an ok blend of NFL experience and experience playing as a
unit, plus some high draft picks in Anderson (1), Steinbach (2), and Jones
(1).�
The key matchup will be Warrick and Johnson
against Scott and Washington.� Dillon is
probably seething over seeing his single-game rushing record broken because of
a swiss-cheese Cleveland defense, and he'd love nothing more than to imitate
Priest Holmes and dash through and around the Stiller D.� Problem is, Dillon isn't the quick slasher
that Holmes is.� Furthermore, the
Stillers aren't likely to imitate the Cleve defense two weeks in a row.� Expect the Stillers to throw some bodies and
stunts toward the front, to ensure the Bengals have to use the air, not ground,
in order to move the ball.� Chad Johnson
is too much for either of the CBs to handle without a good bit of help.� On the other side, Warrick is good enough --
and Chad & DeWayne are bad enough -- for Warrick to cash in on several receptions.� The Bungals will also spread the field and
see if they can mimic past success they've had against the Softee Defense.� If Kitna gets reasonable time in the pocket,
this matchup could be ugly.�
* When the Stillers have the ball, the
Stillers will look to revive a near-dead ground game, plus prop QB Tommy Maddox
back up after a shaky outing last week.�
The O-line has smelled horrendously thus far, and with it, the ground
game has come to a halt.�
The Cinci front-7 is a mixed back of solid veterans, highly
touted younger players, and vet retreads.�
The Bungals lost one of the very best OLBs in the AFC, Takeo Spikes, to
free agency.� They added Kevin Hardy,
whose history of injury makes him a dubious long-term addition.� Ex-Titan John Thornton is a very solid DT.� DE Justin Smith is talented, and perhaps
this will be the year he fully lives up to his potential.� Brian Simmons is a decent OLB. �Former Stiller "Fat Oliver" Gibson backs
up at tackle. �
OC Mike Mularkey needs to answer several questions in this
game:
� - Is Amoz, or is
Amoz not, the feature back?�� He's not
been treated anywhere near one thus far.
� - Is Jay Reim
really gonna be a consistent tool in this offense, or is he just a toy that
Mularkey will play with a couple times per month whenever he gets bored?
� - Will the O-line
ever jel?��
The key matchup will be the Stiller O-line vs. the
Cinci front 7.� You can bet that former
Stiller coach Marvin Lewis will have his boys revved and raring to go on
Sunday.� On the Stiller side of the
ball, this O-line should be ashamed and embarrassed at their pitiful play the
first 2 weeks of the season.� The line
needs to step it up, protect Maddox, and open some bloody holes for the ground
game.� The Bungal run-D has been gashed
by both the Doncos and the Raidas; it's time for the Stillers to get their
ground game off the ground, so to speak.�
* Special Teams: �Warrick hasn't dazzled in the NFL the way he did at FSU, but he'll
be licking his chops at the thought of returning punts against Little Billy's
Band of Boobs.� Brandon Bennett is an ok
KO returner.� Harris and Graham are probably
one of the weaker P/PK combos around the league.� Jeff Reed has started off quite nicely, and he'll probably get a
couple FG tries this week.�
Key Individual Matchups:
* OLB Joey Porter vs. LT Levi Jones.� Porter will start and get a lot of reps on
Sunday.� If he can whip Jones a few
times, it could give this bland, vanilla, no-impact defense the spark it so desperately
needs.�
* LT Marvel Smith vs. DE Justin Smith.� Smitty versus Smitty.� Marvel will have his hands full with Justin,
but if he can stave off Justin, the offense should find some success.�
* Center Rich Braham vs. NT Casey Hampton.�� Fat Casey was far too quiet, and far too ineffective,
in last week's loss to the Chefs, despite facing a clearly inferior
center.� Fat Casey gets a chance at
redemption this week, with yet another center whom he ought to be able to eat
up as rabidly as he does with extra-large pizzas.�
* Synopsis: It's the Stillers, looking to
reverse their fortunes after last week's whipping, against the Bungals, who are
already 0-2 and may be playing with a nothing-to-lose spirit.� Because Marv Lewis will see extra motivation
in playing the Stillers, along with the flammable ability of this Bungal
offense, I see the Bungals giving the Stillers some fits and problems.� However, the Stillers would seem to have
enough resiliency, experience, and leadership to rebound from a whipping and
get things back in order.� The Stillers
will fight off the Bungals and prevail, 31-22.�