Stillers vs. Bengals Pregame Look (Game #4, vs. Cinci)
The 2-1 Stillers return home to face the 1-2 Bengals in a
key early season matchup of AFC North rivals.�
The Bungals, of course, are still smarting from a beating at the hands
of the Ravens, in a home game in which Cinci played fairly well at times, only
to commit horrific boners at key junctions that allowed the Ravens to coast to
a 23-9 win.�
* When the Bungals have the ball, they'll
be led by 2nd year, highly heralded QB Carson Palmer.� The former Trojan has shown some aplomb, throwing for over 300
yards last week against a solid Raven defense.�
But he threw 3 picks, and his costly turnovers (5 INTs) have really
hampered the offense thus far.� Statistically,
the Bengal offense has been far more productive than that of the Stillers, although
the hurricane weather last week skewed the Stillers stats somewhat.�
Corey Dillon may be gone, but the Bengals don't lose much
with Rudi Johnson toting the pig.� I'm
sure Cinci would certainly prefer Johnson increase his YPC from 3.4 to
something closer to 4.0, but otherwise Rudi has been a good workhorse. �I watched last week's Cinci-Balt game, and
Rudi impressed me while running against a very, very tough Raven defense. �Jeremi Johnson serves as a solid FB. ���
The receiving corps in Cinci is extremely flammable and must
be treated with caution.� Chad Johnson
and TJ Houshmandzadeh give the Bungals a superb 1-2 punch, with each averaging over
15 yards per catch.� Johnson, of course,
was highly regarded coming out of the '01 draft, whereas PJ was an unheard of
7th rounder in the same draft.� PJ has
given the Stillers fits in the past, as he seems to have a good feel for
finding opening in the downfield seams.�
Both had big games last week versus Balt.� Peter Warrick still hasn't lived up to his billing, but is better
than most #3 WRs.� Warrick is
questionable with an injured shin.� All
together, this trio (if Warrick plays) comprises a more dangerous package than
the Stillers have faced to date this season, and that includes the Raider fleet
of receivers.�
�
Reggie Kelly serves as the TE, and is used primarily as a
blocker.
The O-line isn't shabby, but it's hardly been dominating.� Levi Jones and Willie Anderson are certainly
good tackles, although Jones is listed as questionable.� The interior is just average, with Steinbach
and Williams at OG and Fontenot at center.�
Carson Palmer has faced a lot of heat from opposing rushers, and the
running game has sputtered a bit with paltry per-carry production.�
Defensively, it appears that The China Doll, Kendrell Bell,
will miss yet another game.� The best
news from the Miami game was the amount of hitting and the willingness to do it
nearly every play.� Now, this defense
needs to carry that mantra from one game to another.� Chris Hope really emerged in last week's game, and as he and Troy
Pola grow and mature, so does this defense improve in unison.�
The key matchup will be the Stillers secondary
against the Cinci trio of WRs.� Cinci
will try to establish the run with Rudi, but I think the Stillers can contain
Rudi to the low 3's in YPC.� But Johnson,
Housemanad, and Warrick present a stern challenge for this defense.� Johnson and PJ can certainly get open
downfield, and Warrick is a gifted RAC runner.�
If Palmer can deliver the ball on target, this will be most interesting matchup.�
* When the Stillers have the ball, Ben Roth
looks to work from last week's virgin game and build upon the success and
lessons learned.� The ground game gave
him good support, and Hines Ward is en route to his best season yet.�
The Cinci defense has been far softer this season than
anticipated.� The front 7 isn't devoid
of talent, but they haven't gelled into the defense that Marvin Lewis was planning
for.� Clemons, Thornton, Williams, and
Smith form a pretty solid front 4, although this defense ranks lasts in the AFC
in rush defense.� Smith is decent, but
has never panned out to be the force expected of this '01 1st rounder.� The LB corps is decent, with former Buc Nate
Webster flanked by Kevin Hardy and Brian Simmons.� However, Webster is out of the season, which is a crushing blow
for Cinci, and Simmons is questionable with a hammy.� At any rate, this is a far more talented and experienced front 7
than probably 60% of the league, but thus far they simply haven't gotten the
job done.� Let's hope they don't snap
out of their funk this Sunday.�
The secondary starts O'Neal and James at CB, with
under-rated Kevin Kaesviharn at FS and Madieu Williams at SS.� Injuries have taken Kim Herring out, and Rogers
Beckett is questionable, as is Kaesviharn.�
Speaking of which, with Caseviharn and Housemanad, the Bungals have 2 of
the most difficult names in the NFL.� ��
The key matchup will be Ben Roth facing the Cinci rush
and coverage schemes.� Perhaps the
hurricane-like weather disrupted the Miami defense last week, but for whatever
reason, the Dolphs never poured it on in an effort to hurry, harass, and
confuse the young rookie.� I have to
anticipate that Lewis will send the dawgs after Roth, with a variety of blitzes
from all over the field, as well as a concerted effort to disguise
coverages.� Because the Stillers really
only throw to one man (Ward) on the entire offense, it will be possible for Lewis
to play games on covering Ward, while throwing the kitchen sink at Roth.� How Roth handles this will be the key to the
game.�
* Special Teams: ��PJ Housemanad handles the
bulk of the return chores on both kickoffs and punts.� Shayne Graham gives the Bengals a decent placekicker, although he
hasn't tried any boots beyond 50 thus far.�
* Synopsis: As good as the Stillers looked in
the win over Oakland, they looked that terrible in the loss to Balt.� Then the Stillers looked like semi-world
beaters last week in beating up on lowly Miami.� Which team will show up on Sunday?� Who knows?� Remember, this
is a team that never did win consecutive games last season, and they need to show
and maintain consistency.� Cinci,
meanwhile, had grand expectations after last year's 8-8 record, and they need a
win after last week's beat-down in order to keep pace with the Stillers and
Baltimore.� Unlike last week's dull
snoozer of a game, this game should be a doozy. �Stillers 26, Cinci 24.�� �
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