Sound advice JT

I think they are who they are. I don’t think they can revive the passing game. They have no one to stretch the field. Chad and Caldwell are their only reliable receivers. What are their options? A free agent WR? Is it too late for that? I think in never never land Bengals fans think that Jerome Simpson is going to come in and be the answer. I don’t believe it. He is going to get cut in training camp next year along with Laverneus.

JT,
How does practicing at Wall2Wall affect the team on gameday? Seems like playing half-court basketball then jumping into a full-court game. Also, if Henry does not re-sign with the Bengals then they may need to go WR in the first round. Of course this wouldn’t be an issue had Mike taken the obvious pick DeSean Jackson last year instead of Homer Simpson.

I was listening to the game yesterday while travelling, and Dave Lapham mentioned that the Bengals had not scored a touchdown in the second half of the previous five games. Make that six games now.

I’m not the typical “blame Bratkowski” guy, but a stat like that, combined with what you said above, makes me think that the offense’s problems are due to game-planning, not just execution.

Also, can we make this the official kick-off for the “draft Marty Gilyard” campaign?

I don’t have any answers but I do know three things :

Marvin’s got to reengineer thjis team immediately .
I don’t envy the coaching staff but it’s up to them to readjust the O.
Our D without Peko and a couple of safety’s can’t be placed under stress.

Obviously Simpson just isn’t ready for the NFL. He has been nowhere to be found. So you might as well forget that notion. They definitely need to work on the QB/Receiver relationship these next few weeks if they expect to go anywhere in the playoffs. If they don’t get that together, it’s one and done boys. Also, that O-Line has to tighten up. Carson just doesn’t have time to throw the ball. He’s actually starting to get out of the pocket and move around a lot more which is nice to see but he shouldn’t have to as much as he is. Marvin definitely needs to rattle these guys. And I’m sorry, but Brat is terrible. His play calling is so predictable that me and my buddies watching the game know EXACTLY what he’s going to call before they’re out of the huddle. If it’s that easy for us then I can’t imagine how easy it is for other NFL teams to figure out. 1st and 10, it’s either a run up the gut or a 4 yd pass to Ocho. 2nd and 10 (b/c they got nowhere on the 1st and 10) it’s definitely a run up the gut. 3rd and 10 (b/c that run up the gut didn’t work on 2nd down) it’s either another run by the tackle or it’s a screen pass that doesn’t work, and here comes Huber. That has been a common trend lately and Brat doesn’t seem to want to change it up. What do you think the chances are of Mikey Boy replacing Brat this year JT? I think they’re too chummy for him to fire him. Otherwise he would have been gone already. Also, why won’t he get down on the field with the players? I understand that you want to see the plays work out on the field but I believe you get a better bond with your guys when you’re on the field yelling at them after each play or congratulating them right away. That’s just my .02.

I honestly just think a change of pace would be good here in Cincy. We need fresh ideas from a fresh mind. Brat may go somewhere and fit in great and run a great offense. I just think his time should be up here. If it’s Weis, so be it. I think he’d do fine. He’s an offensive guru from what I hear. Why not? Who else is out there that could possibly be available that’s equal to or better than Weis? And don’t judge him by his head coaching career either. Look at Lebeaux. He was a terrible HC but he’s a mastermind as a defensive coordinator. But we are definitely getting ahead of ourselves here. Brat isn’t going anywhere so we may as well not even think about that scenario.

I don’t believe any kind of rumors until they are confirmed by the team (or any sports organization for that matter). Rumors are just that, rumors. Where it originated, no one knows. ESPN could’ve made that story up just to get some chatter going on. You never know. Although I’d love for that to happen, I do just think it was a rumor. MB loves Brat way too much I think.

Well, it looks like Simpson is finally getting his shot . After watching Ahmad Brooks and Justin Smith the other night , maybe this guy will help immediately and leaving us scratching our heads wondering why it took so long. Time to answer the question if he’s ready after two years in hibernation .

I enjoy watching an explosive passing game, and I’d like to see the Bengals get that going before they get into the playoffs. That said, the running game philosophy is still very important. Don’t abandon what has got you here, but do work on fixing some of the problems. Play smart, eliminate penalties, and make sure you work on scoring TDs in the Red zone. They should have a good amount of game tape to see areas they need to work on. Other teams will see what has worked and try to emulate it, so the Bengals must be ready for that. Also, there is enough tape out there of the other teams where you can game plan around the opposing defense’s weaknesses also. The important thing is that we attack on both sides of the ball. I have no issue with Brat, he has really changed things up this year. Yes they have struggled recently, but I think he can fix it.

Winter is coming. Cold winds, cold or freezing rain, and snow storms will make a good running game even more important. It’s going to be hard to hold onto the ball, and it may be hard or impossible to throw down the field. Of course it depends on where you play. That first playoff game will be in Cincinnati, so be ready. But the next game could be in Indy or S.D. where weather should not be an issue. Playing Indy or S.D., they both have explosive offenses with a good passing game. Playing good defense and sustaining long TD drives is important to beat them, because you want to keep their offense off the field. Like JT said, they need to come away with TDs on these long drives. What the Bengals have been doing should work pretty well against these teams. But if they get behind, they will need to be able to pass. The Bengals still need to win one game, but I would like to see them use these remaining weeks to work on some things and get ready for the playoffs.

With Caldwell, I would like to know if his early success was because he was matched up with a Safety or a LB for the most part. Also with no deep threat, opposing defenses might not be giving as much cushion and the underneath stuff just isn’t open.

I remember a few games last year where Simpson played, he came in and ran the Chris Henry/Randy Moss route. Henry didn’t do much this year, but having him on the field seemed to make a difference; maybe Simpson can do the same sort of thing. If it’s a learning thing, just give him a few plays, keep it simple.

I don’t see Zimmer going anywhere after the death of his wife. Yes I do believe he wants to be a HC one day. But I don’t think this year will be the year. He has said that he wants to spend more time with his kids and try to fill the role of the “mom” now and being a HC somewhere will only require him to spend more time with the team and studying teams rather than time with his kids. Maybe a couple years down the road he may want to go, but I don’t see it happening this year.

You just supported my point more LETSGOMTNRS. They are out of state. Who cares if they’re adults? They’re still his children. Why would he take a job that requires MORE responsibility after saying he needed to make more time for his kids? With them being out of state then that means he needs to be available for them whenever he possibly can. It’s not like he can stop at their house on the way home after work to see how they’re doing.

I ditto that Ron. I really hope he’s able to pull through although I hear things aren’t looking good. We’re here for you Chris!