Who dey? Dey dominant on every down
CINCINNATI _ We're 2:49 away from halftime at Paul Brown Stadium and it seems safe to say the Bears will be trailing at halftime for the fourth time in 6 games. Actually, the Bears still haven't taken a halftime lead into the locker room this season.
Here's a few numbers on Cincy's 28-0 start:
First-down plays: 19 snaps for 161 yards and 1 TD.
Second-down plays: 11 snaps for 69 yards and 1 TD.
Third-down plays: 5 snaps for 55 yards and 2 TDs.
Cheer up, Bears fans! After forcing the Bengals into just two third-down conversion situations on their first two drives, the Bears forced the Bengals to convert 3 third downs on their fourth touchdown march.
Oops! Calculated these numbers too soon. Leon Hall just intercepted a Jay Cutler pass and returned it to the red zone. Here are the new numbers after Shayne Graham's 29-yard field goal with 1:10 to go:
First-down plays: 20 snaps for 163 yards and 1 TD.
Second-down plays: 12 snaps for 76 yards and 1 TD.
Third-down plays: 6 snaps for 52 yards and 2 TDs.
Cedric Benson has 99 yards in 20 carries.
Chad Ochocinco has 8 catches for 103 yards.
The Bears have 63 total yards.
LW
Some interesting thoughts here.
I don't know if the Tampa 2 is dead, but it's on life-support when you can't stop the run. You know how the MLB is supposed to drop to cover the deep middle? The place where Ochocinco lived on Sunday? Well, when you can't stop the run and a team runs some play-action, you can't make that deep drop. That's just one of several issues with the D.
As for the offensive line, you have two former Pro Bowlers who aren't at that level anymore. No offense to them, but that's how the aging process works. You have two guys in Chris Williams and Frank Omiyale who've hardly played before this year. They're not decent yet. And, in terms on Sunday's game, the running game was out the window early in the second quarter due to the rout. Hard to block guys who don't have to worry about the run.
LW
Hi Lindsey - The Bears were especially pathetic today. But the biggest area where they have been consistently bad is the offensive line. Cutler is often under pressure and being sacked too many times. The running game is nonexistent.
Please let us know your opinion on the source of the problem. Is it the personnel or the coaching? Even in their worst days at UofI, Turner and Hiestand did a decent job developing offensive lineman. Why can't they get the Bears offensive line to function?
Cover 2=31-0 Cincy....nightmare at Paul Brown Stadium.
Nearly every coach who got a job based on his "expertise" in this system is basically gone.
When its been broken down, dissected, and so simple in principle that your wife, while watching desperate housewives, can tell you where a qb can exploit it - its probably time for a new scheme
Lastly, its been around so long, every qb has practiced against it and is now extremely familiar on how to make those throws. 10 years ago, these throws and routes weren't common, and LB's ect picked off a lot of those passes underneath. Now, Qb's see them, know how to make the read and throw. Our corners have no chance.