Preview: 2016 – Game 2 – Cincinnati Bengals

Interviewer: “What’s your prediction for the fight?”
Clubber Lang: “My prediction?”
Interviewer: “Yes, your prediction.”

Clubber Lang: “Pain.”

— From Rocky III

When I first thought about this game, that quote from Rocky III came to mind. For much of the Nation, the Bengals have become the flavor of the month team to hate. I understand (although, while I don’t hate much, when I do hate, I choose to hate the Ravens. Or the Patriots. Take your pick).

The Bengals injured Le’veon (not once, but twice).

Then injured Antonio Brown.

They injured Ben.

One could argue that all of those were on hits that were “suspect” at best, and dirty at worst. We knocked them out of the playoffs last year in a game that they surely thought they had won after Landry throws that pick to Clubber, oh wait, I mean Vontez Burfict. (It still boggles my mind how running off the field into the locker room with the ball and several other players did not result in a penalty for excessive celebration.)

We know they don’t like us. They have filled their team with, well, to keep this clean, let’s just say individuals who wear headgear that is shaped like a buttocks (yes I mean ***hats).

DeAngelo Williams said in an interview with USA Today:

“Everybody knows the professional hatred we have with the Cincinnati Bengals and the Bengals have with us.”

He gets it.

We all get it.

They don’t like us, and we don’t like them.

To put it another way: They hate us cause they ain’t us. It’s not that simple though. We have that same “we don’t like them, they don’t like us” mentality with the Ravens. We even have a villain (Suggs) who has thrown some questionable hits on folks. Hell, they broke Ben’s nose once!

Even with all that, the Ravens rivalry is heated, but respectful. The kind of shenanigans that took place last season in that playoff game don’t occur when we play the Ravens. Maybe it’s simply because, like Pittsburgh, they’ve had success. They’ve been to the promised land (well, you know, twice, not six times like the Steelers). Maybe that’s the difference. The Bengals haven’t won doo-doo.

All the above being said, I won’t be surprised if Sunday’s game comes off as somewhat anti-climactic. When the biggest locker room fodder is Tyler Boyd saying he wants to punch Pittsburgh in the mouth – well, c’mon man – he’s a rookie… from Pittsburgh – what’s he gonna say?

This game has lost it’s primary villain – Vontez Burfict. He’s still sitting out his 3 game suspension (don’t get me started – Le’Veon Bell gets 3 games for not peeing in a cup, and Burfict gets three games for repeatedly attempting to remove the heads of opposing players: only in the NFL!)

So Burfict’s a non-factor.

Adam “***hat” Jones will be there, but he’s not really the same kind of villain. He’s more like an annoying little kid who keeps whining and you just want to tell his mom to smack him.

They also won’t have Tyler Eifert, which is a plus on our side, but really means nothing in the nastiness quotient.

But that’s enough intro – let’s take a closer look at Sundays Game, and what to look for.

Turn the Red Rifle into a Red Ryder

The Bengals in many ways go as Andy Dalton goes.

If Andy Dalton has a good game, we will find ourselves in a shootout.

If the Red Rifle is more like a Red Ryder BB gun, well that bodes well for us. Like him or not, Dalton has the second best road record among active QB’s with at least 30 starts – 25-14 (.64%); however, his record in Pittsburgh isn’t nearly as good as that, it’s 2-3 in his 5 seasons. In fact, his overall record against the Steelers is 3-6. His QB rating in those 9 games is only 84.62, with a high of 128.8 in a Steelers win in Cincy.

Take that number out and it’s only 79.1.

Those are not great numbers. It’s not unrealistic to think we can keep the Red Rifle in check. How do we go about doing that?

Pressure.

The D-Line and Edge Rushers

The best way to keep Andy Dalton from having a good game is to keep him on his keister. If he has a consistent view of the sky above Heinz field, he won’t be completing many passes.

That means Cam Heyward, Stephon Tuitt, Javon Hargrave and Riccardo Mathews need to bring the pressure. Force the Bengals to double team some of our inside guys and that means guys like Deebo, Chickillo, Moats and Jarvis Jones may have some success on the edges. They are going to need the interior guys to cause problems to help them out.

If the guys on the front can occupy bodies, it may also provide gaps for Shazier and Timmons to shoot through and get to Dalton. Mark my words, if Dalton is constantly pressured and hurried, and if we get home for a few sacks we will be 2-0 after this game.

None of that matters if we don’t keep the run game in check as well. Shazier and Timmons, as well as Davis, Mitchel and Gay will need to provide good run support. If the Bengals have any success running the ball, then that takes all the pressure off Dalton, and puts it back on us. It’s a tired maxim but it’s true – stop the run, pressure the quarterback.

Help On A.J.

A.J. Green is a great receiver. No question about that. And he has been trouble for us for a long time. The only guy who seemed to be able to hold A.J. in check (for the most part) was Ike Taylor.

There is no Sanu or Marvin Jones anymore. Instead, it’s Brandon LaFell, James Wright and Tyler Boyd. This isn’t the same receiving corp it was.

We can (hopefully) afford to give a little help and double up on A.J. Green. As Coach Tomlin often says “He’s going to get his”.

We aren’t going to nullify A.J., but we can contain the damage he does. Tackle him after the catch, don’t let him run free.

If we keep A.J. in check, and do the other things, I don’t see how Bengals are going to get points.

Mr. Rogers Neighborhood

I loved the contributions of Eli Rogers in Washington. I look for him to grow from that start and have a big game here.

AB, much like A.J. Green, is going to get his (in fact, I predicted that he’d have 11 catches this game – let’s say for 165). I don’t think Dre Kirkpatrick is going to be able to stop AB.

What I do think is that it’s likely that AB will attract so much attention that Eli Rogers may have some really open looks in the slot, with ample running room.

I think it’s very likely that “it’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood…”

Welcome back Markus Wheaton

Wheat didn’t play in D.C., so this is going to be his first action of the season; and I expect it to be big.

Sammie Coates had an OK game in D.C., but Markus will need to have a big game to cement his spot as the number 2 guy, and keep Coates limited to 4 receiver sets.

I think Markus Wheaton may be the player of the game.

Remember Seattle last year? That’s what I’m thinking.

A couple of TD’s, and a boatload of yards. I think this is the game where the statement gets made that if you want to focus too much on AB, the Steelers have plenty of weapons to make you pay for it. (And of course, even if you do, you can’t stop business from being “Boomin!”).

Conclusion

The Bengals have a good team, but in my opinion, it’s not as good as it was last year. Ben’s kryptonite (Reggie Nelson) is gone, playing in Oakland.

The Bengals defense registered a single sack against the Jets last week, and 1 interception.

The Jets, on the other hand, did manage to sack Dalton 7 times. I don’t know that we will manage that number against the Bengals, but I do expect more this week, because, in case nobody noticed, the fact we didn’t get any sacks was largely predicated on the scheme we were running (how many times did we only rush 3 guys?)

I don’t expect that same scheme this week.

The bottom line is that the Bengals are a talented team, with a lot of high draft picks in their secondary. That doesn’t mean they are going to be a great secondary, it just means there is talent there. In many ways, this game is familiar; in many ways, it’s also unknown.

There are many different moving parts on both sides of the ball, and on both teams. The Steelers offense is much more dynamic and powerful than the Jets. Our offensive line, in my opinion, is better. I’ll give the edge to the Jets for their D-line and secondary, but our D-line isn’t anything to sneeze at either.

Essentially, the Bengals pulled out a tough road win in New York, but I don’t believe they can do it again in Pittsburgh. The level of competition is higher. By the end of the year, this Bengals team may be a really good squad, but they aren’t there yet.

Steelers win 34-14.

Until next time Nation.


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