Week 10 - Steelers week

[Bengals1181]

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[b] [url="http://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2011/11/11/three-to-focus-on-steelers-bengals/"]Three to Focus on – Steelers @ Bengals[/url][/b]

November 11th, 2011 | Author: [url="http://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/author/gmcg52/"]Gordon McGuinness[/url]

[left][url="http://www.profootballfocus.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/3TFOwk10pit@cin-copy.png"][img]http://www.profootballfocus.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/3TFOwk10pit@cin-copy-150x150.png[/img][/url][/left][left]I think most of us expected the battle at the top of the AFC North to still be close in early November at the start of the year. But how many of us expected the Cincinnati Bengals to be up there with the Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers? Not me that’s for sure. But when your defense is playing as well as the Bengals’ is and with an offense that is solid and has a big play threat in rookie A.J. Green it isn’t as surprising as you’d think.
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[/left][left][font=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, Verdana, Geneva][size=3]This week they get the chance to prove that they are for real in the AFC North when they take on the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Steelers need to rebound after Joe Flacco’s stunning final drive snatched victory from them last week. The race to win the AFC North is nowhere near ready for it’s conclusion but both teams will be looking at this game as a key matchup in deciding the division going forward. With that in mind, let’s have a look at the three areas to focus on this week.[/size][/font]
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[/left][left][size=3][font=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, Verdana, Geneva][color=#008000][b]Ike Taylor v A.J. Green[/b][/color][/font][/size]
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[/left][left][font=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, Verdana, Geneva][size=3]Despite the penalties he has committed in his rookie year, [b]A.J. Green’s[/b] ([color=#FF0000][b]-3.4[/b][/color]) ability as a receiver cannot be denied. His 15.0 yards per catch average and 5 touchdowns are proving his worth as the fourth overall pick in the 2011 draft. The Week 3 game against San Francisco has been the only game so far this season where he hasn’t managed a play of more than 20 yards, although he still had a reception for 18. He is clearly[b] Andy Dalton’s[/b] favourite target and for good reason. As he did against Baltimore’s Anquan Boldin, expect[b]Ike Taylor[/b] ([color=#FF0000][b]-5.7[/b][/color]) to follow Green on Sunday. On the season, only 35.7% of the passes thrown at Taylor have been caught. However he has allowed six receptions in each of the last two games and for all the hype about his ability in coverage this season he has only broken up the one pass while giving up six penalties.[/size][/font]
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[/left][left][size=3][font=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, Verdana, Geneva][color=#008000][b]Carlos Dunlap v Marcus Gilbert[/b][/color][/font][/size]
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[/left][left][font=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, Verdana, Geneva][size=3][b]Marcus Gilbert[/b] ([color=#008000][b]+5.2[/b][/color]) has stability at the right tackle spot in Pittsburgh since his first start in Week 2. His best two games of the season have come in the last two against Baltimore and New England where he allowed just one sack on QB [b]Ben Roethlisberger[/b] in both games. This week represents a huge test for the rookie as he has to deal with [b]Carlos Dunlap[/b] ([color=#008000][b]+28.2[/b][/color]). What Dunlap has done as a pass rusher this season so far is incredible. He has recorded three sacks, 10 hits and 24 pressures on just 202 pass rushes. He doesn’t get much attention because of the low sack total, but make no mistake about it, Dunlap is as big a reason for the Bengals 6-2 start as anyone. The only question about him is why the Bengals don’t get him on the field more often. If he can get to Roethlisberger on Sunday then the Bengals may just still be at least tied for the AFC North lead when the night is over. Let’s just hope Dunlap is healthy.[/size][/font]
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[/left][left][size=3][font=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, Verdana, Geneva][color=#008000][b]Antonio Brown[/b][/color][/font][/size]
[/left][/left][left][font=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, Verdana, Geneva][size=3]After his huge catch in the AFC Divisional playoffs against Baltimore last season, [b]Antonio Brown[/b] has grown even more as a playmaker, with 540 yards as a receiver through the first nine games of the season. In every game this year he has a reception of 15 or more yards and while he has only found the endzone once so far this year as a receiver, he has gone over 100 yards receiving in two of the last three games. His impact is also felt as a returner where he has averaged 28.7 yards per return with a long of 52 as a kick returner and an impressive 11.9 yards per return with a long of 41 as a punt returner. Adding it all together, Brown has averaged 16.05 yards per touch for a total of 1,268 yards already this season. With his form the last few games, it wouldn’t come as a shock at all to see Brown come up with the big play on Sunday.[/size][/font]
[/left][/left][left][font=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, Verdana, Geneva][size=3][i]Follow Gordon on Twitter [url="https://twitter.com/#!/PFF_Gordon"]@PFF_Gordon [/url]and be sure to follow our main Twitter feed :[i] [i][url="http://twitter.com/#!/ProFootbalFocus"]@ProFootbalFocus[/url][/i][/i][/i][/size][/font]
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[url="http://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2011/11/11/three-to-focus-on-steelers-bengals/"]http://www.profootba...eelers-bengals/[/url][/left]

[oldschooler]

[b] [size=6]Young Bengals Start Pivotal Stretch Against Steelers[/size][/b]



[b] [size=6]Steelers Trailing Bengals In AFC North[/size][/b]


Joe Kay, AP Sports Writer


[b]CINCINNATI -- [/b]A packed stadium. First place on the line in mid-November. The Bengals are used to this.

No, not the Bengals franchise. Pivotal games so late in the season are a rarity in Cincinnati. For this year's Bengals, though, it's not all that different.

A year ago, many of them were playing big games in packed stadiums on college campuses.

The young Bengals (6-2) seem undaunted by the turn their schedule takes starting Sunday against the Pittsburgh Steelers (6-3), a team that annually turns Paul Brown Stadium into a place where Terrible Towels are as populous as tiger stripes. Pittsburgh has won eight of its last nine games in Cincinnati, a foreboding statistic.

They're too young to think anything of it.

"That's what I think is the biggest thing this year: The self-doubt's not there," left tackle Andrew Whitworth said. "We're not worried about what we played like in 2006, we're not worried about what we played like in 2001, we're not worried what they played like in 1982. We're worried about how we play.

"We have a young team that's starting their own legacy, their own beginning. That's what we're trying to do."

A team led by rookie quarterback Andy Dalton has gotten a good start at it.

The Bengals are tied with Baltimore atop the AFC North. They've won five in a row, something they hadn't done since 1988 -- the last time they reached the Super Bowl. A win over the Steelers would tie the second-longest winning streak in franchise history.

Pretty heady stuff for the newcomers, right?

"I've been on some pretty good teams," said Dalton, a second-round pick from TCU. "We definitely had some rivalries. Anytime we played a team that was from Texas, it was a big game. I definitely had some fun games in college against some of our conference opponents. Utah, BYU. It's a little different now."

The Steelers will show them what an NFL rivalry is all about.

Pittsburgh is used to coming to town and shoving the Bengals around. Thousands of their fans make the five-hour drive and fill Paul Brown Stadium, which has been one-third empty this season. The game Sunday is Cincinnati's first home sellout in year.

That last sellout? When the Steelers were in town last November and got a 27-21 win.

"We love going on the road and seeing the black and gold," safety Ryan Clark said. "We love going on the road and seeing Terrible Towels in the stands. It gives you a feeling of familiarity and it gives you a feeling of comfort. That's what you need when you're facing a tough division opponent."

For a change, the Steelers need the game more than the home team.

Pittsburgh's defense gave up a touchdown in the closing seconds of a 23-20 loss to Baltimore on Sunday that dropped the Steelers to 0-2 against the Ravens. Another loss on Sunday would leave them in trouble in one of the important tiebreakers.

"We're 0-2 in the division, so we're behind the 8-ball already," Clark said. "We're not looking at it as a loss puts us behind the 8-ball; we're looking at it as we're behind the 8-ball as we speak because we need two (division) wins to break even at this point."

It'll likely come down to whether the Steelers' injury-depleted defense can get Dalton rattled for the first time this season. Dalton threw a career-high three touchdown passes in a 24-17 win over Tennessee last Sunday, leading a second-half comeback from a 10-point deficit. He's led late, go-ahead drives three times during the winning streak.

Running a West Coast offense that allows him to move around and make quick throws, Dalton has 12 touchdown passes and seven interceptions. He's been sacked 12 times.

"I think he's done a couple of things particularly well that aren't characteristic of a young guy," Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said. "I think he's doing an awesome job of taking care of the football, and I also think he's doing an awesome job of making quick decisions."

Defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau will try to change that by showing Dalton some things he's never seen.

"With coach LeBeau and the Steelers, you never know what you're going to get," Bengals offensive coordinator Jay Gruden said.

The game starts a decisive stretch for the surprising Bengals -- against Pittsburgh, at Baltimore, home against Cleveland, at Pittsburgh. On Sunday, they'll have a chance to move a game and a half ahead of the Steelers, who have been to the Super Bowl three times in the last five years.

"We know what this game means, what this week means," Bengals defensive lineman Domata Peko said.

And if they win?

"The sky's the limit," he said.

Read more: [url="http://www.wlwt.com/sports/29749809/detail.html#ixzz1dap05JTj"]http://www.wlwt.com/...l#ixzz1dap05JTj[/url]

[Bengals1181]

[url="https://twitter.com/#!/maualuga58"]maualuga58[/url] [color=#999999][size=3]Rey Maualuga[/size][/color]
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Gonna need all the energy from our fans! We gotta get that stadium rocking! [url="https://twitter.com/#!/search?q=%23WhoDey"][s]#[/s][b]WhoDey[/b][/url]![/font]

[url="https://twitter.com/#!/maualuga58/status/135715975638155264"]5 minutes ago[/url] [size=2][url="https://twitter.com/#"][b]Favorite[/b][/url] [url="https://twitter.com/#"][b]Retweet[/b][/url] [url="https://twitter.com/#"][b]Reply[/b][/url][/size]

[oldschooler]

[b] [size=6]Destination: Cincinnati[/size][/b]

November, 12, 2011

By Jamison Hensley

CINCINNATI -- I'm here for the big AFC North showdown between the Steelers and the Bengals. This is my third consecutive week covering the Steelers, so I'm starting to feel like a roadie for them. During that time, I've learned you can count on three things: close games, an injury to a linebacker and [url="http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/5536/ben-roethlisberger"]Ben Roethlisberger[/url] throwing for 300 yards.

Roethlisberger is going against the 10th-ranked pass defense in Cincinnati. While there has been a lot of talking about Pittsburgh's pass rush, Cincinnati has generated pressure this year without much blitzing.

Four Bengals defensive linemen have three or more sacks this season ([url="http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/13311/geno-atkins"]Geno Atkins[/url] 3.5, [url="http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/13274/carlos-dunlap"]Carlos Dunlap[/url] 3.0, [url="http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/9677/frostee-rucker"]Frostee Rucker[/url] 3.0, [url="http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/8647/jonathan-fanene"]Jonathan Fanene[/url] 3.0). Roethlisberger has been sacked 26 times, which is most in the NFL. But he was sacked only once against Baltimore last Sunday.



http://espn.go.com/blog/afcnorth/post/_/id/35607/destination-cincinnati

[Farbeyonddriven]

Is Rey playing today?

[EnglishBengal]

If both Dunlap and Gresham are out, I'm gonne be shitting myself about this game. We need our good TE's to open up the middle of the field and the pass rush needs to be max. power for this one.

[|Bunghole|]

Brrrrrrrr! I AM FUCKING [size=6]AMPED[/size] FOR THIS GAME!!!!

[Bengals1181]

[quote name='EnglishBengal' timestamp='1321194788' post='1060930']
If both Dunlap and Gresham are out, I'm gonne be shitting myself about this game. We need our good TE's to open up the middle of the field and the pass rush needs to be max. power for this one.
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[url="https://twitter.com/#!/joereedy"]joereedy[/url] [color=#999999][size=3]Joe Reedy[/size][/color]
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[url="https://twitter.com/#!/Matty_B_1101"][s]@[/s][b]Matty_B_1101[/b][/url] Gresham looks like he is a go. Dunlap, we'll see in about 90 minutes[/font]

[url="https://twitter.com/#!/joereedy/status/135732675880292352"]52 minutes ago[/url] [size=2][url="https://twitter.com/#"][b]Favorite[/b][/url] [url="https://twitter.com/#"][b]Retweet[/b][/url] [url="https://twitter.com/#"][b]Reply[/b][/url][/size]

[EnglishBengal]

[quote name='Bengals1181' timestamp='1321199579' post='1060965']



[url="https://twitter.com/#!/joereedy"]joereedy[/url] [color=#999999][size=3]Joe Reedy[/size][/color]

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[url="https://twitter.com/#!/Matty_B_1101"][s]@[/s][b]Matty_B_1101[/b][/url] Gresham looks like he is a go. Dunlap, we'll see in about 90 minutes

[url="https://twitter.com/#!/joereedy/status/135732675880292352"]52 minutes ago[/url] [size=2][url="https://twitter.com/#"][b]Favorite[/b][/url] [url="https://twitter.com/#"][b]Retweet[/b][/url] [url="https://twitter.com/#"][b]Reply[/b][/url][/size]
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Phew! C'mon Carlos![/indent]

[Bengals1181]

I suspect Dunlap at least dresses, but whether he plays or not will be another issue.

[SouthPaw]

Lapham just said, he doesnt believe Dunlap is going to play because he hasnt even gone out on the field yet to test his hamstring. That is a huuuuuuuuuuuuuuge blow and will likely be the difference in the game in my opinion. I still believe in this team, but i am much less optimistic about this game now.