Houston Week Notes

[JC]

Didn't he just take a helmet to the thigh? I think he is going to be alright.

[Bengals1181]

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[url="https://twitter.com/Kevin_Goheen"][b]Kevin Goheen[/b] ‏[size=3][s]@[/s][b]Kevin_Goheen[/b][/size][/url][/background][/font][/color][color=#333333][font=Arial, sans-serif][background=rgb(245, 245, 245)]
Area of concern for Houston at ILB? Brian Cushing IR'd early in season, Daryl Sharpton IR'd this week, Tim Dobbins DNP last 2 days.[url="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23Bengals&src=hash"][s]#[/s][b]Bengals[/b][/url][/background][/font][/color]

[SouthPaw]

[quote name='Bengals1181' timestamp='1357244360' post='1203084']
I think its just a matter of finding that feel. Earlier in the season he got rid of it quick, and Gruden criticized him and asked him to hold it longer.

Now he's holding it longer trying to find the big play and the sacks are going up. It's about finding that middle ground.
[/quote]

He can get sacked this game, he just cant turn the ball over. NO fumbles. NO interceptions, especially w/ his propensity to be carson palmer like w/ the pick sixes!! Its that simple for me.

[coup000]

[quote name='coup000' timestamp='1357247252' post='1203109']
Don't they have to put out the Doubtful, questionable, probable list today since the game is on Saturday?
[/quote]

Nope...

[url="https://twitter.com/Kevin_Goheen"][b]Kevin Goheen[/b] ‏[s]@[/s][b]Kevin_Goheen[/b] [/url]
As is the case with regular season injury reports, Fri is day [url="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23NFL&src=hash"][s]#[/s][b]NFL[/b][/url] teams list players as Out/Dbt/Qst/Probable, even with Sat game. [url="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23Bengals&src=hash"][s]#[/s][b]Bengals[/b][/url]

[Bengals1181]

[quote name='coup000' timestamp='1357247252' post='1203109']
Don't they have to put out the Doubtful, questionable, probable list today since the game is on Saturday?
[/quote]

[color=#333333][font=Arial, sans-serif][background=rgb(245, 245, 245)]
[url="https://twitter.com/Kevin_Goheen"][b]Kevin Goheen[/b] ‏[size=3][s]@[/s][b]Kevin_Goheen[/b][/size][/url][/background][/font][/color][color=#333333][font=Arial, sans-serif][background=rgb(245, 245, 245)]
As is the case with regular season injury reports, Fri is day [url="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23NFL&src=hash"][s]#[/s][b]NFL[/b][/url]teams list players as Out/Dbt/Qst/Probable, even with Sat game.[url="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23Bengals&src=hash"][s]#[/s][b]Bengals[/b][/url][/background][/font][/color]

[Bengals1181]

[url="https://twitter.com/lindzpatterson"][s]@[/s][b]lindzpatterson[/b][/url][color=#333333][font=Arial, sans-serif][background=rgb(245, 245, 245)]: My interview with Vontaze Burfict.[/background][/font][/color][url="http://t.co/fNdqflrP"][size=1]http://www.[/size]espn1530.com/pages/lindsay.[size=1]html?article=10669766[/size][size=1] [/size]…[/url]

[Bengals1181]

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[url="https://twitter.com/CBSBengals"][b]Bengals RapidReports[/b] ‏[size=3][s]@[/s][b]CBSBengals[/b][/size][/url][/background][/font][/color][color=#333333][font=Arial, sans-serif][background=rgb(245, 245, 245)]
Second half of the season -- [url="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23Bengals&src=hash"][s]#[/s][b]Bengals[/b][/url] points against per game: 12.8.[url="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23Texans&src=hash"][s]#[/s][b]Texans[/b][/url] points against: 24.3.[/background][/font][/color]

[Bengals1181]

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[url="https://twitter.com/HoustonTexans"][b]Houston Texans[/b] ‏[size=3][s]@[/s][b]HoustonTexans[/b][/size][/url][/background][/font][/color][color=#333333][font=Arial, sans-serif][background=rgb(245, 245, 245)]
Foster: Bengals are a very aggressive defense. You have to be physical with them. Fast defense too.[/background][/font][/color]

[Bengals1181]

[b] Bengals Playoff Game Preview vs. Texans: Analysis, prediction, TV info.[/b]
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By Paul [i]Dehner Jr.[/i] | CBSSports.com[/size][/font][/color] January 3, 2013 2:43 pm ET [list]

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video in the link


[b]No. 6 [url="http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/teams/page/CIN/cincinnati-bengals"]Bengals[/url] at No. 3 [url="http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/teams/page/HOU/houston-texans"]Texans[/url] -- wild-card round[/b]
[b]Where:[/b] Reliant Stadium, Houston (turf, retractable roof)
[b]When:[/b] Saturday, 4:30 p.m. (NBC)
[b]Spread:[/b] [url="http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/odds"]Texans by 4.5[/url]
[b]Forecast:[/b] Temperature outside around 50 degrees, but stadium roof is expected to be closed.
[b]Records:[/b] Bengals (10-6; AFC North 3-3); Texans (12-4; AFC South 5-1)
[b]Past results:[/b] Two most recent meetings -- Jan. 7, 2012: Texans 31, Bengals 10; Dec. 11, 2011: Texans 20, Bengals 19. [b]Series record:[/b] Texans lead 4-3.
[b]What matters:[/b] The next step in the progression of this young, emerging Bengals team needs to be taken. The reformation of this roster following the 2010 season yielded a promising quarterback in [url="http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/players/playerpage/1125961/andy-dalton"]Andy Dalton[/url], one of the game's elite receivers in [url="http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/players/playerpage/1673207/aj-green"]A.J. Green[/url], formation of a premier defensive front four, four Pro Bowlers under 25 years old and back-to-back playoff berths.
All they've yet to do is win a playoff game.
The need to take the next step extends to the head coach. Marvin Lewis in his 10th year, stands as the second-most tenured coach in the league behind Bill Belichick, and yet hasn't won a single playoff game.
"These jobs aren't forever and you have to make hay when you can, as much as you can, and (as) often as you can," Lewis said. "Just like we talk about playoffs for young players, next year is not promised. You have got to go earn it."
[b]What matters stat:[/b] There are nine head coaches left who have been with the same team for the last five seasons. Of those nine, five have won Super Bowls. Atlanta's Mike Smith and Lewis are the only in the group without a playoff victory.
[b]Who matters:[/b] Bengals defensive line. This front four applied pressure as well as any in the NFL as the team set a franchise record for sacks in a season with 51. DT [url="http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/players/playerpage/1114813/geno-atkins"]Geno Atkins[/url]finished with 13 sacks, the most by an NFL tackle in the last 10 years. For Cincinnati to win, those four must consistently pressure [url="http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/players/playerpage/493050/matt-schaub"]Matt Schaub[/url].
The Texans quarterback struggled the final four games of the season. Houston lost three of those games, and in the losses he didn't throw a touchdown pass. A combination of five different linemen rotated through the right guard and right tackle position, leaving Schaub struggling amid a constant state of duress. [url="http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/players/playerpage/1273172/carlos-dunlap"]Carlos Dunlap[/url] and Atkins will be charged with keeping Schaub uncomfortable from those favorable matchups and that must lead to critical mistakes from the QB starting in his first playoff game. Remember, [url="http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/players/playerpage/1823918/tj-yates"]T.J. Yates[/url] played in last year's Houston victory.
[b]Who matters stat:[/b] The Bengals defense has scored a touchdown in three consecutive games. [url="http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/players/playerpage/431159/wallace-gilberry"]Wallace Gilberry[/url] returned a fumble for a TD against Philadelphia, [url="http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/players/playerpage/412010/leon-hall"]Leon Hall[/url] stepped in front of Heath Miller for a pick-6 against Pittsburgh and Carlos Dunlap tipped an interception to himself for a touchdown against Baltimore.
[b]Key matchup:[/b] OL [url="http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/players/playerpage/1631203/kevin-zeitler"]Kevin Zeitler[/url], Bengals offensive line vs. [url="http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/players/playerpage/1631198/jj-watt"]J.J. Watt[/url]. The dynamic Houston defensive end can change the game in an instant. Nobody knows that better than Dalton, who saw Watt intercept a pass for a touchdown that flipped momentum last year.
Watt and his 20.5 sacks will line up all over the line, but spend much of his time over Zeitler. The former teammates at Wisconsin grew up about a mile away from each other. They've been friends since high school, but Zeitler will need to get the best of this friendship for the Bengals offense to click. At every play, Cincinnati will need to be aware of Watt's position and not let him disrupt passing rhythm.
[b]Injuries of note:[/b] The Bengals only injury concern centers around S [url="http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/players/playerpage/395940/chris-crocker"]Chris Crocker[/url] (thigh). The veteran only practiced one day this week on a limited basis. If he can't go Saturday, it would be a major blow to a secondary he had a huge hand in stabilizing midseason. The dropoff from Crocker to backups [url="http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/players/playerpage/235204/nate-clements"]Nate Clements[/url] and [url="http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/players/playerpage/1117496/taylor-mays"]Taylor Mays[/url] is steep.

[b]Inside stuff:[/b] A.J. Green rarely saw single coverage from defenses this season, but offensive coordinator Jay Gruden feels there could be plenty of it from CB [url="http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/players/playerpage/518581/johnathan-joseph"]Johnathan Joseph[/url] on Saturday.
Last season, the Texans typically stuck their Pro Bowler Joseph on Pro Bowler Green and took their chances. It's the method the Texans use dealing with premier receivers.
The strategy worked to varying levels of success late this season. In two games against Indianapolis they held [url="http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/players/playerpage/235256/reggie-wayne"]Reggie Wayne[/url] to 7 receptions for 54 yards. Yet, against Detroit [url="http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/players/playerpage/502629/calvin-johnson"]Calvin Johnson[/url] got loose for 140 yards and a touchdown on eight catches.
Expect passes to head in Green's direction often when locked in single coverage.
[b]Stats you should know:[/b] The Bengals defense comes into the game ranked sixth in the NFL and Houston ranked seventh. Yet, these two groups couldn't be more different over the second half of the season. Over the final eight games, Cincinnati ranked first in the league in yards allowed per play (4.31) while Houston ranked 17th (5.34). Here are other second-half comparisons:[list]
[*][b]TDs allowed --[/b] Bengals 8, Houston 22
[*][b]Points per game --[/b] Bengals 12.8, Houston 24.3
[*][b]Turnovers created --[/b] Bengals 18, Houston 15
[*][b]Sacks --[/b] Bengals 27, Houston 19
[/list]
[b]Record watch:[/b] The Bengals' last playoff victory came 21 years ago, the longest active drought in the NFL. It's also the ninth-longest since 1933. With a loss, they would move into a tie for seventh in history along with the New York Giants (1959-80) and Los Angeles Rams (1952-73).
[b]Looking ahead:[/b] With a Bengals win, Cincinnati would go on to play at Denver. The Bengals held a fourth-quarter lead against Denver in Week 8, but saw [url="http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/players/playerpage/12531/peyton-manning"]Peyton Manning[/url] pull away in a 31-23 Broncos victory.
[b]Prediction:[/b] Bengals 16, Texans 13 (OT)

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/blog/nfl-rapidreports/21492043/bengals-playoff-game-preview-vs-texans-analysis-prediction-tv-info[/size][/font][/color]

[Bengals1181]

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[url="https://twitter.com/Bengals"][b]Cincinnati Bengals[/b] ‏[size=3][s]@[/s][b]Bengals[/b][/size][/url][/background][/font][/color][color=#333333][font=Arial, sans-serif][background=rgb(245, 245, 245)]
Bengals-Texans Google Hangout [url="http://t.co/LjZ4rTCU"][size=1]http://[/size]wp.me/psAKG-xw[/url][/background][/font][/color]

[NativeTheory]

Great article... Atkins is such a beast!


[url="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/nfl/news/20130103/nfl-playoffs-bengals-defense/?sct=hp_t12_a9&eref=sihp"]http://sportsillustr...12_a9&eref=sihp[/url]

[size=3][color=#000000][font=arial, sans-serif][color=#333333][font=verdana, geneva, sans-serif][b][b]Ben Reiter[/b][color=#CC0000]>[/color]INSIDE THE NFL[/b][/font][/color][/font][/color][/size]

[color=#000000][font=arial, sans-serif][size=3][size=6][b]Bengals follow front seven brotherhood's lead toward playoffs[/b][/size]
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[color=#000000][font=arial, sans-serif][size=3]There was something wrong with each and every one of them. Mike Zimmer, in his fifth season as the defensive coordinator for the playoff-bound Bengals, can quickly list the flaws that the NFL's hive mind perceived in the players who now form the heart of his 4-3 scheme. These players, in many cases, had exceedingly productive, even award-winning, careers for big-time college programs, but dropped through the draft, sometimes out of it entirely, to Cincinnati. Middle linebacker Rey Maualuga? "He had a reputation of overrunning things," says Zimmer. Weakside linebacker Vontaze Burfict? "He had a bad combine, and a bad senior year." Left defensive end Carlos Dunlap? "Had a reputation of being lazy." Right defensive end Michael Johnson? "Had a reputation of not finishing plays." Defensive tackle Geno Atkins? "His size [6-foot-1, 286 pounds] hurt him. People were looking for taller guys."[/size][/font][/color]

[color=#000000][font=arial, sans-serif][size=3]Of the 15 men whose names currently appear on the defensive line or at linebacker on the Bengals' depth chart, just one, strongside linebacker Manny Lawson, was a first-round pick, and Lawson wasn't particularly sought after upon reaching free agency in 2011 after six years in San Francisco, signing consecutive and relatively cheap one-year deals with Cincinnati. Four of them weren't drafted at all, including Burfict, the one-time All-American at Arizona State who started 14 games as a rookie this season.[/size][/font][/color]

[color=#000000][font=arial, sans-serif][size=3]Zimmer's front seven, in other words, does not appear to possess the pedigree of one that could make any claim to being the NFL's best. And yet, as they prepare for Saturday afternoon's playoffs-opening game in Houston against the more vaunted Texans, that is by many measures precisely what they are. After an uneven first eight games in which the Bengals went 3-5 ("Honestly, we started out bad," says Zimmer), Cincinnati's defense quietly coalesced into the league's stingiest unit. Over the regular season's final eight weeks, the Bengals ranked first in average points against (12.8 per game), second in sacks (31), second in turnovers (19) and third in average yards allowed (307.4). The team's only loss during that stretch came by one point, on a last second field goal by the Cowboys.[/size][/font][/color]

[color=#000000][font=arial, sans-serif][size=3]While the Bengals secondary (all four starting members of which were first-round picks, though only cornerback Leon Hall was drafted by Cincinnati) played well -- it ranked seventh overall in pass defense (213 yards per game) and 16th in interceptions (14) -- the key to the team's surge to its second consecutive postseason berth was its front seven, soldered together with players who were not long ago widely viewed as misfits and spare parts. While the term "Moneyball" has these days become overused and often misapplied in sports and in the world at large, it is that philosophy's central tenant -- the identification and acquisition of undervalued assets -- that the Bengals have, to great success, exploited.[/size][/font][/color]

[color=#000000][font=arial, sans-serif][size=3]In the Bengals' case, the central type of undervalued assets they targeted were talented players who they were sure were drafted too low, due to a flaw or two, often behavioral, that they felt could be overcome. While other teams allowed them to fall to the next guy, in favor of safer if lower-upside alternatives, the Bengals again and again were happy to [i]be[/i] the next guy. "A lot of these guys had first-round ability, and their stock dropped because of their reputations," says Zimmer. "The question about all of them was, 'Could they perform up to their level of ability?' That was the knock on 'em. I'm not saying [i]we[/i] did it -- but they decided to perform, a lot."[/size][/font][/color]

[color=#000000][font=arial, sans-serif][size=3]This season, Burfict ranked 15th in the league in tackles, with 127, and Maualuga -- a second-round pick out of USC in 2009, despite being the Butkus Award winner and a unanimous All-American as a senior -- ranked 20th, with 122. Dunlap and Johnson, respectively second- and third-rounders despite decorated careers at Florida and Georgia Tech, combined for 17.5 sacks. But the best of them all is Atkins, the defensive tackle out of Georgia who lasted until the fourth round in 2010, and watched 119 players be selected ahead of him, because he was thought to be too small.
Atkins, who is 24, insists that he is merely a cog in the Bengals' front seven, a group that has nicknamed itself "the Brotherhood" not only because they are friends, and not only because they work with a fraternal symbiosis, but because they all know what it is like to have been underappreciated. "I think each of us has a chip on his shoulder, and we all have some baggage," he says. In most other years -- years that did not include the ball-swatting, quarterback-sacking force that is the Texans' second-year end J.J. Watt -- Atkins' baggage would likely have come to contain a Defensive Player of the Year trophy. That is because, in his third season as a pro, Atkins has become not just the most dominating defensive tackle in the NFL, but of his generation.[/size][/font][/color]

[color=#000000][font=arial, sans-serif][size=3]The analytics website Pro Football Focus has for the past five years graded every player on a plus-minus scale on every play, with the average player earning a 0.0, for simply doing what he is supposed to do. The highest cumulative season grade any interior defensive lineman had received from PFF prior to 2012 was a +44.2, by the Bills' Kyle Williams in 2010. In 2012, Atkins earned an astounding +79.9.
Atkins's team-leading 12.5 sacks were the most for a player who is primarily an interior defensive lineman since the 2000 season, when La'Roi Glover and Warren Sapp had 17 and 16.5, respectively. But Atkins' value extends far beyond his ability to take down opposing quarterbacks. He also constantly harasses them -- his 49 hurries were 13 more than any other tackle -- and he is a stellar run stopper, too (he is, according to PFF, the highest-graded tackle against the rush).
Atkins has turned what was once thought to be his major weakness -- his size -- into his greatest strength. He is much faster than larger, prototypical interior linemen, allowing him to at times simply run around the centers and guards he usually faces, but he can also use his strength and shorter stature to knock taller offensive linemen off-balance and bull rush them, again and again. "He's really different in the way that he can rush," says Zimmer. "He can go to one side or the other, or come underneath. If he feels like a blocker's sitting back too much, he's got such great strength that he can overpower a bigger guy, because he has such great leverage."[/size][/font][/color]

[color=#000000][font=arial, sans-serif][size=3]The result of all of this is that Atkins presents opposing offenses, and particularly opposing quarterbacks, with a problem that they rarely face: intense and relentless pressure up the middle. In today's NFL, pressure usually comes primarily from the edges -- from ends and outside linebackers like Watt and Aldon Smith and Von Miller and Cameron Wake -- but this is not the case when you are playing the Bengals. "Quarterbacks have a tendency, if they're not getting pressure up the middle, to step up in the pocket, and then the ends have to run around and squeeze back," explains Zimmer. "Geno, a lot of time, can keep the QB from stepping up, giving the ends a better chance. That's one reason why Michael Johnson's sack totals, for him, are extremely high this year" -- Johnson had 11.5 sacks, bettering his career best by 5.5 -- "as are our other ends'."[/size][/font][/color]

[color=#000000][font=arial, sans-serif][size=3]Atkins is quick to praise the other members of the Brotherhood for the Bengals' franchise-record 51 sacks in 2012. "We work as a unit," he says. "We've got guys like Johnson and Dunlap and [defensive end Wallace] Gilberry able to rush off the edge, so sometimes the quarterback has to step up, where I can get him." But you don't even have to look at Atkins' statistics, both traditional and advanced, to realize that Atkins is not just a cog in the Bengals' defense, but its engine. You only have to watch a few minutes to game film, and to see the singular way in which he once and again is able to in an eye's blink collapse an offensive line at its very center.[/size][/font][/color]

[color=#000000][font=arial, sans-serif][size=3]Still, credit must be given to the players who swirl around Atkins, who have each proven the league's scouts wrong. And it must be given to the Bengals' coaches, for helping them to do so -- to Marvin Lewis, who has survived to become the NFL's second longest-tenured head coach and who has now delivered Cincinnati its first consecutive playoff appearances since 1981 and 1982, and, of course, to Zimmer. "We have a lot of confidence in our ability to get guys to fit into the way we do things, to understand the team concept," says Zimmer. "It's not always easy. But we've got good veteran leadership in our defensive meeting room, and we're demanding as coaches to make sure that they do the things that we want them to do."
This is not the first season in which the Bengals, with the 57-year-old Zimmer as their coordinator, have fielded one of the league's top defenses. Last year, they were seventh in yards allowed. In 2009, they were fourth. Before that, in Zimmer's seven years as the Cowboys' defensive coordinator, his teams finished ranked in the league's top half in total defense five times. And yet, Zimmer, who has never hidden his desire to become a head coach, has been continually passed over for a top job. He is too forthright in interviews, it is said. After his work with this year's Bengals, and with seven head coaching spots currently open, it would be an injustice for something like that to continue to matter.[/size][/font][/color]

[color=#000000][font=arial, sans-serif][size=3]Should Zimmer, Atkins and the Bengals make a deep playoff run -- starting this weekend, against JJ Watt and the Texans -- it almost certainly will matter no longer. It will be impossible to deny what the regular season's second half has suggested: that the Bengals' defense, as unlikely in construction and as overlooked as it may be, is currently second to none. "I feel that way," says Atkins. "But we have a chance to show that, and broadcast that to everyone, this Saturday."[/size][/font][/color]

[Bengals1181]

Anthony Munoz will be on Mike & Mike at 8:45am.

[Bengals1181]

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[url="https://twitter.com/LanceMcAlister"][b]Lance McAlister[/b] ‏[size=3][s]@[/s][b]LanceMcAlister[/b][/size][/url][/background][/font][/color][color=#333333][font=Arial, sans-serif][background=rgb(245, 245, 245)]
"They are the best defense playing this weekend"--Ron Jaworski. "Geno Atkins is having a phenomenal year" ESPN 1530[/background][/font][/color]

[Bengals1181]

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[url="https://twitter.com/CincyJungle"][b]Josh Kirkendall[/b] ‏[size=3][s]@[/s][b]CincyJungle[/b][/size][/url][/background][/font][/color][color=#333333][font=Arial, sans-serif][background=rgb(245, 245, 245)]
Top dollar. No team pays their offensive tackles more than the[url="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23Bengals&src=hash"][s]#[/s][b]Bengals[/b][/url]. No. 3 highest paid offensive line as well.[/background][/font][/color]

[Bengals1181]

[color=#444444][font=arial, helvetica, sans-serif][size=4]Remember their names. You might be hearing them again.[/size][/font][/color]

[color=#444444][font=arial, helvetica, sans-serif][size=4][b]6. Cincinnati Bengals, WR [url="http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/players/playerpage/1631804/marvin-jones"]Marvin Jones[/url][/b][/size][/font][/color]
[color=#444444][font=arial, helvetica, sans-serif][size=4]A.J. Green is an elite player at the one receiver spot, but Jones, a rookie, has come on in the final month. When Muhammad Sanu went down, Jones got his chance to start after missing time with injuries. He has impressed in his limited time. The Bengals have a tendency to be too Green-centric, which is understandable, but they need to get Jones involved, especially if he is in man coverage. You can't double them all. So he has to win outside to get some shots down the field. He is a future 70-catch player, so the playoffs could be his coming-out party.[/size][/font][/color]
[color=#444444][font=arial, helvetica, sans-serif][size=4]Here's a look at a play the Bengals ran last week against the Ravens. It's not a big play, only a 7-yard gain, but it shows how Green can help open things up for the other receivers. Jones is on the left side of the formation (yellow circle) and runs a route across the formation at the snap. Green (blue circle) clears out the area and takes two defenders with him. That allows Andy Dalton to make an easy completion to Jones for the short gain. Dalton has to do more of that. Green is great, but use his ability to draw the double to help open up the other guys.[/size][/font][/color] [img]http://sports.cbsimg.net/u/photos/football/nfl/img21491772.jpg[/img]






















[color=#444444][font=arial, helvetica, sans-serif][size=4][url="http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/story/21491792/after-further-review-littleknown-names-who-could-be-big-in-playoffs"]http://www.cbssports...big-in-playoffs[/url][/size][/font][/color] [img]http://sports.cbsimg.net/u/photos/football/nfl/img21491777.jpg[/img]

[Bengals1181]

6. Handling the Bengals' defensive line: The Texans will have to find ways to contain Cincinnati defensive tackle Geno Atkins. He had 12.5 sacks and gets great pressure up the middle. According to ESPN Stats & Info, the Bengals were the best defense in football with four-man rushes. They had a league-high 37 sacks when rushing four or fewer defenders. That gives defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer the option of dropping seven into coverage. Texans coach Gary Kubiak will try to counter that with Arian Foster runs to set up Schaub's play-action passes. Schaub's rollout ability should help counter some of the inside rush of the Bengals.

http://espn.go.com/nfl/playoffs/2012/story/_/page/1standgoal-wildcard/wild-card-round

[Bengals1181]

[color=#333333][font=Arial, sans-serif][url="https://twitter.com/Bengals"][b]Cincinnati Bengals[/b] ‏[size=3][s]@[/s][b]Bengals[/b][/size][/url][/font][/color]
[color=#333333][font=Arial, sans-serif]Bags are all packed and the [url="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23Bengals&src=hash"][s]#[/s][b]Bengals[/b][/url] are ready to head to Houston to whip up on the Texans. You ready too? [url="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23CINvsHOU&src=hash"][s]#[/s][b]CINvsHOU[/b][/url][url="http://t.co/19lChBmU"]pic.twitter.com/19lChBmU[/url][/font][/color]





[color=#333333][font=Arial, sans-serif][url="https://twitter.com/Bengals/status/287206865887195138/photo/1/large"][img]https://pbs.twimg.com/media/A_xdH3LCcAAEXwA.jpg[/img][/url][/font][/color]

[Jamie_B]

Only posting the bit about our game, click the link for the rest

[url="http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/8808820/bill-barnwell-saturday-slate-nfl-playoff-games"]http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/8808820/bill-barnwell-saturday-slate-nfl-playoff-games[/url]

[quote]

[b] Wild-Card Saturday[/b]

[b] Going deep inside the numbers to deliver everything you need to know about the opening day of the NFL playoffs[/b]

By [url="http://www.grantland.com/contributor/_/name/bill-barnwell"]Bill Barnwell[/url] on January 3, 2013 [list]
[*][url="http://www.grantland.com/print?id=8808820"]PRINT[/url]
[/list]
Here is everything you need to know about Saturday's NFL playoff games. Tune in on Friday for predictions on Sunday's slate.
[b] Cincinnati Bengals (10-6) at Houston Texans (12-4)[/b]

It is easier to be fooled by randomness in football than in any other major sport. Football, by virtue of its 16-game schedule, creates story lines that would get washed away amid the annals of a long season in every other notable professional sport. Don't believe me? Consider [url="http://bkref.com/tiny/9H0dE"]this 16-game slice of the 2011-12 NBA season[/url], where the eventual champions in Miami went just 9-7, finishing up their "season" with three losses in four games. In the meantime, teams like the Knicks, Bucks, and Suns (each 11-5) established themselves as surprise contenders heading into the playoffs.
You're going to have various arguments pop up in your head when you consider that 16-game NBA stretch. For one, you'll say that the schedule isn't weighted fairly across those 16 games and that the Heat likely played a harder slate than the Suns. That's true, of course, but it's also true that NFL teams don't play evenly distributed schedules over their season, either; Indianapolis's opponents were a combined 106-128 when they weren't playing the 11-5 Colts, while Arizona had to face a schedule of teams that combined to go 125-105-4 when they weren't facing the Cardinals. That's about the difference between facing a 9-7 team and a 7-9 team every week. You'll say that you know the Knicks, Bucks, and Suns aren't as good as the Heat because the Heat have their Big Three, but big names weren't enough to push the Giants or Steelers into the playoffs. The way that you truly know the Heat are the better team is because you watch them play over a much larger sample in a given season. It's much harder for randomness to overcome a 66-game sample than a 16-game one.[sup][url="http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/8808820/bill-barnwell-saturday-slate-nfl-playoff-games#footnote1"]1[/url][/sup] You know the Heat are better because you know more about the Heat.
That simple argument is why I'm so hesitant to declare that the Houston Texans are in a season-defining swoon. We have a decent idea that the Texans are a very good football team for a number of reasons. They've gone 23-11 over the past two seasons, with comfortable wins over a number of notable teams, including three of the other five AFC playoff teams this year alone. There are some statistical markers that suggest that the 2012 Texans have been a little lucky this year — a high fumble recovery rate, a 5-0 record in games decided by one touchdown or less — but those numbers aren't enough to turn the Texans into an also-ran. Instead, because the Texans have struggled over the final quarter of their season against difficult opposition with little reason to show immediacy (before Week 17), it's time to write off the Texans as exhausted and defeated? I'm skeptical.
[b] The Houston Collapse[/b]

Virtually every argument I've seen suggesting that the Texans aren't playing at a high level begins with Houston's 42-14 blowout loss in New England in Week 14, a defeat that ended Houston's six-game winning streak and brought upon their disappointing 1-3 stretch to finish the season. If you want to make the case for Houston truly slumping, though, you need to look past their wins and losses and actually identify the spot where they started to play inferior football, even if they still had enough to pull out victories.
The most logical place to start if you want to identify Game Zero of the Houston downgrade is Week 11, three weeks (and wins) before the Patriots game. That week, the Texans were coming off of a messy-but-impressive victory over a 7-1 Bears team in Chicago on [i]Sunday Night Football[/i]. They had the easiest game on their schedule ahead, a game at home against the lowly Jaguars. Jacksonville somehow managed to turn the game into a serious contest, with big games from Chad Henne and Justin Blackmon producing a stunning 34-20 lead in the fourth quarter. The Texans stormed back and eventually won the game in overtime, 43-37, but it was a sloppy win against arguably the league's worst team. It was the sort of performance they wouldn't get away with against a better team. Five days later, they played a marginally better team on Thanksgiving Day in Detroit, and the Lions gave the Texans a similarly tough matchup. The Texans again prevailed in overtime, 34-31, but the margin of victory amounted to Jim Schwartz's famous premature flag on a touchdown that never should have been granted. Houston had now played 10 quarters of football in five days against two of the league's worst teams and barely come out on top. If you want to pinpoint where the fall of the 2012 Texans began, you have to include those games, even though they were wins.[sup][url="http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/8808820/bill-barnwell-saturday-slate-nfl-playoff-games#footnote2"]2[/url][/sup]
Houston followed that with a 24-10 win against another of the league's downtrodden, Tennessee, before beginning that fateful four-game stretch that dropped them out of the top spot in the AFC to the three-hole. In all, that's a seven-game sequence where the Texans won close games against some of the league's worst teams and lost handily to three playoff participants. In their four wins, the Texans recovered nine of the 10 fumbles that hit the ground; in the three losses, they were only able to nab three out of seven, notably failing to pick up a first-quarter Stevan Ridley fumble that might have turned the tide early against New England. It's clear that the Texans played worse during that stretch, but I don't know that their decline is necessarily indicative of some disappointing level of play that's going to stick around in these playoffs.
If the Texans really did have some key component fall off the wagon during that 4-3 run, what was it? The [url="http://www.footballoutsiders.com/premium/index.php"]premium database at Football Outsiders[/url] splits out DVOA, their core statistic, by how a team did in the first half (Weeks 1-9) and second half (Weeks 10-17). That second-half figure includes that seven-game stretch and the tight Bears game that preceded it. DVOA is also useful to use here because it adjusts for the game situation, the down and distance, and the quality of the opposition; that last bit is crucial, considering how difficult Houston's second-half schedule was. Here is their rank in each DVOA split and how it changed from the first half of the season to the second half:

Split Weeks 1-9 Weeks 10-17 Difference [b]Overall Offense[/b] [b]8[/b] [b]22[/b] [b]-14[/b] Pass Offense 4 21 -17 Run Offense 11 24 -13 [b]Overall Defense[/b] [b]3[/b] [b]7[/b] [b]-4[/b] Pass Defense 3 14 -11 Run Defense 11 4 +7

According to DVOA, the Houston offense declined to a greater extent than the defense, and the passing offense fell off more noticeably than the rushing attack. Now, just out of curiosity, how did the Cincinnati pass defense change between the first half of the season and those final eight weeks?

Split Weeks 1-9 Weeks 10-17 Difference Pass Defense 28 1 27

Uh-oh.
[b] Hall of Justice[/b]

That's right: Cincinnati's pass defense went from being the league's fifth-worst unit (28 of 32) during the first half of the season to producing the best pass defense DVOA in football over the final eight weeks of the year. Their run defense also improved from 26th to 14th, so in all, Cincinnati's defense morphed from 27th in the league in DVOA into the league's best unit over the course of the season. It's a trick backed up by the conventional numbers, too, as Cincinnati's defense went from allowing 27.3 points per game during the first nine weeks to just 12.8 over the final eight games. Cincinnati faced a tough slate of opposing offenses during the first half, including the Redskins and Broncos, but they also allowed 44 points to the Ravens in Week 1 and 61 points over two different games to the Browns, of all teams. They held the Giants to 13 points and the Cowboys to 20 during that dramatically improved second half.
What specifically improved with Cincinnati to drive that stunning rise to the top? Well, for one, they had healthier personnel. Rotation defensive tackle Pat Sims came off the PUP list and made his way back into the lineup, giving the combination of Domata Peko and Geno Atkins a chance for more regular rest. Atkins is a superstar and probably the most impressive interior defensive lineman in football this year after J.J. Watt, but he's more productive playing 50 snaps per game than he is approaching the low-60s. Underrated pass rusher Carlos Dunlap missed the first two games and got off to a slow start, but five of his six sacks came during the second half. Three of the four starters in Cincinnati's secondary missed time with injuries, notably star cornerback Leon Hall, who was already coming off of a torn Achilles in 2011. You would expect Hall to get healthier and more productive as the season's gone along, and that's exactly what's happened.
Cincinnati's cornerback depth, honestly, is a wonder to behold. Their nominal starters are Hall and former Cowboys star Terence Newman, who has been productive as the team's no. 2 corner while staying healthy for most of the year.[sup][url="http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/8808820/bill-barnwell-saturday-slate-nfl-playoff-games#footnote3"]3[/url][/sup] Their second-stringers are Adam Jones and Nate Clements, each of whom can contribute effectively in limited roles. Clements has played safety at times this year as warranted, where he's a big hitter (if an inconsistent one). Their nominal third-stringers are first-round pick Dre Kirkpatrick and Jason Allen, who was the nickel back and a regular contributor to last year's Texans defense. Nobody in the league comes close to matching Cincinnati's depth at corner.
The underlying numbers bear out a team that improved in very traditional ways. For one, Cincinnati started creating more takeaways, as the Bengals forced 19 turnovers in the second half after allowing just 11 during the first eight games of the year. They were unquestionably aided by an offense providing them with better field position by avoiding turnovers of their own, as the Cincinnati offense went from a 16-turnover run during the first half (including at least one in each game) to just 10 over their final eight. And when they weren't forcing turnovers, Cincinnati's pass defense got much, much better in terms of creating stops on third down. In situations where the Bengals were within 14 points or fewer of the opposing team,[sup][url="http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/8808820/bill-barnwell-saturday-slate-nfl-playoff-games#footnote4"]4[/url][/sup] they allowed 7.2 yards per pass on third down during the first half, with offenses creating first downs for themselves 41.0 percent of the time. During the second half, the average number of yards those offenses need for first downs hasn't changed one bit, but the Bengals are allowing 3.1 yards per pass and opposing units are only converting 24.4 percent of the time. That's the fourth-best rate in football.
Distressingly for Texans fans, their passing offense has gotten notably worse on third down. During the first nine weeks of the year, Houston produced 7.17 yards per dropback in those same situations, converting 47.2 percent of their passes for first downs, the fourth-highest rate in the league. Since then, Houston's passing offense under Matt Schaub has lost its way: They've been averaging 5.1 yards per pass and converting 34.3 percent of the time, with Schaub getting sacked more than twice as frequently. If the Bengals are going to upset the Texans and gain their revenge after losing to Houston in the wild-card round last year, it's going to be because their pass defense suffocates the Houston offense and produces three-and-outs.
[b] Yeah, But …[/b]

You can get me to believe that Cincinnati's pass defense is criminally underrated, but I'm still inclined to think that the Texans pull this out. As much as Houston's passing offense has been in decline in recent weeks, the Cincinnati passing offense [url="http://www.footballoutsiders.com/stats/teamoff"]rates out at just 19th in the league[/url], and that's with A.J. Green in the lineup. Andy Dalton's work at quarterback has been inconsistent all year, but he's been notably bad the past two weeks, when his team's season has been on the line. The Bengals couldn't do anything on offense against the Steelers in Week 16, as their 13 points included an interception return for a touchdown and an interception-arranged game-winning field goal. Last week, with the Ravens playing a team of backups on defense virtually the entire way, the Bengals weren't able to move the ball whatsoever with Dalton at the helm for the first half. Their lone scoring drive with Dalton in started on the Baltimore 42-yard line. If you can't score against a team that's not trying to win, how can you do so against a unit that's led by J.J. Watt?[sup][url="http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/8808820/bill-barnwell-saturday-slate-nfl-playoff-games#footnote5"]5[/url][/sup]
Green obviously represents the most important player for the Texans to consider on defense, but they match up well against teams with one star wideout and little else, thanks to the presence of Johnathan Joseph. Joseph's had an uneven season this year, thanks to a string of mid-season injuries that saw him play at far less than 100 percent, but he finally made his way off of the injury report last week for the first time all season. A healthy Joseph is one of the league's best corners and one of the few guys in the league who can be competitive with Green in one-on-one situations, if not necessarily favored. If you remember last year's game, the Texans got a year from an injured Andre Johnson before getting him healthy for the postseason and allowing him to take over games at times; I suspect that it might be the same case with Joseph. Houston should also get starting linebackers Brooks Reed and Tim Dobbins back into the starting lineup, albeit with Reed likely in a situational role.
In the end, I think people are writing off the Texans because of the vagaries of sequencing and small sample size. The 16-game schedule makes Houston's disappointing stretch seem monumental when it's more likely to be a blip on the radar. Somehow, critics have used it to backfill complaints about Matt Schaub being unable to win the big one. Terry Bradshaw noted last Sunday that the Broncos had passed the Texans because Houston hadn't proven that they were capable of winning "the big one," despite the Texans having beaten those same Broncos earlier this season.[sup][url="http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/8808820/bill-barnwell-saturday-slate-nfl-playoff-games#footnote6"]6[/url][/sup] Beating the Ravens by 30 in Week 7 doesn't count, nor do last year's victories over the Steelers and Falcons, let alone the playoff victory over the Bengals. Heck, the Texans outplayed the Ravens in Baltimore and nearly won in the divisional round with T.J. Yates as their quarterback. T.J. Yates! Even a diminished Schaub is an upgrade on T.J. Yates.
[b] The Prediction[/b]

The Bengals slow down the Houston passing attack and put up a better fight than they did one year ago, but a resurgent Houston defense picks up the slack. [b]Houston 20, Cincinnati 13[/b].
[/quote]

[Bengals1181]

[color=#333333][font=verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif][size=3]If the Bengals beat the Texans on Saturday, would it really be considered an upset? Not based on the recent history of the sixth seed in the AFC. [/size][/font][/color]

[color=#333333][font=verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif][size=3]For the past four seasons, the sixth seed in the AFC has won three times in the wild-card round. In the 2008 season, the Ravens beat the Dolphins. In 2009, the Ravens topped the Patriots. In 2010, the Jets edged out the Colts. The only loss for the AFC's No. 6 seed during that span was the Bengals falling at Houston last season. [/size][/font][/color]

[color=#333333][font=verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif][size=3]This is quite a turnaround for the sixth seed. From 1990 to 2007, the sixth seed went 2-16 in the AFC wild-card round. The average margin of defeat was 12.4 points. [/size][/font][/color]

[color=#333333][font=verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif][size=3]The Bengals, though, have to overcome their own history in the playoffs. Cincinnati is 5-10 all-time in the playoffs (.333), which is the worst record in NFL postseason history.[/size][/font][/color]

http://espn.go.com/blog/afcnorth/post/_/id/62672/favorable-history-for-afc-sixth-seed

[Jamie_B]

[url="http://msn.foxsports.com/video/NFL?vid=6e7a0728-c157-410c-911b-700c449fcbdf&from=foxsports/nfl/home_gallery"]Fox Sport's preview[/url]

[Bengals1181]

[color=#333333][font=Arial, sans-serif][background=rgb(245, 245, 245)]
[url="https://twitter.com/ESPNStatsInfo"][b]ESPN Stats & Info[/b] ‏[size=3][s]@[/s][b]ESPNStatsInfo[/b][/size][/url][/background][/font][/color][color=#333333][font=Arial, sans-serif][background=rgb(245, 245, 245)]
Matt Schaub's 89.4 Total QBR in 2 games vs Bengals is best of any of 16 QB with multiple starts vs Bengals since 2008.[/background][/font][/color]

[Bengals1181]

[color=#333333][font=Arial, sans-serif][background=rgb(245, 245, 245)]
[url="https://twitter.com/ESPNStatsInfo"][b]ESPN Stats & Info[/b] ‏[size=3][s]@[/s][b]ESPNStatsInfo[/b][/size][/url][/background][/font][/color][color=#333333][font=Arial, sans-serif][background=rgb(245, 245, 245)]
Matchup to watch: J.J. Watt has NFL-best 16 tipped passes this season. Andy Dalton has hd 32 tipped the last 2 seasons, 3rd-most in NFL[/background][/font][/color]

[color=#333333][font=Arial, sans-serif][background=rgb(245, 245, 245)]
[url="https://twitter.com/ESPNStatsInfo"][b]ESPN Stats & Info[/b] ‏[size=3][s]@[/s][b]ESPNStatsInfo[/b][/size][/url][/background][/font][/color][color=#333333][font=Arial, sans-serif][background=rgb(245, 245, 245)]
Andy Dalton's 14 TD passes when facing 5+ rushers were tied for 2nd-most in NFL in 2012. Only QB with more- Tom Brady (20)[/background][/font][/color]

[color=#333333][font=Arial, sans-serif][background=rgb(245, 245, 245)]
[url="https://twitter.com/ESPNStatsInfo"][b]ESPN Stats & Info[/b] ‏[size=3][s]@[/s][b]ESPNStatsInfo[/b][/size][/url][/background][/font][/color][color=#333333][font=Arial, sans-serif][background=rgb(245, 245, 245)]
Road teams are 15-17 in the NFL wild card playoffs in last 8 seasons (including 0-4 last season)[/background][/font][/color]

[Le Tigre]

See the squawking heads are regaining their equilibrium. Figured they would come around to Houston's side before the week ended. After all, who the hell are the Cincinnati Bengals anyway?

[Jamie_B]

[url="http://sports.yahoo.com/video/texans-struggling-wrong-time-023324096.html"]Texans struggling at wrong time[/url]

[scharm]

[quote name='Le Tigre' timestamp='1357316394' post='1203274']
See the squawking heads are regaining their equilibrium. Figured they would come around to Houston's side before the week ended. After all, who the hell are the Cincinnati Bengals anyway?
[/quote]

Good question.

I will answer with:

They are mean and angry, growlin, mean and hungry. They are an offensive brute whether it be run, pass, or boot. Defensively they are rough and tough.