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Just made it home.  I hate rain.  With that being said, I liked the rain today.  I also like how Patriots offensive line held up about as well as our line did against the Browns.

 

I made sure to pay attention to the new Bengals flag.  It is a square flag but the illusion of the waves in it make it appear to be a pennant ( swallowtail ) style flag.

 

Bengals cheerleaders should wear silver shorts more often.  I like the reflection of the lights when they move around.  Pretty nice to have a lot of the Bengal cheerleader alumni out on the field at halftime.

 

Margus Hunt took over " on the field cheerleader " from Peko.  I also noticed for the first time that the scoreboard actually tells the stadium to " be quiet while the offense is working. "   Thank you for whomever figured out how to educate PBS...

 

Gresham seemed extremely livid during the TD drive.  Somewhere around the sidelines he was coming off the field flapping his arms quite animated.  No idea but it was interesting. 

 

Slants across the middle (?) were back to back effective.  The only thing different was the side it started on.  Sanzenbacher would line up on  the side it was going to but was not the one to be thrown to.

 

GIO did amazing all things considering ( ie... fumble ).  He is a pure joy to watch run and or catch.

 

 

something may have gone on with Gresham.  He was jawing with someone after the game too and had to be pulled away.

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something may have gone on with Gresham.  He was jawing with someone after the game too and had to be pulled away.

 

Not sure.  If you figure out who he was jawing with that was most likely the issue.  Oh, I almost forgot to ask someone who watched the game on TV.

 

The Patriots threw what I thought was a TD.  On that particular play the Patriots player lost the ball in the end zone.  The question is, did the Patriots player get pushed by the Bengals before the pass arrived ?  On the big screen replay it looked that way but I only saw one angle.

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I saw that, but on quick look it looked like he was just chatting guys up. You had more of a view though.  We just got a quick shot.

 

All I heard was he still had a lot of friends with the Patriots on the radio after the game was over.  They did have a Law and Order parody with BJGE as the lead character and the rest of the offense as supporting cast played on the big screen.

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The 38th and last pass of Tom Brady’s completely forgettable day fluttered like a paper airplane, whipped by a crosswind and slapped by a monsoon rain that arrived with two minutes left in the game, as if summoned by Mike Zimmer himself. Subjected to such torment, even a Brady throw in the clutch had no chance. Adam Jones tipped it, fell backwards at the Bengals 3-yard line, then guided the ball into his belly. 

Interception. Ballgame.

The Bengals defense has never looked better, Brady has never looked more mortal and, just like that, Cincinnati has thrust itself back into the big-boy conversation.

A week after malingering in Cleveland, the Bengals re-established what they expect from themselves. As for the rest of us, we’re not yet sure what to expect. As Andrew Whitworth explained, “If we go to Buffalo and lay an egg (next Sunday), this won’t mean a thing.’’

For a day at least, Cincinnati showed itself worthy of its preseason hype, at least on defense. The 13-6 win over New Englandwas the latest, greatest line on Zimmer’s already fat resume. He is the Bengals defensive coordinator who, for some reason, is not yet a head coach.

“Great plan,’’ Jones allowed, without allowing any hints as to what that plan entailed.

Here’s the meat of it:

Stop the run. Attack the line. Put Brady on his butt. Repeat.

The New England quarterback’s greatness is not up for debate. But he isn’t Ben Roethlisberger in one, key respect: If you hit him early and often, you can make him think instead of play. It’s hard to throw when you’re backpedaling. Physically and mentally.

On the second play of the game, Geno Atkins burst unblocked through the thick of the line, and sacked Brady. Message delivered, right on time.

“We showed them from the second play that we ain’t gonna mess around today,’’ Domata Peko said. “After that, he was a little shaky in the pocket. We hit him all day. When you do that, they make mistakes.’’

“It definitely set the tone for the day,’’ added defensive line coach Jay Hayes, “that we were going to hit him as much as we could.’’ 

The defense delivered all afternoon. Carlos Dunlap forced a fumble in the 2nd quarter, ending a Patriots drive that had reached the Cincinnati 32. Adam Jones capped a spectacular goal line stand in the 4th quarter, slapping a ball away from Julian Edelman in the end zone, on third down. That was the third play in a row that commenced from the Bengals 1. New England opted for a field goal that narrowed the Bengals edge to 13-6.

Then, after Giovani Bernard fumbled, giving the Pats a first down at their 44 with 3:26 left, Wallace Gilberry and Chris Crocker combined to sack Brady on 3rd-and-10. Then came Jones’ clinching interception, in the rain.

Of the downpour, Jones said, “Man, I was happy about that. I was like, ‘When is it coming?’ It came right on time.’’

The Bengals defense was so good, it almost rendered irrelevant the need for the offense’s contribution. Which was fortunate, because the offense was good only when it had to be. Which, while not yet a pattern in 2013, is certainly a trend.

Things might change, as everyone gets more familiar with, and confident in, one another. Right now, the offense is like a kid with a lot of new toys, who only gets to play with them a few minutes a day. Andy Dalton continued his run of OK-ness. He looked good leading a crucial 93-yard, 4th-quarter TD drive. He also forced a bad throw into coverage that killed an early drive with an interception.

The play-calling early was either an attempt to set a muscular tone or an admission that this offense lacks big play swagger. Both, probably. Regardless, Dalton didn’t even target a wide receiver with a pass until 6:38 remained in the first half. The offense seems designed more to avoid mistakes than probe weaknesses.

That’s a concern for another day. Sunday, the Bengals beat a good team, in a game they had to have, given how they played last week in Cleveland. “We had a chip on our shoulder all week,’’ Peko said.

Marvin Lewis awarded Mike Zimmer a game ball, only the second he has handed out in his 11-year tenure. The other went to Mike Brown in 2003, when the Bengals upset an unbeaten Kansas City Chiefs team in the 10th game of the season.

Zimmer could have cut the ball in enough pieces for all of his defenders to share. It was that kind of win.

 

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20131006/COL03/310060090/Doc-Bengals-defense-renders-Brady-powerless

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Not sure.  If you figure out who he was jawing with that was most likely the issue.  Oh, I almost forgot to ask someone who watched the game on TV.

 

The Patriots threw what I thought was a TD.  On that particular play the Patriots player lost the ball in the end zone.  The question is, did the Patriots player get pushed by the Bengals before the pass arrived ?  On the big screen replay it looked that way but I only saw one angle.

 

Edelman and I think Pacman. Q4 6:36

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Notes: Dalton finds a way

 

 

No question the biggest offensive play of the year is quarterback Andy Dalton's 28-yard pass to wide receiver Marvin Jones  Sunday on the next-to-last play of the third quarter in the 13-6 win over the Patriots at Paul Brown Stadium.

 Dalton had nearly been dumped for a safety the snap before on blitzing linebacker Jerod Mayo's sack at the Bengals 2. Even though the Bengals were leading, 6-3, it looked like Patriots head coach Bill Belichick had the Bengals right where he wanted them in his games of field position. There would be a back-line punt and Tom Brady would get the ball inside the 50 and…

But, instead, the Bengals outfoxed the Patriots and quick snapped the Pats before they could get lined up. Jones ran a go route  and made a leaping catch over cornerback Kyle Arrington to jump start the Bengals' winning 95-yard, 14-play touchdown drive that took nearly eight minutes.

"We caught them off guard. It was a great call," Jones said. "Andy threw it where I could catch it and secure it. That's why we have a  call like that. We caught the defense off guard."

For Dalton, it was pretty simple to explain.

"They took a  little while to get lined up. We just got set, they weren't ready, so we snapped it and hit the big play," Dalton said. "That's all it really came down to."

Dalton also made a huge play on No. 13 of the drive on third-and-five when the Bengals spread the field and he nearly scored on a quarterback  draw, but it made the decision to  go for it on fourth down easier. He did some damage with his legs. He scrambled for a first down on third-and-five in the drive the Bengals went up 6-3, and earlier he ran a rare zone read for eight yards.

"If you go back and look at the college tape, there's a lot of zone reading on there," Dalton said of his TCU days. "It just looked like they had too many guys playing the run and I was able to get out clean."

Actually, the quick snap was foreshadowed on Dalton's red-zone interception on the last play of the first quarter.  After the play, Dalton's first red-zone pick of his career in 155 throws inside the 20, he and offensive coordinator Jay Gruden looked to have a heated argument after linebacker Brandon Spikes grabbed the ball intended for tight end Tyler Eifert at the 5. Gruden was trying to tell Dalton that the Pats weren't ready and had left running backGiovani Bernard uncovered.

"We weren't yelling at each other," Gruden said. "I was telling him to hurry up and snap the ball and he was telling me he was trying to, but the linemen weren't ready. That's all it was. There were a couple of times we lined up and they weren't set. It's part of the reason we came out of the third and long in a hurry.

"It wasn't heated, Last week was heated when he overthrew a couple," Gruden said. You'll know when it's heated."

Gruden said Dalton's interception is the kind of play that happens often. As he scrambled to the right side, Dalton tried to go back to the middle of the field.

"When you're running right and you're looking back across your body, you don't see everybody," Gruden said. "I think Spikes gave a little ground and Andy thought he could zip it in there."

 

SLANTS AND SCREENS

Green-Ellis loves to have defensive tackle Domata Peko block for him on the goal line at fullback. Even if Peko picked up a costly procedure penalty two plays before. That's what happened when BJGE followed Peko for the only touchdown of the game from the one-yard line with 9:21 left in the game.

Peko first came out on third-and-one from the 1, but he moved before everybody else did. After Dalton scrambled to the 1, Peko came back and this time he didn't move.

"They have a  thing where they always stem their line on the goal line.  And when he saw them move, he just took off," BJGE said. "That was just him being  anxious on trying to get it. The good lord gave us a second shot at it."

Peko felt much the same thing.

"God is faithful," Peko said. "That was my bad. I own up to that. I was just anxious to go hit somebody. We kind of delayed the snap a little bit and I went to  early.

That was my bad, I own up to that. I was just so anxious to hit somebody. We kind of delayed the  first snap, and I messed it up," Peko said. "I was praying (for another chance ). I don't like to mess up. I take pride in my work, so on the next play I was going downhill lead blocking for big BenJarvus and getting the touchdown to seal the deal."

 

http://www.bengals.com/news/article-1/Notes-Dalton-finds--a-way/e2e1eb4b-702b-4d5c-84a2-89b97a166cf6

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Damn. I wanted to see someone ask Peko what it felt like to be in the backfield as a FB, almost ruin the offensive chances due to his lame penalty and yet have the offense have enough faith in him to once again put him in at FB. That play was magnificent.

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Defense pours it on

 

 

Mother Nature, Mike Zimmer and a Super Bowl scout teamed up to stop that naturally-occurring phenomenon known as quarterback Tom Brady.

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Mother Nature, Mike Zimmer and a Super Bowl scout teamed up to stop that naturally-occurring phenomenon known as quarterback Tom Brady on Sunday when the Patriots failed to score a touchdown for the first time since the second week of the 2009 season in Cincinnati's 13-6 drip-dry victory at sold-out Paul Brown Stadium.

But only Zimmer got a game ball.

It's the first time the Bengals have been 3-0 at home under head coach Marvin Lewis, the first time since 2001, and all three have come against Super Bowl-winning quarterbacks. It also kept them in a first place tie in the AFC North with Baltimore and Cleveland at 3-2.

When Brady got the ball back one last time at his own 35 with 1:48 left, thanks to a 57-yard tracer by punterKevin Huber, the skies opened with a monsoon of CNN proportions. Brady had already been sacked four times, twice by end Wallace Gilberry, after he spent the week getting tips on how to stop Brady from Osi Umenyiora.

"I was so happy," cornerback Adam Jones said of the deluge. "I was thinking. 'When is it coming?' It came right on time with two minutes in the game."

 
Lewis called it and after the game left tackle Andrew Whitworth and centerKyle Cook were complimenting him on his skills as a weatherman. After consulting with equipment manager Jeff Brickner, Lewis felt he had a pretty good handle on the conditions.

 

"He walked up to us before the game started and said, 'Hey Cook, Whit. Get ready because It's going to clear when we go to kick the ball off and then it's going to start raining late in the fourth quarter,' " Whitworth recalled. "And we were like, 'Yeah, sure. That sounds like a Coach's weather wish right there.' We were giving him a hard time and then sure enough."

But it was Zimmer, the Bengals defensive coordinator, who concocted a scheme that handcuffed the undefeated Patriots and their offense that has scored more than 500 points in each of the last three seasons by stonewalling Brady on 11 of 12 third downs, four sacks and eight hits. Brady came in with 52 straight games throwing a touchdown pass, two games shy of tying Drew Brees's NFL record of 54, but the only 53 he almost got Sunday was in passer rating at 52.2.

"Those guys had a doughnut today," Jones said with a shake of his head. "How hard is that?"

Jones denied Brady twice in the last 6:30.

The first came on third-and-goal from the 1 after backup linebacker Vincent Rey stuffed 250-pound running back LeGarrette Blount on first down and left tackle Nate Solder couldn’t track down a Brady pass as a tight end. Brady looked like he had wide receiver Julian Edelman with a back shoulder throw in the left corner on third down and Edelman had it but couldn't hang on as he went to the ground because Jones kept hanging on to him.

"I played through his hands. I was able to get it out of there I was so happy," Jones said. "Played it through his hands. I couldn't even see it. I saw when his hands went up, so I just reached for his arm."

But the big one came with 16 seconds left and Brady needing a TD for overtime from the Bengals 27. He went for one of his rookie receivers deep, but Jones leaped in front of Aaron Dobson, tapped the ball to himself and caught it as he went to the ground for his first interception since the second game of 2010.

"Surprised? No, but I was very happy," Jones said. "I was on the ground and I was like, 'Thank you, Jesus.' "

Jones tapped it into the air because he said the rain had made his gloves useless to catch.

"It landed right where I wanted it to," Jones said. "I couldn’t squeeze it. Did you see the monsoon? The gloves were gone."

This is the kind of taut game it was. Bengals running back BenJarvus Green-Ellis observed, "When Pac took that ball away, it was breathtaking."

No one wanted to get very specific about Zimmer's scheme. Jones would only say it was "unbelievable … we were in the right place at the right time."

"We didn't disguise anything," said WILL linebacker Vontaze Burfict. "He knew what we were in. I think the defensive line just got after him."

The plan seemed to consist mainly of changing up the looks, making sure the cornerbacks pressed and didn't slack off, and playing sound. The Bengals knew they couldn't fool Brady. It was a win that began and ended up front with a defensive line down Michael Johnson and Robert Geathers and a secondary lacking its best player in cornerback Leon Hall.

Tom Terrific didn't look like his Cali cool self.

"When you're playing against those guys up front, you have to think a  little bit more because they're coming," Jones said. "You see there were a couple of plays where I got pushed by and I was  saying, "They got to get there,' and they got there."

The plan began up front.

 

"The plan was to hit (Brady). That was it. The plan was to hit him," said Gilberry, who got Brady twice and also hit him three times but was also called for roughing on the next to last play of the game. "I got over-aggressive on one play. I understand the referee has a job to do. They have to protect the quarterback and I have to be more disciplined in the way I attack the quarterback.  I'm not going to say it was a bad call, but it is what it is."

Gilberry got a battlefield promotion with Michael Johnson's concussion and made his first start as a Bengal and fourth of his career. Rookie end Margus Hunt made his NFL debut and got one hit on Brady as defensive line coach Jay Hayes rotated all three.

"He did a great job," Gilberry said. "There wasn't a drive in the game where I didn’t feel like could do my job 100 percent. We had a great week of practice. We understood where we had to be."

Gilberry came into the league undrafted with the 2008 Giants, where his fellow end, Umenyiora, took him under his wing and they've been close ever since. It was Umenyiora and his Giants defensive front that were the keys in both Super Bowl victories over the Pats, and so Gilberry picked his brain again this week.

"He gave me some great ball tips. Everything he told me came to fruition," Gilberry said. "He gave me some great tips on Brady. Like when he was in shotgun and like when was under center and they all held true. I look up to (Umenyiora). I can call him any time or day and ask him questions. It didn't just start. He's been mentoring me for years."

Which is what Zimmer has been doing for this defense for six years and while this may not be his signature moment, it's close. He also got a game ball three days after wife Vikki died in 2009, when the Bengals beat the Ravens in the last minute.

It has become a theme of the 2013 season: the defense bails out the offense. The Bengals shouldn't have won Sunday because they turned it over twice, once in the red zone, got their quarterback sacked four times, and committed seven penalties to none for the Patriots.

Defense.

“It was a great accomplishment. It was a great job by the defensive players. The coaches, led by (Zimmer)," Lewis said. "I had never given anybody a game ball before, I guess maybe once before, but I did give Coach Zimmer that ball. It’s a hell of a deal.”

Lewis did give out a game ball, but it was 10 years ago during his first season. He gave it to Bengals president Mike Brown after a win over the undefeated Chiefs. The Patriots were also undefeated in more ways than one. It was Cincinnati's first win in five tries over the Brady-Bill Belichick New England dynasty.

“Zim doesn’t get emotional. He got a little smirk on him. It's good to see Zim laugh, because he’s always so serious. He deserves it," Burfict said. "He called some great defensive calls out there, and he just knew what we were expecting from them and called great plays.

“I can’t really explain the plan, but coach Zimmer knew exactly what they were going to run and called great defensive plays. We executed, and hats off to him ... (the game ball) is meaningful. I'm with him every day. He yells at me. it's a love-hate thing between us. Every play that he calls I make sure everybody is on the same page because I'm out there playing for him. I'm not really playing for me or my team. I'm playing out there just for him and making sure I execute the call he wants and at the end of the day you know the whole defense is good."

 

 

http://www.bengals.com/news/article-1/Defense-pours-it-on/7de185e3-f72a-4c42-94df-7fae8d9ff9e0

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VS.
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POSTGAME QUOTES
OCTOBER 6, 2013


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BENGALS COACH MARVIN LEWIS

Opening statement:
“I think obviously that’s a huge win for a football team that was playing a good team. It came at the right time. It came at a time when we needed to get back at it, refocus ourselves and get to work. We had a great week of preparation. We knew it was going to be a physical, toe-to-toe football game and it played out to that. We’ve got some corrections to make, obviously, the way to finish it better at the end. We unfortunately had to probably win it three of four times there in the fourth quarter. So we’ve got a lot to learn from that way and good things to coach off of. We were able to productively move the football. We’ve got to score touchdowns; (I’m) still disappointed in that. Andy (Dalton) has a turnover early in the game that’s big when we’ve got the ball down there, second down we’ve got to find a way to just throw it away and get a chance to go again on third down. But big drive there by the offense there to put the touchdown on the board and put us up by 10. And then we give up the pass play, but hold them to a field goal. Defensively, again, to hold them without a touchdown was good work today.”

Have you seen a defense of yours play any better than the way it played today?
“They played well today. We had a couple run plays we needed to fit a little better. We let the ball get across the field there in the fourth quarter. But all in all, we were tight in coverage most of the day. We were able to get some pressures. I thought the defensive group up front got after it. They understood, recognized and felt the play (action) passes and that’s the difference — we were able to get pressure on their play-pass game, which is difficult to do.”

You held Patriots QB Tom Brady without a touchdown pass for the first time in 52 games. That’s quite an accomplishment:
“It was a great accomplishment. It was a great job by the defensive players. The coaches, led by (defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer). I had never given anybody a game ball before, I guess maybe once before, but I did give Coach Zimmer that ball. It’s a hell of a deal.”

Do you remember the other time?
“Mike Brown after we beat Kansas City in ’03.”

Your secondary responded well today again despite injuries to key contributors:
“Until that next-to-last play, we got good leadership by bringing Chris (Crocker) back here. He gives us a calming force. Reggie (Nelson) was able to answer the bell, which helped. Adam Jones is really responding to coaching, and obviously Terence Newman is just playing lights out. He’s playing great football for us. When you play the position out there, they’re going to catch a ball every once in a while, but we’re not giving up the big plays and we’ve got to keep doing that.”

How about DE Wallace Gilberry today?
“He had a good game until we make a play at the end that prolongs the game a little bit (a roughing —the-passer penalty). But Wallace, they call him one of my nuts and bolts, just a guy who keeps working his tail off and keeps doing what he’s supposed to do. He’s good for the football team.”

Does it speak to the depth of this team that a guy like Gilberry can start in place of Michael Johnson today and have no setbacks?
“Wallace did a great job. Margus (Hunt) got his first chance to play, so that was fun. We’ve got to keep pushing these young guys to give us some snaps, because we’re going to need them to be productive as go down through the season.”

You had quite a sequence with Domata Peko lining up at fullback near the goal line. Did you have it in your mind to go for it on fourth down no matter what, or did you want to wait and see how third down played out?
“When you make those decisions, you’ve got to tell your coaches on second down what we’re going to do. So basically on second down, they know that if we get the ball on third or fourth and one, what the outcome’s going to be. I have to give Jay (Gruden) a heads up prior to so he can be talking and conferring what he wants to do on fourth and one. The decision was made twice to go for it and we were able to punch it in.”

Were you thinking this could be your best and possibly last chance to get in the end zone?
“I was thinking I wanted to score a touchdown. I wasn’t thinking about one shot. I was thinking we should push it in and get a touchdown. I don’t believe in all that, ‘You’ve got to this and you’ve got to do that.’ We’ve just got to do what we’ve got to do, and that’s the most important thing. You know? I don’t care who we’re playing against. It’s a matter of what we’ve got to do. That’s all that after the fact. ‘Well you should have done this because you’re playing against this guy.’ Well it’s easy to second guess after the fact. But I felt confident in us being able to punch the ball in.”

You got a big game out of RB BenJarvus Green-Ellis too:
“He was tough running. But again we have the interception, we have the fumbled ball and we can’t do that. We’re trying to ice the game there, so there is a lot to coach from and correct: an offside on defense, a late hit on the quarterback on defense and then the fumble. So three things in the fourth quarter you don’t want to have happen.”

Is there way to explain how you can beat Green Bay and New England, but go to Cleveland and lose?
“It’s the National Football League. You have to play your ‘A’ game all the time. We never made any plays, as I told you after the Cleveland game last week. I told you, on the sideline I was waiting for us to make a play for us to get back in the football game. We never made that play. Like today, we made a drive to put us in the game, and that was good. But I was waiting for that play to happen against Cleveland and we never made it. And that’s what we’ve been on all week. We can’t wait around; we’ve got to go make things happen. I thought again the offense did a nice job bringing the ball off the goal line. They made the big play when we were backed up after the sack at the two-yard line. A big play there — a good catch by Marv (Jones), a good throw by Andy.”

The defense has done a good job against the likes of Green Bay QB Aaron Rodgers and New England QB Tom Brady in the last three weeks:
“We’ve played well. Last week I thought the biggest thing was we had three chances to make interceptions and we didn’t make any of them. If we make those interceptions, that’s the thing. We went back to work this week. We went back to work like training camp and practiced that way. It showed out here today. Today we competed and we covered. We got away from man-to-man coverage, we played physical and that’s what we have to do. That’s our calling card. Otherwise, who are we? That’s the way we have to play football all the time. We’re not going out-cute anybody. We’ve got to be physical and we’ve got to body up on people and play that way.”

You guys ran the ball a lot today. I guess that was a big part of it too?
“A big part of it, yes.”


 

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ANDY DALTON

How fun is it to watch your defense play so well against a future Hall of Fame quarterback in Tom Brady?
“It’s definitely fun to watch those guys go out and play. They’re doing so many good things, and to see what they do to a guy like Tom Brady ... And what they’ve done to a lot of these quarterbacks — they’re some of the best in the league; they’re playing unbelievable. Hopefully, we can keep it going and there’s a lot of really good guys on this team, a lot of good teammates, and it’s definitely fun to watch that defense.”

You had a third-and-15 at your two-yard line, and then you hit a 28-yard pass to Marvin Jones in a key play in the third quarter. Can you talk about that play a little bit and how big it was?
“It was big because it kept the drive going. It gave us some momentum. Then we had one play later, two plays later a big run by Giovanni Bernard. It gave us some momentum going into that drive and we took advantage of it, kept making some plays, drove down and scored.”

Didn’t you snap it quickly on that play?
“Yeah. Everybody lined up and it was taking them a little while to line up, so we got (the ball) out and (Marvin) made a big catch and kept the drive going.”

Is there any personal pride in defeating stars like Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers and New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady today even though it’s not you against them personally on a one-on-one level?
“These are guys that have played for a long time, and now I get a chance to play them, and to come out and get a win against some of the best in the league, it really means a lot. It means a lot for this team, and we’ve done some good things and we’ve got to keep it going.”

When you see your defense hold the Patriots to a field goal in the first half, how much pressure do you feel as an offense to get into the end zone and give them a lead to work with?
“I think that’s what you see: Them holding the field goals with the chances that we had (to score), you get down (the field) and hurt ourselves and have to punt. It was big for us to go down and score; obviously, we want to score every time we get the ball but we’ve got to keep drives going because our defense is playing really well.”

You guys won the time of possession battle today. Did you like the play calling that helped with that?
“Yeah. I thought we did some good things. We were keeping drives going with a mix of run and pass, completing balls ... It’s big. Especially when we have the ball, their offense isn’t on the field, I think that was kind of a big key in the game as well.”

Were you happy the rain held off until the end of the game?
“(Laughs) Yeah. I was hoping we could get through some of those time outs because we knew the rain was coming and fortunately for us, we were on defense at that time and you could see out there, it was tough for Tom to throw it around once the rain was pretty heavily coming down.”

Did you talk to Tom after the game?
“I didn’t get to see him.”


 

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GENO ATKINS

You had a sack and seemed to get in Tom Brady’s head a little bit:
“Yeah. We did a good job applying pressure on him. We made sure he couldn’t step up. As a whole we did a great job pushing the pocket.”

You had him throwing off of his front foot a lot, seemingly making him a more average quarterback:
“The coaches were preaching for us to push the pocket all week. We didn’t want to let him throw from his back foot.”

You’ve beaten some of the best quarterbacks here at home:
“Coach Zimmer does a good job. We have a good enough defense to stop anyone.”

How about Chris Crocker and his heads up play to touch down the receiver on the one, allowing you guys to make a goal-line stand:
“We knew it was crucial not to let him score. We knew that going up against Tom Brady, anything could happen. I think we did a good job of playing fundamentally sound and getting after him.”

Four of your next five games are on the road. Do you think the game plan will be to continue to apply pressure?
“Yes. First you stop the run, then you get after the quarterback.”


 

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DOMATA PEKO

You guys did what you talked about — getting to Tom Brady and getting him rattled. How were you able to do that?
“We just had to attack that offensive line and win our one-on-ones, and we did that today. On the second play, we got a sack right away on Tom. And for the majority of the game, he was on his back. Every play, he needed help coming up off the ground. When you do that to any quarterback — when you get in their face — they’re going to make mistakes. He threw a lot of dropped balls, we tackled pretty well, and we were able to not let them get 100 yards rushing, so we executed our game plan and got the job done today.”

At what point of the game did you know you had Brady a little bit rattled? Was it right off the bat?
“Yes. It seemed like, right away, we were getting pressure in his face. We got him on his back all day today, and a lot of guys were dropping balls — more than usual. It seemed like we executed our game plan. We stopped the run and got after Tom, made sacks, and got the win.”

What was it like when the weather was breaking down at the end of the game?
“It was perfect timing, because they were trying to drive on us and it was kind of hard to throw in that stuff. Not only the rain, but when you have our defensive line coming down your throat every play. We played a complete game today and got the ‘W’ against a really good Patriots team.”


 

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KYLE COOK

This was something like your fourth 90-yard touchdown drive of the year:
“It’s weird. Hopefully we can keep the long ones going and solidify the shorter ones. You love when you get the ball at the 40 — your 40 or their 40 — and throw it in. But for some reason, (it seems like) we sometimes can stall out, and then when we get the ball way deep, we make something of it.”

It’s a week-to-week league, but how defining is it to get the train back on track?
“It is. Not only that, but as much as you hate letting a couple slip by here and there, you’re going to have to win more. We’ve already dropped two, so obviously we’re going to need to go on some good streaks. But what better way to start it off? We have a hard one against us this week to go to Buffalo. As a team, we have to come together and not only play well at home, but play well on the road.”


 

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CHRIS CROCKER

To face that kind of an offense with Tom Brady has to be a challenge:
“We felt like all anyone was talking about was Tom Brady and the offense. We feel like we have great players on defense, so we took it as a challenge. We wanted to hear people talk about our defense. We were able to put the team on our back and let loose today.”

What is different with this team since the last time you were here?
“Younger and a little smarter. I think guys are really coming together. We’ve won some tight ballgames and it builds the confidence. We’re very talented and guys are more talented and smarter than they were last year.”


 

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BENJARVUS GREEN-ELLIS

It seems like nothing comes easy, coming right down to the end of the game. Talk about what it was like out there:
“It was a tough, hard-nosed, physical football game and we came out on top with the ‘W’. We made a few mistakes, but we were able to overcome them.”

When the rain is coming down like that, what is going on through your mind about holding on to the football?
“You usually just try to keep it tight because you know the ball is slippery.”

It didn’t seem like you were exchanging fond farewells with your former teammates at the end:
“There’s a little competitive fire. You know how that goes.”

Is there any extra meaning for you playing against your former team?
“It’s another football team against an AFC opponent. It was a good game for us.”


 

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A.J. GREEN

Is it more important to beat a team like this?
“I don’t think so. We just take every game as one. We play hard each week and see what happens.”

Does it appear this team is playing to the level of its competition?
“Sometimes. Last week we had a letdown. I feel like we have to stay consistent no matter who we’re playing.”

Are you frustrated that this team can’t get into the end zone right now?
“It’s not frustration. It’s going to happen. I learned last week to not let my emotions get the best of me. I’ve got to go out there and play and it will eventually come.”

What was the difference in the second half?
“We just made plays.”

How big is this win?
“It’s another big one. We just have to stay consistent and continue to get better.”


 

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ANDREW WHITWORTH

It was a huge win for you guys:
“Yeah, it was a big win. It’s kind of the style of game you want to win, because not everything went the way you want it to. We fought our tails off and played a very physical game. New England is a different team than what they were — they play a very physical game. It was kind of like a good old AFC North game.”

Marvin (Lewis) says he wants you guys to be a physical team:
“Yeah. We want to knock people on the ground and be physical — whether it’s pass or run. We drove the ball pretty well but it seemed like whenever we had the chance to score, we shot ourselves in the foot. If we fix those one or two things, you have an opportunity to score.”

You ran the ball a lot:
“We ran the ball a lot and played physical and we’re built to be that way. We have some great skill players and we have a lot of guys on the o-line who are very physical.”

What do you think about the defense?
“I look at a team as a team. As good as our defense is, we need to be able to run the football, possess the football and limit possessions. Teams will have a tough time winning if we’re able to do that.”

How important was this game?
“Every game is important. If we go to Buffalo and lay an egg, it’s no more important than this game. We have to build our team on things we do well. We want to be able to respond week in, week out.”

Marvin (Lewis) suggested that you took last week’s loss to the Browns to heart:
“It hurt. We felt like we’ve had two games where we’ve felt that we were the better team and we gave the game away. Right or wrong, that’s the way we feel. It’s time to go win football games.”


 

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VONTAZE BURFICT

Is this team playing to the level of the competition?
“Yeah. That’s something that we need to fix. No team is really weak in the NFL, but especially away games, we need to stop playing at other team’s levels. I think this win right here is big for us.”

How beneficial was the rain for you at the end of the game?
“It wasn’t beneficial at all. It’s just a regular game.”

It seemed like it came at the perfect timing:
“I didn’t really care. It was just a regular game for me.”

How did Mike Zimmer react when Marvin Lewis gave him the game ball? Was he emotional?
“Zim doesn’t get emotional. He got a little smirk on him. It’s good to see Zim laugh, because he’s always so serious. He deserves it. He called some great defensive calls out there, and he just knew what we were expecting from them and called great plays.”

What was the game plan like against a guy like Brady?
“I can’t really explain the plan, but coach Zimmer knew exactly what they were going to run and called great defensive plays. We executed, and hats off to him.”


 

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WALLACE GILBERRY

Thoughts on today’s win:
“We had a great week of practice. We were down some guys, and guys just made (up) their minds to step up and not let there be a letdown. It’s one of the premier, best quarterbacks in this league (Brady). To be able to go out and hit him consistently and get him rattled, you know, it’s a big plus for the defensive line.”

Did you guys see that as an advantage?
“Without a doubt. Guys like that — when you play great quarterbacks — you’ve got to play great. There’s going to be some mistakes here and there, but for the most part, you’ve got to do your job. And that’s what we did.”

Were you aware that Tom Brady had a 52-game touchdown streak coming into the game?
“I couldn’t care less. We just wanted to hit him, and hit him constantly. And that’s what we did. Gino Atkins,Carlos Dunlap, myself, Domata Peko and Margus Hunt, we just got pressure consistently up front and kept him rattled all game.”

What was it like in the rain out there?
“It felt good. I felt like a kid out there when your momma tells you to come inside. You just want to play longer and longer. It felt good.”

Early in the game, you got to Brady quick. How much confidence did that give you guys?
“A lot. When you can do that early, it does something to your self esteem. We knew we could hit him. We knew if we could keep it up for four quarters, it was going to be to our advantage. It definitely was a big plus for us to get to him early.”


 

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PATRIOTS COACH BILL BELICHICK

Initial comments: 
“Not much to say today other than they (the Bengals) did a better job today. We had our chances. In the end, the game came down to some red-area chances, and that was the point differential in the game today. We’ve got to go back to work and get better in all phases of the game. It was a hard-fought game, but they made more plays.”

The defense came as advertised. What are your thoughts on the pressure they put on Tom Brady?
“I don’t think we did a good enough job anywhere. Part of it is a running game, and part of it is a passing game. We’ve got to do a better job all the way around.”

We’ve grown so accustomed to seeing Tom Brady doing it all every week. Your offense seemed a little out of wack:
“We didn’t perform well enough.”

Was it a matter of execution?
“We’ve got to play better and I’ve got to coach better. I give Cincinnati credit. They have a good defense.”

Any word on Tommy?
“No.”

What did you think of Danny Amendola in his first game back?
“I don’t know. I’ll have to go look at the film.”


 

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TOM BRADY

Can you talk about the conditions for a minute, and just how tough it was out there?
“It wasn’t our best day of execution today. We certainly let some opportunities get away in the first half. We had too many times where we had negative plays and it took us out of field position. It wasn’t very good execution. I give them a lot of credit. They have a great defense that puts a lot of pressure on you in many areas. Our execution needed to be good today, and it wasn’t.”

Was communication an issue throughout the game as far as calls and things go?
“That is always something that we are trying to handle on the road. They do a pretty good job of disguising blitzes and so forth. They got us several times today, especially in the fourth quarter. We had plenty of opportunities and chances in the red zone to get it in today and we just didn’t. It was just a poor performance all around.”

How big of a factor was the rain the last couple of drives?
“Well, its rain, so it is what it is. You have to keep up with the current conditions that are there, and we just didn’t do a job executing.”

Did it affect the grip and throwing the ball?
“We try to practice that way, so you just do the best you can.”

Logan Mankins just said he felt like the offense let the defense down. Is that the way you feel as well?
“They have been playing great all year. You can’t expect to kick two field goals and win many games in the NFL. We can do a better job than that and we are going to have to if we want to win these games. We had too many silly execution errors and mental mistakes today. It is hard to drive the ball down the field if you keep making those mistakes.”

Talk about the opportunity down in the red zone to punch the ball in from the one. Where did that stall out on that possession?
”We tried a goal-line run, and they did a good job of stopping us. Then we tried a goal line pass and they stopped that one. It came down to third down and we were close. We just didn’t execute it the way we needed too. That is the way these games are — they come down to a few plays. If you make them, you put points on the board. And if you don’t make them, you kick field goals.”

What are your thoughts on the end of your touchdown streak at 52 games in a row?
“I’m bummed that we lost. That’s all that really matters.”

What did you think of their front four, and how much did they disrupt the timing of the offense?
“They have a good rush. I said earlier in the week that all those guys are capable of rushing the quarterback. They rush you into quick throws and things you don’t want to make. That’s why they are a good defense — because they rush, cover and have good athletic linebackers. Like I said, we had our opportunities. We just didn’t take advantage of them.”

You talked about silly mistakes and mental errors, were any of them yours and if so which ones?
“There are plenty from the quarterback standpoint. There are always lots of things I can do better. I am going to work on those things this week and see if we can be better next week.”

Anything specific?
“There are always things that you wished you did different. I missed some reads, and missed guys that were open.”


 

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DAN CONNOLLY

How difficult did the Bengals defense make it for you today?
“The Bengals played great today. The defense held us. They stopped us in the red zone and we couldn’t score. They did everything that they wanted to.”

How frustrating was it not to be able to move the ball?
“Our job on offense is to score, and when we don’t do that, we are disappointed. That’s our part of the deal, and we didn’t do it.”

Are they as well-balanced of a defense as you have seen?
“Yes. They are a good team. They played just how they show up on film.”

What about the execution could be better?
“If you look at the film, then you’ll see what it is. Every guy needs to step up and do a little bit better.”


 

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STEVE GREGORY

What was the difference in the game?
“Obviously, in the end, we didn’t make enough plays to win the game. That’s how it is in this league. You have to play your best. Overall, we didn’t play our best. We have to go back to work this week and get better. There is a lot of football left to play this year, so we need to get to work and keep growing.”

Can the defense hang their hat on the fact that they only gave up 13 points?
“We did some good things out there, but we still lost the game. We need to work on the things we didn’t do so well and try to find ways to win games. That’s the main goal.”


 

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JULIAN EDELMAN

What happened on that last play where the ball was intercepted?
“I don’t know. It was a bang-bang play. I’m not sure if he got a hand on it. I should have came down with it.”

When you got the ball back at the end of the game, did you think you were going to score because you’ve done it before?
“Yes. We practice that situation all of the time. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to execute it today. So, it’s unfortunate. We just didn’t have it today.”

How aware are you as a wide receiver when the defense is getting so much pressure on the quarterback?
“You’re not really aware of it; you are just trying to do your job. My job is to get open and catch the ball, and I didn’t do it well enough today.”


 

AARON DOBSON

What happened on the second-to-last play? It looked like you went to the post and Tom Brady threw it to the corner. Did you just see it differently?
“We must have just seen it differently. I guess our communication has to be better.”

When happened when you let the ball go after the catch-and-run?
“I was just trying to make a play. He came from behind me and knocked the ball out. I just have to be better with ball security.”

What were they doing to make it difficult for you guys?
“I feel like we beat ourselves. If feel like it’s stuff that we can improve on. It’s nothing that they did. We just have to improve.”

What’s the mood of the locker room after a game like that?
“You can look around and tell. It’s upsetting. We don’t want to lose. We have to bounce back and have a great week of practice and move on to next week.”

 

http://www.bengals.com/news/article-1/Patriots-Bengals-Postgame-Quotes/88e41462-d9a6-47a7-babe-d091059ff96d

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