Chargers Week Notes

[The_Joker]

I hope Marvin takes them out on Friday vs sat

[Bengals1181]

I hope Marvin takes them out on Friday vs sat

 

 

they are. 

[Bengals1181]

With a hot December beckoning, the 7-4 Bengals need all the healthy bodies they can get for their last five games in a stretch drive that begins Sunday (4:25 p.m.-Cincinnati's Channel 12) in San Diego.

Nickel back Chris Crocker (hamstring), one of 10 Bengals on the roster trying to reach the playoffs for the fourth time in the last five years, is one of those when he came back from the bye Monday and practiced. He smells it, but it's a different aroma this time around.

It's not 2009, when the Bengals had a surprising division sweep that put them in the playoffs for the first time since 2005.

"Going to the playoffs was gravy," Crocker said.

It's not like 2011, when wide receiver A.J. Green and quarterback Andy Dalton secured a stunning rookie wild-card berth. And it's not like 2012, when a 7-1 finish gave the Bengals back-to-back postseason berths for the first time in three decades.

"Obviously, you want to win when you get to the playoffs, but the onus was on so many other things. Now this year it's about winning," Crocker said after Monday's practice. "That's the cloud that hangs over the top of us. That dark cloud is like, 'Alright, we have the talent to get to the postseason, now can we win?'

"You look around the locker room and we understand we have a legitimate chance to go to the postseason, but for me I'm trying to win out these last five games so we can get a first-round bye."

"We could be undefeated," Crocker said of four losses by a combined 20 points. "But the ball didn't bounce that way."

When this past Sunday's frigid slate of games finally thawed out at after midnight at the end of New England's freeze-dried comeback in Foxboro, the Bengals were within a game of the Patriots and the AFC's second seed but only two games up on the 5-6 Steelers and Ravens in the AFC North.

And the Bengals leave Friday for a date with the NFL's hottest quarterback in his own habitat when they try to beat San Diego's Philip Rivers for the second straight year at Qualcomm Stadium. With Rivers off his record-tying fourth 390-plus-yard game of the season, his NFL's No. 7 offense poses the Bengals defense's first test since it lost for the season cornerback Leon Hall (Achilles) and tackle Geno Atkins (ACL) last month. 

"We're not the 4-7 team or the 5-6 team; we're the 7-4 team," said left tackle Andrew Whitworth. "For some reason, everybody here wants to make it flip the other way. But we're 7-4 and if we take care of our business we'll get to where we want to be. It's still the-ball-is-in-your-court."

That was head coach Marvin Lewis's message to his team before Monday's practice: block out the standings. Forget the other teams. Ignore the records.

Never mind after all the ink has been spilled and the sound bites have gone hoarse about how Cincinnati's time is over and yet Baltimore and Pittsburgh are still alive as those two teams head into what amounts to the AFC North's Elimination Game with the Steelers in Baltimore on Thanksgiving Night.

Forget that the 6-6 winner is going to be putting serious heat on the Bengals with Cincinnati headed to its own prime-time North showdown Dec. 15 in a Sunday night game in Pittsburgh, before wrapping up the season Dec. 29 at PBS against the Ravens.

Ignore that the Bengals got a lift from an old friend Sunday when Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer ridded the Colts early and often in a rout in Arizona that left the Colts tied with the Bengals at 7-4 for the AFC's second seed, a game behind New England's 8-3. That makes the Bengals Dec. 8 game at PBS against the Colts absolutely huge as Cincinnati bids for the same tiebreaker advantage it has over the Pats with a head-to-head win.

"Pittsburgh won and Baltimore won, too, right?" asked defensive tackle Domata Peko. "We can't worry too much about them. We just have to focus on ourselves. That's what Coach was talking about today. We were able to look at ourselves a little bit more and get a head start on San Diego. I think we're in a good spot. We just have to take care of business. Don't worry about other teams. Let's just worry about ourselves. If we start thinking about other teams we'll lose focus on what we have to do. Keep winning and we'll be in the perfect situation. We have to make sure we handle our business in San Diego. Another big game in the AFC for us because they're still in it."

Lewis probably liked how cornerback Adam Jones handled the bye week, which started on Wednesday for the players. Jones studied the Chargers on his iPad Thursday and Friday, but didn’t watch games Sunday.

"Why?" Jones asked. "It doesn't matter who won and who lost yesterday. No matter what happens, it's on us."

Numbers? Dalton is 4-1 on the road in December, 6-4 in December overall. Lewis is 24-23 overall in December, 9-13 on the road. Since Crocker arrived in '08, the Bengals are 13-7 in December overall.

And those 10 guys from '09 lived the bitter disappointment of a last-second loss in San Diego in Week 15 that knocked them out of a shot at a playoff bye.

"It's about winning in December, so let's just win it out," Crocker said. "We've always been a good team in December. When I talk about the postseason, I don't want to jump ahead because these five games are really important. It really sets us up for the postseason.

"I think the guys have the same mindset as me: let's win out and let's see where the chips lay. Why can't we win out? I don't see why we can't. We face good teams. We still have Pittsburgh and Baltimore in our division. Tough games. San Diego is not going to be a walkthrough. It's a West Coast trip. But we can win."

 

http://www.bengals.com/news/article-1/A-month-of-Sundays-to-decide-it-for-Bengals/1b8c1235-8393-4ad2-bdf6-62062b865c71

[coup000]

Winning these next two would put the Bengals in a great spot. 9-4 with the tiebreaker over Indy and NE and 2 more conference wins. If NE slips up a couple times we have a good shot at the #2 and if they don't we should be pretty locked into the #3 so we have a chance to rest some guys later in the year.

[alleycat]

 

It's like we've lost focus, ...I hope I'm wrong.

 

By 'we' you mean 'you.'

[Bengals1181]

[Bengals1181]

Paul Dehner Jr. ‏@pauldehnerjr17m

Scribe Session, self-scout edition. We scout #Bengals & pick 5 most important players for final 5 weeks. http://cin.ci/IfePdE 

[|Numbers|]

http://www.bengals.com/team/all-time-results/chargers.html

 

Bengals vs. Chargers All-Time Results

ALL-TIME REGULAR SEASON RESULTS: Chargers lead regular season series 19-12-0; Bengals lead postseason series 1-0

 

Year  Site            Result

1968  San Diego  L, 13-29
          Cincinnati   L, 10-31
1969  Cincinnati   W, 34-20
          San Diego  L, 14-21
1970  San Diego  W, 17-14
1971  Cincinnati   W, 31-0
1973 San Diego   W, 20-13
1974 Cincinnati    L, 17-20
1975 Cincinnati    W, 47-17
1977 San Diego   L, 3-24
1978 San Diego   L, 13-22
1979 Cincinnati    L, 24-26
1980 Cincinnati    L, 14-31
1981 San Diego   W, 40-17       

         *Cincinnati   W, 27-7
1982 San Diego   L, 34-50
1985 Cincinnati    L, 41-44
1987 Cincinnati    L, 9-10
1988 Cincinnati    W, 27-10
1990 San Diego   W, 21-16
1992 San Diego   L, 10-27
1994 San Diego   L, 10-27
1996 San Diego   L, 14-27
1997 Cincinnati    W, 38-31
1999 Cincinnati    L, 7-34
2001 San Diego   L, 14-28
2002 Cincinnati    L, 6-34
2003 San Diego   W, 34-27
2006 Cincinnati    L, 41-49
2009 San Diego   L, 24-27
2010 Cincinnati    W, 34-20
2012 San Diego   W, 20-13

*AFC Championship

[Bleeds Orange]

I feel like I say this every week, but this feels like a must-win.  

 

[|Dr Tarzan|]

32 years ago the Bengals went to SD in the second game of 5 they played in Nov.   It was the "November to Remember".  We played 5 straight playoff teams from the 1980 or 1981 playoffs save Denver who lost a tie breaker to the Bills at 10-6 in 1981.

 

Beat the shit out of all of em....

 

I'm looking for a "December to Remember" this year.   5 games against teams in last years playoffs save Pit, a perennial nemesis. 

 

A bye to regroup, get healthy, and game plan...start it right by wiping a surging team off the field, like the SD game 32 years ago.

[Bengals1181]

Jay Gruden and the offense used the weekend off self-scouting to take a closer look at the strengths and weaknesses of his offense. Defensive coaches analyzed aspects of the attack and attempted to locate tendencies.

Of course, Gruden didn’t need to hear from defensive coaches to know the primary area of concern regarding his offense the last three weeks.

“Turnovers are a concern,” Gruden said. “They cost us big time against Miami, they cost us against Baltimore and could’ve cost us dearly against Cleveland. I don’t know many teams that are going to win games if you’re losing the turnover margin. That’s something we definitely have to address and take care of the ball a little bit better.”

Eliminating turnovers begins with interceptions. Andy Dalton threw eight interceptions the last three games – a career high for any three-game stretch.

Two in the first quarter against Cleveland count against his total, but Gruden pointed out the blame should be dispersed. Both came on timing routes not executed correctly to A.J. Green. The first involved a miscommunication between the quarterback and his top receiver while the second, a Joe Haden pick-6, came as Green cut his route off early allowing the interception.

Dalton’s one interception shy of tying a career high and is on pace to finish with 22 picks. That number would tie for most in franchise history. The last to throw that many was Jon Kitna in 2001.

An opportunity to correct the trend arrives against San Diego. The Chargers rank 28th in the NFL in percentage of passes intercepted and dead last in yards allowed per play.

“If you’re going to play quarterback you’re going to throw an interception from time to time,” Gruden said. “You can’t dwell on it, you’ve got to move on and figure out a way to win the game … but obviously eight interceptions in three weeks is too many.”

PRESSLEY RETURNS: Chris Pressley knows he could easily be without a team this Thanksgiving. Given the extent of the knee injury he suffered last December against Philadelphia the team could have cut ties with the fullback or without the benefit of modern science been unable to work him back to health.

Instead, Pressley returned to the practice field for the first time this season Monday, and Wednesday expects to strap on the pads to hit for the first time.

“They could be done with me,” said Pressley, who started 17 games the last two seasons. “At least they had the patience to see what you can do, get better, we are going to be with you through it. That says a lot about the Brown (family), I could have been gone a long time ago.”

Pressley reported feeling great in his latest return, but time will tell if the team activates him by the end of his 21-day window. He needs to be activated by the Indianapolis game or else he can’t play the rest of the season.

The 260-pounder could provide a lift to the running game and admits he’s ready.

“If they say ‘Chris go,’ I am strapping up and going, I don’t care,” Pressley said. “Especially how much I miss this thing. I wanted to go two months ago, but you have to be smart. You can’t be dumb tough.”

INJURY REPORT: For the first time since sustaining an elbow injury against Detroit, defensive tackle Devon Still participated in practice. The only two players not taking part Monday were linebacker James Harrison (undisclosed) and guard Kevin Zeitler (ankle).

Linebacker Rey Maualuga (knee) also practiced.

MJ93 GIVES BACK: Over the bye week defensive end Michael Johnson held a ceremony for his charity MJ93 honoring six graduates of his computer training initiative in his hometown of Selma, Ala.

For his work with the program, Johnson was given an honorary title of Lt. Governor of Alabama.

Johnson’s charity paid for a new laptop and the $3,400 in training for the computer technician field where average starting salary sits at $40,000.

 

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20131125/SPT02/311250140/Turnovers-come-at-high-price-for-Bengals

[T-Dub]

 
More to the point, Jay Gruden has to get hot and set up a brilliant game plan for the offense.

Nah, he doesn't need to be brilliant. This is not a great defense we're facing here. Sometimes you don't need to outsmart your opponent. The obvious plan is often the right one. I'd prefer if we stopped trying to force the Big Play & let the players turn the small plays into bigger ones. That's usually how they happen, anyway, and the high-percentage stuff is what keeps the chains moving and puts up points. This isn't the arena league, it doesn't have to be a circus.

[Jeb]

Nah, he doesn't need to be brilliant. This is not a great defense we're facing here. Sometimes you don't need to outsmart your opponent. The obvious plan is often the right one. I'd prefer if we stopped trying to force the Big Play & let the players turn the small plays into bigger ones. That's usually how they happen, anyway, and the high-percentage stuff is what keeps the chains moving and puts up points. This isn't the arena league, it doesn't have to be a circus.

 

K.I.S.S.

 

...and don't forget the run game, ...down home, ...AFCN football, ...smash mouth style.

[Bengals1181]

as far as self scouting: 

 

Paul Guenther assessed the Bengals Offense on 3rd downs

 

DE Coach Hayes assessed the Bengals offense in short yardage

 

Coach Carrier assessed the Bengals Offense in 2 minute drills

 

 

Per Gruden.

[DanvilleBengal]

Maybe the return of Pressley is the key to our running game......how well did BJGE run last year? and if I remember correctly, he did have a real fullback on some of his longer runs.

[SnickyCat]

Maybe the return of Pressley is the key to our running game......how well did BJGE run last year? and if I remember correctly, he did have a real fullback on some of his longer runs.

I think Pressley would be beneficial for our run game as well.

[Memphis_Bengal]

I think Pressley would be beneficial for our run game as well.

 

I doubt it could make it less efficient.

[Bengals1181]

Josh Kirkendall ‏@CincyJungle6m

Expected to play against #Bengals --> RT @BFTB_Chargers: Will D.J. Fluker be ready to play on Sunday? http://sbn.to/1fGok3A 

[Jeb]

 

Josh Kirkendall ‏@CincyJungle6m

Expected to play against #Bengals --> RT @BFTB_Chargers: Will D.J. Fluker be ready to play on Sunday? http://sbn.to/1fGok3A 

 

 

...which still means he's dinged.

[alleycat]

Maybe the return of Pressley is the key to our running game......how well did BJGE run last year? and if I remember correctly, he did have a real fullback on some of his longer runs.

 

The question is, who do you make inactive for him to suit up?

 

These are the inactives for the last 2 weeks:

 

BROWNS:
Inactives: LB Rey Maualuga, RG Kevin Zeitler, SS Chris Crocker, RB Rex Burkhead, OT Tanner Hawkinson, DT Devon Still, WR Ryan Whalen

 

RAVENS:

#Bengals inactives CB Lewis-Harris, LB Boley, LB Maualuga, OL Robinson, OL Hawkinson, DT Still, TE Gresham

 

You have to figure Still, Rey M, Crocker and possibly Zeitler will be up from that list. 7 need to go on the PS plus one guy cut.

 

I guess you could start with Orson Charles, because if Pressley comes in there's even less of a reason to keep him around, though I remain mystified that the H-back role hasn't been more exploited by this team (even with the likes of Eifert/Gresham/Smith).

 

Bilukudi (new guy), Burkhead, Hawkinson, Whalen, Lewis-Harris,Tony Dye, JK Schaeffer.

 

That's 8 total. I guess I've answered my own question.  The new question is: who gets cut?

[Orange 'n Black]

 

The question is, who do you make inactive for him to suit up?

 

These are the inactives for the last 2 weeks:

 

BROWNS:
Inactives: LB Rey Maualuga, RG Kevin Zeitler, SS Chris Crocker, RB Rex Burkhead, OT Tanner Hawkinson, DT Devon Still, WR Ryan Whalen

 

RAVENS:

#Bengals inactives CB Lewis-Harris, LB Boley, LB Maualuga, OL Robinson, OL Hawkinson, DT Still, TE Gresham

 

You have to figure Still, Rey M, Crocker and possibly Zeitler will be up from that list. 7 need to go on the PS plus one guy cut.

 

I guess you could start with Orson Charles, because if Pressley comes in there's even less of a reason to keep him around, though I remain mystified that the H-back role hasn't been more exploited by this team (even with the likes of Eifert/Gresham/Smith).

 

Bilukudi (new guy), Burkhead, Hawkinson, Whalen, Lewis-Harris,Tony Dye, JK Schaeffer.

 

That's 8 total. I guess I've answered my own question.  The new question is: who gets cut?

 

Lewis-Harris was cut and signed to the practice squad to make room for Dye. If anyone else has to get cut it's probably Schaeffer since he can be signed back to the PS.

[Bengals1181]

 

The question is, who do you make inactive for him to suit up?

 

These are the inactives for the last 2 weeks:

 

BROWNS:
Inactives: LB Rey Maualuga, RG Kevin Zeitler, SS Chris Crocker, RB Rex Burkhead, OT Tanner Hawkinson, DT Devon Still, WR Ryan Whalen

 

RAVENS:

#Bengals inactives CB Lewis-Harris, LB Boley, LB Maualuga, OL Robinson, OL Hawkinson, DT Still, TE Gresham

 

You have to figure Still, Rey M, Crocker and possibly Zeitler will be up from that list. 7 need to go on the PS plus one guy cut.

 

I guess you could start with Orson Charles, because if Pressley comes in there's even less of a reason to keep him around, though I remain mystified that the H-back role hasn't been more exploited by this team (even with the likes of Eifert/Gresham/Smith).

 

Bilukudi (new guy), Burkhead, Hawkinson, Whalen, Lewis-Harris,Tony Dye, JK Schaeffer.

 

That's 8 total. I guess I've answered my own question.  The new question is: who gets cut?

 

 

with Maualuga back and the emergence of Vrey, I'd imagine Michael Boley.  Maybe Schaeffer or if they are finally willing to realize Whalen won't ever be more than 7th on the depth chart.

[alleycat]

 

Lewis-Harris was cut and signed to the practice squad to make room for Dye. If anyone else has to get cut it's probably Schaeffer since he can be signed back to the PS.

 

Ah. Thanks.

 

 

with Maualuga back and the emergence of Vrey, I'd imagine Michael Boley.  Maybe Schaeffer or if they are finally willing to realize Whalen won't ever be more than 7th on the depth chart.

 

Do you think they'd cut him over JK Schaeffer? He's been playing musical chairs between the roster and PS while Boley has been on the 53.

[Bengals1181]

 

Ah. Thanks.

 

Do you think they'd cut him over JK Schaeffer? He's been playing musical chairs between the roster and PS while Boley has been on the 53.

 

 

who? Whalen?

[bengals7833]

It's gotta be Whalen who gets cut. Why do they need 7 wr's when they also have te's that lineup outside and also gio