Rookie Head Coach…
Rookie Quarterback…
Rookie Halfback…
Playing the worst team in your division last year… a 5 and 11 team… and this is what Bengal Fan gets? Bengals 10 and Ravens 17. To steal a line from Shaq, that was hor-awful, horrible and awful all at once. The strength of this team was to be offense and they mustered 3 points. (TD was from fumble recovery)
Carson Palmer was an embarrassing 10-for-25 for 99 yards with an interception. His 35.2 passer rating was by far the worst of his career. The newly annointed #1 back was held to 37 yards on 18 carries. Chad Ocho Sinco can be added to the list of underachievers only snagging one pass for 22 yds.
Marvin Lewis blamed the loss on the failure to convert the short-yardage plays. “The key were the third-and-one and fourth-and one. We don’t stop them on defense and they stop us… They were critical plays in the game. Physically, we have to play better football than we played today. … All in all, that’s the disappointing thing. They get down and dirty and be more physical at the end of the game. Both sides of the football.”
UMMM, Marvin I respectfully disagree. You had an entire off-season to plan for this year, this game. It was critical that the team got off to a good start. The table was set. A 5 and 11 team who are just starting a rebuilding process. Rookies in the most important spots, including wearing the headset. Come on Marvin, you are the head coach, stand up and take responsibility for the train wreck when you are the conductor. My respect for Lewis is at an all time low. Drop character guys like Anderson. Waive your starting HB and most experienced corner, all of whom were recent Pro-Bowlers, then come in with an offensive game plan that puts up 8 first downs and 154 total yards. And you blame the team’s physicality? Puh-lease.
It seems Lewis has short term memory problems. In the 3rd quarter, on the drive before the Bengals didn’t convert on 4th and 1, they stopped the Ravens in the same situation. Physical play was there, coaching was not. Lewis just witnessed a failed 4th and 1 attempt, then he gives Perry the ball when he didn’t have success all game long. Take the points when you can get them, especially when there weren’t many to be had.
The defense, is not entirely free from blame. They couldn’t force rookie Joe Flacco to make even one mistake in his first start and allowed the Ravens run game to hit 229 yds. There was not much, other than the 65 yd fumble recovery, to write home about. That said they started the game with a forced fumble, which could have set the tone. Then the offense proceeded to roll over and show the Raven defense their belly right away with a three and out for minus nine yards. Pretty deflating situation for the d.
All in all, this was a tough one to watch for Bengals fan. The only hope is that the pride of the core group forces them to really take it up a notch next game. They can only win despite Lewis not because of him.
