Ask Cincy Jungle

I think he’s still a good (not great) QB and he will continue to be good for a few years. I still feel that there are two major problems with the offense and neither is Palmer. Those two problems are the offensive line and the playcalling.

I’m not sure if you’re familiar with Bob Bratkowski but he’s our offensive coordinator and he is the single worst playcaller in the NFL. You can clearly see that when they run the no-huddle and Carson is the one calling the plays, the offense flows better. Unfortunately, our coach doesn’t like running the no-huddle much because he still insists on a clock control game.

So what I guess I’m trying to say is that I think Palmer is still a good player but bad coaching and a mediocre offensive line hamper him.

Honestly, they’re the only reason we have 2 wins. The way our owner likes to build a team is to get great talent for as cheap as possible through signing talented guys who have had legal trouble. Our defense is loaded up with former first round picks who, for some reason or another, no one wanted.

In Cincy, we also consider our defensive coordinator one of the best in the league. His name is Mike Zimmer and he does a great job getting the best out of his players.

They had some difficulty against the Pats and then shut down the Ravens and Panthers the next two weeks. They’ve had a few slip-ups the past two weeks against the Browns and Bucs but they’re still the pride of our team.

Me personally, I like the duo combination on the field but not the antics, such as their TV show. They have games to prepare for and doing other things such as the show tells me they don’t have their head in football, wanting to be STARS before football players. They really haven’t done any TD celebrations lately so that seems not to be a problem. Although twitter is getting them fined, but it’s their money. As far as Chad trash talking, that’s OK with me as long as he can write that check and cash it too. It does seem to be a fact that he plays better when he’s trash talking and he hasn’t been doing it all season. Some of the local media/analysts have put a lot of blame on Ocho, for running bad routes and not being focused. I expect the trash talking will start this week with your CBs.
So with this being said, I don’t follow them except on the field. There will be plenty of time for antics and TV shows in the off season. We have/had high expectations with this 10’ team this year and it looks like they are going backwards and not forward. They need to get their heads in the game and win some football, like we know they can.
Aww, btw, that includes our lousy OC that has his own head up his own ass.. I had to include that.

Although it seems really weird that he plays better when he talks trash, it’s true. That’s how he gets himself pumped up for the game. He’s so competitive that if him and a corner are firing back and forth all week, he wants to torch them more than ever.

The desire to win should be enough to get him fired up, but sometimes it isn’t.

1) Benson has been underwhelming. But I think this is largely a result of questionable playcalling and the offensive line not opening up holes. He has made plays though. Atlanta has a top 10 run defense so I don’t expect much, he’s a monster on third and manageable and I hope they stick with him in those situations.

2) He’s looked great. You can’t ask for much more in a rookie season. However he is a liability in pass protection, which hopefully he can learn. Carson loves him on the screen, expect them to run it a half dozen times. And I do fully believe that he will be a huge part of the offense for years to come, including being a red zone target.

3) He’s a machine. He is tough, very smart, and always open. And after our last third round receiver to come from a great program (Andre Caldwell) he is above and beyond what we could have hoped for. He is very much a Wes Welker type, and not just because he’s white. Is he a replacement for Housh? I’d say so, in that he’s that third down possession guy that Carson can rely on. He’ll be the starting #3 and Carson will look for him on short passes over the middle, expect some first downs out of him. I really hope the passing game doesn’t take a back seat, because you guys are much easier to beat through the air than on the ground. Knowing our coaches though, Benson will get 30 touches.

1) The offensive line hasn’t been good. Benson hasn’t hit the holes as fast as he should be, but if the line opens up holes for him he’ll be good.

2) We love him and have faith that he’ll be a pro bowler. Like Whyus said, Carson loves hitting him on a screen and getting his huge body in the open field. He’s a red zone target but not really the primary one. If he stays healthy, look for him in pro bowls down the road.

3) Love him. He’s a tough little guy and he fears no one over the middle, so he can be compared to Welker in some ways. I’m a little bit worried about him coming off a concussion the week before last but I’m confident that it won’t make him back down. Of course, it will be interesting to see if the coaches immediately put him back in his role (starting slot receiver, primary 3rd down target) or if they ease him back into the offense. It worries me that he got a concussion so early because a couple of those can mess you up badly (see: Ben Utecht, a former Bengals TE whose career was ended after his fifth) but if he stays healthy he can have a Welker-like career. I consider picking him up in the third round one of our best draft picks in a while.

To bad we aren’t playing those teams this year.

The Bengals are good at pounding the ball and controlling the clock, which is what every team in the AFC North does. Last year the Bengals were just better at it.

really coming into his position as a beast. And I guess he’s trying to pull a Chad Ocho and get himself fired up.

He’s a really good pass rusher but right now he doesn’t even start, so I’m not sure why he’s talking trash. He should be a starter and a damn good one in a few years.

He’s Geno Stacks man, DT from UGA. I’m guessing him and Sean are friends.. maybe from the combine or something.

Just needs to see the field more but with so much DT depth, it’s hard for him. If only he were a DE.

It’s not Pepto or Deodorant but it’s still kinda hilarious. I think his leash is shorter now so he can’t go all-out (the twitter war has yet to start for him, which is odd at this point in time).

Honestly, this does have me a bit perturbed, Chad’s not his usual trash-talking self at all. I wonder what made him so respectful this season in the first place.

The best part was his quote, though:

“I was just trying something new, you know?” he said. “You’re 32, you’re trying to be a little bit more mature and try a different approach.”

“That (bleep) doesn’t work.”

So he can’t go all-out and be extremely entertaining anymore. He has to do it in calmer ways, like an Ochocinco T-shirt.

I hope, really do. Hall’s a great corner and that may both inspire Ryan to throw away from him or let Hall take advantage of his cockiness. Problem is, Joseph looks like he’s unlikely to play, so expect Morgan Trent to be the nickel corner, a bit of an exploitable weakness.

And I wish I could give you a solid answer for our DE situation. It’s terrible at the moment. Odom’s a bust, Geathers is only good in run support, Rucker’s always injured, Fanene’s coming off a hammy injury, and Dunlap never sees the field. Then there’s Michael Johnson, but I’m not sure what to define him as.

Knowing our coaches, the starters will be Fanene and Geathers. Fanene isn’t the greatest in pass rush, but he’s solid, which is miles better than the rest of what we have. You’ll probably see a lot of Rucker as well. I want a big game from this line, and I doubt I’ll get it.

I doubt we’ll get many sacks this weekend or this year in general. Luckiily, we’re getting Fanene back and even though he doesn’t have the greatest talent in the world he’s a hard worker and can come up with some sacks.

I think Leon will beat White out. He’s one of the top corners in the league and he’ll be ready to prove it.

One thing about that… expect to see Jonathan Joseph on White as well, if he plays (he’s listed as questionable.) I’m not sure how much you know about him, but the argument can be made that he’s actually our best corner and not Leon.

Honestly, I think that’s what Zim’s trying to do—let them try to run down our throats. That was our talent last year and other than the Patriots game, we’re not terrible at it this year either. We can contain that running game if that’s what we need to do, just ask Stewart and Williams how successful they were against us.