E-Boland & Gang Green

Hi-diddly-oh! Stephen Haynes here, bizz-ack in the hizzy off the bizz-ye wizz-eek, to provide pre-game persiflage, in-game updates and conversation with ya’ll and stizz-uff.

Disclaimer: I wrote that sentence fully aware that Snoop Dogg pig latin got old (and silly) about a month after it became popular, which was six or seven years ago.

Anywho…

Don’t get it twisted and definitely don’t get it tangled. Don’t be fooled. They’re not that good. They’re overrated. I’m typing about the Bengals.

Those 0-5 Bengals that are -44 in point differential. They’re awful, but the fact that they played close games against the Giants and Cowboys has garnered them a modicum of respect. More respect than they – as a team, I mean, not as human beings. They’ve managed to stay off the police blotter for a while, so give ‘em props – deserve.

Because on paper (and on the field, I think), the Bengals, along with Kansas City, have the weakest roster. Sure, they’ve got a good quarterback and two elite receivers, but that’s almost negated by the fact that their offensive line is dreadful and they’ve got no running game. Know how OldSchoolFootballAnalystGuy – no need to name a name, they’re pretty homogeneous – always yaps on about how teams need to run the ball and “everything starts at the line of scrimmage”? Cincinnati is a great example of that.

The Bengals have statistically the worst offensive line in the league. They’re on pace to give up 45 sacks and their backs are averaging just 2.8 yards per carry. The league average, if you’re wondering, is 4.20. Just 7% of their runs have gone for 10 or more yards while 30% have been stuffed for a loss or no gain. Another way to put it: Quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, who has played in just one game, is their second leading rusher.

That offense, even with its weapons at wideout, is weak. It’s a 60-inch HDTV with a blown picture tube. One of those, “Yeah, but if…” situations where the “if” is kind of a big deal.

Chad Ocho Cinco (that sobriquet, by the way, stopped being funny last season) has caught just 48% of the passes thrown to him. The synergy between he and Carson Palmer hasn’t been there and that probably has more to do with the offensive line than Johnson’s attitude and hurt shoulder. While T.J. Houshmandzadeh is the short man, Palmer usually looks to Johnson in the deep and intermediate ranges, but the Bengals line hasn’t provided much time to get off those longer throws.

Cinci’s defense is bad, too. But it’s always been, so that gets lost in the shuffle. They’re not awful against the pass this year (opponents are averaging a good-but-not-great 86.0 QB rating), but part of the reason is because they haven’t been tested all that much in the air. They’ve been run on more than any team (38x per game) and are giving up 171 yards.

That teams have run it on them so many times and played conservatively is part of the reason why the Bengals have played some games with closer scores than their record and numbers and talent would indicate they should. The Cowboys, coming off that loss to the Redskins in which Marion Barber had just eight carries, made it an emphasis to run on Cincinatti. That resulted in 38 rushes and Tony Romo throwing just 23 times. And two of their other close games were against teams – the Ravens and Browns – that don’t exactly light it up.

Levi Brown, their best offensive lineman, is questionable (back) and kicker Shayne Graham (groin) is out. Oh, you've probably heard that Palmer is out. Fitzpatrick will get the start. Fitzpatrick threw three picks in his first start, the Bengals’ Week 4 loss to the Browns. He’s got a career 55.3 QB rating (five touchdowns, 11 interceptions) in seven games.

As EBola wrote, there’s no excuse.

Keys to the Game
Offense
- Come out gunslingin’. If you believe in momentum and carryover, then Brett Favre, coming off his six-6’s performance, might still be blowing the smoke off his fingers. More importantly, the Bengals secondary isn’t better – if even as good – as the Cardinals’. There probably won’t be six touchdowns, but the Jets should have success throwing. Cincinnati’s pass rush is… well, they’ve got three sacks on the year. And, except for Leon Hall and Jonathan Joseph, their secondary lacks speed. And, except for Leon Hall, their secondary lacks playmakers. If the Jets are able to score early and quickly, it might demoralize the Bengals, who aren’t exactly a milk n’ cookies bunch. If the Jets get lulled into being super-conservative and wind up in a close, low-scoring game with them, that opens the door for an upset. Because having receivers like Who’sYourMama and Ocho Cinco is like a slugger with a .220 batting average. Lots of strikeouts and unproductive at-bats, but you know that at any moment, one bad pitch into his wheelhouse can change the game. One blown coverage. The Jets shouldn’t allow the Bengals to be within the equivalent of Grand-Slam range in the fourth quarter. Take chances early and let the talent disparity be the safety net. No feeling them out with jabs; come out with the uppercut.
- Take advantage of the right side of the Bengals defensive line. Teams are averaging 5.94 yards per carry going at defensive end Antwan Odom (30th in the league at the position). D’Brickashaw Ferguson should be able to win that matchup.

Defense
- Mix up coverages and confuse Fitzpatrick. The former Harvard quarterback did wonderfully on the Wonderlic (off memory, he had a 47, which tied Brian Griese for highest score, and finished the test in record time), but he’s not so good at reading defenses and making decisions in the pocket. He’ll throw some balls into areas he shouldn’t. The Jets have to take advantage.
- Focus the coverage on Houshmandzadeh. He’s been thrown to 48 times (third most in the NFL, behind Larry Fitzgerald and Brandon Marshall) and is catching 65% of those. Johnson has been thrown to 19 fewer times and has less than half as many catches. While Johnson has had difficulty getting open and/or getting passes deep, Houshmandzadeh runs a lot of underneath routes and dominates the 10- to 15-yard range. He’s often the third-down target, too. The Jets defense will have to limit him to keep the Bengals from dinking & dunking and controlling the clock.

1st Quarter
- Touchdown Bengals. Chinedum Ndukwe recovered the Antwan Odom strip of Brett Favre and returned it 16 yards for a touchdown. 7-0, Bengals.
- Touchdown Jets. Thomas Jones scored on a two-yard pass from Favre. The drive was setup by Leon Washington's 46-yard kickoff return and the touchdown was made possible by an illegal contact call on the Bengals on third down. 7-7.

2nd Quarter
- Field goal Jets. Jay Feely hits from 38 yards at 11:01 to cap a drive that went 14 yards on five plays. 10-7, Jets.
- Touchdown Jets. Jones scored on a 7-yard run (his second touchdown of the half), capping a three-play, 24-yard drive at 7:57. The drive was set up by Calvin Pace's recovery of a Fitzpatrick fumble that was caused by Hank Poteat. 17-7, Jets.
- Touchdown Bengals. Fitzpatrick scores on a 1-yard quarterback sneak at 0:08 to end a 14-play, 66-yard drive. Setting up that play was a third-down conversion by tight end Ben Utecht. The pass was ruled a four-yard completion, but Utecht wasn't able to hold onto the ball after hitting the ground. The Jets called a timeout but the play wasn't reviewed. 17-14, Jets.

Halftime
Thomas Jones has 35 yards and a touchdown on seven carries and a two-yard touchdown reception. Brett Favre is 13-for-16, but he's thrown for just 75 yards. The Jets have taken a couple shots down field, but Favre has thrown mostly screens and swing passes. He hit Jones for a wide open in the flat in the first quarter for the Jets' first score. To this point, the Jets have been very conservative, despite a 16:15 on the pass to run. They've got the advantage in time of possession (18:31 to 11:29) because of that, but, because of that, too, the score isn't indicative of how they've controlled the game. Either the Bengals are doing it again or another team is allowing the Bengals to do it again. That is, getting outplayed but having the scoreboard sugarcoat it.

The defense, up until the Bengals' final drive of the half, was dominant. Prior to that 66-yard drive, Cincinnati had net 12 yards. A dozen. The Bengals first touchdown was scored by the defense. Kris Jenkins has controlled the middle (four tackles) and David Harris and Calvin Pace have been there when the Bengals tried to stretch runs outside. Their running backs, combined, have 5 yards on 7 carries. Fitzpatrick is 10-for-14 with 76 yards and a rushing touchdown. He took advantage of the Jets dropping back in coverage near the end of the second quarter and dinked and dunked down the field, hitting Houshmandzadeh four times for 29 yards.

3rd Quarter
Field goal Jets. Jay Feely hits a 43-yard field goal, capping a three-play drive that was set up by Washington's 22-yard punt return. 20-14, Jets.

4th Quarter
Touchdown Jets. Jones powered forward for a 1-yard touchdown at 2:22, capping a 10-play, 41-yard drive. It was Jones' third touchdown of the game. The Jets failed on a two-point conversion. 26-14, Jets.

Final: 26-14, Jets
With the win, the Jets improve to 3-2 and, with the Dolphins loss, gain sole possession of third place in the AFC East. They'll travel to Oakland next week to face the 1-4 Raiders.

Stats
Favre went 25-for-33 with 189 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions... Jones carried 17 times for 65 yards and two touchdowns and caught three passes for 13 yards a touchdown... Jerricho Cotchery (85 yards) and Laveranues Coles (61 yards) each caught eight passes... Abram Elam led the Jets with six tackles. Calvin Pace, Eric Barton, Shaun Ellis and Hank Poteat each had a sack, and David Harris and Bryan Thomas went half on one... Jay Feely hit two field goals, the longer from 43 yards.

Ryan Fitzpatrick completed 20 of 33 for 152 yards. He ran for a team-high 23 yards and a touchdown... T.J. Houshmandzadeh caught seven passes for 49 yards and Chad Johnson caught six for 57... Dhani Jones had a game-high nine tackles and Antwan Odom had a sack and forced fumble which was scooped by Chinedum Ndukwe and returned for a touchdown.

The Bengals fall to 0-6.