And
when that opponent is the moribund Cleveland Browns, a division opponent you've
beaten five straight times … well, the Cincinnati Bengals had to be wondering
what rabbit-hole they'd popped down when they left Cleveland Browns Stadium
last Sunday afternoon on the wrong end of a 51-45 shootout.
The
first of those five straight wins for the Bengals was the highest-scoring
in the series, a 58-48 barnburner in 2004 which spoke to the good and bad of this
team just as 2007's loss did - this is a squad with one of the most explosive
offenses in the NFL, and a defense that has had trouble holding its own for
a long time. And as much as the offense excites fans and leaves pundits wondering
if (insert year here) will be the magic season, it’s the defense that always
crashes everything back down to reality.
Since
former Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator Marvin Lewis was named the team's
head coach before the 2003 season, the Cincinnati
defense has never finished higher than 17th in points allowed, 22nd in yards
allowed, or 14th in Defensive DVOA. The offense that's been built around stars
like Carson Palmer, Chad Johnson, Rudi Johnson, T.J. Houshmandzadeh and a
stellar offensive line has seen far more attention from a scouting and personnel
standpoint than the defense. If the Colts were the blueprint, one playoff
appearance (and loss) during Lewis' tenure indicate that it ain't workin'.
Still,
it all goes as Palmer's crew goes, and outscoring equals winning. As he prepares
his team for its first visit to Seattle
since 1999, Lewis' primary concern through the first part of the week has
been moving past a very difficult loss. And for quarterback Palmer, the statute
of limitations on shoe-gazing has run out.
"Today and most of yesterday, we just focused on Seattle," Palmer told the media on Wednesday afternoon. "The
way the league is, you have 16 quick games that come right after each other,
and you have to forget about the last week whether it's a big win or a big
loss. We're over it. We've learned our lessons from it. On Monday we had the
chance to think about it in the morning, afternoon, and night. Tuesday, for
me, was dedicated to Seattle. I'm
getting ready for them. We're well beyond the Browns. We'll think about them
again in December."
Lewis
detailed one defensive addition - the Bengals signed former Giants and Eagles
linebacker Dhani Jones on Tuesday. Known as much
for his unique (unless you're a fan of Percy Dovetonsils)
wardrobe and occasionally grandiloquent NFL Network appearances, Jones is
joining a team already stocked with few wallflowers (see: "Cinco, Ocho").
How will Jones fit in, and what will his role be?
"He's
a guy who has played winning football in the NFL," Lewis said. "He
has played at linebacker and started a lot of games. We had the opportunity
to watch him here on our practice fields (during joint practices in August
with New Orleans), and we kind of followed him since
then. He stood out when they (the Saints) were here, and they decided not
to keep him. It gives us the opportunity to have a guy who's experienced and
who knows how to play. We have to transfer some words (playbook) and get up
to speed quickly.
"He'll
understand some things, yeah. He'll be able to do it and he'll contribute
on special teams. It was a two-fold thing. An opportunity, again, a guy that's
had some experience to come in and help quickly as opposed to trying to teach
a younger guy."
Veteran
help of any kind on that defense will be seen as a blessing. Second-year linebacker
Ahmad Brooks suffered a groin strain in the Browns game and didn't practice
on Wednesday. After Odell Thurman's reinstatement plea was denied by the league,
Cincinnati's linebackers were a serious
problem. Signing Lemar Marshall off the waiver wire helped a bit. As for the
secondary, 2007 first-round pick Leon Hall got an embarrassing education from
the Browns, but Lewis isn't concerned. "(He) had a couple of bad plays,"
Hall's coach said. "When you play that position out there, you're going
to have some bad snaps. Leon will bounce back and play better football
and be the guy we know he'll be for years and years and years. So I'm not
concerned about Leon
in any way."
Still,
Hall and fellow cornerback Jonathan Joseph were toasted by fourth-time NFL
starter Derek Anderson, and veteran tailback Jamal Lewis traipsed through
that defense for 216 yards on 27 carries. Cincinnati's
6.1 yards-per-carry allowed is by far the NFL's worst. It's clear that if
the Bengals are going to make any noise in an increasingly difficult AFC North
division, they're going to have to think "outscore", and throw "shut
down" out the window.
"Our
pace on offense is not a problem," Lewis said, when asked if having his
offense play "keep-away" from opposing offenses might be his best
defensive strategy. "Although we sometimes don't huddle up, it's not
as though the ball is being snapped early. It's still being snapped inside
10 seconds on the play clock. So it doesn't take away from things that way.
We're not in a hurry-up mode; we're just in not-huddling mode. So that's not
an issue. We want to score touchdowns every chance we get. In fact, the biggest
point for our offense is to make sure every series ends with a (place) kick.
If you have every series end with a kick, you're probably going to be successful
in the game - which is a huge part of why we didn't win last week."
Fed
up with the thought of Jamal Lewis as he must be, Cincinnati's
coach must now gameplan for Seattle's
Shaun Alexander, the 2005 NFL MVP, whose recent boom-or-bust performances
can still decimate a vulnerable defense. "I think he's very similar to
Jamal," Lewis said of Alexander. "He's a good cut runner. His shoulders
get squared up and headed downhill as quick as he
can get 'em. He's got great vision. He's a guy who is as fine a running back
as there still is in the NFL. He played last week with a little padding and
wrap on his hand. There were people who felt, well, he wasn't the same. Well,
I don't know, he still makes a lot of free defenders miss in the hole, and
that's what a good back wants to do."
While
Lewis is thinking about what Seattle's
offense could do to whatever's left of his defense, Palmer has the opposite
problem. Though extremely susceptible to elite receivers in their iffy secondary,
the Seahawks' quick pace has Palmer on alert. "Very
fast. They play a lot different at home too - It's pretty drastic,"
Palmer said. "You can see it. The amount of energy they play with when
they're at home, you can tell it's a wild environment and an intense environment.
It's just a lot of speed. Julian Peterson is as good a linebacker as there
is in the league. He's fast. Lofa Tatupu is a phenomenal player. He plays
that scheme very well. He understands the Tampa-2 concepts. He knows when
to drop, when to settle.
"Both
the corners can play. One safety we have a ton of respect for, who used to
play in Cleveland, is Brian Russell.
We've admired him since he was in Cleveland, and then he went to Seattle. Deon Grant, a Pro Bowler, has been in the league for a little
while and makes a lot of plays. Their defensive line is very fast and aggressive.
Not real, real big, like the guys in Cleveland or Baltimore, but real good
guys. It's just a very solid, well-rounded defense."
Another concern for Palmer is Qwest Field, the nest of false starts which
has become infamous for rattling Seattle's
opponents. Practicing with crowd noise is one thing, but hearing and adjusting
in the heat of the moment is quite another. Cincinnati was flagged for 27
false starts in 2006, tied for fourth-worst in the league with Baltimore,
Minnesota, Philadelphia and (ahem) Seattle.
"You can't worry about it," Palmer said of the environment. "You
can't think about it. You have to be loud with your protection adjustments.
You have to be loud and have 100% in the communication area. It's just something
you have to deal with. You deal with it (road games) eight times per year.
We play in some pretty difficult places. From what we've heard, it's even
louder than some of the places we've been, but you can't let it rattle you
or affect the way you play. You still have to go out there and do what you
have to do. Just make sure you're good in the communication area and that
everyone is on the same page. The next step is to make big plays and quiet
them down.
"We have to prepare like we do every week. We have to practice extremely
hard. We have to understand the schemes in the game plan and understand the
schemes we'll be seeing defensively. It's a regular work week. You have to
get here early and show up, and have nothing on your mind other than football.
Avoid all of the distractions outside of the facility and prepare as intensely
as you can. That's what we have to do."
If
he can make those adjustments, the Seahawks could be in a great deal of trouble
- Palmer is in a major zone, and Chad Johnson, his primary receiver, is on
pace for some crazy numbers. The Seahawks' smaller young cornerbacks are in
for a fight. Houshmandzadeh, a second receiver to Johnson
in name only, is currently tied for the NFL lead in receptions with 17 - one
more than his more famous counterpart.
And
if the Seahawks vacate the middle in deference to the pass, running back Rudi
Johnson, who has carried the ball more often than any other NFL back over
the last three seasons, could gash Seattle's depleted interior line for huge
gains - not to mention the time of possession so desperately needed by their
opponents' own defense.
With
this offense, it's pretty simple - you have to pick your poison and hope the
other one doesn't kill you.
The
first meeting between these two teams since 2003 (a 27-24 Bengals win) should
be very interesting, Seattle's defense is further along
than Cincinnati's, but the Seahawks'
offense can't misfire too often if it hopes to match what the Bengals can
bring.
Doug Farrar is the Editor-in-Chief
of Seahawks.NET, a staff writer for Football Outsiders,
and a contributing author to Pro Football Prospectus 2007. Feel free to e-mail him here.
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