So far: good and the bad

[RTPbolt]

Looking objectively at the first two games i thought overall we havent under achieved and we havent over achieved. Here is what I noticed:

Good
1. Rivers still can take control of a game. Not perfect but he has the skills and players to beat opponents with his head.
2. Running game: Gordon has the talent to take this team a long way. Very impressive today. Woodhead took over exactly where he left off. These two backs are special in this offense.
3. Receivers: overall i like the trio of allen, Johnson and Floyd. Quick game oriented. Floyd hasnt had a lot of looks yet though. Green has shown he can take reps and add solid value.
4. The CB crew has been overall a strength. Let a few by but held their own.

Bad
1. OL inconsistent although imo better than what we saw last year for the run game. Rivers is banking on not having time for long plays to Floyd against two solid DL teams we just played hence more short game thinking.
2. DL inconsistent at stopping the run. Duh. A good OL early really can block us out well. We catch some but not enough.
3. Pass rush...not a lot without blitzing. I thought we should have had a few more blitzes today. Just made no impact on a QB we know hates pressure. Emmanuel has been a nice surprise.

That said we are about where I expected us to be. Our O will get better imo. Our D too. Health will be a factor.

[blueman]

Rather be 1-1 with Rivers than 2-0 with Dalton. Or Manning for that matter.

That is all.

[Charged up]

I'll just post the bad.

The loss of Fluker hurts. The D looks the same as last year. Bad against the run and well below average on QB pressure.

This off season free agenst(s) and draft Telesco should just go with nothing but Oline and Dline.

[Steve]

The OL did a better job of sustaining blocks in the running game. That offsets that the teamwork in pass protection was not very good, and the rush on the (offensive) right side had Rivers uncomfortable in the pocket.

Looking at the game log, the number of big plays we allowed on 3rd and long, or penalties that allowed them to keep moving the ball. They just kept us off the field on offense and wore down our D. It wasn't a strategy thing, we just need to execute better.

[OhioBolt]

Count this as the Bad for me Keenan Allen on PR is a bad ideal period I didn't like it last year and don't like it now.

1. He is your number 1 reciever
2. He has not shown reliable hands as PR
3. He isn't someone who is going to take it to the house
4. Not activating Herndon from the PR when Jacoby is on the Inactive list, Herndon is our 2nd best and may be our best KR\PR based on what Jacoby hasn't done, he is living on past reputation, and past reputation doesn't contribute to current gameday.

[Lightningwill_420]

The OL did a better job of sustaining blocks in the running game. That offsets that the teamwork in pass protection was not very good, and the rush on the (offensive) right side had Rivers uncomfortable in the pocket.

Looking at the game log, the number of big plays we allowed on 3rd and long, or penalties that allowed them to keep moving the ball. They just kept us off the field on offense and wore down our D. It wasn't a strategy thing, we just need to execute better.

You saw the game better than me, but I didn't notice great improvement in the running game (I'm talking out of my ass here - my streaming was jumpy at best.) It seemed, at least in Gordon's case, when the defense was thinking "run," that Gordon had to make somebody miss or he had to break a tackle to make it to the line of scrimmage every time we got the handoff. Those big runs, it looked to me, to be mostly reliant on Gordon's talents, not the run blocking.

The blocking looked better for Woodhead, but his handoffs seemed to be quicker and also were on plays when a pass play was the more-likely scenario. Why was I, and the defense, probably thinking pass? Because Woodhead was the runningback. I guess he must be the better pass protector because we don't pass as often when Gordon is on the field (at least from what I've seen.)

[BoltBalls]

Bad:
-Backbreaking drops. Two by Keenan, one by StevieJ, and one missed INT by Verrett.
-OL and DL getting overpowered and lack of adjustments by coaching staff. They should have put Trevor Robinson in at center and moved Watt to guard when Hairston was getting exploited by Geno Atkins. It may not have made a big difference but it is something different for the Bengals to think about.
-Essentially "giving up" at the end of BOTH HALVES. It was baffling that McCoy didn't go for at least another 3 points with the two timeouts, and it was baffling that Rivers chucked up that pass at the end over the middle of the field into triple coverage.
-Stupid penalties. The team looked undisciplined and off this whole game.

Good:
-Te'o looked improved. He made a good hit on Dalton and that "incomplete pass" was a fucking fumble. Bad call there that was a huge swing of points.
-Melvin Gordon looks legit, I saw some shades of greatness in the likes of Peterson and Tomlinson in a few of his big runs. Hopefully that continues.
-Ladarius Green is looking better and better, and it would be cool to see both him and Gates on the field for passing mismatches.

Frustrating game no doubt, but let's see how they can bounce back.

[Lightningwill_420]

Bad:
-Backbreaking drops. Two by Keenan, one by StevieJ, and one missed INT by Verrett.
-OL and DL getting overpowered and lack of adjustments by coaching staff. They should have put Trevor Robinson in at center and moved Watt to guard when Hairston was getting exploited by Geno Atkins. It may not have made a big difference but it is something different for the Bengals to think about.
-Essentially "giving up" at the end of BOTH HALVES. It was baffling that McCoy didn't go for at least another 3 points with the two timeouts, and it was baffling that Rivers chucked up that pass at the end over the middle of the field into triple coverage.
-Stupid penalties. The team looked undisciplined and off this whole game.

Good:
-Te'o looked improved. He made a good hit on Dalton and that "incomplete pass" was a fucking fumble. Bad call there that was a huge swing of points.
-Melvin Gordon looks legit, I saw some shades of greatness in the likes of Peterson and Tomlinson in a few of his big runs. Hopefully that continues.
-Ladarius Green is looking better and better, and it would be cool to see both him and Gates on the field for passing mismatches.

Frustrating game no doubt, but let's see how they can bounce back.

No.

[BoltBalls]

No.

Why? Robinson used to be a Bengal so he may have some benefit to calling out protections at center and Watt didn't look all that great anyways. Wasn't one of the big things this offseason about the OL was that they were being moved around and getting reps at every position? Why didn't they do that here?

[richpjr]

Why? Robinson used to be a Bengal so he may have some benefit to calling out protections at center and Watt didn't look all that great anyways. Wasn't one of the big things this offseason about the OL was that they were being moved around and getting reps at every position? Why didn't they do that here?

One backup in plus a player out of position < one backup in.

[Lightningwill_420]

Why? Robinson used to be a Bengal so he may have some benefit to calling out protections at center and Watt didn't look all that great anyways. Wasn't one of the big things this offseason about the OL was that they were being moved around and getting reps at every position? Why didn't they do that here?

Our line needs to remain as consistent as possible. If we move Watt to guard, then leave him there and don't make him play center again.

The middle of our line may never be good, but it has to improve as long as the same guys keep working at it. Orlando Franklin is supposed to be good. But he'll never be good for us if he keeps playing next to a new center. Watt may one day be good at playing center, but that's not going to happen this year if he also has to play guard.

[BoltBalls]

Our line needs to remain as consistent as possible. If we move Watt to guard, then leave him there and don't make him play center again.

The middle of our line may never be good, but it has to improve as long as the same guys keep working at it. Orlando Franklin is supposed to be good. But he'll never be good for us if he keeps playing next to a new center. Watt may one day be good at playing center, but that's not going to happen this year if he also has to play guard.

Fair enough, that explanation makes sense. However didn't Hairston not have much experience at guard? Obviously we miss Fluker, hopefully he comes back soon.