Week 3 Preview: Bengals @ Giants

With the Giants and Bengals set to take the field on Sunday in Week 3, I was able to ask David Wellman of Stripe Hype some questions about the match-up and get his take on the Cincinnati Bengals this season.

NK: With back to back losses for the Bengals to open the season, what has gone wrong for Cincinnati in the first two weeks?

DW: Simply put, the Bengals offense has vanished. In two games, Cincinnati has amassed just 17 points, and 7 of those came on a fumble recovery for a touchdown by the defense. Some of this can be chalked up to extenuating circumstances. The team released long-time RT Willie Anderson in its final cuts, and he was signed by Baltimore before Cincy’s opener against the Ravens. He didn’t play — he spent the whole time on the Ravens’ sideline (not even in uniform) with the Ravens’ defensive coaches, tipping them off to the plays the offense was running. And last week against the Tennessee Titans, the passing game was blown in Pennsylvania as the remnants of Hurricane Ike roared through Cincinnati, bringing wind gusts of up to 60 mph.

But even with all that taken into consideration, the Bengals’ offense has played exceptionally poorly. The offensive line in particular has been bad. Center Eric Ghaiciuc, a fourth-round pick in 2005 who was pressed into service as the starter when longtime C Rich Braham went down in ’06, is susceptible to the bullrush, and all too often gets shoved back into Carson Palmer, even in the shotgun. And LT Levi Jones, who requested and was denied a trade during the off-season, is playing like he’s already checked out for the season. The line’s run-blocking has been spotty as well, though they have run fairly successfully over the right side behind RT Stacy Andrews (franchise player this year) and RG Bobbie Williams.

In the passing game, Chad Ocho Whatthehellevero and T.J. Houshmandzadeh have been virtual non-factors. The passing game was out of sync last year, and either spent any time with Carson Palmer in the off-season trying to correct it, so it’s SSDY so far in ’08. Chris Henry is still suspended, second round pick Jerome Simpson still too raw, and ex-Packer Antonio Chatman still sucks, so there appears to be little help in the pipeline. The Giants may see some of third round WR Andre Caldwell, who looked promising during pre-season but has been out with a turf toe injury the last few weeks. Apparently he’s finally healthy.

In the run game, former first round pick Chris Perry is still rusty after spending nearly two years rehabbing a bad leg injury. He has flashed in the first two games, including a 13 yard TD run on 4th-and-1 against the Titans, but he also fumbled twice in his first five carries last week. The line’s crappy blocking hasn’t helped, and the Bengals are repeatedly getting stuffed on third/fourth-and-short.

Defensively, the Bengals have been better than advertised, though they have yet to face a really potent offense. The D has given up just 17 points in each of the first two games (the Titans got to 24 on a blocked punt in the end zone) and while yardage numbers in some cases look bad, those have been the result of three or four big plays (for example, last week’s 51-yard run by Tennessee RB Chris Johnson). The secondary in particular has played well, but looks to be without its best player, CB Johnathan Joseph, this weekend. In his place, New York gets to welcome back CB Geoffrey Pope.

Notably, the Bengals’ defensive line showed some ability to get pressure last week, an ability it has lacked in, oh, about forever. And rookie first round pick Keith Rivers continues to progress nicely with 18 tackles in his first two games. But the Giants will be a real test to see if the new D put together by new defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer this off-season is for real or not.

Oh, and if any Giants fans need a new bow tie, Cincinnati’s starting MLB, Dhani Jones, will be selling them in the parking lot at halftime…

NK: What are your expectations of the Bengals in 2008? What type of record do you think they will finish with?

DW: Before the season, I said 10-6. Now I’m thinking about 0-47.

NK: After two ok weeks from Carson Palmer, how will the QB perform with the pass rush of the Giants?

DW: Palmer has struggled along with the offensive line, as one might expect. He’s also playing on a sprained ankle suffered last week. And to top it all off, the team’s top receiving tight end and his most likely dump-off target, Ben Utecht, looks to be out several weeks with a sternum injury. And don’t even get me started about offensive coordinator Bob Bratkowski’s incredibly uncreative playcalling, which appears not to acknowledge the existence of things like the screen pass or the draw, which might make a defense pay for coming hard at the QB. So if the Giants can generate pressure — which given our o-line ought not to be difficult — they can easily ruin Carson’s day.

NK: How do you think Chad Johnson will do against the young secondary of the Giants?

DW: He hasn’t shown an ability to do much so far, and he is playing while wearing a brace on his shoulder due to a partially torn labrum suffered in camp. So he’s limited and less willing to take a hit. That said, he’s still dangerous, but nowhere near as dangerous as in years past.

NK: What do the Bengals need to do to try and get a win on the road against the Giants? What is your prediction of the score?

DW: Pray. Giants 27, Bengals 6.

Thanks again to David for taking the time answer some questions about this week’s game. Make sure to check out his blog, Stripe Hype, for information and analysis on the Cincinnati Bengals.