Bengals-Talk

All the latest news and talk about the Cincinnati Bengals

You are here: Home / Archives for Cincinnati

My Preseason Game 1, Vikings vs Bengals Experience

Leave a Comment

I made the 4 hour drive north from Nashville to Cincinnati this past Friday to see the Bengals host the Minnesota Vikings as they played preseason game number one. I arrived downtown about an hour before kickoff, found parking rather quickly downtown, scampered a few blocks over to the nearest Chipotle and scarfed down some tacos. I then walked a few blocks to Paul Brown Stadium to wait for my dad and two nephews to arrive as I was holding their tickets. I sat outside near the Pro Shop where I found some much needed shade. I could hear the “Star Spangled Banner” being sung in the background while I sat sweating bullets…in the shade.

IMG_8173

I missed kickoff and the first offensive and defensive series by the Bengals which basically meant I missed watching all of the starters play in this game. I was able to hear A.J. Green make 3 receptions over the loud speaker and Mike Nugent miss a 48 yard field goal.

A few minutes later my guys arrived and we made our way to the third deck about halfway into the first quarter. We witnessed a nice long methodical drive by the Bengals offense lead by A.J. McCarron which ended with zero points after moving the football 89 yards on 22 plays. The Vikings took over at their own 4 yard line which lead to the Bengals backups missing a golden opportunity to get a Safety and take a 2 point lead, instead the Vikings drove down the field and Teddy Bridgewater threw a 49 yard touchdown to WR Charles Johnson who smoked Bengals CB Chykie Brown on the play.

#WhoDey #MINvsCIN

A photo posted by Bengals Talk (@bengalstalk) on

We witnessed a lot of sub par football but there were some bright spots such as the play of rookie LB Nick Vigil who seemed to be all over the place and made some nice plays, also the young WR group did fairly well as Cody Core had 3 receptions, Tyler Boyd had a stellar 40 yard diving reception just before Alex Erickson scored the 1st TD of the preseason with a 3 yard grab from McCarron. The best and most electric play of the night for the Bengals came late in the 4th quarter when Alex Erickson returned a punt over 80 yards for a touchdown to cut the Vikings lead to one point with less than 3 minutes left in the game. Coach Lewis elected to go for the 2 point conversion which failed and the Bengals came up a hair short on the scoreboard losing by a final score of 17-16. The good thing is the team finished the game without any major injuries occurring as a result of the game and we are now less than 1 month away from regular season football!

Bengals Hope To Right The Ship Against The Pats

Leave a Comment

710x380-sixpack-20131006-bengals

Welp, it’s Week 5 already and to put it bluntly, last week in Cleveland was super ugly for the Bengals offense. Offensively they looked absolutely anemic as they could only muster 6 points against a good Cleveland defense. Whether it be too many penalties, too many turnovers, a quarterback struggling to find consistency, or questionable play calling, the Bengals offense must improve as they attempt to right the ship and make it to the post season for a third straight season. There is just too much talent and depth on this team for them not to improve on last seasons 10-6 record and one and done post season outcome.

Many are calling this weeks matchup a potential statement game for the Bengals as they go against an undefeated Patriots team that simply finds a way to win week in and week out. Patriots quarterback Tom Brady is a future hall-of-famer who has a 4-0 career record against the Bengals. The last time they faced each other was in 2010 when the Patriots won 38-24 in New England. The last time the two teams played each other in Cincinnati was back in 2007 when the Patriots crushed the Bengals 34-13 and the last time the Bengals beat the Patriots was at home back in 2001 when QB Jon Kitna lead the Bengals to a 23-17 win. The Bengals are a 1.5 pt favorite heading into the game but most of the national media are picking the Patriots to come out on top.

The weather forecast in Cincinnati tomorrow calls for thunderstorms and an 80% chance of rain. With that being said Bengals fans hope they will see a heavy dose of runs from Giovani Bernard and former Patriot Benjarvus Green-Ellis and hopefully a consistent run game will open up the middle of the field for high percentage completions from Andy Dalton to his receivers and tight ends. The phrase “a good running game is a quarterbacks best friend” has definitely been true thus far when it comes to the quality of play we see from Andy Dalton.

Tom Brady

So far this season it appears that the Bengals have tended to play up to the more hyped up opponent and play down a bit against teams where they are supposed to win based on media perception heading into the game. Regardless, they will need to raise their level of effort and execution and clean up many of the mistakes that have plagued them during the first 4 games of the season thus far.

My Prediction: Patriots 27, Bengals 21