Agree on the interior line, but I would prefer if EDS could block somebody a few times.
Just saw the interview with Dalton. He doesn't seem like the brightest bulb. "I couldn't get started early tonight..." Dude, you are a home QB, WTF?
Originally Posted by Fandame:
Starks' production eases Packers concerns (and other odds and ends). Link
MM: 'McCarthy said his two main points with the team this week will be mental performance and fourth-quarter production. He was not happy with the way the Packers let the Washington back in the game after they built a 31-0 lead. “They didn’t convert a third down until the score was 31-0, but we gave up 20 points down the stretch,” McCarthy said. “It’s just unnecessary production when you look at the tape.”'
I love it. Keep the pedal to the metal.
Very glad to see that Mike is unhappy with the way the defense played for most of the second half. In 2011, all the players wrote off their garbage performance every week by saying that the yards they gave up didn't matter. The coaches can't allow that kind of mindset to take hold in the locker room ever again, and it looks like they won't.
There is an awful lot of people in this thread that seem to think the Bengals are going to be a pushover. If the Packers are playing the same defensive backfield as the first 2 games and they don't get pressure on Dalton. The Packers are going to get burnt down the middle of the field. The Bengals defense is not that bad. They can put a hurting on Rodgers.
I see every game as more difficult if we can't generate a pass rush. RG3 is more hurt than anyone is willing to let on and he was never a pocket guy, but Dalton can hurt us short and over the middle again if we don't get some pressure up front.
CIN WR's are nothing to sneeze at. They helped out last night. But more worrisome are those two big TE's. They're going to destroy the middle of the field.
as others have noted, we've been playing D designed to limit the RO.
I expect to see the hounds of hell released next week v the statue Dalton.
Definitely was less than impressed with Dalton. I'll be kind and call him a "middling" NFL QB, certainly not bad, but compared to the really really good ones he falls short.
The weapons around Dalton are very very good though. Love those TEs and even the 2nd and 3rd WRs look good for them.
As others have said, the Pack's pass rush needs to come through or even "middling" guys like Dalton can have a big day. Just think of what Christian Ponder did to this defense in week 17 last year. That said, I don't think we'll see a repeat of that, there are some better players in the Pack's front 7 this year and even if Dalton has a little bit of success, I don't expect it to be at the level that Ponder's was in the Metrodome last year.
Originally Posted by Tdog:
as others have noted, we've been playing D designed to limit the RO.
I expect to see the hounds of hell released next week v the statue Dalton.
So do you think Cincinnati is just going to lay back on defense and not rush Rodgers?
I think T-dog was referring to the way the Packers defense played, not how the opponents defense played. And yes, they'll try to rush Rodgers, and they'll be gashed for it. Then they'll try something else
Here is another article on the game from last night, with additional insight on the bengals from Pro Football Focus
For the EDS haters:
the Steelers started Fernando Velasco at center just a week after he was signed. On such little preparation Velasco acquitted himself well (+0.1) with a solid performance that saw him go as unnoticed as a player replacing Pouncey would hope to have been. He was driven back by Geno Atkins to surrender a pressure late in the fourth quarter, but, after a slow start that saw him give up a 1-yard tackle to Domata Peko on the second snap, Velasco performed solidly in the ground game. Having picked up the playbook for the first time only a week ago this was a solid outing, and based on his displays from last season the Steelers should see little, if any, drop off to Velasco over the course of the season.