Bengals Will Hit Their Stride

Can Zac silence the armchair play-callers?

Artists and poets make their living off autumn. Breathless descriptions of leaves giving it their all, of crisp nights and warm fires and blah blah blah. I dislike fall.

I dislike its brief stay. Around here, fall is a bus stop on the way to winter. The leaves? They come and go like metro buses. It’s as if they’re in a hurry to get outta town. Crisp nights? Gimme languid and endless summer evenings, when I don’t have to “layer’’ my clothes.

Mostly, I dislike what fall portends. It’s the end of things. Stuff dies. People, too. My birth mother died in the fall. The days constrict. The hopeful brightness of a morning in June succumbs to the dim and fragile afternoons of now. Fall can be beautiful. Also, heartbreaking.

No old person says they’re in “the spring’’ of their lives.

Fall suffers from its proximity to winter. I dislike fall because I know what’s coming. I’ve played golf on Thanksgiving, yeah. For that slice of wonder, I watch for three months the sun slide off the horizon at 5 o’clock, like an over-easy egg off a pan.

Probably, only I looked at the riot of colors in Glen Arbor, MI, the other day on our mini-getaway and felt a Van Morrison wave of melancholia. For a minute, I was legitimately sad. That’s what fall does.

I’m dyed-in-the-Guinness Irish. Meaning, I wear my melancholy like a skin. I trick myself into thinking that only lovers of life can be so blue that life goes so fast. That’s how I rationalize it, anyway.

So, OK, let it rain leaves of gold. Let the brittle autumn sky teach me whatever it intends. I get it, I really do. Life is wonderful, live for whatever it gives. Appreciate everything. Don’t lament it. That all makes perfect sense.

Only then, I start wearing sweaters and retreat indoors because it’s dark already and I watch nature triumph one day and yield the next and it all bums me out. I await the possibilities of June.

Now, then. . .

THE BENGALS AREN’T DONE proving themselves.

Well, no spit, Doc.

They had their way with the Ravens last year, 41-17 and 41-21. That was against a busted-up Ravens D. Even their offense was injured most of the year, including stud left tackle Ronnie Staley. They’re a bit healthier this year, but still, shaky. The once-great B-more defense has blown 2nd-half leads of 17 and 21 already.

Here’s my theory: When you have a good team, potentially very good, you compete as much against your own standard as against the guys you’re playing. The Bengals offense has not met that challenge.

The task in Bawl-mer Sunday night will be for Zac Taylor to mix up his play-calling. The Men are dreadfully predictable. It’ll also be to find some semblance of a running game. It can’t be two yards and a cloud of Mixon again.

Good stuff from CBS Sports paints the picture:

This season, on plays where Burrow has aligned in shotgun, the Bengals have called a pass play 78% of the time. When he's been under center, they've called a run pay 75% of the time. opponents have stacked eight men into the box on 52% of Cincinnati's under-center snaps, considerably higher than the 47.6% league-average mark. 

Defenses are also refusing to blitz the Bengals (they have a 20.7% opponent blitz rate, 28th in the NFL), which means more players are dropping into coverage. And Zac Taylor rarely brings the play-action game into the equation, with Burrow faking a hand-off on just 13.4% of his pass attempts, a rate that ranks 23rd in the league. 

CBS also notes Mixon’s anemia:

Among the 50 players with at least 25 carries this season, he ranks 50th in yards per carry.

Can The Men fix this stuff on the road Sunday?

The Ravens don’t rush the passer very well (5th-lowest pressure rate) so there’s a chance.

On the other side of the ball, Lamar Jackson is back being Lamar Jackson. CBS:

The Ravens have 1,437 net yards of offense so far this season, and Lamar Jackson is responsible for over 80% of that. He's thrown for 893 and run for 316.

Can the Bengals spy him, contain him, keep him from outscoring them? That’s always the question for whoever plays the Ravens. The bigger question for the Bengals is, can they play like the Bengals of late last year?

I say, yeah. They will.

Men 30

Lamars 27

DECK CHAIRS. . . The Reds fired five coaches yesterday. OK, that happens in sports all the time. It’s not a profession known for its job security. I’m not smart enough to tell you if the five deserved to be fired or if they were scapegoated for 62-100. Both, probably. What I do know is this:

When The Club hires its next hitting coach, he will be the 4th guy in that job in the last six years. Don Long, Turner Ward, Alan Zinter and New Guy.

What are they going for here?

Ward was a launch-angle proponent. He wanted his pupils to swing for the fences. That lasted a year. Ward was replaced by Zinter, who preferred his lads to hit the ball where it was pitched, preferably on a line.

A pupil could get confused.

Former president of baseball ops Dick Williams, in the Enquirer in 2018:

“From the time they enter our organization all the way up through, we want to make sure they are hearing similar language, hearing similar philosophies. I can’t tell you how many former players I’ve talked to that felt like if they progressed through the minor leagues, they were bouncing around and getting different messages.” 

A Reds Way, in other words. Similar to a Cardinals Way. Are they getting that with these moves? You tell me.

START RIDDER in Atlanta, ahead of turnover machine Marcus Mariota. Yahoo!:

A lot of the clamoring for Ridder to be inserted into the starting lineup has to do with his performance in the preseason. He was confident, poised, accurate and already showed a strong grasp of the offense and the Falcons’ pass protection schemes in a short amount of time. Mariota may be a more natural runner in the open field than Ridder, but Ridder ran a 4.53 40-yard dash at the scouting combine and showed off a strong ability to scramble in the preseason. There’s no reason to think that the Falcons’ run game would fall off by making Ridder the starter.

Mariota is not the future of the Falcons’ franchise. He might have a role in it as a backup, but he’s not going to be The Guy for Atlanta. Ridder might not either, but it’s worth finding out. At the very least, the Falcons should explore the idea of starting a quarterback who hasn’t fumbled six times and thrown four interceptions in four games.

And finally. . .

HEY MICHELLE GAMEPLANS YOUR WEEKEND. While you’re at it, help her get to 10,000 followers (she’s very close) at https://heymichelle-help.com

Weekend Things To Do ~ Follow along on my Insta for more on where to eat, drink and have fun in Cincy @HeyMichelle1 

Downtown Living Tour~ Saturday 11-4 check in at The On The Rhine Eatery and get a swag bag and a map for your self guided tour. Not only do you get to check out some cool apartments, you get to visit some fun places downtown and get a little treat from each place like a chair massage at 21C Hotel, truffles at Mavrick Chocolate ;) 
Pickleball.. Monster Smash Tourney~ The new Sawyer Point courts are hosting the 3rd annual event Oct 7th-9th with food trucks, beer and fun. Get info at Cincinnati pickleball Club. 
Essex Studio Art Walk ~ Friday & Saturday 6-10 in Avondale enjoy over 50 artists that open their working studios to the public. Free admission. 
Candlelight A Tribute to Queen ~ Now through Oct 11th at Rhinegeist enjoy a symphony tribute playing all Queen songs in a beautiful candlelight concert setting. These concerts are really cool so check the calendar and put it on your to do! 

54th Annual Cincinnati Model Train & Trade Show~ at Lakota West High School this is a train lover's dream. Many operating model railroad displays, trains of scales, over 300 vendors of new and used trains, books and more. 
Where I’m eating ~ Le Bar a Boeuf and you should too! Our iconic chef Jean Robert has revamped the menu and now is featuring some beloved dishes from The Table and Maisonette and oh what a treat. It has a  French flair and a real delight but with a casual atmosphere. 

 TUNE O’ THE DAY. . . Not a huge Aerosmith guy, but they do a nice job with this old blues number.