This game does not surprise me. O-line not yet a unit, Joe still not right, a weaker running game than last year (why was Chase Brown inactive), a fired up crowd, and weather conditions that favored the run game, which admittedly Cleveland is head and shoulders above the Men. If this turns out to be an aberration, not the end of the world. Half the league starts 0-1. But it does put more pressure on next week's game against the Ravens. Going 0-2 is bad enough, but 0-2 in the division and conference is a bit of a hole. Much worse than losing to an NFC opponent like last year. At the end of the season, these games will matter for either making the playoffs or seeding.
I agreed with your prediction and continue to be amazed at Taylor's approach to the preseason. How can an offense be expected to execute their plays when they don't play in game conditions with each other. My greater concern is my fear that the egos will hurt the Bengals this season. I hope the stars don't think that all they have to do is show up and not put in the necessary work to play well together.
I also think the Browns may be a lot better this year than many predict in spite of not having a great quarterback. They may have the best defense in the conference. I'm also a KC fan, but predict they won't be in the championship game this year. Kelce is hurt and Bienemy will be missed.
The Browns aren't all that. If they lose Nick Chubb they are screwed. The Bengals sucked on O but D was fine but gassed. The Browns are built for a rainy day. At least the Reds won today with Votto hitting a HR on his birthday. How cool is that?
A single play call that carried the chance to lose the game with 11 to play if it blows up on you seems like a call an NFL coaching staff should know enough to avoid.
Have thought that the whole “let’s not play the first team all of August” philosophy is, in a word, wrong. It would be nice for Joe to have a real pre-season one day, but no one had better breathe a word of that happening next summer. The jinx is in!
The offense was listless and embarrassing. The D looks good, esp since they had to play most of the game themselves.
Weather conditions weren’t great but that’s the same for both teams, so…🤷🏻♀️
It's really not the same for both teams because the Browns are a run-oriented team. I'm sure they were thrilled to take the field in the rain. The Bengals run game still sucks and got worse with no Perine.
Very true. Rain kills speed and maneuverability in both quick RB’s and fast receivers. The team that can slow down play with a bruising RB has a better chance at winning in rain and snow games. Big, sure-footed, tight ends on 10 yard routes are better than the speedster wide receivers running 35 yards with 35 yards of rain in their eyes.
Of course, the QB’s that rely on a strong arm to spin the ball at maximum velocity, like Burrow, will have trouble throwing a slick ball. QB’s with normal sized hands are taught to push the ball in the rain and not wind up to throw it for fear of having the ball fall off their hand. And a step further, if you rely on spin rate and speed, the rain beats the ball down and slows both.
Joe B is probably the 2nd best QB in the league behind Mahomes. Joe B’s spread hand size measured at the draft was a smallish 9-inches from tip of thumb to tip of of the pinky finger. In a dry game, no problem. In a wet game, longer fingers have more surface area on the ball and are a huge advantage in gripping and throwing. That’s the reason the league measures a QB’s throwing hand. Obviously, Burrow’s hand size hasn’t kept him from being the highest paid player in NFL history but a 9-inch hand will rear it’s ugly head once in awhile.
Solid comment. Overall, how many sane individuals would pick Watson over Burrow for the season? Remember, Joe threw 4 picks last opener. I can't imagine that team looking like that again on Sunday.
Well, I’m disappointed as Hell but, honestly, not at all surprised. I’m also not really alarmed. I’ve seen this before. Let’s face it. Joe was, well, he was not JOE today. Yes, he was pressured, for sure. Cleveland is a real good defensive team and they showed but, a Joe in mid season form would have bounced back. Not today. I don’t know that he was hurt but he was just not in sync at all with his receivers.
One thing for sure...this makes next week’s Ravens game a big one.
Any coach in any sport will preach that preparation is the single most important key to success. The Browns started preparing for today's game in July. The Bengals don't appear to have given it a thought.
Playing the long game is one thing. Blowing off the preseason when you open with two division games is something else altogether.
After spending yesterday watching good wins from the Colorado Buffaloes, OSU, and U.C., this was very hard to watch. Even the midfield Brownie was laughing.
The NFL eliminated the 4th preseason game a year ago. No one has told Zac Taylor. His team plays like it’s the last preseason game. This loss could be the difference between playing AFC title game in KC, Buffalo or Cincy. Zac’s approach to preparing for the season is flawed. He knew that last year but clearly learned NOTHING. When a team shows up dead and not ready to play, that’s on the coach.
Painful, to say the least. I agree with your insight. You could tell they haven't played together. For receivers, in was out and out was in. short was long and long was short. Seemed to me they forgot the playbook. Maybe they all need little play calling cheaters on their writsts....Did they have their sticky gloves for the wet weather? Joe looked like he was wearing a golf glove, which gets really slick when it's wet. He rarely seemed to have control of the ball when throwing a spiral. And, of course, I realize the Brown's main objective was to slam Joe and his receivers whenever possible. It worked and they were definitely worn down. Sad to see. Also extremely tough crowd, as always in Cleveland, slamming beer in the stands and screaming like bigfoots. Not Burrows fault he missed camp...calf pull extremely painful and won't heal by playing on it. He made most of his throws trying to push off his right calf. One good home game with Cinci backing will bring them back and help them heal and forget this game.
If Joe had been healthy for preseason I would want the first team to get a few preseason snaps together. The fact that he was (and is) injured (again), I don’t think holding the starters out in preseason mattered much. Just 1 game but yeah, a lot of cleaning up to do.
??? No, I didn’t see much good out there today. Did you see something in my comments implying that I did? I did see several plays where Joe thought his receivers were going to do something different than they did. His being out the whole preseason is the biggest contribution to today’s miserable showing imo
You said you didn't think holding the starters out in the preseason matterd much. I think we saw much evidence to the contrary. But I needn't have been flippant about it. Sorry for that.
Can you imagine the Reds not playing any starters in spring training because they might get hurt? They'd be laughed out of the league. Nobody wants to lose a player to injury but if they're going to suck for a couple of games that count, and can still get hurt, what's the point? It also seemed early on that Joe just wasn't ready and was destined for a bad day. Forrest Gregg had the courage to pull Ken Anderson in favor of Turk Schonert in the first game of the 1981 season. Kenny never missed another game and went on to be MVP and a Super Bowl appearance. I don't know if Browning would have played better, but he couldn't have played worse, and he would have been more mobile.
How sure should we be that the announcement of the contract didn’t distract Higgins and Chase from thinking about their coming riches?
The Inevitable needed a Tom Brady-esque lackey to deflate the footballs a wee bit at halftime. It was clear to me that the rain didn’t allow Joe to grip the ball well enough to throw it with any speed which begets his practiced accuracy. You don’t need an enormous hand to throw a ball in good weather but it sure helps in the rain and the snow. Doc, as it was today, many of Burrow’s attempts may have reminded you of your youth watching Kilmer or Jurgensen. I forget which one threw ducks.
What’s that? Uh-oh. The Fam just realized a domed stadium prevents wet footballs.
Nailed it. It was hard to watch. Get ready for next week!
This game does not surprise me. O-line not yet a unit, Joe still not right, a weaker running game than last year (why was Chase Brown inactive), a fired up crowd, and weather conditions that favored the run game, which admittedly Cleveland is head and shoulders above the Men. If this turns out to be an aberration, not the end of the world. Half the league starts 0-1. But it does put more pressure on next week's game against the Ravens. Going 0-2 is bad enough, but 0-2 in the division and conference is a bit of a hole. Much worse than losing to an NFC opponent like last year. At the end of the season, these games will matter for either making the playoffs or seeding.
Good Post Stephen. Agree 100 %.
I was so convinced the Bengals were going to lose that game that I actually won money by betting on the Bengals to lose.
Not concerned one bit about the Bengals. Let’s see where they are at the end of November
I agreed with your prediction and continue to be amazed at Taylor's approach to the preseason. How can an offense be expected to execute their plays when they don't play in game conditions with each other. My greater concern is my fear that the egos will hurt the Bengals this season. I hope the stars don't think that all they have to do is show up and not put in the necessary work to play well together.
I also think the Browns may be a lot better this year than many predict in spite of not having a great quarterback. They may have the best defense in the conference. I'm also a KC fan, but predict they won't be in the championship game this year. Kelce is hurt and Bienemy will be missed.
The Browns aren't all that. If they lose Nick Chubb they are screwed. The Bengals sucked on O but D was fine but gassed. The Browns are built for a rainy day. At least the Reds won today with Votto hitting a HR on his birthday. How cool is that?
A single play call that carried the chance to lose the game with 11 to play if it blows up on you seems like a call an NFL coaching staff should know enough to avoid.
Agree with all 10 Things.
Have thought that the whole “let’s not play the first team all of August” philosophy is, in a word, wrong. It would be nice for Joe to have a real pre-season one day, but no one had better breathe a word of that happening next summer. The jinx is in!
The offense was listless and embarrassing. The D looks good, esp since they had to play most of the game themselves.
Weather conditions weren’t great but that’s the same for both teams, so…🤷🏻♀️
All that being said, all that’s left to say is:
#GoReds
It's really not the same for both teams because the Browns are a run-oriented team. I'm sure they were thrilled to take the field in the rain. The Bengals run game still sucks and got worse with no Perine.
Very true. Rain kills speed and maneuverability in both quick RB’s and fast receivers. The team that can slow down play with a bruising RB has a better chance at winning in rain and snow games. Big, sure-footed, tight ends on 10 yard routes are better than the speedster wide receivers running 35 yards with 35 yards of rain in their eyes.
Of course, the QB’s that rely on a strong arm to spin the ball at maximum velocity, like Burrow, will have trouble throwing a slick ball. QB’s with normal sized hands are taught to push the ball in the rain and not wind up to throw it for fear of having the ball fall off their hand. And a step further, if you rely on spin rate and speed, the rain beats the ball down and slows both.
Joe B is probably the 2nd best QB in the league behind Mahomes. Joe B’s spread hand size measured at the draft was a smallish 9-inches from tip of thumb to tip of of the pinky finger. In a dry game, no problem. In a wet game, longer fingers have more surface area on the ball and are a huge advantage in gripping and throwing. That’s the reason the league measures a QB’s throwing hand. Obviously, Burrow’s hand size hasn’t kept him from being the highest paid player in NFL history but a 9-inch hand will rear it’s ugly head once in awhile.
Solid comment. Overall, how many sane individuals would pick Watson over Burrow for the season? Remember, Joe threw 4 picks last opener. I can't imagine that team looking like that again on Sunday.
I agree. Sometimes poor play is contagious and every Bengal from Burrow to the ball boy was infected with it.
No worries. We agree that today was pretty hard to watch, to say the least.
Well, I’m disappointed as Hell but, honestly, not at all surprised. I’m also not really alarmed. I’ve seen this before. Let’s face it. Joe was, well, he was not JOE today. Yes, he was pressured, for sure. Cleveland is a real good defensive team and they showed but, a Joe in mid season form would have bounced back. Not today. I don’t know that he was hurt but he was just not in sync at all with his receivers.
One thing for sure...this makes next week’s Ravens game a big one.
St Joe was wise to sign his contract last week. Tee didn't help his cause.
Jonah Williams had preseason game time and he played like...Well Jonah Williams. Horrible
Arrogance indeed.
Any coach in any sport will preach that preparation is the single most important key to success. The Browns started preparing for today's game in July. The Bengals don't appear to have given it a thought.
Playing the long game is one thing. Blowing off the preseason when you open with two division games is something else altogether.
That’s what I just said to my wife. These other games today show so much creativity on offense and the bengals showed none today.
After spending yesterday watching good wins from the Colorado Buffaloes, OSU, and U.C., this was very hard to watch. Even the midfield Brownie was laughing.
The NFL eliminated the 4th preseason game a year ago. No one has told Zac Taylor. His team plays like it’s the last preseason game. This loss could be the difference between playing AFC title game in KC, Buffalo or Cincy. Zac’s approach to preparing for the season is flawed. He knew that last year but clearly learned NOTHING. When a team shows up dead and not ready to play, that’s on the coach.
This is exactly what I told my peeps today. "Looks like IN Kansas City again this year."
KC lost also
Painful, to say the least. I agree with your insight. You could tell they haven't played together. For receivers, in was out and out was in. short was long and long was short. Seemed to me they forgot the playbook. Maybe they all need little play calling cheaters on their writsts....Did they have their sticky gloves for the wet weather? Joe looked like he was wearing a golf glove, which gets really slick when it's wet. He rarely seemed to have control of the ball when throwing a spiral. And, of course, I realize the Brown's main objective was to slam Joe and his receivers whenever possible. It worked and they were definitely worn down. Sad to see. Also extremely tough crowd, as always in Cleveland, slamming beer in the stands and screaming like bigfoots. Not Burrows fault he missed camp...calf pull extremely painful and won't heal by playing on it. He made most of his throws trying to push off his right calf. One good home game with Cinci backing will bring them back and help them heal and forget this game.
If Joe had been healthy for preseason I would want the first team to get a few preseason snaps together. The fact that he was (and is) injured (again), I don’t think holding the starters out in preseason mattered much. Just 1 game but yeah, a lot of cleaning up to do.
So you saw crisp routes being run by the WRs? Cohesive blocking by the OL? I didn't.
??? No, I didn’t see much good out there today. Did you see something in my comments implying that I did? I did see several plays where Joe thought his receivers were going to do something different than they did. His being out the whole preseason is the biggest contribution to today’s miserable showing imo
It’s one thing if you sit Joe because he’s injured, but I don’t recall anyone in offense getting much time in preseason.
You said you didn't think holding the starters out in the preseason matterd much. I think we saw much evidence to the contrary. But I needn't have been flippant about it. Sorry for that.
Can you imagine the Reds not playing any starters in spring training because they might get hurt? They'd be laughed out of the league. Nobody wants to lose a player to injury but if they're going to suck for a couple of games that count, and can still get hurt, what's the point? It also seemed early on that Joe just wasn't ready and was destined for a bad day. Forrest Gregg had the courage to pull Ken Anderson in favor of Turk Schonert in the first game of the 1981 season. Kenny never missed another game and went on to be MVP and a Super Bowl appearance. I don't know if Browning would have played better, but he couldn't have played worse, and he would have been more mobile.
How sure should we be that the announcement of the contract didn’t distract Higgins and Chase from thinking about their coming riches?
The Inevitable needed a Tom Brady-esque lackey to deflate the footballs a wee bit at halftime. It was clear to me that the rain didn’t allow Joe to grip the ball well enough to throw it with any speed which begets his practiced accuracy. You don’t need an enormous hand to throw a ball in good weather but it sure helps in the rain and the snow. Doc, as it was today, many of Burrow’s attempts may have reminded you of your youth watching Kilmer or Jurgensen. I forget which one threw ducks.
What’s that? Uh-oh. The Fam just realized a domed stadium prevents wet footballs.
Kilmer