Bengals relish breakthrough win, unsure on Dalton
UpdatedSep 12, 2011 6:34 PM ETCINCINNATI (AP)A quick-snap touchdown has the long-suffering Cincinnati Bengalsthinking that their karma has finally changed.The Bengals caught the Browns in a brain-lock moment Sunday,allowing A.J. Green's 41-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarterof a 27-17 win. It's the kind of breakdown that's been more typicalof the Bengals during their 20 years of futility.A change, perhaps?''That's something we didn't do last year,'' defensive tackleDomata Peko said. ''Last year in the fourth quarter, we fellapart.''The Bengals (1-0) won only four games last season, repeatedlyblowing chances at the end with mind-boggling moments. One of theworst came when the Saints induced them into an offside penalty bypretending they were going to snap the ball - a gambit the Saintscall ''No-Brainer Freeze.''This time, the Browns (0-1) had the brain freeze, failing toleave the huddle while the Bengals lined up and snapped the ballfor a go-ahead touchdown. And the Bengals had a rare, happybeginning.Even coach Marvin Lewis, who usually is reluctant to readanything into one win, recognized the importance of winning theopener the way they did - with a backup quarterback throwing to arookie receiver while the Browns hesitated.''It was a great lesson for them to learn and to see somethingthey can believe in and really hang their hat on,'' Lewis said onMonday.The most positive sign was how rookie quarterback Andy Daltonhandled his debut on the road. The second-round draft pickcompleted 10 of 15 passes for 81 yards with a touchdown and nointerceptions, leading Cincinnati to 13 points before gettinghurt.Dalton took a helmet to his lower right forearm near the end ofthe first half and didn't return because he had trouble grippingthe ball. Bruce Gradkowski finished the game.Dalton was scheduled to see a specialist on Monday. The Bengalsare hopeful that he can start next Sunday in Denver, whereCincinnati hasn't won since 1975, dropping eight in a row. Daltondeclined to talk to the media on Monday.Left tackle Andrew Whitworth had a protective boot on his leftfoot following the game in Cleveland, but walked without it a daylater. Lewis declined to provide updates on players' conditions,except to say everyone was better on Monday.Heading into the season, there was speculation that the Bengalscould be one of the NFL's worst teams because it's starting arookie quarterback and a rookie receiver. The victory in Clevelandshowed they're not even the worst team in their own state.Second-year defensive end Carlos Dunlap understands why fans arestill reluctant to give them much credit.''Maybe because we're young and they don't feel we have thatexperience,'' Dunlap said on Monday. ''I'd say we have experiencetogether.''Asked about the low expectations for his team, Lewis strayedfrom his normal practice of keeping answers short and went on formore than 300 words to answer that one question alone.''I don't know why we have so many naysayers,'' Lewis said.He noted that Cleveland fans seemed upbeat about their five-winteam before the season opener on Sunday, in contrast to fans inCincinnati. The Bengals have only two winning records in the past20 years.''It's like the opposite,'' Lewis said. ''I thought we wereabout to play the '68 Packers. It's an unbelievable difference, theattitude and the thing - aura - the way it was there in Clevelandprior to Sunday compared to, for whatever reason, ours is here.''But we can't worry about and dwell upon that.''
Not everyone was ready for season's kickoff
UpdatedSep 12, 2011 5:56 PM ETIt didn't take long for the lockout's impact to hit home. Whereit struck most prominently on the NFL's opening weekend was a bitstunning.Four teams, all 2010 division winners, flopped so badly onSunday it makes you wonder if they realized these games counted.Most notable was how the Pittsburgh Steelers were torn apart inBaltimore. The NFL's most physical and violent rivalry turned intoa tame stroll along the Inner Harbor on a late summer Sunday forthe Ravens.The defending AFC champion Steelers, a group that always comesto play, looked woefully unprepared, their vaunted defense allowing385 yards, including 170 on the ground. There are some months whenthe Steel Curtain doesn't yield that many yards rushing.The offense couldn't bail out the Steelers, either, not whilecommitting seven turnovers - five by Ben Roethlisberger, who hadwon his last seven starts against the Ravens.''We got beat into submission,'' linebacker James Farriorsaid.We got handled in all three phases,'' added Steelers coach MikeTomlin. ''We accept responsibility for the plays we made and didn'tmake. We compliment them at the same time for the way theyperformed. Obviously, we have a lot of work to do.''A lot of that work didn't get done during training camp and thepreseason, in part because many veteran teams - and the Steelerscertainly have their share of vets - didn't want to push suchplayers. Better to save them for the regular season, allowing themto work their way into ''football shape.''But avoiding the pitfalls of preseason games has its drawbacks,too. That manifested itself in Baltimore, where the Steelerscouldn't keep up.''It was like we were a step slow all day,'' Farrior said.''From the first play of the game, they had their foot on the gaspedal and we couldn't stop it.''Ditto for the Falcons in Chicago, where the stats wererelatively even, but the performances hardly were.Chicago was the more-inspired team in a 30-12 romp that couldhave been worse. Anyone who expected Matt Ryan, Michael Turner,Roddy White and John Abraham to be the best players at SoldierField instead saw Jay Cutler, Matt Forte and Brian Urlacher -especially Urlacher - take charge.''We've got a lot of things that have to be corrected,'' Falconscoach Mike Smith said, noting the high number of penalties, threeturnovers and sloppy tackling - all symptomatic of poorpreparation.''In terms of how we're going to do that, we'll get back outthere, get on the horse, jump back into the saddle and get back towork.''Cliches notwithstanding, maybe the Falcons needed to ride thehorse more during training camp and the preseason.The horse struggling the most resides in Indianapolis, which isunderstandable considering Peyton Manning's absence after necksurgery. Seeing the Colts lose at Houston wasn't unprecedented -they were routed there a year ago, with Manning, and still won theAFC South.Seeing the Colts manhandled all over the field rather thanbonding together without Manning was shocking.Yes, the Texans finally might be a legitimate playoff contender.Still, it wasn't as if the folks in Indy didn't have an inklingthat Manning no longer was indestructible. If any team should havehad a backup plan, and been prepared for all contingencies comeopening kickoff, it was the Colts.''We had fumbles, sacks, penalties, any way you could shootyourself in the foot, we did it,'' center Jeff Saturday said. ''Butto be truthful, I don't think if Peyton was back there it wouldhave been much better...''Now that truly is frightening for Colts fans.One team that was ready, willing and able Sunday was Washington,which upset the injury-battered Giants 28-14. Perhaps coach MikeShanahan had it right after the lockout when he went with hisstarters in preseason games much more than in the past - andcertainly more than the Redskins' opponents. Among those opponents:the Steelers and Colts, who essentially mailed in theirperformances in those exhibition matches.Not much changed for Pittsburgh and Indy in the season openers,either.---AP Sports Writers Joseph White in Washington and David Ginsburgin Baltimore contributed to this story
Cedric Benson Premier Jersey, Hakeem Nicks Premier Jersey, Premier Hakeem Nicks Jersey, James Starks Authentic Jersey, Premier Cedric Benson Jersey, James Starks Jersey Premier, Replica Cedric Benson Jersey, James Starks Replica Jersey, Cedric Benson Jersey Authentic, Hakeem Nicks Authentic Jersey, Hakeem Nicks Replica Jersey, Authentic James Starks Jersey, Authentic Hakeem Nicks Jersey, Premier James Starks Jersey, Authentic Cedric Benson Jersey, James Starks Premier Jersey, James Starks Jersey Authentic, Hakeem Nicks Jersey Premier, Cedric Benson Jersey Premier, Hakeem Nicks Jersey Replica, Hakeem Nicks Jersey Authentic, Cedric Benson Replica Jersey, James Starks Jersey Replica, Cedric Benson Authentic Jersey, Replica Hakeem Nicks Jersey, Replica James Starks Jersey, Cedric Benson Jersey Replica
Post je objavljen 13.09.2011. u 04:02 sati.