BenGAL report: October 5, 2008-

Well it happened a lot like I thought it would (we all say that don't we?). First, we had the Chad/Jerry Jones lovefest. As a BenGAL fan, I would be a little miffed at this, "I want to play in Dallas so baaaaad, get me the hell out of here" ploy on Chad's part. But today's BenGAL fan is dead, replaced with morons who went straight from their other distractions in life (like pork rinds, Velveeta Salsa Surprise, and Pro Wrestling on USA) to being "football fans." Then Chad went out and played a stellar game huh?Look, it is hard to start talking about the GALs without first starting with CJ. He embodies what is at the core problem of this team (not organization, team). He is unprepared, clownish, and just not very good. You want to know why Chad's production is down? It is because the league figured him out. Chad is a sissy. He cannot take a hit so the corners bump him, then release him or play him with an outside shade. When this happens, he is supposed to read it and take an inside route. Problem is, CJ don't like no inside route. This is why you see him miss so many routes. Even when he does take that route, he catches the ball (sometimes), then dives to the turf (there is a lot of diving going on). The most glaring of these Chickensh*it wuss outs happened in that New England game that started the slide of this team. He was ascared of Asante Samuels so he took an outside route, problem is, it was an inside read. Asante knew it (Say what you will but the NE coaches have their guys ready to play), and waited on that pass. Chad did it again to avoid the Adam Jones hit in the Dallas game. Carson called him out when he got back to the huddle. If you remember, that should have been an INT, but Pacman was a little surprised by the ball hitting him in the hands! This is CJ. If you have a nice timing pattern to the sideline, he is your man, but overall, he is just not good. He needs a team with several good recvrs so that he can benefit from crossing routes and less focus.

On to TJ- Sure he gets the numbers but he has a glaring problem, he is a baby! My God, the man is so worried about arguing with the refs, that he is already into his chip on his shoulder mode before the ball hits the ground. When he catches it, he gets up (cause forget about YACs with this group) and pounds the ball down with this look on his face like, "Now you will respect me!" Problem is TJ, you do that on three yard catches on a 3rd and 4, and you just look silly. But here is the worst part. When he is thrown the ball, if he drops it, no matter the circumstances, he gets up all pi55ed off and starts in on the ref EVERY TIME! If I were TJ's coach, I would really work on this because as any JV coach will tell you, if this guy does this on every pass, then he is not ready to catch the ball. If he is going into his route thinking about how he will be interfered with on this play, then his head is not in the game. Get up TJ, go back to the huddle, and act like a pro. He was flagged for holding on Sunday, even Dave and Lap called him out so to see him crying like he was should be troubling. Fact is, he should have been flagged which would have compounded his prior mistake. This is what I mean about professionalism. Drop the chip TJ and play ball you big baby.

The D- I love the BenGALs defense. These are guys who work hard, do not talk, do not act silly, and are professional. They may not be that good, but dammit they got heart. I have no issue with the D. When they get the personnel in place in  a few key positions, and some experience in a few others, they will hold their own just fine. It is the GALs offensive players that are troubling.

The O- Wow, where do I start? Marvin, in his infinite football wisdom decided that the best course of action for this team was to build up the offense. I guess no one told him the truest and most used adage in football - "DEFENSE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS". So what are you left with? Very glaring deficiencies. First, what is the deal with hard count, and kneel? This is the dumbest, absolute silliest play in the NFL. Has anyone stopped to ask why no other team in the history of the NFL has this play in their books. Also, think back to how many times this has backfired on them. leaving them a two yard loss, and loss of down! Hard count, ok, but then run a free play! This is one of the dumbest things Bob has them do. I mean it is just bush league. The no huddle? You have to have a good offensive line to run the no huddle. Here's why: Offensive linemen need a little more time to figure out their blocking assignments. It is very complicated, more than any other position on the field. When exiting the huddle, a lineman can think about the play, the count, and his assignment(s). In the no-huddle, he has from the time the play is called, to the snap (about 2 seconds or less) to figure out what he is doing while the defense is moving around, shifting, etc. If you can't figure this out then you are a who dey head. Knock off the silliness, it ain't workin'. If you want silliness, then run a trick play every once in while. How many halfback passes, reverses, or other chicanery do you see from this team? Not much and with the all out rush these guys are getting and the lack of respect for this team, these plays may be very effective in keeping opposing D's honest.

Chris Perry- First off, I would never, ever, ever, ever , ever draft a Big Ten running back in the first four rounds. They are almost always busted prospects. They are worn down, slow, and just not, historically, good risks. Eddie George and Larry Johnson are the only two guys I can think of that had good, long careers as a starter. I'm sure there are some others, but I just cannot think of any and I do nto want to look it up. But the anger Chris is getting right now is not right. The problem with blaming him for killing the momentum and losing the game is this: what makes you think the GALs were headed for anything? If history tells us anything, it is that if it were not Chris, it would be someone else blowing it. I do not mean to be snide, just going with the facts here. It's not like they were on the 10 yard line. They were at mid-field, far removed from Shayne's range. What in the game's history indicated anything more than a bogged down drive, or a dumb mistake would result? Nah, Perry did not lose that game. That game was lost before it started. 

Final thoughts- My subsequent posts will not be this long. The Cowboys dominated the GALs then quit. They simply quit, letting the GALs back in the game, then they struggled to catch up and stay up, one of the hardest things do in football. Thing is, the Cowboys are not nearly as good as everyone thinks. They will look good over the next severla games against St Louis, Arizona, TB at home, then the NYG before the bye (more on the NFL soft touch "fix" later), but they are by no means an elite team. Simply check out their defensive stats before the GALs game and you will see that they rank right next to the GALs in almost every category, and even fall behind them in a few more. Hell, their first interception came in the GALs game, 5 weeks in! They are good, they are not that good. So all of you who dey heads (see profile for def.) out there comparing this to the Giants effort, please get a clue. The Boys manhandled the GALs early on then quit. I mean, do you honestly think this coaching staff, notorious for not making adjustments, somehow got the Boys figured out and then made adjustments before half? I saw no changes in scheme to indicate this. I saw a good team come out and embarrass a really silly team, then sit back like, "this is too easy!" Well,  they forgot that the GALs, if they could pull it out, would be able hang their whole season on this win, even if they go 1-15, which is a real possibility.