Cleveland Game = Oakland Game - Turnovers

Nothing more to say really.

Random thoughts:

Yes, yes, the offense concerns me too.  Guess we all just need to hope that when we do decide to pass again that we will be able to actually pass it effectively.

Pats loss was nice for seeding potential.  Ravens win was nice for a cushion.  Beat San Diego and that Oakland loss may indeed be the mulligan I claimed it was not.

Does anyone else think it's gonna start to get awkward with this whole "Who Dey" and "Who Dat" thing now that both the Bengals and Saints are very much in the national spotlight at the same time? 

I mean, let's be honest, it's basically the same cheer.  They apparently coined it first but we have just owned it for so long I think most people never knew about "Who Dat" until 3 years ago.

Last, I want to prove statistically that Brat sucks so we can end this nonsense that people are saying about how he gets all the blame when we lose and none of the credit when we win.  I consistently blame him for everything regardless of outcome.  I think my fellow comrades have made excellent points here, here and here but I am still looking for something comprehensive during his entire time as offensive coordinator. 

My preliminary research suggests he is merely average.  This means I must do the following:

1. Change my opinion and accept that Brat is merely average but not awful
2. Continue to put more work and energy into research until I find a valid measurement of his ineptitude

Well, I deeply, deeply feel that Brat blows so I am not ready to abandon my opinion yet.  However, I am also time-constrained and lazy.  A dangerous combo.  So I am choosing 3) ask the readers to do the work for me and try to come up with their own way to statistically capture how bad Brat is.  Any thoughts or suggestions please leave in the comments or email to whodeyrevolution@gmail.com.

Good day.

Comments

[TJanns]

I just read this and had a few minutes to kill, so here you go.

Bengals offensive ranks since '02 (pretty sure Brat took over in '01).

'09 - 17th (with 5 games to go)
'08 - 32nd (yes, with backup QB, but Pats were 5th with backup QB. Look it up)
'07 - 10th
'06 - 8th
'05 - 6th
'04 - 18th
'03 - 13th
'02 - 18th

So, that averages out to 15th over the last 8 years. So, yes, that is AVERAGE. A telling stat, is that they've finished above 'average' 4 times out of 8 years with Brat. Which is also half the time, or AVERAGE. Granted, '02 the team was awful, '04 was Palmer's first year as a starter, and last year was Fitz and bad O-line, but again, the Patriots did fine with their backup QB last year.

So, Brat is average, and should have been fired after last year. Bottom line in my opinion.

So, this means that Zimmer needs to be re-signed NOW. The Defense is the biggest reason this team is 8-3. No question. Another reason for 8-3 is Palmer's late heroics against the Steelers and Ravens. I've wanted Brat out since after '07.

[TJanns]

But bottom line is also 'W's.

And, outside of '05 (excluding this year), the team only has had one winning season with Brat at the helm.

We've had what, 3-4 Defensive coordinators since then?

[Wyatt]

Also, bear in mind that the Bengals offense was 32nd in the league for the games Palmer played in - that factor gets conveniently dismissed when discussing last year's futility.

[TigerJ@w]

Amazing what a passing game will do for your offense, i.e...Saints vs Patriots game last night is all you need to know. Yea, keep running the ball ML and Brat. We shall see how far it gets the Bengals. ML and Brat, you proved your point, the Bengals can now run the damn ball, but now you have left out the passing game like you are playing back in 1905 when it was not even legalized in the NFL. Maybe not as bad as this, but when you have a QB like Carson and WR weapons like Chad, Caldwell and Coles, then you don't leave them out of the game plan or you will continue to get what you get and that is 20 points or less a game. They better hope Zimmer's D can continue to play lights out or it will be the Bengals lights out when they make the playoff for the second time under MFB and it will more than likely be, One and Done.

[FeedMikeBrownToAquaBengal]

@TigerJ@w: as Much as I hate Bratkowski and think he's a moron, I don't really agree that the Bengals have the same type of weapons as the Saints or even the Pats.

1) They have no credible tight end. It's as if the position has been abolished in the 'Nati. Throwing to JP Foschi is about the same as throwing to HippopotaSmith, you've got a guy who is running in quicksand who will go four yards and fall down. Does anyone remember Rodney Holman? He could still outplay anyone they've got today, even if he had to use a walker.

2) Neither Coles nor Caldwell is that huge a threat. They're good, but not great. And they're both tiny by Chris Henry standards. Coles used to be a track star but his CAREER long reception is 64 yards and he no longer has those wheels. Caldwell has the wheels on the track, but not on the football field, hence he ends up as a guy who is a slot receiver. Even Ochocinco doesn't look like he's a deep threat this year, although that may be just due to Bratkowski being an idiot and not designing good plays.

The guys with the talent to make the passing game reasonably dangerous are Ochocinco, Bernard Scott (but they don't appear to be using him like that), and (if we're lucky) Mr-Red-Shirt Freshman Chase Coffman (because at this point the other teams barely think of covering Bengals tight ends). That really doesn't compare to the stable they've got in Nawlins.

Brat's offensive play-calling and design leave a million things to be desired. The plays appear to be predictable, to any of us who watch the team from week to week. More maddening, the guy simply doesn't adjust to what the defense does. The Raiders started blitzing, and we ended up watching Carson Palmer taking 18 yard sacks and getting whacked from the blind side... their run blitzes were stuffing a lot of the running plays and Brat didn't think of anything else to try. Then he comes up with a fade pass to Brian Leonard who is about the last guy in the world you throw that to (that play lost the game as much as any of 'em)

[Competitiveness]

I've written maybe half of my posts on criticism of Brat, but I will admit that he has a difficult problem (that he's been God-awful at solving)

With Chris Henry out, on passing downs Brat can either:

A: Keep tight ends and/or backs in to block, which he did with Henry in. Chad is having a tough time getting open w/o Henry's support, though, which pretty much kills the pass offense in this formation (and also allows the safeties to come in)

B: Send those guys out, but this not only leaves the line more susceptible to blitzes, it also does just about nothing to solve the passing game with the awful TE's they have and Carson's struggles with throwing near the line of scrimmage (he's been better at this this year, but it still isn't good enough for his talent)

With both, the deep ball is pretty much gone, letting the entire defense focus on stopping the run, but still limiting what Carson and co. can do due to the limited amount of weapons

[BMN]

I think the point that TJanns makes is the most important one: this Bengals' teams goes through defensive coordinators like water filters, but treats Brat like a water well.

What specific accomplishment of Brat's would compel an owner/GM/head coach to keep him after eight years?

What other team would keep this coordinator after these eight years?

How can eight whole years go by without even so much as a RUMOUR of Brat having an interview with another team for a head coaching position without the Bengals wondering about how good their coordinator is? (Exclude the Dick Lebeau coordinator example which is unusual circumstances directly linked to his time in Cincy).

Brat's only saving grace CAN be that he's withholding some alternate playbook for "when it's needed" and if that's the case, then by gosh, power to him. But if not, I have a hard time believing there aren't dozens of better coordinators out there for the hiring.