A couple of websites providing more sophisticated statistical information than traditional metrics have some interesting stuff about the Bengals. Here's a quick rundown for those who care.
First, from their weekly "audibles at the line" game commentary, Rob Weintraub notes two surprising Bengals players who had good games:
Dare I blaspheme, but solid as Keith Rivers is, his backup Brandon Johnson is better. He was a Defeat machine in reserve last season, and he has been everywhere the last two games. Eventually, I expect Rivers to move inside, once Dhani takes a trip and doesn't return.
Pittsburgh habitually kills us with routes that show outside and slide inside, either by design or ad libs during Roethlisberger scrambles. The Bengals did a fabulous job of dropping into those passing lanes (often zone blitzing), and the corners stuck with their men like glue--even third CB Morgan Trent.
I am not qualified to tell you if Brandon Johnson may indeed be better than Rivers or whether Morgan Trent covers well but the point is the Bengals apparently have some of that elusive depth we harp on frequently. In fact, they seem to have it most everywhere except the one place you can't really have it, QB. It's good to see Trent playing well as the secondary depth was a noted pre-season concern along with the offensive line.
Speaking of the offensive line, maybe we should have looked into resigning Levi. Also from the article:
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