I have a special treat this week. The Cincinnati Enquirer’s Joe Reedy agreed to do a Q&A for me. He gave us an inside look at the Bengals and what we can expect this week.
Jeff Wolfson: What has been the most impressive part of the Cincinnati Bengals season to this point?
Joe Reedy: The biggest thing is that this team does not get flustered if it has a bad play or two. That happened frequently last year and was a big reason why they lost 10 straight games.
JW: The 6-3 record is a surprise. What’s been the key to that start?
JR: The defense has returned to its 2009 level of stopping opponent’s running games along with adding a consistent pass rush. Mostly though it has been the play of Andy Dalton. The offensive numbers aren’t pretty but he has a command of the huddle and this offense. He is also giving his backs and receivers a chance to make plays.
JW: It appears Leon Hall is done for the season. Who takes his place and how big is the talent drop off?
JR: Right now its Kelly Jennings, who was acquired in a trade from Seattle, but they would like to work Adam Jones in as well. Its not often that you have the choice of two first-round corners to replace a former one. Needless to say though the drop off is pretty steep.
JW: The Ravens have struggled recently against the Bengals, what’s changed in the offense with Andy Dalton instead of Carson Palmer and the switch from Bob Bratkowski to Jay Gruden?
JR: More patience in attacking defenses instead of trying to go consistently downfield.
JW: A.J. Green looks like the real deal. Will he play Sunday?
JR: He was limping pretty good in the locker room on Wednesday, so I have my doubts.
JW: Aside from Green, what other weapons can the Bengals hurt the Ravens with?
JR: Cedric Benson had two 100-yard games against the Ravens in ’09 and Bernard Scott has good speed to the outside. Jerome Simpson and Andre Caldwell had good games last year in the finale at Baltimore but both have been wildly inconsistent.
JW: Baltimore hasn’t played well against teams that run 4-3 defenses and Cincinnati’s defense has played well this season and historically against Baltimore. Where is there a weakness that the Ravens may look to attack if there even is a weakness in the Bengals’ defense this season?
JR: They will go after Jennings and whoever the nickel corner is, which could be Jones, Brandon Ghee or Chris Crocker.
JW: Do you think Cincinnati has a legitimate shot to either win the division or make the playoffs?
JR: Playoffs is possible if teams in the East can continue beating up on each other. I doubt the division though after they lost to the Steelers.
JW: In your opinion, what is the expected outcome of Sunday’s game?
JR: With possibly no Green and definitely no Hall, I’d say Ravens win 20-10
Thanks to Mr. Joe Reedy we have a decent idea of what the Bengals could look like Sunday and how the Ravens may attack them on offense.
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