Patriots Hope to De-claw the Bengals Monday Night

In the spotlight of Monday Night Football, the 3-0 New England Patriots take on a dangerous 1-2 Bengals, who are looking to get back on track after losing in a shootout with the Browns and a close game with the Seahawks. There is certainly no lack of respect between the teams, as both sides have complimented the other. Coming from the Cincinnati sideline, coach Marvin Lewis had this to say of Coach Bill Belichick and the Patriots:

“He has been able to get his players to buy in. He has been able to cultivate enough mature leadership, and they’ve become his lieutenants and assistants to his assistants throughout his football team. They learn. They study. They take advantage of everything they can. They play the game as hard mentally as physically.”

Vocal and entertaining wide receiver Chad Johnson, who was tailor-made for the Monday Night spotlight, also spoke highly of the Pats, and set aside his usual trash talk. In a conference call with the Boston media, he also gave his thoughts about Spygate.

“That videotaping thing, it doesn’t matter. OK, say you do know the signals. You still have to go out and execute the defense. Forget that. Take the cameras away — you’re talking about a great football team that has great coaches. Throw that camera bull out the window. They’d be 3-0 right now regardless of that damn camera.”

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Praise and opinions aside, this will be the Pats’ Homeland Defense’s toughest challenge so far this season (the Pats lead the league in total defense). Quarterback Carson Palmer is†usually regarded as the #2 QB in the NFL, behind #1 and #1a, Tom Brady and Peyton Manning. The starting wide receivers, Chad Johnson and TJ Houshmandzadeh (yeah, I spelt that without looking it up) are as good a #1 and #2 as you’ll find in the NFL. Houshmandzadeh has a league leading 29 receptions, while Johnson has a league leading 442 receiving yards. Starting runningback Rudi Johnson will probably miss this game due to injury, so the shifty Kenny Watson will take his place. My guess is the Pats will focus on stopping Palmer and his wide-outs, as the front seven has been more than capable stopping the running game without help from the safety position. It’ll be tough to double either receiver because you’ll leave the other in single coverage, unless the Pats drop back extra men in coverage. I’m looking for alot of blitzing from the Pats’ linebackers, especially with a banged up Bengal offensive line.
That being said, New England’s #1 total offense should not have much trouble putting points on the board, as the Bengals gave up over 50 points to the Browns. Yes, those Browns, the ones from Cleveland that flip coins to decide who’ll start at QB (I still love ya Romeo). One thing Tom Brady will have to be careful of is the Cinci defense is very good at creating turnovers, be it by catching errant passes or forcing fumbles. However, Randy Moss and Wes Welker should have a field day and put up some good numbers, especially with the Monday Night spotlight shining on them. If the Bengals are scoring points, the Pats air attack will probably put up even bigger numbers than it has so far this season.
However, I expect the Pats to run the ball often early to keep the Bengal offense off the field. If the D can come up with some early stops and the offense can control the clock and put up points, then the game won’t be close. The Bengals will have to become one dimensional and the attacking defense will tee off on Palmer. Of course, this is all easier said than done, and I do expect this to be tight, at least for a little while.
As far as a game prediction goes, I’m taking the Pats. The offense is too good for the Cinci defense and the Pats defense can make enough plays to hold Cinci down. If last year’s team could do it I see no reason why a much better 2007 team can’t do the same. A score you ask? How can I not say the Pats will score 38 points? I hit it on the head last week and so far they’ve scored 38 every week.
Final score: Pats 38, Bengals 24. I do think the Bengals will be able to put up more points on the Pats than the Jets, Chargers, and Bills were able to muster. This will definitely be a great game. Go Pats!