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**elaine95** 23 апр 2019, 09:07

Dolphins at Bengals game preview: Flipping the script If you were to ask national analysts in August their thoughts on both the Miami Dolphins and Cincinnati Bengals starting 3-1 and being division leaders through the first month of the NFL season Clint Boling Jersey , you’d probably get laughed out of the room. Yet, here we are. When you look at these teams, it’s what makes professional football the best of all American sports. The NFL touts parity as one of its best traits as a league, and that is on display with the starts to the season of both teams facing off at Paul Brown Stadium on Sunday. Miami went to the playoffs in 2016, but stumbled to a 6-10 finish last season. After five straight postseason berths from 2011-2015, the Bengals went a combined 13-18-1 the past two seasons. To say that September 2018 has been a breath of fresh air for both teams is a massive understatement. Miami’s path to their nice start has been far different than that of the Bengals. Over the past year, head coach Adam Gase has pushed stars like Jay Ajayi, Ndamukong Suh, Jarvis Landry, Mike Pouncey and others out of the door over the past year or so. Yet, the Dolphins have risen to the occasion, playing more as a team, rather than a group of me-first guys. The result? Sitting atop the AFC East after the first month of the season.A big reason for the Dolphins’ early success is the play of quarterback Ryan Tannehill. He has been taking care of the football with just three interceptions this season, letting the game come to him a bit more than in years past. In what initially looks like a scary statistic, Tannehill is 10-2 in his last 12 starts. However, because of injuries he’s accrued, that number dates back all the way to 2016. The ageless wonder Vincent Rey Jersey , Frank Gore, has been a nice addition that they’ve coupled with Kenyan Drake in the running game. In the secondary, Xavien Howard and rookie Minkah Fitzpatrick have also combined for four interceptions this year, all adding up to a surprising month for the Dolphins. These two face the immense task of covering A.J. Green and Tyler Boyd this week. They’ve combined for seven touchdown catches and have emerged as two of Andy Dalton’s favorite targets in 2018. Some may wonder about the level of wins the Dolphins have achieved this year, though. They had a nice season-opening win over the current AFC South-leading Titans, but have since beaten the Jets and Raiders, who have a combined 2-6 record so far this year. Then, as predictable as the sun rising in the east, Miami lost last week to a backs-against-the-wall Patriots team. And now, with New England’s win on Thursday night, they are nipping at the Dolphins’ heels. Gase and Co. definitely need this one at Paul Brown Stadium—both for playoff chances and their reputation. Cincinnati’s start, on the other hand, has been less methodical than Miami’s equation to success, but far more exciting. Who Dey Nation has had to keep the defibrillator paddles nearby, given the what the 2018 “Cardiac Cats” have put them through. Teryl Austin’s defense started off hot with five turnovers in the first two games, but haven’t netted any big plays since. His unit is letting up 28 points a game, only to be saved by the offense Boomer Esiason Jersey , which is averaging 31 points per contest. And, like Miami, murmurs about who they’ve beaten are starting to surface. Atlanta, Indianapolis and Baltimore have a combined record of 5-8. Sure, besting the Ravens on primetime was a nice notch in the belt, but just how good are the Bengals right now?Regardless, you have to play who’s on your schedule. And, who’s next is a team recently-removed from a playoff berth and gunning for another after a hot start. Unfortunately, Cincinnati might be employing a very different-looking backfield this week. The exciting duo of Joe Mixon and Giovani Bernard have been battling differing knee ailments over the past few weeks, with the latter now seeming to be lost for potentially a month. This comes on the heels of the team losing another valuable passing option for the year in Tyler Eifert. Dalton has shown both comfortability and grit this year, but he keeps losing some of his favorite outlets. In his borderline-magical 2015 campaign, Dalton was at his best when all of his options were available. That isn’t and hasn’t been the case this year, but No. 14 has still played very well. He’ll need to continue his high-level of performance with Bernard, Eifert, John Ross and Billy Price not playing this week.The injuries are a shame because this two-headed monster in the backfield gives opposing defense fits—but they’ve only suited up for two games together this season. Mixon might make his return this week, but the ever-conservative Bengals brain trust could have him sit until Week 6 when the Steelers come to town. Speaking of Pittsburgh, ironically Anthony Munoz Jersey , that is what scares me about this week. Cincinnati is not only limping a bit right now, but might they also be looking ahead to a clash they’ve been awaiting for almost a year?Possibly. But, if this year’s Bengals team has taught us anything, it’s that they seem to be more mentally-tough than previous Marvin Lewis squads. Whether it’s in climbing back for what looked like unlikely wins, or keeping their foot on the throat after getting a big lead, the 2018 Bengals are designed to give headaches to their opposition. Well, pull out the Advil, Adam. You’re in for a rough game for the second week in a row. Dolphins 20, Cincinnati 30AC — “You want to talk to the dolphin, you talk to me”. CINCINNATI (AP) — Marvin Lewis got the Bengals‘ head coaching job because of his reputation for defensive excellence. He’s now in charge of trying to resuscitate a historically bad unit and pulling Cincinnati’s season back from the brink.The Bengals fired defensive coordinator Teryl Austin on Monday, a day after a 51-14 loss to the Saints that ranks among the worst in franchise history. New Orleans scored on every possession except the last one — when it took a knee while in field-goal range — during its rout at Paul Brown Stadium.The fading Bengals (5-4) fired a coordinator in midstream for the second season in a row. And it’s up to Lewis to get hands-on and try to fix the mess while filling two roles at once.“Teryl worked very hard, but I just felt like we have to rock their world, shake things up,” Lewis said.The timing was curious. The Bengals were coming off their bye week that would have given them time to adapt to a change at coordinator. Now, they’re changing on the fly while getting ready for a pivotal AFC North game at Baltimore (4-5) on Sunday.Lewis made another interesting move, re-hiring fired Browns coach Hue Jackson, who served as his offensive coordinator in 2014 and 2015. Jackson Preston Brown Jersey , who was dismissed by Cleveland on Oct. 29 after winning just three games in two-plus seasons, will take on an unspecified role within Lewis’ staff, a person familiar with the decision told The Associated Press on Monday night.The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the team has not announced Jackson’s addition.The Bengals host the Browns on Nov. 25.Lewis took the defense aside a few times on Sunday, trying to clear up confusion. While he won’t change the defensive schemes, he’ll try to bring more clarity to players’ responsibilities.“They want help: ‘Give me something,'” Lewis said.The Bengals have given up at least 500 yards in three straight games — a first in the Super Bowl era — and are on pace to give up an NFL record for yards in a season . In the past four games, Cincinnati has allowed 481, 551, 576 and 509 yards.Lewis has one thing in his favor: The schedule is far more favorable the rest of the way.Cincinnati has faced six offenses currently ranked in the league’s Top 10 — Tampa Bay (No. 1), Kansas City (3), Pittsburgh (4), New Orleans (5), Atlanta (6) and Indianapolis (9). Only two are left on the schedule: the Chargers (8) and the Steelers again.With three losses in the past four games, Cincinnati has fallen from first place to trailing Pittsburgh (6-2-1) by two games in the loss column. They can’t afford to fall any further behind, which was a factor in the firing.“They’re trying to get things fixed now,” defensive end Carlos Dunlap said. “If you weren’t paying attention, you’re paying attention now.”It’s the second time during his 16-season tenure in Cincinnati that Lewis has gotten directly involved in the defense.The Bengals hired him in 2003 in large part because of his reputation for defensive coaching — he coordinated the Ravens’ Super Bowl-championship defense in the 2000 season. Defense has been a regular challenge during his tenure.Lewis became so frustrated with the defense in 2004 that he took over play-calling from coordinator Leslie Frazier during a game against Cleveland. The Bengals lost 34-17 and Lewis left the defense in Frazier’s hands the rest of the way Cordy Glenn Jersey , and then fired him after the season.Now, he’s back in charge.“We’re not playing well, so something had to change,” safety Jessie Bates said.Lewis hired Austin from Detroit after defensive coordinator Paul Guenther left to join Jon Gruden with the Raiders. The Bengals gave up a lot of yards while opening the season 4-1, with the defense scoring four touchdowns off fumble and interception returns to overcome the poor showings overall.With injuries sapping the defense during a stretch of games against the NFL’s top offenses, the unit imploded. The Saints scored touchdowns on all five first-half possessions Sunday, and moved the ball easily even when they were running out the clock in the fourth quarter.The Bengals matched the club record by giving up 28 points in the second quarter. The 51 points allowed were one shy of the club record.Austin is the fourth coordinator fired in the NFL this season. Tampa Bay fired defensive coordinator Mike Smith, Arizona fired offensive coordinator Mike McCoy, and the Browns fired head coach Hue Jackson and offensive coordinator Todd Haley.Jackson has a close relationship with Lewis, who has declined to discuss whether he’d bring him back to Cincinnati. Jackson coached on both offense and defense in Cincinnati.Last year, the Bengals fired offensive coordinator Ken Zampese after an 0-2 start, but the Bengals missed out on the playoffs for the second year in a row. Lewis got a two-year contract extension after the season even though he’s 0-7 in the playoffs — an NFL record for futility.