I re-watched the Chargers-Bengals game. Wanted to get a closer look at these teams. And I have a few observations to pass along.
Melvin Gordon. He’s coming along. He was awfully ordinary and disappointing in the preseason, but he’s coming along. He’s gotten a little better each week. Now he seems to be on the verge of becoming good. He had (I think) three long runs in this game. He had a 26-yard burst on the first play, a 27-yard run later, and another long run that I didn’t note the yardage on. He’s going to score some long touchdowns, and we can start talking again about him possibly being the best of the rookie runners – for this year and long-term. The Chargers will mix in Danny Woodhead, and he’s a neat little player, but Gordon is the guy they definitely want as their main back. They’re also working him into the passing game (he’s caught 4 passes so far). If we’re redrafting today, I would expect Gordon to be one of the first 15 backs selected.
Ladarius Green. Green suffered a concussion in this game, his second in a month. So essentially no chance that he plays on Sunday. I’m not sure he’ll even be back in Week 4. After that, Antonio Gates will be back, and Green’s brief run as a starter will be over.
Stevie Johnson. I like the fit in this offense. Johnson, I think, is better than the guy he replaced, Eddie Royal. They use mostly three-receiver sets, and I don’t see a ton of difference between Johnson and Keenan Allen. Allen had an off game on this Sunday, with a drop and a muffed punt that put the Chargers in a 7-0 hole early. Their other wide receiver, ageless Malcom Floyd, is more o a window-dressing guy, running vertical routes up the sideline.
Jeremy Hill. He was benched in this game after losing 2 fumbles, but I’m not concerned. The first fumble, in my opinion, wasn’t even a fumble. He was stopped and caught up in the pile. The play should have been blown dead. Then he got folded back over a body, twisting his knee in a potentially season-ending away. While this was happening, Donald Butler came in and ripped the ball out of his hands. So I don’t see the big deal – could have happened to any running back. The second fumble was more of the bonehead variety. They were running a toss-sweep and he dropped the pitch. No excuses there. But I believe Hill is the clear starter in this offense and a good fit with Hue Jackson’s system. Giovani Bernard is a good No. 2, but he’s definitely No. 2.
Marvin Jones. There was the deal back in August where Jones wasn’t practicing much and Marvin Lewis called him out. But Jones is healthy and dialed in now. Definitely the starting receiver opposite A.J. Green. Mohamed Sanu is now just a distant No. 3 receiver, with hardly much of a role in the offense.
A.J. Green. He dropped a touchdown in Week 1. In this game, he made a nice leaping catch for the opening day. I wonder why, on these kind of plays, more defensive backs don’t focus less on the football and instead concentrate on the man. For the catch to be completed, the receiver must get both feet down. So when they’re jumping along the sideline, while not try to get a hold of a leg or the body and make sure the guy doesn’t get back to the ground until he’s out of bounds.
Andy Dalton. He’s put up nice numbers the first two weeks, but he looks like the same Andy Dalton to me. Let’s see what happens in the upcoming weeks when more teams are able to put better pressure on him.
—Ian Allan