Quote:jagherd, as someone who follows the Bengals closely each week, I'm interested in getting your input on the following 3 questions:


1) Regarding yesterday's playoff game loss to the Chargers, how much blame do you the loss on the following : Andy Dalton, the rest of the Bengals Offense, and Jay Gruden?


2) What is your opinion of Jay Gruden as a Head Coach candidate?


3 ) What is your opinion of Mike Zimmer as a Head Coach candidate?


I give the Chargers at least a 50-50 chance to win in Denver this coming Sunday. The Chargers road win at Denver last month wasn't a fluke.

Having said that, I'm definitely roooting for the Broncos. For no other reason other than wanting Ken Whisenhunt to become available to be hired as Lions HC following that game, if he's the choice of GM Martin Mayhew. I'm concerned that the Chargers could win this game AND then win on the road at New England or Indianapolis. San Diego looks like the most complete team remaining in the AFC playoffs.

Hey D6. First, I'm thinking the Chargers are still being overlooked as a true competitor for the SB. They've been on a serious roll (ironically, the last team to beat them was Cincinnati back in early December). Rivers is a tough competitor. The Broncos game will be tough, though.


1. Dalton really struggled in the 2nd half, without a doubt. But, the O-Line (which has been solid all season) leaked like a sieve all game. Plus, when Dalton was obviously struggling, Gruden/coaching could've taken a lot of pressure off him by running the ball more, and calling short passing plays. Bengals seemed like they were running the ball very effectively when they tried, but coaching stayed away from it a lot during Dalton's struggles,, idk why.


2. Jay Gruden had been criticized by many Bengals fans for the last half of the season. He seems to get "gimmicky" frequently, and dials up a lot of deep passing stuff when the running game/short passing game is working terrifically. He might make a good HC, but I'm not too sure.


3. Zimmer: that guy has consistently produced a top defense for the last few years. Their secondary has definitely not been elite, and they have sustained key injuries (Geno Atkins, Leon Hall were huge losses). But, Zimmer consistently had them playing very well. He seems to be an awesome motivator, and pretty smart with schemes/plays on the defensive side. I'd bet he'd be a really good HC.

---