Quote: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.

 

 jagherd,  thanks for your input.

 

 One of the especially interesting facets to the upcoming San Diego-Denver is both coaching staffs and players are very familiar with each other.    Execution more than anything will likely decide the outcome.    This shapes up as a close game that could easily come down to the final drive or even go into OT.

 

 

Related to what you expressed,  reportedly Jay Gruden pushed for the Bengals to draft Andy Dalton,  when others in the organization wanted to go in another direction:

 

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/201...ed-dalton/

 

While I try not to let one game influence my line of thinking too much,   admittedly the Chargers convincing win over the Bengals has me more concerned about Jay Gruden as a Head Coach candidate than I was prior to the game.    What you mentioned occuring over a long period of time reinforces my concern.   Gruden is scheduled to be interviewed by Tennessee,   Washington,  and Minnesota in consecutive days.   The Lions reportedly expressed interest for an interview with Gruden but it remains to be seen if that will transpire.   i'm starting to hope that it doesn't.

 

To Mike Zimmer's credit,  the Bengals would have been in position to win the game if the Bengals Offense protected the ball better,   even taking the Bengals Offensive playcalling questionable decisions out of the equation.   Viewing Zimmer from an outside fan perspective,  I'm impressed that he's had success with more than one team as a Defensive Coordinator and like you expressed did a good job overcoming injuries to key players.   

 

Zimmer would probably be a very good fit for the Lions from a Defensive perspective because the Bengals and Lions have similar type of Defensive Lineman.    The comparison inside with Geno Atkins and Ndamukong Suh comes to mind.   Both are quick and strong,   Very disruptive.   On the outside,  both teams have multiple DE's with long wingspan and athletism.    The key question with Zimmer is what would his plan be for the Offensive Side of the ball and specifically in terms of refinement at the QB position?     At the very least,  Zimmer has earned more interviews,  

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