VIDEO – With the self-proclaimed “Batman and Robin” (Chad Ochocinco and Terrell Owens) gone, along with QB Carson Palmer, the Bengals have found another dynamic duo to replace them, although they are much more low key about it.
The Bengals first two draft picks – WR A.J. Green and QB Andy Dalton – have helped lead the Bengals to a 6-2 start, and they have already hooked up for four touchdowns this season. Dalton was recently mike’d up for the game against the Colts in Week Six, shown in the video above, and you can see how well they communicate and how good their chemistry is on the field.
The Bengals face a tough test this weekend, as the 6-3 Pittsburgh Steelers come to town, and if the Bengals want to make a run at the division title, they need to get past the Steelers and Ravens, making this a statement game.
Steelers safety Ryan Clark has been impressed with what he’s seen of Dalton. “I think he’s extremely composed, goes through his progressions well,” Clark said.
“I think he really trusts his receivers – A.J. Green, Jerome Simpson – and those guys are making amazing plays for him. But the biggest thing you see is the team believes in him, they believe in his leadership.”
Green will be trying to do something that Ochocinco was never able to do against a defense led by Steelers defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau: log a 100-yard game.
“I think the thing you’re impressed about the most is his ability to catch the ball in traffic,” Clark said of Green. “You look at the flag route he catches in end zone against the Indianapolis Colts; the guy is right up on him.”
“He’s the complete receiver. I actually talked to our wide receivers coach about him last year when he was in school and he was just saying how he was NFL ready last year in college.”
Former Bengals Pro Bowl receiver Isaac Curtis, who played with the team from 1973 to 1984, said of Green, “He’s as talented as anyone in the league right now. He’s got unlimited talent. He’s fun to watch and he’s certainly as talented as anyone that’s come through here.”
“He’s got the full package. Size, speed, great hands, agility, adjusts to the ball.”
The Bengals have their hands full this weekend against a Steelers defense that is 3rd in the league against the pass, and 6th against the run. To win a division title, the Bengals will have to get past two of the toughest defenses in the league in the Steelers and Ravens, and they get a shot on Sunday.
Bengals offensive coordinator Jay Gruden knows the Steelers well. “With Coach LeBeau and the Steelers, you never know what you’re exactly going to get,” Gruden said. “We’re going to have to come up with big plays and big runs. Get some chunk plays somehow, some way. When we do take our shots we have to make them pay.”
