National Football League

Blitz barrage

Published Oct. 11, 2010 10:07 a.m. ET

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The Bucs figured the Bengals would bring a variety of blitzes, but they probably didn't envision seeing blitzes practically every time they attempted a pass. ¶ Cincinnati is renowned for blitzes, and against Bucs second-year QB Josh Freeman, the opportunity seemed to present itself. The decision paid dividends for the Bengals at times, though the Bucs managed to do the best thing an offense can to counter the blitz: beat it with the deep ball. ¶ It wasn't easy.

¶ "They're a good blitz team, and when it comes down to it, they're going to go with what they feel comfortable with," RG Davin Joseph said. "They were able to get us on a couple of all-out blitzes where they sent extra guys. We weren't as clean as we wanted to be, but it's something we can look back on and learn. That's one of the better blitz teams in the league, so stuff is going to happen. But guys were able to make plays." ¶ The Bucs coaching staff was well aware that the Bengals had a "Double A-gap blitz" in their repertoire, which is effectively a blitz that uses rushers coming from both sides of the center. ¶ "I talked earlier in the week about (the Bengals) having the exotic blitz package that we hadn't been seeing," coach Raheem Morris said. "They came out with the Double-A package, which I know is phenomenal because I studied it in the offseason and stole stuff from it. They pulled it out of the bag (Sunday), and they were getting home and hitting Freeman." ¶ If things, at times, appeared chaotic, it's because they were. With the fans at Paul Brown Stadium getting into the game and Bucs offensive linemen on their heels, the Bengals would not relent. ¶ "It's tough," Joseph said. "You have the crowd noise; you have the play clock. There's a lot of pressure. But that's why you play this game. You have to be able to perform in that pressure." Illegal T.O. tweet?

A message on Bengals WR Terrell Owens' Twitter feed Sunday violated NFL rules. A post on his Twitter account noted that a fan wearing his jersey at the game against the Bucs would get a football signed by him and WR Chad Ochocinco. The message was posted an hour before kickoff, violating the NFL's social media policy that prohibits posts 90 minutes before a game. Owens was on the field shortly after the message was posted on his Twitter account. "A lucky fan wearing my jersey 2day will get a signed football by Me & Ocho Cinco! My asst will pick U out!! Good luck!" the message said. Even if someone else posted it on his account, it would violate the NFL's restrictions on players and coaches using social media before, during and after games. Asked about the tweet after the Bengals' 24-21 loss to the Bucs, Owens became angry. "Is that something that you really want to talk about right now?" Owens said. Told that he could face a substantial fine for the tweet, Owens said, "What, are you going to fine me? Is that really relevant right now? If it's for a kid, it's for a kid." NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said, "We will look into it." He added that nothing further was expected today. Ochocinco was fined $25,000 by the league for tweeting before and during a preseason game against Philadelphia in August. He was the first player fined for violating the year-old policy.

Bengals a mess

After Sunday's defeat, the Bengals were sitting at 2-3 with consecutive losses to the Browns and Bucs. What's just as puzzling is that many of their offensive stars factored prominently in the loss, including QB Carson Palmer and WRs Terrell Owens and Chad Ochocinco. Owens was the intended receiver on CB Aqib Talib's fourth-quarter interception that set up the tying touchdown, and he expressed frustration after the game. "I did an interview with Michael Irvin (of NFL Network), and he asked me why we were 2-2 prior to this game," Owens said. "Most of it has been self-inflicted mistakes. There is no way we should have lost the game. At some point, we have to clean up those areas." Ochocinco, who failed to haul in a difficult pass that S Sabby Piscitelli intercepted, said, "It's very frustrating. We keep saying the same thing after the three losses. I don't know what else to say." Meanwhile, coach Marvin Lewis is in the final year of his contract and hasn't been given an extension, making this an inopportune time for his team to be slumping. "We need to play better football," he said.

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