Dolphins at Bengals: 3 things we learned

A.J. Green is loving life under a new offensive coordinator after helping the Cincinnati Bengals beat up the Miami Dolphins on Thursday Night Football.

A.J. Green’s mammoth first half sent the Cincinnati Bengals on their way to a 22-7 win Thursday night. But what his 10-catch night really showed was how creatively offensive coordinator Ken Zampese is using the team’s best receiver.

Zampese is keeping opponents guessing about where Green will be, while expanding how the elite flanker will attack coverage.

Sadly, nobody is left guessing about the state of Cincinnati’s running game. Despite facing what had been one of the NFL‘s softest run defenses, the Bengals still couldn’t get on track on the ground, finishing with just 77 rushing yards.

Another blot on the Cincinnati copybook came from how few third downs the offense converted. It took five field goals from the boot of Mike Nugent to seal a game the hosts dominated and should have won with more room to spare.

Here’s what we learned about the Bengals after they kicked off Week 4 of the 2016 NFL season with a win:

Ken Zampese is making A.J. Green better

Covering A.J. Green has never been an easy task, but it did at least used to be a simpler affair guessing where No. 18 would line up. He was usually split out wide as the “Z” receiver or flanker. Green most often broke out of this alignment to stretch defenses on deep post patterns.

Well, those days are long gone, and it’s now a guessing game where Green will be on any play — a guessing game the Dolphins lost spectacularly on Thursday night.

Take a look at Green’s route chart, provided by Next Gen Stats, for an idea of the many places he lined up, as well as the routes he ran:

https://twitter.com/NFL/status/781674846069657600

This is a process started on former OC Hue Jackson’s watch last season. He began working Green on more short passes, like the seven-yarder he scored off against the Dolphins. It came on what is fast becoming the staple play of Cincinnati’s passing game, the quick screen.

But Zampese is taking Jackson’s ideas a little further. He’s moving Green around more often and into a greater variety of positions.

More on FanSided:

• NFL: 15 Biggest Draft Busts Of All-Time
• NFL Power Rankings: 30 Best Head Coaches Of All-Time
• Top 30 Teams Of The Modern Era

A terrific example can on a third-down play in the second quarter. Green began in a tight alignment, stacked between the slot and the line of scrimmage, a vary rare place to find him. He got a quick inside release, before using his speed and size to separate on a shallow crossing pattern and snatch a contest ball to convert.

Zampese’s nuances are getting Green involved more often, something that led to staggering first-half numbers against the Dolphins, per NFL Research:

Add this night’s work to his 12-catch, 180-yard effort against the New York Jets in Week 1, and Green is putting together a very special season with Zampese’s help.

Bengals’ O-line has lost its nasty edge in the running game

Cincinnati’s struggles running the ball are something of a mystery. Jeremy Hill and Giovani Bernard are two talented backs, while the O-line seems strong. Left tackle Andrew Whitworth and guard Kevin Zeitler are two highly skilled maulers in the trenches.

Yet, this team still can’t get anything going running. It’s not just Hill and Bernard failing to deliver. Whitworth and Co. have to take responsibility as well.

More from NFL

• 3 reasons the NY Giants won Saquon Barkley contract negotiations
• Shocking reunion with Saints fan favorite finally made official after months of hints
• Saquon Barkley’s new contract is an L for NFL running backs: Best memes and tweets
• NFL rumors: Division rival could steal Dalvin Cook from Dolphins
• Raiders sign coveted All-Pro ahead of training camp

Against Miami, there were too many negative runs because the ball-carrier was frequently met by defenders in the backfield. There also wasn’t enough push on inside and short-yardage plays. Granted, the Dolphins pack some beef along their D-line, particularly with tackle Ndamukong Suh, but Cincy’s front five must do better.

Perhaps it’s a conceptual problem. This is an offense running a playbook filled with quick-hitting pass plays. Those plays let linemen make quick blocks and reads before getting out into space.

It looks as if all the misdirection and space-surfing has taken the nasty edge away from Cincy’s men up front. They aren’t staying on blocks and driving people off the ball the way a successful running game demands.

Third-down conversion rate cause for concern

Despite thoroughly dominating the Dolphins, Cincinnati’s offense converted just three of 15 third downs. It’s why the Dolphins stayed close longer than they ever should have.

A familiar problem is the struggles by quarterback Andy Dalton to work the middle of the field with any regularity. His offense is great at stressing the edges, as well as pushing the ball vertically, but there aren’t enough quick strikes between the hashmarks.

This makes sense on some level, especially since tight end Tyler Eifert is still out. He’s very adept at stretching the seams and working the hook and curl zones. But so is running back Giovani Bernard, yet Dalton only threw three passes the Velcro-handed running back’s way against Miami.

A circle route to No. 25 is there anytime this offense wants it. So is a quick crosser to rookie wideout Tyler Boyd. Zampese must get weapons like these more involved to cure Cincinnati’s third-down blues.

Next: Top 30 NFL Games Of All Time

Evening their record is obviously great news for a team with playoff aspirations, but the Bengals still have things to fix ahead of next Sunday’s trip to take on the Dallas Cowboys.