As a measure of full disclosure, I must admit that after Eddie Royal's three first-down catches and then the dropped INT to end Monday night's first drive I briefly switched into a Larry Johnsonesque full Gay-bashing mode.
Say what you want about #22, he was not bad last night. I think Lebeau's directive to the corners (esp. early) was to keep them in front, let the line get warm over the two sucksacks they had at either tackle, and make Orton try to throw on the move. Of course it would never occur to espn to run a relevant stat, but I bet his passer rating was close to 90 when he was set, and around 40 on the move or contacted. The drop was hardly his fault; and his break-up to close a drive when the game was still close was top notch.
FWIW I have new favorite barroom rant about how the difference between Cincinatti and the PS over the years comes down to tackling. We win and they don't because we tackle and they don't. Only seen them the once this year, so can't form an opinion yet, but it remains true of the PS defense. You can't play on the line if you can't stop the run, you can't play corner if you can't tackle, and you can't play linebacker unless your dogs have a taste for horseflesh.
