WhoDeyRevolution

Strategery at its Finest

OK so let me get this straight... Two years ago we sign Willie Anderson to a huge contract extension in lieu of retaining Eric Steinbach, the lynchpin of the Bengals once dominant offensive line.  Steinbach goes to a division foe, the Browns, and drastically improves the quality of their o-line. Willie stays here, bum knees and all, and we the Bengals fans pay our hard earned money to watch our once great playoff team spiral back into mediocrity. 

Two years later we release the man who we kept in favor of Steinbach, and our line is light years behind what it used to be.  What gives? Why not just cut Willie two years ago when everybody knew he was way too old to continue playing at this level?  Why not reward Steinbach for becoming the best pulling guard in the NFL?  A good friend (widely known as the Pube Bandit) once told me that in the NFL you should only reward for talent, not loyalty... And Bengals did exactly that. I dont want to downplay Willie and his tenure with the Bengals. He was the best lineman we have had since Anthony Munoz. But it was his time to go...

It is time for the Bengals to start making the right decisions at the right time.  This one came two years too late.  Sometimes I wonder about good old Mikey and his decision making.  I think the Bengals would be better off if we had Tourettes Guy making player personnel decisions. 

Big Names on the Cut List Tomorrow?

With the league deadline for getting every NFL team to 53 players just hours away, the Bengals face some tough decisions.

The common thought process in Bengaldom right now is that Rudi Johnson will be hacked after his zero carry, zero yard performance in Indianapolis last night.  Definitely a possibility, but who else? 

Other (veteran) names that are being thrown around include Ahmad Brooks (pretty much a given), Dexter Jackson (OK but the secondary is now EXTREMELY young), and Jeremi Johnson.

Rumors persist in the ears of WDR editors that a 'big' name (not Rudi) will be cut tomorrow that will definitely raise some eyebrows.  Levi Jones?  John Thornton? 

We will all find out tomorrow who will be heading to Baltimore to take out the Ravens.  Make sure to bring your playbook.

Bengals and Obama Proclaim: "ENOUGH!"

On a historic night in American history, the Bengals finally stood up to their elitist, oil grubbing doubters and pulverized the Colts practice squad 27-7 last night. 

With the win, the Bengals finish with the Brown family's "perfect" record of 2-2 in the pre-season, and are set to face the QB-less Baltimore Ravens on September 7th.

The Bengals don't take the Amtrak home every night like Joe Biden, but their trip back I-74 was a good one after Ryan Fitzpatrick led the offense on two scoring drives for a quick 14-0 lead.

Here are a few quick hit pros and cons from last night's action:

The Bengals Are An Unstoppable Freight Train Bearing Down On Your Children

I'm never usually pumped up going into the Bengals season, but this year has all the droppings of magic that a team needs to achieve greatness. Strife? Check. Dissension? Check. Injuries? Checkmate. 

The Bengals are going to go 17-2 this year. I love watching this team and all of their lovable idiosyncracies.  Can't block for Carson, not problematic at all. Can't rush the passer? Doesn't matter because pass rushers don't win games, wide receivers do. You may say that the Bengals are all about style and not enough about substance, but at the end of the day, style is the one going home to rail the prom queen. And the Bengals are that prom queen. Style picked us to rail, and goddamnit, railed we shall get.

Week One College Football Open Thread

Ohio High School football started last weekend and Thursday night the college football season gets going. Football finally returns to TV and if you’re like me you’ll be glued to the TV way too long this weekend to the point where a late night WAC game will seem like a good thing to watch and gamble on (I have lost too much money gambling on pre-season NFL)Plus, since it’s not the NFL your team might actually have a chance of pulling off a winning record (can I get a Who Dey!!!).

Every Thursday for the next thirteen weeks WDR plans to bring you this open thread to rant and rave about all things college football. The plan is to bring you a top ten and a little preview of the games and players that are on TV that week. The focus will be to talk about the players in these games that are worth watching as potential 2009 Bengals NFL Draft Picks.   (for instance I’d take the USC line backing corps from last year over who the Bengals have starting right now).

After the jump I give you my preseason top ten, the games on TV this weekend and the players worth watching in those games. In the comments let us know who you’ll be watching this week, who'd look good in a Bengals uniform next season, and what you think is going to happen in college football this season.

Keeping it Fair - Mike Brown Successes (?)

As we chronicle the failures past and present of Mike Brown, it is only fair that we give him credit for the occasional good decision he makes.  Though this blog often reads as a one long anti-Brown tirade, the harsh treatment we give Mike Brown is not borne of a personal vendetta.  It follows entirely from rational analysis.  So in that spirit, let's rationally dole out some praise for the decisions he has made that went right.

1. Drafting Carson Palmer

2. Constructing a Top Offensive Line

3. Calling Chad's Bluff

4. Fighting for Structural Parity & League Competitive Balance

In 17 years that's all I can come up with.  Four.  So let's break them down, one by one...

Bengals Excuse Generator

We here at La Revolucion want to prepare you for the excuses that the Bengals are going to use for when they suck this season. The sad part is, you don't need to be a psychic to see each and every one of these coming and you know they're coming! Picture Marvin Lewis saying these in a press conference.

Why the Bengals are losing in the pre-season: "It's pre-season. Pre-season games don't count."

Why the Bengals are 1-2 in their first three games: "It's early in the season, and we're trying to get healthy."  This would work if a baseball team started 1-2. 

Why the Bengals are 3-5 in their first eight games: "We had a rough first half schedule (Baltimore, Dallas, Tennessee, Giants, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Jets, Jacksonville), and we're still not healthy.  Injuries are killing us."

Naked Cutout of Mike Brown Needs to Happen

We joked about it earlier this summer that the comparisons to the 2008 Bengals and the cinematic masterpieces of Major League and Major League II was pretty dead on.  For example, Big Willie is clearly Eddie Harris - grizzled vet and man of God who is respected in the locker room.  We joked that Marvin was clearly Coach Lou Brown and Mike Brown was penny-pinching owner Rachel Phelps, albeit with a less desirable figure.  Read whole post to get more comparisons.

However, this is not a joke anymore.   The only way that Marvin Lewis regains control of his locker room is to totally distance himself from Mike Brown.  We talked yesterday about how Marvin seems to be doing just this in his public comments about re-signing Henry and the rumors about shopping Rudi, showing that these decisions are all Mikey's.  We also challenged Marvin to publicly distance himself from Mikey. 

Then I read this week's  Sports Illustrated article about Marvin putting his foot down with Mike Brown, getting him to cut Henry and Odell and restraining Chad Johnson.   This article came out before Chris Henry was re-signed.  So much for re-establishing control of the locker room.  The only way that Marvin can reestablish control of his players is by letting his players know that they play for him, and not for Mike Brown.

If the players are playing for the owner, they are only concerned with pleasing Mikey - who is only enthused by mediocrity and loyalty.  If the Bengals are going to have any chance of winning some football games this season, they need to play for their coach.

Mike Zimmer on the Bengals Preseason Performance

"We Suck."

That's according to C. Trent over at LOTD - 1530AM from the locker room yesterday.  Zimmer seems to be the only leader on the team willing to cut through the BS and both take and give out some blame.  He continued:

"The really disappointing thing was the overall effort in the game. They just weren't flying around to the football like they had been all through camp. I don't know what the reason for that was, but that was disappointing. So, really, that's what I'm looking for this weekend. And like I told them the other day, I want to find out when we get punched a few times, who wants to punch back? We got punched a few times the other night. Who wants to take it, and who wants to get up and give us something?"

Contrast that with the waffling of both Marvin and Carson.  I recognize that a true sign of leadership is both deflecting praise and taking the blame, but you would hope to see some sort of urgency going into the last preseason game.  Let's just hope that they are getting a little tougher on the guys making the mistakes behind closed doors during the last week of practice.

Marvin even finds a way to blame Carson for some of the pressure in the Saints game:

They're Your Ingredients. You Cook Them Fatass.

As the Bengals season capsizes into the Ohio River, I offer Marvin Lewis the chance to be a Cincinnati legend and call out Mike Brown for the fucking jackass he is. Step down and in the press conference tell the world that Mike Brown and his unlimited football knowledge should coach the team.

Marvin should say, "Hey, if you think you can run the team just like your dad did, I shouldn't have to remind you that your dad also coached. Let's see your fat old ass redeem this team."

Then he should knock over the mic and walk away, leaving Mikey to handle this boiling cauldron of shit called the Bengals. Maybe it would teach Mikey that he will never live up to his dad's name and that maybe he should leave the football decisions to the people who know their shit.

The only drawback would be that Carson would probably have a nervous breakdown and never throw a football again. He might prefer that though to the beating he's been taking so far this preseason. It might be quitting, and Palmer ain't no quitter, but sometimes you have to take into perspective how bad things are when Kevin Kaesviharn is getting free shots on you two steps into your five step drop.