Bengals Think First Place Schedule & Low Draft Pick Status Not Big Enough Hurdles For This Season, Look To Self Impose Additional Handicaps

As can be gathered from the title, the purpose of this post is to move that awful picture of the cat shitting further down the page.

It's also to point out a major emerging theme this season:  the Bengals won't play their best players. 

It's a new and fun and original way to lose the Bengals haven't yet explored.  So far so good though.  If any NFL organization needed an edge it would be Mike Brown's Bengals, but nope, instead they decide to simply increase their own degree of difficulty.  The insanity of it all is dazzling.  I stand in awe.  Witness:

1. Nate Livings at LG over Evan Mathis.  We have been over this before.
2. Dennis Roland at RT over anyone.  I didn't get a chance to watch the game and Joe Reedy doesn't have his snap count breakdown up yet but I believe Andre Smith got a lot of action - and apparently wasn't much better.  The obvious stopgap solution until perhaps Andre Smith actually earns the right to play RT?  Anthony Collins.  I can't find the article now, but he graded out around average for his play last year.  He would seem a clear upgrade over the currently shitty Roland and Smith.
3. Bernard Scott with 2 total offensive touches yesterday.  At least, according to Stripe Hype.  It's not just last game though, where the offense appeared to be taking large chunks of yardage without Scott, but just in general.  Scott clearly brings more big play potential to the table than any other back.  Even with the White Weapon back in the lineup & the reliable Benson, he needs to be featured more in the running game.

I don't quite know who to blame for this one, but it would actually appear to be the coaches.  They must be seeing something we're all not.  Or maybe they just have really shitty vision.

This loss was somewhat expected given the Bengals play so far.  Giving away one of the more winnable games would ordinarily be a recipe for doom.  However, another major theme emerging this season, this one league-wide and not specific to the Bengals, is SUPER parity.  No team really looks dominant.  At all.  Barring collapse (and don't bar that possibility out at all) the Bengals will remain mathematically alive until the bitter end I would guess.

Comments

[CurseofBoJackson]

Bobbo and his retarded 3rd down calls
Nate Livings not being able to stop a runny nose if it were to rush the middle
blocked fg attempt
phantom defensive holding call on Sims late (KILLER)
Marvin's misuse of the timeout (Puts all eggs in basket on first down, not necessary given the 2:50 or so left on the clock when he decided to call it)
Inability to tackle effectively (Roy, wrap people up when they're bigger than you, that's why you got hurt, he's not 6'0" 190, he's fucking 250 dude)

Not saying those were the only issues, but the most glaring.
Oh yea, and Fuck TJ Ward, and, really, the rest of the O aside from Palmer and TO for not making that a brawl or at least a bigger deal, should have sparked more ire from the team, disappointing. I'm of the mind that says baseball logic transfers there. Not in a situation where they could afford to get called for a (real) penalty yesterday, but I'll expect to see someone in a turd colored uniform pay dearly on December 19th.
For my money, Bobbo and the blocked FG (Thanks Nate Livings) were the game turners that could have been avoided.
Hillis is a beast (Prick as motherfucker)

[Some Guy]

This might be a tad premature and maybe not fiscally sound but am I the only one thinking Ryan Mallet with our most likely early to mid 2011 first round pick? Although that won't do us much good if Brat is still calling plays.

[Jim Nasium]

Clearly one of the problems is the run. With OL focusing on protecting Carson which has been not that great it has been even worse w/ the run. in the first quarter of all 4 games Benson has 25 attempts for 56 yds. Clearly B. Scott is more suited for what is before us as he can make his own holes without waiting patiently as Benson does and it seems when Scott is in the backfield Carson is more comfortable. I agree that it has been a big mistake not at least incorportating the playmaker Scott in the run game early.

[Rich]

Some Guy,
Did you see the bomb Peter "I'm very fat" King dropped (I read this on Lance McCalister's blog):

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/peter_king/10/04/week4/5.html

5. I think this thought occurred to me while watching Carson Palmer struggle in the first quarter of the season: He's owed $53 million over the next four years, but whether there's a salary cap next year or not, the Bengals could cut him and not have a dime count against a cap.

To Mike Brown, $53 million might actually outweigh his dedication to Palmer.

Oh, yeah, Bienemy is right. The coaches need to take more blame.

Wow.

Oh, yeah,

[Some Guy]

Yeah I did read that and figured we'd be somewhere around the 17th pick. That whole owing Carson $53MM kind of makes that unrealistic, but it would be exciting to have a fresh QB with our young badass TE and WR develop with each other over the next 4-6 years. Just somehing to think about

[CurseofBoJackson]

Upon further review, I'd like (hate) to absolve sorry ass nate livings for the blocked Fg attempt, congrats Roland, it's your fault we lost............

[Hofbraunow]

So, is it all we should hope for then, for T.O. to wear a Bengals uniform in the process

(which may require another year, quite possibly with another team, who knows, maybe even the 49'ers somehow)

of possibly breaking ex-49'er Jerry Rice's record?

Is that all we should hope for this season?

[Hofbraunow]

Peter "I'm very fat" King is very fat...

CP notwithstanding,

PK is owed much calorie-counting over the next four years, and not one will count against Subway

[Hofbraunow]

If it's brown, don't scroll down

[Dan R.]

The O-line again. Rest of the team played great, but Roland is literally costing us games at this point. I wish someone had asked Marvin which team he thought looked more talented out there. Anyone watching saw the better team lose. There's only one way a team with less talent beats a team with more talent and that's a coaching disparity. The Bengals are very poorly coached, period.

We also got jobbed by a couple penalty calls (the roughing on Ndukwe and the d-holding on Sims). Other than that, this is the best we've played all year and we could be a decent playoff team with a right tackle and better coaching.

[Major Payne]

@Some Guy

Honest question... what good does it do to bring in some other young QB, just to get him drilled behind this patchwork/lameass line? They need to invest heavily with their picks in the line.

If I recall correctly Cook, Livings and Roland were all undrafted out of college. (With 2 of the 3, probably for good reasons.) I got nothing but respect for Big Bobbie. But Collins and Mathis are effectively useless because they can't get on the field. Whit is OK but by no means great. And Big Fatty, yikes. Willie Anderson on a segue would be a better option.

Man, now that I look again at their overall track record with linemen, we're screwed. Maybe you are right, maybe they should draft a QB that is used to running for his life. Too bad they can't just skip the O-line altogether and field a QB & 10 WRs.

And Rich is absolutely right that the coaches need to own more of this crap. But Marvin won't take the blame like Zimmer did, and Bobbo isn't nearly man enough to do it.

[Rich]

Payne,
Once in awhile it happens that the Bengals actually have a talented team. I think this is one of those times. According to Wikipedia, after 7 years Marvin Lewis is 58-56-1. 2 first round playoff losses. Only a team afflicted by the likes of Bruce Coslet and Dave Shula would put up with this kind of crap. Dramatic Steelers win last year my ass - do you think the Steelers would say, "We didn't win in the first round, but at least we had that dramatic win against the Bengals."

Fuck mediocrity and the tolerance of it.

[Major Payne]

Hallelujah Rich! Preach it!

Now that the Bengals have re-established the axiom that talent does not equal wins if the game plan sucks, the coaches are left exposed. The offense is an absolute mess and has been for a few years. And MFB choses to hold Bobbo responsible for it by extending his contract. What a friggin joke. A responsible owner would fire Bobbo TODAY.

Mediocrity is MFB's moral compass. No doubt he was happy with yesterday's game because the team was "competitive". Screw competitive, I want dominating, especially with a team like the Browns. But I'm sure that a dominating team is a whole lot more expensive than a competitive one. How that stinking idiot can't learn that a dominating franchise is way more profitable than a "competitive" one, I'll never understand. Is he just opposed to not being on the receiving end of profit-sharing? Writing a check for profit-sharing would probably kill him.

[Jim Silveira]

I read the posts here on a very regular basis,especially paying attention to posts by Sleeping With Bieniemy, and always get a laugh out of what is said.

Why, in god's name isnt anyone asking Marvin obvious questions that surely plagues all of us.

WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOUR OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR??
ARE ALL THE PAGES OF THE PLAYBOOK STUCK TOGETHER,OR IS THERE REALLY JUST THAT ONE PAGE??

* waits while he deflects the question *

ARE WE GETTING ANY CLOSER TO TEACHING SOMEONE TO BLOCK FROM THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE LINE, NOTABLY THE TACKLE POSITION?? DID WE NOT SPEND A GAZILLION DOLLARS TO SIGN SOME YOUNG STALLION TO CLEAN HOUSE FOR THE NEXT, SAY, 10 YEARS?

* pause for the infectious laugh, and another deflection *

WHAT EXACTLY DOES OUR CRACK STAFF IN THE SCOUTING DEPARTMENT LOOK FOR IN A LINEMAN TO JUSTIFY SPENDING SAID GAZILLIONS FOR SUCH TALENT??

*I feel Marvin glaring at me now, but am distracted by a tugging on my pant leg, while my 4 yr old grandson answers the question for Coach Lewis *

HEY COACH, WOULD YOU CONSIDER JUST TRADING THAT WIDEOUT ANTONIO BRYANT TO MAYBE GET A QUALITY LINEMAN WHO COULD POSSIBLY BLOCK HIS WAY OUT OF A WET PAPER BAG??

*another tug on my pant leg *

Wait, what?

WHO THE HELL IS RUNNING THIS ASYLUM???

* I am being gently being awoken by my wife, as she assures me I must have been having one hell of a dream *

Sigh.

[WhoDeyBoston]

#1 Fuck Mike Brown. #2 Watch what Castellini has to say in this video of the Red's Rally today in fountain square. It starts around 0:35. This is something we could only dream of Mike Brown ever saying.

http://news.cincinnati.com/section/videonetwork?bctid=625314520001#/Home/Reds+Rally+on+Fountain+Square/52409465001/52271229001/625314520001

[Sambo]

USA today had an interesting snipet about how the Bengals have only been able to move the ball effectively when they are trailing in games...N.E, 31-3....Cleveland 10-0, 23-10.

This "balanced" attack of run and pass, so highly lauded by others just doesn't work with us...maybe it has to do with the play selection, or lack of it. How can a line that creates holes for a running back, pass protect so poorly?? I still would like to see Palmer run shot gun on most, if not all pass plays a la Peyton Manning,...and have more control of the offense via no huddle.

[Rich]

WhoDeyBoston,
The Reds win despite the fact that the deck is stacked against them economically. They are shrewd, patient, and plan for the long haul. They have an organizational structure that supports winning.

Contrast the Bengals who have everything in the world going for them but can't win.

[Jim Silveira]

Eureka!! I found this on E-bay. Im sorry, guys, but I am of the belief that Mangini is quite the genius.

15 minutes of reading this playbook ensures victory, or YOUR MONEY BACK!!

BOBBY BRAT'S EXPLOSIVELY CONSERVATIVE PLAYBOOK

youth football play book coaching playbook 13+ plays
Helping Coaches and teams achieve success since 1964
Item condition: used

More than 10 available

Please enter a quantity of 1

Price: US $10.00

Shipping: $4.00 Standard ShippingSee more services See shipping discounts | See all shipping details
Estimated delivery within 2-6 business days.

[WhoDeyBoston]

Rich,
I totally agree. Also, even when the Reds have their down years (and even their good years), they do a LOT of promotional gimmicks to keep their fans happy (free bobble-heads, discounted tickets, etc). In PBS, you are lucky to get a free cup of courtesy ice. I know some of that is cheesy, but at least they try and make their efforts obvious to keep their fans happy. The Bengals pull the same shit every season: they always pull the "just wait until next year!" line after the typical disappointing Bengals season. Seriously, my hat goes off to Castellini. We are talking about bonafide effort at showing fan appreciation.

Also, Great American Ballpark completely trumps PBS. And for those of you who dont know, Hamilton county also paid for building GABP. However, the Reds put their own money into maintaining and even improving (that giant HD big screen they installed, for example) the stadium. PBS looks cool on the outside, but once you walk in your like "this is it?" I know, it's a minor rant, but it's a metaphor for the way each owner run their organizations.