Disappointment..... nothing new.

As much as we do suck this season, i have to say that it's nothing new. Bengals fans have been through this time and time again. During the 90's we were pathetic, and the early 2000's we were terrible also. 2005 was just a tease it seems like. As much as i hate to say it, I think it's time to get rid of Marvin. He doesn't seem to have any influence on the team. in addition, Chuck needs to go, and possibly even Brat. We need to draft some good Defensive players in the next draft, sign some top free agents, and rebuild from the ground up. Carson will be fine. He's not the only QB struggling at the moment. im sure Chad will get back on track eventually. its just a matter of time i guess. in the mean time, however, us fans will have to deal with it. I'm still a fan no matter what happens... number 1 pick or not.

So far not so good

i know its been a disappointing season so far, but i think we can still go 8-8 at least. not that 8-8 is what we want, but its better than 2-14. here's what i think.... we have chris henry back who is a huge addition that we've been missing. carson no longer has to go to chad or TJ. having chris back opens EVERYTHING up for our offense. we are gonna see kenny putting up big numbers as a result of this also.
as far as the defense is concerned.. once we can get Jeanty and Brooks back i think we are golden. look at the first game against baltimore. the D was sick... and Brooks played a big part in getting pressure on the QB. we haven't had him in the lineup since that game. Jeanty proved himself last season and we have yet to see him on the field except for special teams. i still have faith in this team and it starts this week against Buffalo. WHO DEY!

On Wednesday our man Bresnahan had the balls to address the embarrassing loss to the Browns. After reading some of his quotes, I just couldn’t help but laugh. The guy clearly is stupid and needs to think before he speaks. Here are some bits of what he had to say:

“There’s just no excuse.” – OK CHUCKY! Whatever you say! If there’s no excuse, then why did you say later, "I didn't have them ready to play. Somehow we missed very simple adjustments we've made the entire offseason. There was nothing special in the game plan and I take (the mental mistakes) personally." If that’s not an excuse, I don’t know what is.

Chucky claimed that the game was lost on because of the multiple TD’s caught by Browns WR Braylon Edwards. Guess who was covering Edwards that game. That’s right! The guy I said last time was the reason we lost the game… Leon Hall. “Bresnahan said rookie cornerback Leon Hall didn't drop far enough…” I can’t say this enough…. Leon Hall should not be starting! How is it possible that I (and probably a million other people) can notice these things with absolutely no coaching background, and the defensive coordinator of an NFL football team can’t? You would think that adjustments would be made, but they weren’t. We kept the guy in the game and they continued to attack him and exploit his weaknesses.

“This week we're making it a point to be disciplined in everything you do. From the meeting room to walk throughs to practice to getting it right." – Shouldn’t you have been doing this all along Chucky? I mean, like I said before, I’m not a coach, nor do I have any coaching experience, but this would probably be one of the basics of coaching if I’m not mistaken. Teaching discipline is key to being a team and winning games.

As far as this weeks game against the Seahawks is concerned, things are looking a little unstable. First off, half of our LB core is injured, which probably means Caleb Miller will be starting again (damnit). According to Bengals.com, Ahmad Brooks and Lemar Marshall didn’t practice Wednesday because of injuries. That leaves us with Caleb Miller (damnit), Landon Johnson, and ?????. I know we just signed veteran LB Dehani Jones, but it seems doubtful that he will be playing so soon. Bresnahan stated that Miller and Johnson would be staying put. This scares me. Like I said before, did Chucky not notice Miller biting on almost EVERY playaction fake last game? How is he going to improve against arguably the NFC’s best offense, in Hasselbeck and Alexander handling the ball?

I guess I’m forced to have faith in Chucky (at least for another week) and hope that he can turn things around. I hope to god that Marvin threatened him with his job at some point this week. Or, better yet, make the threat hours before the game starts just as some motivation. There’s a lot of factors involved going into week 3 that need to be taken into consideration to determine who is going to win this game. 1. The Bengals D is hurting, and they are going up against a good Offensive line. (disadvantage) 2. We once again are going to have a short week of practice because the team is flying out to Seattle on Friday. (disadvantage) 3. The Seahawks play in the NFC. (slight advantage) 4. We are probably starting Leon Hall and Caleb Miller again. (huge disadvantage) 5. We are 5-3 against NFC teams under Marvin. (advantage) And finally, we are 1-1 against the Seahawks under Marvin Lewis. With all of that being said, here’s my prediction for week 3: The Bengals come out firing in the first half, and the D holds their own. During the second half, the D struggles and gives up some points, but Carson hooks up with T.J. and C.J. for a couple more TD’s. Final score: 38-31 Bengals in another shootout. WHO DEY!

So being that this is my first blog ever, and nobody knows who I am, let me give you guys a brief background of myself. I’ve been a die hard Bengals fan for most of my life. Through the pathetic 90’s filled with horrible memories of guys named Jeff Blake, Akili Smith, Ki-Jana Carter, David Klingler, etc, and up until now. I was one of the few people you would find EVERY Sunday at the same local sports bar cheering on my team through the worst and the best times. No matter who we were playing and how bad we were supposed to lose by, I was still there screaming my lungs out for any possible miracle chance of a win. I ate, drank, breathed, and lived for the Cincinnati “Bungles.”

Then, in 2003, after going 2-14 the previous season, we signed a guy by the name of Marvin Lewis. Hopes all across Cincy were high in anticipation of a new head coach, our 4^th in 10 years. After going 8-8 in his first season as our head coach, the city was in a frenzy, and I about shit myself. The “Bungles” were no more. FINALLY we had a legit football team after being the laughingstock of the NFL for so long. FINALLY I had people to cheer with every Sunday. FINALLY we had a chance to make a run at that every sought after Super Bowl ring.

After the inaugural season of Marvin Lewis, dreams of the Bengals’ first winning season in over a decade were looming. Bengal nation was on the rise, and everywhere I went I heard more and more people giving props to the team. Our first round pick from a year before, some guy named Palmer, was now our starting QB. However, after starting the 2004 season 1-4, it seemed as though a losing season was inevitable, and all of the excitement of the ’03 season was just a tease. Then the Bengals turned it around, winning 6 of their last 9 games of the season and again finishing 8-8. Still no winning season.

2005 was a whole different story. After starting the season 4-0, the high hopes once again were set off and dreams of a winning season, and possibly a playoff run (first one since 1990) were again looming around Cincy. We took the AFC North, and FINALLY made it to the playoffs. The city was in an uproar, I was the happiest guy on the face of the earth, and Carson Palmer, Chad Johnson, Rudi Johnson, and Marvin Lewis were gods of Cincinnati. Then the playoff game……

January 8, 2006. Pittsburgh Steelers are coming into the Jungle. Each team has beaten the other once during the regular season. The stage is huge. Cincinnati is INSANE. The stadium is rumbling. The fans are out of their mind. I am nervous as all hell. The first playoff game in 15 years baby! Then it happened….. 2^nd offensive play from scrimmage for the Bengals, Carson Palmer threw a deep bomb to Chris Henry for a 60+ yard gain, but the crowd fell silent. In the middle of my going crazy over the reception, they show a picture that forever will be stuck in my mind, and will forever make me HATE the Pittsburgh Steelers. Carson’s knee was taken out by a former Bengal, Kimo VanOelhoffen (I don’t give a damn if the name’s spelled wrong because I hate the guy with a passion). There went all of my hopes and dreams right down the drain. What made it worse is that I was watching the game with 4 Steeler fans, and they just started laughing as I almost broke down into tears. The shitsburgh steelers went on to win Super Bowl XL.

Forever will I despise the Steelers and the colors black and gold. Whenever I simply hear the words “Pittsburgh” or “steel” it makes me want to puke. I go to school in Northeast Ohio, and am constantly surrounded by Steeler and Browns fans. I swear I can’t go 50 feet without seeing a Browns fan or a Steelers fan. I can understand why there are so many Browns fans, being that I am in northern Ohio, but WHY THE HELL ARE THERE SO MANY STEELER FANS?!?! This is OHIO! It makes me sick that people from Ohio are steeler fans. I mean I guess they didn’t want to be a Browns fan so they had no other choice. (I wouldn’t want to be a Browns fan either.) But come on, I’m so sick of going to the local sports bar to watch the Bengals game and not being able to get a seat because it’s filled with Steeler fans. GO BACK TO PITTSBURGH! If you want to be a steeler fan, go live there. (Sorry about the venting. I just hate Pittsburgh that much.)

With all of that being said, it’s now the beginning of a new season. I once again have high hopes for my Bengals after coming off yet another 8-8 season in ’06. We started the season off great. Prime time stage on Monday night football against the reigning AFC North champs, the Baltimore Ravens. My only real concern coming into this game was our defensive, which struggled all of last season, and really the only reason we missed the playoffs (along with a couple missed field goals, but I don’t even want to go there). The game started, and I was loving every minute of it. The D was SICK! Robert Geathers was a beast, and made Defensive Player of the week for week 1. Here come those dreams again…

Week 2 opponent: the Cleveland Browns. Considering the Browns just released their starting QB in Charlie Frye, Jamal Lewis is old, and their O-Line sucks, this should be a breeze right? WRONG! The beastly defense we had last week against Baltimore sure as shit didn’t come to play this week. The Bengals gave up over 200 rushing yards and over 300 passing yards and allowed the browns….. I repeat…. THE CLEVELAND BROWNS….. to put up 51 points. I said before the season started that our first round pick, Leon Hall, should not be playing, especially starting, this season. He got burnt all throughout college and in last years Rose Bowl when his Michigan Wolverines (Go Buckeyes) faced USC. Dwayne Jarett, who wasn’t even a top prospect in the draft, smoked him all game. I kept saying to myself, “How is this guy going to be good in the NFL if he’s getting smoked in college.” Sure enough, the Bengals started him and what happens? He puts on a pathetic display of talent and allows multiple TD’s. (Ask my mom or whoever else I watched last week’s game with if you want to know how bad I hate Leon Hall.)

My personal opinion is this: 1. Chuck Bresnahan needs to be FIRED NOW! Marvin Lewis needs to take over the Defense. Chuck should have been fired at the end of last season after the Bengals finished the season almost dead last in defense. (After all, he did coordinate Baltimore’s Defense in 2000 when they won the Super Bowl.) 2. Caleb Miller and Leon Hall need a kick in their asses and should NOT EVER start a game for this team unless it is last resort. 3. FIRE BRESNAHAN DAMNIT!!! If we are giving up numbers like this to the BROWNS, I cant imagine what’s going to happen week 4 against the Patriots on Monday night football, or week 8 and 13 against Shitsburgh, or week 14 against Marc Bulger and the Rams. In that case, I can’t imagine what’s going to happen this Sunday against the Seahawks. All I know is, as long as Bresnahan is our D Coordinator, and Leon Hall and Caleb Miller are starting, we will not win more than 8 games.

I predicted before this season that we are going to go 10-6 this year. I’m still gonna stand by my statement, but its going to take A LOT of hard work from the defense to make that happen. No matter what happens though, I’m a Bengals fan for life and I’ll still be there every Sunday watching the games and screaming my lungs out at the TV, even if I’m the only one. WHO DEY!