Well, they won't, they can't, (but if they do they will be right back on track for 0-16).  But before I get into a gameplan for the Bengals, I want to:

Toot My Horn or Eat Some Crow:

(Last Week) Jax is off to a disappointing start and so is Indy.  I think the arrests and things going on there are taking a toll.  It is hard to pick against them because their running attack should be better and Bob Sanders is out, but when in doubt take the home team. Indy!

Crow please, deep fried! I thought all these years Indy was successful because of Pollian, Dungy, and Manning.  Who knew it was the dome!

(LW) I like McNabb and Philly but Pitt seems to have something that Dallas doesn't, and that's Defense, and that is what wins championships...I'll take Pitt.

Waiter, I'll have the crow kebab. Thanks. I did not know Pitt was competing with the Bengals to see who could get there QB killed first.

(LW) Green Bay also has Defense, and they are at home, but I'll have to go with Dallas and depend on Rodgers luck running out.

The Horn is tooted!

(LW) San Diego, is at least a good team, and their backs are against the wall, I can't see the Jets going in there and getting a victory with the Chargers season on the line.  Chargers.

Toot, Tooooot!
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I will make a couple of picks at the end of the blog but first, here are the:

'S     S   to      (The new picture set up is a pain for inserting photos).

This is a win or else your season is over game...the season is already just about over for both teams and only a sliver of hope remains for each...but lose this game and it is time to plan where you want to do some winter golfing, and your name comes up in the 0-16 discussion.  The Bengals should win this game, esp. if they can build on what they started last week. Here's how they do it:

On Offense:

Carson has a "sore elbow."  Uh, OK, I'm sure it has nothing to do with the hundreds of time this season he has been knocked to the ground.  Anyway whether it's Carson or Fitz the plan does not change.

1) Air it out! Use the pass to set up the run...again, they need to continue to develop the short to intermediate passing games. Maybe switch up some things from last week so it isn't so obvious to Cleveland's D.  Get Perry the Rock on screens and swing passes, that way he still touches the ball and gets to take his shots in more open areas. Cleveland's D is susceptible to the pass.

2) Once they establish the pass I think they can have some success on draw plays and shovel passes...then double up and fake the draw to go deep!

That's it...real simple.

On Defense (ZIMMER PLEASE READ):

The Bengals are still having a lot of trouble against the run, although they played admirably against "Earth Wind & Fire" last week, they are still giving up close to 5 yards a pop. Our D line is just awful, no run stoppage, no penetration...Jheesh! The secondary is still playing decent and I trust them more than the D line so this plan plays to that "strength." (Injuries are excuses because all teams have them).

1) D line, if you aren't going to sack the QB-PUT YOUR HANDS UP WHEN HE GETS READY TO THROW!! Who knows maybe you'll get lucky and bat a ball down, or better yet in the air then get to run your fat lard a!@#$ the other way for a pick 6.

2) Play 8 in the box again. You are going against a Bengal masher in Jamal Lewis so concentrate on stopping him.  Also the extra man can allow someone (from different areas/positions) to blitz here and there and try to sack the QB...you have to time it, don't just run into the freaking line! Wait for it, wait for it...open hole....GO!!! This would tremendously help the secondary.

3) CB's will have to play man, but could it hurt once in a while to turn around and see if the ball is coming so you can bat it down or try to intercept it! I mean really, they do allow you to knock the ball down in the NFL.

If the Bengals don't win this week I may start the "Keys to Defeat."
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In the division, I was tempted to take Baltimore over Pitt on  Monday night, but I just can't pull the trigger even though the Ravens are the #1 rated D (again) in the League. They may sack Ben 10 times, but something tells me Tomlin will have his guys ready. Monday night, home game, once again I take Pitt.

Now it's the Jets whose backs are against the wall. They get Arizona at home who by all accounts should win this game. The Jets looked terrible on Monday night, but created many of their own woes early against a desperate and good Charger team. So I'll take the Jets at home.

Have a great weekend!

The Bengals finally showed us some fight...now a loss is a loss is a loss, but with that effort (if they can do that the rest of the season), not only will they win some games, but they still may not be out of the hunt for the division.  Forget the Wild Card, there record will not be good enough, but if you remember our preseason prognostication about this AFC North, most of us said the winner of the Division-schedules considered-will be 9-7. 

Now remember back to 2003, this team started 0-3, and with no expectations finished the season 8-5.  For them to go 9-4 the rest of the way although difficult, is not impossible.  And, given the choice, and a glimmer of hope, I'll always choose the optimistic path.  So with that, I abandon the quest to wanting to see them flame out in spectacular fashion, 0-16, and jump on the bandwagon of, "we still got a shot."

The offense finally got it going and the defense didn't play all that bad, but...NOTE TO ZIMMER:  Since 1989, this team has lacked a "shutdown when necessary" mentality that consistent winners in the NFL have.  In other words, I don't care that they played decent the entire game, when/if they have a chance to win (or all but slam the door shut) with a defensive stop, they don't get it done.  Where the hell did Odom disappear to (1 tackle), did he get hurt?

It was a tall order of the Bengals to go into the home of the Giants and get a win and the thing is, I still don't think they played their best ball yet.  Many of us have noted that the Bengals looked like they were still in the preseason...well it looks like they arrived, finally, into the regular season.  If Lewis says, "We did some things good..." today at his presser, at least he would make some sense.  The Bengals will defeat the Browns this Sunday and begin their long road back to contention, but that road started yesterday in the Meadowlands.
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Postscript:  As I blogged last week that Palmer can't make it happen with his legs...he ran it 3 times for 23 yards...Also Kenny Watson remains underutilized (1 rush, 5 yards). I am still against Henry joining the team, and hope when he does he doesn't see a stitch of PT.  Things could be worse, there is one owner who is currently worse (overall he has rings and things) than Mike Brown, and it's this guy:

  Al Davis
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   USA all the way, now if only our financial markets could perform as well!  (I'm in business and don't fully understand why we have to pay taxpayer money for corporate welfare to mismanaged companies and their overpayed chief executives or why we have to bailout Joe Blow who is going to be foreclosed on cause he had to have a house "now"...anybody seen the "free market"...anybody want to help me with my student loans? Anyway,)

Congratulations to the U.S. for a Ryder Cup win! Could it be a case of the old addition by subtraction?

Gold in B-ball, Ryder cup victory, now we need to do something about baseball...
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The Mets are experiencing:

      Déjà Vu

It is just not the way you want to leave Shea Stadium...they now trail Philly by 1.5 games (1 in the loss column) with 6 games left for the Phils and 7 for the Metropolitans. C'mon Mets, winning the division guarantees them a playoff spot, and it will give them confidence going in...(but, expect a first round exit for the Mets  if they go in as the wild card).  Also I don't want to see a bunch of Philly fans popping up in the bar if they clinch the division...
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Later this week, I'll be tooting my horn and eating crow (but mostly eating crow!)

The Bengals have an excellent opportunity to move to 0-3 in their quest to become the first NFL team to ever go “Defeated” in the current 16 game schedule. Put that Cristal and Moet away ’76 Bucs (0-14), the 2008 Bengals seem to be looking to solidify their position in the debate of “Worst Team Ever.”  Sad thing is, the team is loaded with talent…Here is one of the reasons the Bengals have a good chance to stay “Defeated”:

 

   If that was Dexter Jackson he would have got up and pumped his fist...

 

Now, if they want to completely screw up and win one…I present you with the

 

   S   to  

 

On Offense:

 

The Giants are one of the best defensive teams in the league, but the good thing for the Bengals is they have faced 2 tough D’s already, so they will be used to tough physical play (at least by the other team).

 

1)       Max protect Carson. With Utecht out, I’m not sure how many double TE sets they can run but Coats should be able to help out.  They are going to have to leave somebody in the backfield as well on passing downs.  The Giants get after the QB with 7 sacks in the first 2 games.

 

2)       Forget establishing the run, establish the pass to set up the run.  Carson will not have all day to throw, so as I’ve said since about the second preseason game, rely heavily on the short to immediate passing game, so you get the ball out of Carson’s hand.  You cannot drop Carson back 7 steps because by the time he gets there, Ghuicaic will be in his face.  If you can establish those short passes, then you can begin to run draws, then fake the draws (a little play action) hopefully freezing the safeties to hit something over the top.  I can not stress enough the importance of this aspect of my gameplan…if they don’t do this not only is Game Over, but Carson may get hurt.

 

                                          i.      Since the G-Men may anticipate this, they could be susceptible to some double moves for long plays!

 

3)       Put the ball in the endzone. One touchdown in two games is inexcusable not for a “high-powered” offense, but for any NFL offense.  Simple fact of the matter is, the Bengals D has been gashed by the run because teams are ahead, because the offense doesn’t score.  (Positive Bengals fact: They are ranked 3 in the league in Pass D!!!!!-of course against a rook and against a vet in hurricane force winds).

 

On Defense:

 

Unfortunately the Giants are one of the more complete teams in the league, they run it with:

 

   Earth Wind & Fire…   and they have a reliable passing game that can stretch the field with the vet Amani Toomer and the deep threat, Plaxico Burress.

1)       Since it is obvious the Bengals can not get a decent pass rush and are not too good at stopping the run, they are going to have to go exclusively 8 in the box and blitz to try to put pressure and plug up some running holes.  Right now I have more faith in the secondary going man to man than the front 7 being able to stop Earth Wind & Fire or put pressure on Eli.

 

Yep, that’s it. That’s my defensive game plan, give your weakness help against their strength.
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Anybody missing from the below picture?

 

   Big Ben, the heir apparent?

 

I know the offensive line has not been good since Braham went down, but that is the point of the young guns…they make it happen with their legs when the pocket breaks down either by buying more time to throw, or running downfield to pick up some good yardage. 

 

Big Ben over the past 2 seasons was the most sacked QB in the league, but he still made it happen.  So, no one is missing from this picture and Carson does not belong in the conversation.  He no longer deserves to live on stats alone, being a QB is about leading a team (as a field general) to victory. (No excuses, which are for losers).
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I thought this poll was funny:

 

   Unless I'm missing something, aren't the Bengals 2-0?

 

Either the Bengals being 0-2 (vs. the QB-less Ravens and the Titans) were expected to go 0-2, or the thought of them beating the Giants is so foreign a concept they figured, we just won’t include them in “most likely to win” at all. Funny, let the disrespect begin.
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MLB Standings

 

I love the last 1-2 weeks of the baseball season. This year is offering some great excitement so if you’ve been isolated on the NFL, at least take a daily look at the standings.

 

-          Can the Rays hold off Boston who only trails by 1.5 games for the AL East lead?

 

-          Can the White Sox hold off (the always surprising because they always trade their good players away but seem to be in contention every year) Twins, who are 1.5 games back for the AL Central lead?

 

-          In a déjà vu of the 2007 season can the Mets reclaim the 1^st place AL East lead they lost this past week from the Phillies who are .5 games up in the NL East.

 

-          Will Milwaukee continue their 07 Mets-like implosion and blow their chance at the Wild Card?

 

-          Can the Man Ram led Dodgers hold off the D-Backs, and will the AL West winner finish above .500?

 

Stay tuned daily to the standing for the answers to these and many other questions!!!
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A Few Predictions:

 

Jax is off to a disappointing start and so is Indy.  I think the arrests and things going on there are taking a toll.  It is hard to pick against them because their running attack should be better and Bob Sanders is out, but when in doubt take the home team. Indy!

 

I like McNabb and Philly but Pitt seems to have something that Dallas doesn’t, and that’s Defense, and that is what wins championships…I’ll take Pitt.

 

Green Bay also has Defense, and they are at home, but I’ll have to go with Dallas and depend on Rodgers luck running out.

 

San Diego, is at least a good team, and their backs are against the wall, I can’t see the Jets going in there and getting a victory with the Chargers season on the line.  Chargers.
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OK, I have to go now and watch Mo's stream with the stripper for Chuges!  With that I bid you adieu, have a great weekend!

    -      -      =   +   ()

Remember this date 8/11/08...that was the date the Redlegs did not have Dunn or Griffey on their roster for the first time I believe since 1999 (ironically the last time they were a playoff team...I know they lost to the Mets in the one game playoff but for all intents and purposes, that was a great team any other year easily in the playoffs).

You've all heard the old adages less is more and more closely related to sports "addition by subtraction" most recently flexed in the season after former Giant Tiki Barber retired, the Giants went on to win the SB.

Well the "new" Reds since 8/11, date of the Dunn trade, are 18-14 (against many teams in the hunt)...before that date, the Reds were 52-67.  I know, 32 games is a small sampling but hopefully this is a sign of things to come.  Who knows? Maybe with a key free agent acquisition or two, maybe the Reds will be in the race in 2009.

Now, the main argument against moving Dunn and Griffey was, "how are the Reds going to replace their production?" Well, sometimes you have to say, F it and hope some guys step up.  It has been postulated by many that sometimes having "superstars" on a team hurt the team because the other players/and coaches defer to the superstar. Because of that the TEAM is not at its best.  But as soon as you take away the "superstar" the team begins to become a team again, and is more effective.  Just a thought.
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In a related note, I thought the Bengals should apply addition by subtractioin logic to Chad Ocho Cinco earlier this spring.  I argued they should have accepted the Skins picks they were offered and dumped Chad ASAP.  Again the main argument I heard was, "how are you going to replace his production?"  Well, sometimes you just have to say, F it and hope some guys step up. 

BTW, I also realize that the "front office" would have blown these picks from the Skins considering of all their '08 draft choices only one guy has contributed the first two games.
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Tooting My Horn and Eating My Crow

Here is what I said in a blog late last week and the results of what happened:

 (Last Week) I love to go against the grain and since the whole nation hates the Pats and think they don't have a chance, not only am I picking them against the Jets...I am going to follow the Brady-less Pats and predict not only do they not fall apart, but they actually make the playoffs.

This is a horn toot, no doubt.

(LW) Mcnabb had a great game last week for Philly and I hope he duplicates that effort in leading his team to a victory over Dallas.

This one is sweet and sour because McNabb bettered his week 1 performance but Philly still lost.

(LW) Closer to our own division, I think Pitt goes in to Cleveland and gives them the business with a handy victory.

Again, this is a sweet and sour because Pitt gave Cleveland the business and won but not handily.

(LW) Who thinks Buffalo is foreal?  Although they looked good against Seattle, and Jax has some distractions, I just don't see Buffalo going into Jax and dropping them to 0-2...gimmie Jax in an angry defensive effort in that one.

Garcon! I'll have my Crow flambayed please. Thank you.

Check back in with me tomorrow for my Bengals keys to victory (or defeat depending how you look at it).   Late.

I had this idea last week, and I can hear Mo is about to blow the doors off the thing, so I might as well post it now.  The Bengals have a helluva shot to run the table, and go defeated...that's right 0-16.  I don't know if it has ever been done, that is, a team going 0-16.  I know the Bucs back in the day went 0-14...but wouldn't it be great if in the process of locking up the #1 draft pick and solidifying worst sports franchise of the past 2 decades, they can make history.

Is it too early to start rooting for the elusive 0-16 season?  I'm not sure. Will some of you call me a terrible fan and maybe even a traitor for wanting to see this...I'm sure. But who cares, I want to see history and I want to see it now!

Think about it, it would keep us interested in the season...as opposed to having to wait another 5 months for pitchers and catchers to report.  I say we cheer this Bengal squad to implode in a supernova like blaze of glory:

  "Rectangular" supernova...

Once they implode they then start shedding gas at an alarming rate and hopefully in a beautiful design for the entire world to see.  It would put a huge exclamation point on a huge failure of a season.

The Bengals have all the tools to get it done:

              Inconsistent defense
              Poor special teams play
              Overated QB and offense
              Terrible line play on both sides
              Poor coaching
              Abysmal management
              The worst owner in pro sports
              A losing culture
              A brutal schedule
              Lack of mental toughness
              Lack of discipline
              Selfish players
              No physicality
              No sense of urgency

If they don't take advantage of this and go Defeated...then I am completely done with this team...they better not screw it up for me.

I can see the lookatme Tshirts right now:

Bengals 2008

   Defeated
      (0-16)

Whe Dey (gonna beat) Nooooooooooooobody!!!!