Fans Should Not Bail Now, Team is Just Getting Started

After this past Sunday’s loss to the San Diego Chargers, the Cincinnati Bengals have now fallen to 9-5 and now control the third seed of the AFC. The team has now lost three of their last five games and will no longer receive a first round bye in the playoffs. After facing the Minnesota Vikings the week before, the Bengals nation was rocked to the core with the death of wide receiver Chris Henry on Wednesday morning.

Although the game and rest of the season had been dedicated to Henry, a win for the Bengals was bleak and not very promising. After trailing 24-13 in the fourth quarter, the “Cardiac Cats” scored a touchdown, two-point conversion and a field goal to tie the game with a little over 50 seconds left in the game. Those 50 seconds proved too much for Philip Rivers, as he drove his team downfield for the game-winning field goal.

Following the loss, fans started believing what they had been hearing all season long on ESPN. That the Bengals weren’t a legitimate team and couldn’t hang with the big boys (Indianapolis Colts, San Diego Chargers or Minnesota Vikings). Have no fear Bengals fans, because a loss to the Vikings and Chargers doesn’t write the ship off yet.

If we think about the game against the Vikings, there were five specific targets in cornerback Leon Hall’s direction. Of those five throws, Brett Favre completed four of them for 30 yards and an interception. On the other side, there were six throws towards Jonathan Joseph in which Favre went one-for-six for seven yards. Problem here is that J-Jo and Leon can’t cover every target on every play. This goes to show that the problem is with covering the tight ends or even the number three or four receivers, not the top two receivers of a team.

Granite, Leon didn’t have a great game in San Diego, but Vincent Jackson has been on fire lately, and with a receiving core of 6’3” or 6’4” guys, the Chargers have one of the better passing games in the entire NFL.

Bengals fans should not be worrying about this team folding under the pressure or being a one and done in the playoffs. The Bengals will clinch this Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs at Paul Brown Stadium. The following week, in New York against the Jets, I have a feeling the defense will put Mark Sanchez on the ground on more than one occasion.

The offense, which has been on the receiving end of criticism as of late, showed signs of life on Sunday when Carson Palmer connected with eight different targets and throwing for two touchdowns on 314 yards. Finally, someone other than Chad OchoCinco was able to step up and have a big game as tight end J.P. Foschi and wide receivers Laveranues Coles and Quan Cosby had good games catching the ball. Hopefully this game is a wake up for the Carson’s elbow and the receivers’ hands, as we’ll need a big game from Carson, Cedric Benson, Chad and more to win more than one ball game in January.

After two straight losses, now is not the time to get off the bandwagon. After coming from two possessions behind in the fourth quarter, on the road in a hostile stadium after the loss of a teammate, the Bengals lost. In the process, the Bengals have gained something, and that something is what it’ll take to beat the Chargers on the road again in the playoffs. A rematch is likely, and I expect the Bengals to come through in the clutch like they have earlier in the year when it really matters most.

With Loss of Henry, Bengals Could Go Two Different Ways

For the third time this season, the Cincinnati Bengals have been devastated and rocked to the core. The first tragedy came in the form of an earthquake in the nation of Samoa which triggered a tsunami. The Bengals have four players on their roster that are from Samoa or have family ties to Samoa. They are Domata Peko, Jonathan Fanene, Fui Vakapuna and Rey Maualuga. The second tragedy occurred early in the season, when Defensive Coordinator Mike Zimmer’s wife Vicki passed away. The third tragedy, the one that will and has hit the hardest, is the sudden loss of wide receiver Chris “Slim” Henry.

With the ups and downs of an NFL season, players sometimes become on edge and fatigued. Towards the end of a season, when tragedy strikes, sometimes players become overcome with everything that has happened, and are unable to stand firm under the pressure. They become physically and mentally exhausted and struggle to complete what is left of the season. That is the one thing that I’m worried about with the three remaining games, especially Sunday’s. One of two teams will show up in orange and black on Sunday, and it’ll either be the “burnt out, emotionally and physically unable” Bengals, or the “filled-up with emotion, jacked up to beat the San Diego Chargers for Slim and Vicki” Bengals.

After the loss to the Brett Favre-led Minnesota Vikings, the Bengals have been up and down answering questions about what the problem on offense was and if Carson Palmer’s elbow was healthy. Now they have to answer questions about what type of person Chris Henry was and how much he had changed. I’m positive they’d rather be answering questions about they’re performance than who Slim was.

Hopefully the Bengals will ride the emotional high this season has been to the end. A win against the Chargers would greatly increase their chances of winning the second seed in the AFC and receiving a first round bye. The win could utterly continue to Paul Brown Stadium next week when the Bengals face off against the Kansas City Chiefs. The last game on the schedule is against the New York Jets, and two straight wins heading into that game against a game desperately trying to make the playoffs would definitely help with momentum. What the Bengals will do, or who they’ll sign/draft/trade for, to replace Henry remains to be seen. That is something that needs to, and will be addressed in the off season by Head Coach Marvin Lewis and Owner Mike Brown & Co.

The task at hand is more important than finding his replacement. It’s finishing what he helped start. After a 7-2 start, the Bengals have lost two of their last four games and are now struggling to win that first round bye. Bengals wide receiver Chad OchoCinco has asked for permission for NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to wear Henry’s jersey Sunday. This has since been rejected, but “Jungle” fans know Chad, and it sounds as if Chad may break the rules, AGAIN! What should happen is that Goodell should allow it to happen, auction off the jersey, and then take the proceeds and put it towards Slim’s kid’s college funds.

With the loss of Henry, the rest of the Bengals season could go in two different directions. This season will either up in flames, or straight to the bye week. We will see where they go starting Sunday, but a bye week in the first round of the playoffs would definitely help this team heal up and ready themselves for the biggest fight since Marvin Lewis’ tenure began.

Bengals Receive Extension; More AFC North News

Cincinnati Bengals:
The Cincinnati Bengals announced today that they have received a 24 hour extension to sell out the remaining tickets for Sunday's game against the Detroit Lions.  The extension will end tomorrow at 1 o'clock in the afternoon.  If the Bengals fail to sell the 3,500 tickets left, their 50-game regular-season and post season sellout streak will come to an end.  Taking a look at the big picture, the game probably won't sellout.  Why?  The Local Fox affiliate in Cincinnati, Fox 19, only receives two chances a year to broadcast Bengals games.  This year, the Chicago Bears were the first, and now, the Detroit Lions.  Both of them are at home, and I don't see any T.V. show producing more fan fare and couch potatoes in Cincinnati than the Bengals.  Either Fox 19 will step up and buy the tickets, or Chad Ocho Cinco will buy them and give them away.  Wait, isn't he broke?  Oh well, if you can't be at Paul Brown Stadium for the action, there's no better place than from the confines of your own home, settled in the middle of the dent in the couch. 

Just remember though, the Bengals must sell out.  Failure to do so will show ESPN that even in the thick of a playoff hunt, fans don't want to pay outrageous prices for seats, food, and drinks.  Bengals Owner Mike Brown should be used to hearing this, as Cincinati sports talk show host Lance McAlister preaches this week in and week out.  In addition, it'll show Mike Brown that not everyone has money like he does, and the economy is actually very rough on most people, and at times, unless they're free, Bengals tickets will be passed over by your blue collar fans.

Cleveland Browns:
The Cleveland Browns face off against the San Diego Chargers this week, and I'm not seeing an upset in the horizon, but a blow out.  The Browns are a team that will break your heart play after play, game after game, year after year.  Trust me, I know one when I see one, I've been a fan of one since I was a kid.  This is not the team to upset an 8-3 Chargers team, but rather a team that will lose in dramatic fashion to the Bolts.  When I say dramatic fashion I mean Brady Quinn going 8 of 39 for 65 yards and 3 Interceptions dramatic fashion.  I think this team might be worse than last years Detroit Lions and St. Louis Rams.  There's that possibility that they're the worst team in football, and I wouldn't doubt it.  If there's one thing I've learned while growing up in Cincinnati, it would be this: If it's Brown, flush it down!

Baltimore Ravens:
 This week's matchup of the Baltimore Ravens and the Green Bay Packers recieves my AFC North Game of the Week Award.  The Ravens have more at stake than the Packers do, considering their 6-5 record ties them for 2nd place in the AFC North Division with the Pittsburgh Steelers.  The Ravens do own the tie breaker at the moment, but their week 16 matchup could decide who wins the Wild Card.  If Baltimore loses, their 6-6 and no shot of the playoffs.  One more loss for the Steelers and they're out.  Expect the Ravens to try and get up early, if that doesn't work, you'll see Joe Flacco taking the ball away from Ray Rice, Willis McGahee and Le'Ron McClain and putting it in the air, which isn't always a good thing.

Pittsburgh Steelers:
The Pittsburgh Steelers matchup with the Oakland Raiders this week is my AFC North Trap Game of the Week.  You saw what happened to the Bengals in Oakland, now watch out, because they could do it to the Steelers, and in a more humiliating way.  The Raiders will definetely be coming into this game with a chip on their shoulder, knowing they can beat the Black and Gold, and beating the reigning Super Bowl Champion Steelers sounds better than beating the 7-2 Cincinnati Bengals.  I expect the Steelers to win, but not until late in the fourth quarter.  Both teams execute a rough and hard hitting style of play, and it'll take more than a miracle for the Raiders to beat the Steelers, but Quarterback Bruce Gradkowski may be the miracle Oakland's been looking for.

The Easy