The Bengals continue to break away from being the 'Bungals'
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
At the risk of jinxing the Cincinnati Bengals yet again, I just have this notion to talk about (in Chris Farley voice) the team down by the river (!!!) and how they've impressed me this season, with their recent drafts by an owner who is finally having luck go his way for the first time in a very long time.
The '11 Bengals are a lot different than that of the '09 and '05 Bengal clubs for the fact this team wasn't expected to make the playoffs this season, and they are currently in a rebuilding mode where they have a lot of the pieces in place already.
If not for Cam Newton's record-breaking stats, quarterback Andy Dalton would be the NFL Rookie of the Year. The second-round pick for Cincinnati (34th overall) completed 300 passes (516 attempts) for 3,398 yards (58.1 percent) for 20 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. His QB rating was 80.4 … impressive numbers for a guy who some thought wouldn't "make it" in the NFL because he has red hair.
As anyone knows, a quarterback is only as good as his receivers … enter No. 4 draft pick A.J. Green, who at times this year amazed us with his leaping ability to catch close to anything thrown in his direction.
Green led the Bengals this season with 65 catches for 1,057 yards and seven touchdowns. Not bad for a rookie, huh? The guy replaced Ocho-something, who had 15 catches this season for the No. 1 seeded New England Patriots for 276 yards and one touchdown.[[In-content Ad]]Just think … if Cincinnati wins Saturday (kickoff is at 4:30 p.m.) against the Houston Texans (in Texas), they will get to meet up with their old teammate at Foxborough. (The last Bengal playoff win was on Jan. 6, 1991 against the Houston Oilers by a 41-14 score in front of 60,012 fans at Riverfront Stadium.)
I think the Bengals have a great opportunity to win on Saturday, but the last 20 years are against me in my thinking they can leave the state of Texas with a win.
Here is that history ...
Since their win against the Oilers, the Bengals have lost playoff games to the L.A. Raiders, Pittsburgh Steelers and the New York Jets. Since their last playoff win, the Bengals had a '90s record of 44-102, a 2000s mark of 66-95-1 and last season a 4-12 mark.
I didn't even mention the Oilers are now the Tennessee Titans.
The Oilers have changed their hometown and team name more times (twice) than the Bengals have won during the playoffs in that same span.
All of that is, in fact … history.
This season, they are 9-7, and whenever their season ends, they are looking at two first-round picks in the upcoming April 2012 draft. One problem that worries me is their division record of 2-4 with wins over the Cleveland Browns and four losses to the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens, both of whose teams made the playoffs with 12-4 records.
In my lifetime (I'm not counting the late '80s because I was 4), I can't remember the Bengals' organization being this … dare I say, for lack of a better word ... stable?
The duo of Green and Dalton (along with others) made Bengal football watchable for the first time in a very long time (of course, when games weren't blacked out) because when Ochocinco and Carson Palmer were "leading" the then-Bungals, they may have won some games, but I didn't find them entertaining because of Ochocinco's ego and Palmer's ability to pass the football to the other team.
A lot of the credit this season is going to General Manager and owner Mike Brown for agreeing to trade Carson Palmer for two high draft picks in the middle of the season and being a part of the group who drafted Dalton and Green, along with a couple other productive drafts in the past two or three years.
Who would have ever guessed in August that the following would happen in the football world … Joe Paterno being fired for off-the-field issues and Mike Brown being, gulp, applauded for his stubbornness and football savvy to help rebuild the Bengal franchise. (Shaking my head.)
To the fan base of the best football team in Ohio … congratulations. Knowing some real Bengal fans, I've seen them suffer through some very mediocre football teams where it seemed the team cared more about getting arrested or being on a reality TV show than actually playing football.
To be honest, I have no idea how Bengal Nation can be so dedicated and mostly passionate about their team when in the past couple decades they haven't given them much to cheer about. Trust me, I'll watch Bengals games with Bengal fans just for the entertainment of watching them suffer and get angered. Sure, I know that isn't very polite of me, but it is high-quality entertainment, and they know I do this. (I got mine though this season with my favorite team deciding games ended in the third quarter and the season ended in December.)
Another thing about the Bengals … I don't care if they "backed" into the second season, they are in and have a good chance to win against a Texan team that barely defeated them in their regular-season meeting, who have a third-string quarterback starting under center. I don't care if T.J. Yates has played in a few games this season, he's no Matt Schaub, and he was named a third-string QB this season for a reason. However, in their '11 meeting, the Texans did have a final-drive, fourth-quarter comeback to win 20-19 in Week 14 when Yates found Kevin Walter on a 60-yard pass with 2:31 left in the game. The game-winning drive went 13 plays for 80 yards.
So as Saturday's game nears (the All-Time result is 3-3 with the Texans winning their last three meetings), I'm sure we'll being hearing a lot of "Who-Deys," but I'm even more confident in saying … these aren't the Bengals we have grown accustomed to.
Stephen Forsha is the sports editor of The Highland County Press. He can be reached at sforsha@gmail.com. Follow Stephen on Twitter @hcpsportseditor.
The '11 Bengals are a lot different than that of the '09 and '05 Bengal clubs for the fact this team wasn't expected to make the playoffs this season, and they are currently in a rebuilding mode where they have a lot of the pieces in place already.
If not for Cam Newton's record-breaking stats, quarterback Andy Dalton would be the NFL Rookie of the Year. The second-round pick for Cincinnati (34th overall) completed 300 passes (516 attempts) for 3,398 yards (58.1 percent) for 20 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. His QB rating was 80.4 … impressive numbers for a guy who some thought wouldn't "make it" in the NFL because he has red hair.
As anyone knows, a quarterback is only as good as his receivers … enter No. 4 draft pick A.J. Green, who at times this year amazed us with his leaping ability to catch close to anything thrown in his direction.
Green led the Bengals this season with 65 catches for 1,057 yards and seven touchdowns. Not bad for a rookie, huh? The guy replaced Ocho-something, who had 15 catches this season for the No. 1 seeded New England Patriots for 276 yards and one touchdown.[[In-content Ad]]Just think … if Cincinnati wins Saturday (kickoff is at 4:30 p.m.) against the Houston Texans (in Texas), they will get to meet up with their old teammate at Foxborough. (The last Bengal playoff win was on Jan. 6, 1991 against the Houston Oilers by a 41-14 score in front of 60,012 fans at Riverfront Stadium.)
I think the Bengals have a great opportunity to win on Saturday, but the last 20 years are against me in my thinking they can leave the state of Texas with a win.
Here is that history ...
Since their win against the Oilers, the Bengals have lost playoff games to the L.A. Raiders, Pittsburgh Steelers and the New York Jets. Since their last playoff win, the Bengals had a '90s record of 44-102, a 2000s mark of 66-95-1 and last season a 4-12 mark.
I didn't even mention the Oilers are now the Tennessee Titans.
The Oilers have changed their hometown and team name more times (twice) than the Bengals have won during the playoffs in that same span.
All of that is, in fact … history.
This season, they are 9-7, and whenever their season ends, they are looking at two first-round picks in the upcoming April 2012 draft. One problem that worries me is their division record of 2-4 with wins over the Cleveland Browns and four losses to the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens, both of whose teams made the playoffs with 12-4 records.
In my lifetime (I'm not counting the late '80s because I was 4), I can't remember the Bengals' organization being this … dare I say, for lack of a better word ... stable?
The duo of Green and Dalton (along with others) made Bengal football watchable for the first time in a very long time (of course, when games weren't blacked out) because when Ochocinco and Carson Palmer were "leading" the then-Bungals, they may have won some games, but I didn't find them entertaining because of Ochocinco's ego and Palmer's ability to pass the football to the other team.
A lot of the credit this season is going to General Manager and owner Mike Brown for agreeing to trade Carson Palmer for two high draft picks in the middle of the season and being a part of the group who drafted Dalton and Green, along with a couple other productive drafts in the past two or three years.
Who would have ever guessed in August that the following would happen in the football world … Joe Paterno being fired for off-the-field issues and Mike Brown being, gulp, applauded for his stubbornness and football savvy to help rebuild the Bengal franchise. (Shaking my head.)
To the fan base of the best football team in Ohio … congratulations. Knowing some real Bengal fans, I've seen them suffer through some very mediocre football teams where it seemed the team cared more about getting arrested or being on a reality TV show than actually playing football.
To be honest, I have no idea how Bengal Nation can be so dedicated and mostly passionate about their team when in the past couple decades they haven't given them much to cheer about. Trust me, I'll watch Bengals games with Bengal fans just for the entertainment of watching them suffer and get angered. Sure, I know that isn't very polite of me, but it is high-quality entertainment, and they know I do this. (I got mine though this season with my favorite team deciding games ended in the third quarter and the season ended in December.)
Another thing about the Bengals … I don't care if they "backed" into the second season, they are in and have a good chance to win against a Texan team that barely defeated them in their regular-season meeting, who have a third-string quarterback starting under center. I don't care if T.J. Yates has played in a few games this season, he's no Matt Schaub, and he was named a third-string QB this season for a reason. However, in their '11 meeting, the Texans did have a final-drive, fourth-quarter comeback to win 20-19 in Week 14 when Yates found Kevin Walter on a 60-yard pass with 2:31 left in the game. The game-winning drive went 13 plays for 80 yards.
So as Saturday's game nears (the All-Time result is 3-3 with the Texans winning their last three meetings), I'm sure we'll being hearing a lot of "Who-Deys," but I'm even more confident in saying … these aren't the Bengals we have grown accustomed to.
Stephen Forsha is the sports editor of The Highland County Press. He can be reached at sforsha@gmail.com. Follow Stephen on Twitter @hcpsportseditor.