The Loose Screw: Carson's Jettison

In mid-December the cracks began to show. A month later, the dam completely opened up and now the face-of-the-franchise is out of here.

Once Carson Palmer said in a press conference that he could see himself playing elsewhere in the future, it was clear that he had his eye on the door. I wrote at the time that this was a strategic move that both applied pressure on team ownership and also alerted other teams of his potential availability. Carson has been one the most guarded, company-line Bengal employees Mike Brown could ask for; he criticized only himself and always praised those around him. Yet, when asked if he could picture himself in another uniform, he let his guard down and spoke the truth. To me, that was the day he really asked for a trade. He knew what he was saying; it was a business decision.

And now this.

Had Chad Johnson said this, everyone would have waved him off as a human twitter feed who has produced more gossip than catches over the last few years. When Carson Palmer airs something so bold, however, it deserves to be taken very seriously.

Carson's people—whether that means agent, friends and family, or a split personality, I'm not totally sure—didn't claim that he would be receptive to a trade, or that he might hold out if one is isn't arranged, but rather that he will hang it up for good and roll around in the few millions he has stockpiled if the Bengals remain his only option of playing football. Palmer knows who he's up against—he' grown to learn a great deal about the villain who writes his checks. Simply expressing dissatisfaction to the public wouldn't get the old man's attention. So instead, he whipped out the big guns right away and announced that he would walk away from the game and leave behind the $50 million bucks he's been promised rather than play one more game wearing a striped helmet. In an era when star athletes refuse to play for more money, here is the opposite case. In this scenario, he can play as poorly as he wants and not only will the team not cut him, they will continue to fork over tens of millions of dollars each year, even if he's hurt. And he doesn't want to do it.

What a statement.

The fact he still wouldn't mind playing football for someone else is the real indicator of just how bad the organization is as a whole. Had he just decided he didn't love the sport that much or that his kids need him more than the game does, the motives would be open for interpretation, but it's strictly the Bengals that is the problem in his eyes and that should be an eye-opener for the few remaining doubters out there thinking that this team is still a legitimate and competitive enterprise.

Will Mike Brown accommodate Palmer and find him a new home? Of course not; he's under contract and that's that. Will Carson make good on his press-released threat and stay home with the twins if he's not dealt? I suppose he would, I don't really know Carson like that. Would everything be okay if he did comeback and be named the starter as if nothing really happened? Absolutely not.

The real question though, is what set him off to this extent? Chad and TO? Marvin? Brat? Cincinnati?

If I were to stab at a reason, I would say it's a combination of all of these things. The culture of losing and the complacency and lethargy to improve had to erode his soul overtime. Maybe he could feel himself shrugging off losses too easily, or perhaps each one collapsed in on him more and more until he reached his limit and said enough. Either way, hopeless losing with no change in sight likely frightened the man to his core and forced him to realize that he would rather spend his best remaining physical years on a more just cause. On people who care about winning. On something worth all the hard work he puts in.

The fact that Carson was so doggedly loyal over his professional career also magnified the meaning of his recent trade demand. He kept his chin up and took the media shots and the heat from fans without complaint or any visible effect at all. He was a PR rock, a dependably boring interview, and an emotional buffer between hot-shot receivers and hard-nosed coaches. It seems to me that once he found out the offense would be led by the same brain-trust for the foreseeable future, his shell cracked and what oozed out was determined insubordination hellbent on forcing a change. When all of his wishes were met with stubborn resistance, he probably grew angry and gave the go-ahead to go public with the spat.

Mike Brown had to give his response which sounded something like this: No. Each time Brown addresses the media, a Bengals fan losses a wing (and interest). With all the interminable dross of written material on all of this business, no one seems to blame Palmer, and everyone blames Brown. And why not? Now they have no quarterback, they have retained a coaching staff the city fervently dislikes, they're coming off the most disappointing season in franchise history, ticket prices will remain grotesquely high despite the near-certain attendance woes expected next season, there will be no additions to the scouting department or to general-management, ownership wants concessions from county taxpayers for a new scoreboard next season, and the stadium workers have taken to eject those fans expressing dissent while at the games.

Carson Palmer knows more than we do about the Bengals and even he, a level-headed family man who is scheduled to financially set up another four generations by staying with the team, is bailing on them. Why should we, the people who make up the city the Bengals dare represent, feel any differently? Blind loyalty to the hometown team? I'm proud of Carson for taking a stand. His actions have spoken to the world of how broken this football operation is and have turned up the pressure on Brown to act like a responsible sports owner.

The makings are in place for one of the worst relationships ever between owner and city in the history of professional sports. I expect mobilized acts of public protest demanding organizational changes made in regards to either the competitiveness of the product or the lowered cost to support the product or both. With such a high ranking figure-head broadcasting his dissent the way Palmer has done this week, an internal unraveling could be in the works where more and more personnel take a similar stance. When the field sergeant walks out, the rest of the troops take note. Maybe if everyone turns their back on this tyrant, he might get the point.


Mojokong—only his apprentice can slay the emperor. We will need Marvin to eventually turn as well to make the process complete.

Annual Reviews Part 4: Running Backs

Running Backs: Cedric Benson & Co.

No one is more confused on the Bengals than Cedric Benson. His two legs were the heart and soul of the offense in 2009. That pair literally carried Cincinnati into the playoffs and for a stretch of that season, he was the NFL's leading rusher. His 96.2 yards-per-game were second only to Chris Johnson (125.4!), and he fumbled only once in 301 chances. He was a certified beast of a running back that looked both powerful and fast, focused and relentless, and came into 2010 as a top-five back.

Everyone expected he would get the same amount of carries this season and again be the team's reliable workhorse—their Boxer—and to a large degree he was, but, perplexing as it may be, he actually averaged nearly 30 yards less per game despite getting more carries than '09. This occurring with nearly the exact same personnel as the year before—coaches and all. Why this happened, could be one of few possibilities.

First off, the play-calling affected Benson's low totals. The stretch hand-off formations became so recognizable, you could see them from space. On far too many occasions—especially in short-yardage situations—the defense appeared to be tipped off on not only what the ensuing run play would be, but even in which direction the run would go. It became frustrating to watch; I can't imagine how it felt for the men asked to perform such predictable tasks. If you're a lineman—or worse yet, a receiver—how do you block as hard as you can when you know that the play called will fail?

Benson is not entirely vindicated by Bob Bratkowski's ineptitude, however. Play-calling aside, the man fumbled seven times—that is an alarming total for any running back. Let us not forget the quick demise of one Chris Perry who was terminated largely because of his fumbling problems in 2008. Benson also appeared overly bouncy on a lot of plays. When the team needed two or three tough yards on third or fourth down, too often CedBen planted his feet and attempted to cut to the outside for bigger yardage. I was disappointed in his ability to smash that square head of his forward for the minimal yardage needed. It began to feel like maybe Benson wanted too much on his carries. Instead of making every yard count and running straight ahead until tackled, he overused his cutback technique and his numbers suffered.

Then there is the offensive line. For some reason, this group didn't maul defenders quite like they did a year before. This could be because of the play-calling as well—not allowing the big boys to get into a run-blocking rhythm based on too many passes called—but on a lot of occasions, the Bengals line was simply out-muscled. If Benson has less faith in his blockers, it makes sense that he would attempt to do too much on his own. If anything, with the return of Reggie Kelly and the addition of Terrell Owens, the blocking should have improved, if only marginally, and that didn't seem to be the case. To the blocking-unit's credit, though, I think not having a true fullback on the roster really hurt the rushing effort as a whole, and I also think we saw some normalcy return once Chris Pressley appeared in games. It might not be a stretch to suppose that had Fui Vakapuna remained healthy, we may have seen a better Cedric Benson in 2010, but that still seems like a flimsy excuse.

Benson is a free agent, of course, and should really get a concrete handle on how much the rest of the world values him this winter. The Bengals will remain the front-runner in signing him until he finds a new team, which I am not convinced will happen. I expect Cincinnati to retain their back at a price they can stomach, and everyone involved will hope Ced can step his game up next year.

If it were up to me, though, I would let him walk. Running back is the most replaceable position on the field, and a new one should be brought in every three years. The mileage stacks up in a hurry with these guys, and there are always decent backs to be had. Last year, Larry Johnson was thrown out there after only a couple of weeks with the team and racked up a 100-yard game. Had Benson not fumbled so much, I would still see him as a reliable back that adds value in ball-security alone, but as it is, he showed me no reason why he is indispensable, so therefore, he would hit the streets in my organization.

Bernard Scott, however, is my guy. Even though he is still tragically underused, when he does get the ball, he is explosive. He could be Jamaal Charles in this offense and put up impressive numbers but he got less touches in 2010 than the year before, even though he averaged a shade under five yards a carry. He's good fruit gone rotten as he sat on the sideline and played five snaps and a few kick returns each game. He should announce now that he too wants to be traded and will hold out for a new contract if the team refutes his trade demands. Why not? This coaching staff refuses to give him his due and it's maddening to me; I would think he feels the same way.

Most coordinators can find creative ways to get fast, jukey backs the ball in space which allows them to bust loose. The Bengals use him for runs up the gut where his talents are wasted. His best play this season came in Pittsburgh late in the year when he took an end-around for a six-yard gain and a key first down on the Bengals second drive. He showed his speed getting to the corner and showed toughness taking a big hit, but, in typical fashion of the season, the Bengals were called for illegal formation and the drive fizzled out with a punt.

If used effectively, Scott could become a mini-star (a red dwarf?) and a crucial component to a mean two-headed rushing attack, but that isn't happening. He's being squandered. If Benson is brought back, I feel Scott will be permanently relegated to the backup position, if not, I hope he gets a chance to prove that I 'm right about him.

Lastly, there is Brian Leonard and Cedric Peerman.

Leonard had a hard time living up to the hype his play created a season before. All of those spectacular clutch efforts he put forth resulted in the assumption that he could replicate those performances in 2010, but he was unable to match the perhaps unrealistic expectation of always being the hero. I felt there were too many times that the Bengals dumped it to Leonard on third down and just hoped for the best. I did like his ridiculous fake-punt scamper in Indianapolis, but other than that, his season was middle of the road. He remains a player worth keeping because he does have a special ability to get yards in strange ways, but, like Scott, he should have been used more often and in ways that maximize his talents.

Peerman was super limited only touching the ball three times all season, but he's a fast little guy that caught a nice pass for a first down late in the season finale against Baltimore. I would bring him back because he adds nice depth to the position should Benson sign elsewhere or simply get injured playing in Cincinnati.

If the Bengals went with the shorter passing game that calls for running backs to make 30 catches in a season, then there's no room for Benson. Scott, Leonard and Peerman could be a terrific trio in such a philosophy, each with their own unique ability to contribute to the passing game. However, If they stick with the stretch hand-off, zone-blocking scheme, then Benson is required because it would be the same offense and none of the others can do Benson's job in the current system quite like he can.

So there you have it. The Bengals could have been a better, more creative offense when using their running backs, but they insisted rather to carry on with the exact same approach all season long. It didn't matter to them if it's worked or not; it's what they practiced at training camp, it's what they decided their offense would be, and, to them, it was more productive to stick to an offense they know rather than attempt to introduce new ideas mid-season and confuse the players. That was their thinking. To adjust when failing, is to admit to failure, and that is not the perspective of this franchise. Instead they will carry on running the same off-tackle stretch-plays to Benson 25 times a game and be satisfied with under four yards a carry for the season. They will continue to ignore their other talents and wait for Benson's legs to fall off before addressing any kind of need at the position. He may not want to endure that, but it's easy money to run for nothing, and that's exactly what he is likely to do in Cincinnati.


Mojokong—running scared.

Annual Reviews Part 3: Carson Palmer

Quarterback: Carson Palmer

When Carson Palmer looks at himself in the mirror every morning, he sees a dad, a husband, and an NFL quarterback -- and probably the tinkerer of some obscure hobby, like modifying computer monitors into Jules Verne-looking stuff, although that seems more like a Jordan thing to do. The point is, the importance of the position is arguably unmatched in sports which means it's one of the hardest jobs in America, and Carson, if nothing else, knows his job well, and that is what makes him more valuable to the Bengals than many of us realize.

Obviously, there's more to it than just throwing the ball. The modern quarterback must have the ability to completely master a giant playbook and know where every 22 players will be on every play. He must be a leader in study sessions, during practice and especially on game-day. He has to remain calm and collected at all times both to heckling fans (like me) and to bothersome media (like me). He has to know how long his pocket will hold up and must somehow sense pass-rushers he cannot see. He has to have an ability to improvise on plays gone awry and demonstrate a certain panache while doing so. Most importantly, though, he has to convince the whole world that he has all of these things well under control and that their team is in good hands.

Then there is the physical side to the job. A quarterback's body must hold up to the annual beat-down it suffers at the hands of increasingly scary blitzers for at least 16 games a year. He also needs to be fairly tall to see over the line, and should run well. His arm must be strong enough to throw at least 50 yards in the air, throw bullets to the sidelines, and still have the ability to take some off of throws when a bit of finesse is required. He has to be tough, and if he can grow some quality cold-weather stubble, all the better.

It's this combination of mental and physical abilities that legitimizes Carson as a guy who is good at his job and eases my anxieties some about him remaining with the team.

However,...

When comparing Carson to the entire world, he looks like a great quarterback, but comparing him to other quarterbacks, he looks very average.

I think it's only fair to acknowledge the physical tole Palmer has endured after seven seasons. After the knee operation, he never looked as good. Then came the elbow injury in 2008, then the finger in 2009, and various other discomforts he experienced this year that forced him out of a practice a few times over the course of the season. Pass protection was often shaky -- especially early on -- and the big man from California took some shots that were not only painful, but also may have rattled him some. If he fears for his safety, he can't be at his best.

Still, there were dozens of crucial mistakes made by No. 9, and even though the team passed more in 2010, Carson's superlatives were rarely mentioned throughout.

Interceptions can stem from a variety of breakdowns, and not all of Palmer's picks were because of his own misdoing, but there were an abundance of dropped interceptions thrown that should have added to his already sizable total of 20 on the year -- a mark he has reached twice in the past four seasons (57 interceptions in 48 games). Too often do we hear him tell the media afterward that he just didn't see a defender or that he should not have tried to fit a certain pass into tight coverage. Instead of checking down to the flats or underneath, Carson would lock onto his primary receiver and try for bigger yardage, most times resulting in a wasted incompletion, or worse.

Yet, somehow more discouraging than his risky tendencies and accuracy issues, was the consistent blundering of communication between Palmer and his two hotshot receivers. Somehow the rookies knew their routes, but the veterans didn't? How does that work? My guess of what is going wrong is that on option routes, where the receiver decides where he runs based on the coverage, both passer and catcher are thinking opposite things. Chad slants while Carson throws a comeback route. That kind of thing could be understandable with TO, but the majority of the more perplexing pass plays came in the direction of Ocho. At this point, 9 & 85 should know each other better than anyone else on the football field. The time the two have spent with one another in the past eight years may be embarrassing for them to admit to, and that's why there is no reason they keep screwing up easy out routes.

As for his faith in TO, I think Carson agreed with Brat in that the veteran could catch anything. TO had a great year with Palmer statistically, but there were plenty of times when the ball should not have gone his way. As an eight-year elder, Palmer can't be suckered into hoping blind stardom can make the play on its own. When there were other open receivers, he ignored them in favor of Owens, and multiple games collapsed into losses based on that fact alone.

With the backup and rookie receivers, however, he looked sharp and in control . Could it really be a matter of these guys running simpler routes that the whole offense can understand, or do defenses relax on them because of their inexperience? I have a hard time buying the latter -- this is the NFL we're talking about -- so I think there may be something to the former. Last year, Palmer wasn't sterling, but he was polished, and the pressure on him was removed a great deal by the power of the running game. This year, that pressure was reapplied with over 100 more passing attempts and his ineffectiveness quickly bubbled to the surface. By the time they went back to what felt like last year's style, the team had already lost 10 games in a row and were sufficiently whipped from the playoff picture a long time before that.

Once Jerome Simpson and Andre Caldwell joined rookies Jermaine Gresham and Jordan Shipley as the regular passing attack, suddenly a spark was lit and wins actually came about. It was amazing! Some commented on the resurrection of spirit and energy Carson seemed to experience, and, in a common theme in Cincinnati, fans had some new-found hope for next season.

If Carson really does feel more comfortable with the new guys and can mold them the way he wants them, then maybe there is reason for optimism in regards to the remainder of his career. At the rate he's going though, I would think that a new batch of receivers, might just be his last, and if that is the case, he'd better make this go-around work. With him under contract for a while longer, he will remain in stripes (even though he recently admitted that he can see himself elsewhere in a future scenario) and, in all likelihood, will be coached by the same men calling the same plays. If that remains the case, then it really is up to the development of the young receiving corps, but what would be best for the greater good, would be to go back to the run and rely on the whole passing ordeal a lot less next year. Again, I know his job is more complex than I can possibly imagine, and he is a decent quarterback for sure, but since he's not getting younger, or even better, it's best to remove as much from his shoulders as possible.

Annual Reviews Part 2: Bob Bratkowski

Offensive Coordinator: Bob Bratkowski

For many years throughout the last decade, the Bengals offense was considered potent but inconsistent. At different points, they had as much firepower as that of New England or Indianapolis, but were simply never able to put it together well enough for any prolonged success. Then came 2009, when someone within the Bengals organization demanded that they become a power-running team, and, lo and behold, the playoffs were reached. Finally, the team had adopted an identity that not only worked, but embodied the division that the Bengals struggled to win for so many years. They out-Pittsburghed the Steelers twice in huge games, and held the Ravens at bay with a pair of hard-nosed contests. Things fizzled out in the wild-card game, but all in all it was a damn good season for Bengals.

That offseason, everything came together in what seemed a perfect harmony of sure-fire success. First, the team parted with the severely underwhelming Laveranues Coles and the stone-handed Dan Coates, and demoted Andre Caldwell. Then, they replaced said players with Terrell Owens, Jermaine Gresham and Jordan Shipley, and the total upgrade was complete. Cedric Benson felt good and was raring for another big year, and Bernard Scott had continued to develop into an exciting young play-maker. The entire offensive line, each member of the coaching staff, and, of course, the same quarterback, all joined forces again in what many expected would be an even better campaign in 2010. They had all the right pieces in place; through personnel moves, they fixed what destroyed them in last year's playoffs. Now that they had better players in the failed positions of a year ago, they would surely become a true force in the division and beyond.

The problem was, that instead of continuing what worked so well, they decided the modern-day wheel wasn't good enough and that maybe they should reinvent a new one. And so they did.

At this point, most Bengal fans draw their swords toward Bob Bratkowski. Even if he isn't the man who makes the decision on what the offensive "identity" should look like, he still has to come under fire for the department he heads which has performed so very poorly in recent years. Putting aside the man's glaring play-calling tendencies and gross predictability, his refusal to stick with the run goes against good reasoning.

During the second half in Atlanta in Week 7, it looked like the offense really could be a vertical-pass attack using the no-huddle and had the Falcon secondary reeling. Once that looked like it could become an interesting new style for the team and maybe get the offense some meaningful productivity, Brat—or other unknown forces—went away from the no-huddle except in desperate comeback-mode. As a result of abandoning both the smash-mouth and the no-huddle attack, his team came down in a spectacular blaze of forced passes to TO and Chad Ochocinco, and a nasty string of losses ensued. Only when Carson had to throw to younger players with less television shows did the offense breathe life again, and by then it was already too late.

I don't think any play-caller can live in this world without being criticized along the way, but Mr. Bratkowski's curious methods have gone fruitless and yet unchecked for far too long now, and when the whole world points to him as a problem, there has to be some credence to such a claim.

The offense Brat intended was more of a vertical-passing model that counted on teams double-teaming Chad Ochocinco and leaving TO in one-on-one match ups. Brat likes the idea of TO going solo with anyone in the league, and that thinking isn't automatically flawed, but once it became apparent that Owens would consistently make a "business decision" on every deep ball and only give the minimum effort on passes thrown his way, the reliance on Batman should have subsided and the youngsters should have come out of the woodwork sooner. I believe Brat wanted to run Benson as many times as he did the year before, but he expected those rush attempts to come late in games and when playing with the lead. Carson Palmer was supposed to return to something like his 2005, or at least '06 form, and stretch defenses with his big arm and retooled passing attack. The aerial assault would open up the run, just like it did when Rudi Johnson was racking up thousands of yards. The day would be his again at long last.

Only it didn't work the way it was intended, and like the 2008 season, the adjustments were made too late. The season became a wash and eventually players began openly criticizing the play-calling. From the outside, it really appeared that Brat became enamored with TO in his scheme and put too much faith in his super-hero abilities. He figured the man could fly, when it turned out that he can only glide a little.

Ultimately, Brat cannot see for himself what is best for the team until the season is already lost. I am sure that he has some very logical reasons as to why he runs his offense the way he does, but after quite a thorough search for them, I can't find any good ones.

Unfortunately, he will be back. So will the same bad habits and the same overly-complicated scheme that relies on players to make great plays instead of relying on open receivers to make the routine ones. So shall the confusion between quarterback and receiver and the public lambasting by players of a system in flux. The mere fact that he remains employed with the same title is a just another classic example of the organization as a whole. I hope things improve with the new set of guys next year, but how often have we murmured that same very thing in the past?

Annual Reviews Part 1: The Big Question

This was a season that Leo Tolstoy could write over 1,000 pages about and tell you in the end that there is no making sense of it no matter what perspective you take. To answer the grand question of what went wrong is either stupidly obvious or so complex it would take psychiatrists and astrophysicists to break it all down for us. Nonetheless, I will try to unravel this conundrum for us all, or go mad in my attempt

The easy answer is that team ownership sucks—no need to dig up that old horse and whip it again. If you can't win on top, you can't win on bottom; nuff said. And while all of that remains true, it still doesn't explain why this year crumbled like goat cheese before our very eyes.

The other villain's name that springs to the lips, is our longtime pal, Bob Bratkowski. Here is a man that has glided along seemingly unscathed by poor performance for the past three seasons. While he's had excuses every other year—some valid, some not—this season was set up to be his best and instead, he laid a dinosaur egg and excused himself. This answer has more teeth than the ownership rant, and will be explored further later on, but even Mr. Brat can't be entirely responsible for a 4-12 season...can he?

The Bengals' defense—fresh off of a top-five showing a year before with all the same players—had long stretches of wild inconsistency and generally lackluster play which contributed mightily to the season's collapse. To let them off of the hook because we like their coach would be imprudent. Explosive plays and inopportune meltdowns plagued what I once thought to be a blue-collar, rough-and-tumble kind of defense.

It's true that the group as a whole was hit by an extraordinary amount of injuries and cornerbacks were brought in from the scrapheap late in the year, but the bigger problem was relying on too many big-money players that had mid-money seasons. Some of the young, high-ranking draft-picks are stuck in one mode which looks good for a rookie, but considerably less so as a second or even third-year player, and the aged free-agent veterans brought in from elsewhere look depleted and at the end of their road. Ending 24th in points-allowed will never do, but in defense of the defense[rim shot], they were faced with crappy field position many times thanks to turnovers by the offense and below-average special-teams play.

The kicking carousel that began after Shayne Graham split town, seemed to slow once Mike Nugent cemented his way onto the roster. Then, during an onside kick, Nuge blew up his knee and the kickers began to spin again. The punting was a letdown, the return team looked docile, and a lack of Kyries Herbert was felt throughout the entire season.

Everyone gets a slice of responsibility pie on this team. Playing in the NFL is difficult for each individual that makes up an organization. The competition is immense and wins are at a premium. It's easy for me to criticize other people doing their jobs when I have no idea what it's really like to work as them, however, dishing out the reason for their failure as no more than a difficult schedule is as lame as a three-legged race horse. I'm not stubborn enough to say that it has no bearing on a team's final record at all, but even three more wins doesn't bring them even close to a playoff year. In a nice and accurate sample size, the Bengals ended 2-4 in their division which is a schedule they must play every season. Winning a third of the time is not the sign of a winner, no matter what the league. Therefore, there will be no further credence given to the strength-of-schedule answer in these future musings as to why the Bengals are so bad.

In the following, both coordinators and each position will be reviewed of their 2010 performance and will also be evaluated for the future. These postings will come in three installments—offense, defense, and conclusion—and we will determine what went wrong this season and ways to fix it in 2011—if any exist. We'll get to the bottom of this thing, even if it is a rank rabbit hole to find yourself in.

Mojokong—the accidental crusher of snails.

Devolution and Imbecilic Design

What I'm sure of, is that I'm not pleased. Outside of that, my emotional specifics are still pretty hazy.
I'm not necessarily upset that Marvin Lewis returns for his ninth season. He isn't a bad coach at all. His record is a losing one and the laundry list of game-management complaints are all very valid, but I think he's a smart guy who (now) handles his players well from an organizational standpoint. I find his interest to return surprising, but as it is, I don't think it's a bad move bringing him back, it's just not the right one.

There can be benefits to team continuity. Franchises who are lucky enough to cruise with one coach for a decade or more, often times are winners for most of that time. Marvin definitely raised the culture of the team from awful to mediocre and at least had two playoff years, but here in frigid Cincinnati, the seat just isn't all that hot for the hometown coach. To me, this group has run its course; the key members involved have collectively peaked in their careers, and a shake up is necessary to change the mediocre culture. Like Marvin did in 2003, there should be new blood here to elevate the Bengals from mediocre to good. With plenty of new-wave players ripening before our eyes, the timing is perfect for a regime change to ensure that they're utilized better than they were before. Then, no longer would we hear a coach admit that they waited too long to get healthy prospects involved. No more would players say that they've become numb to losing or tell the media the sad truth about the offensive play-calling. It isn't Marvin I blame, it's the culture of the organization headed by a contemptuous and slithering human being, one Mike Brown.

Before I sink my talons into the poor bastard, first, in fairness, I will attempt to see the situation from his perspective:

“Alright, I own a football team. I get to do anything and everything I want to it. I get to be general manager, scout, owner, dictator, demigod, whatever! What I say goes and that's been the case for the past two decades. In that time I have enjoyed two winning seasons and have accumulated one of the worst winning percentages in sports. Because of those accomplishments, I reward myself with a general manager's bonus...annually. I have also strong-armed the county into a tax deal to fund my Dad's new stadium that I negotiated with a guy that really was working for me the whole time. Ha! And the best part...are you ready for best part? The best part, is that I'm going to do it again really, really soon! Hahaha!!! Aren't I despicable?"

Okay, so that wasn't a fair perspective (but it was fun) and the bottom line is, Mike Brown is convinced that he runs a competitive football team when he just doesn't. He defends his scouting department with asinine stats like drafted-player retention—which actually hurts his case as a credible team executive even more. Here are some of his actual words about his “scouting department”:

“We get criticized for that because we run a lighter crew than some teams do, but I don’t know if we do badly there. We picked up Reggie Nelson this year – that’s a pretty good acquisition. The year before, we picked up (Brian) Leonard and he helped us a lot. We have people up there who are attuned to this stuff. (Director of Player Personnel) Duke Tobin is on top of it very, very thoroughly. Today, with the communications you have, you can talk to people anytime, anywhere in this country, and we do. You don’t have to have a guy sitting in an office doing just that. You can carry this information with you as you travel and then communicate when it’s necessary, and that’s what we do. I don’t think it works badly – I think it works all right.”

Even if this system did work—which empirical evidence suggests otherwise—employing one person to scout makes bad business-sense because the owner then becomes reliant on one man's opinion on every prospect evaluated. What's wrong with having a guy (his words, ladies) sitting in an office collecting reports from a team of scouts looking at players in different places simultaneously? Is that too cutting edge, or just too expensive? Or if Mike Brown was to put anyone in an office, it should be a real general manager. Someone with a better eye for talent and a more appropriate handle on general player-personnel decisions. Defending yourself behind a preseason trade that only landed a decent safety is a flimsy way to “spiel” to the public, as he calls it.

The best teams in the league are put together in such a way that the appropriate layers of command and influence are distinct and visible. Along the offices of Paul Brown Stadium, however, a crucial office sits vacant since the man-with-many hats sees no reason to fill it; he already has an office which can surprisingly house both himself and his ego. There will be no general-management frivolity displayed from this team. As the man said himself, he thinks that “it works all right” and that's good enough for him.

Had Marvin been brought back but as a GM instead of coach, I would have cartwheeled down my street. But of course that didn't happen. All that happened was that Mr. Brown reassured the world that the losing is extremely likely to continue, he's happy with his declining coaching staff, and that he wants concessions from Hamilton County taxpayers. He thinks everything is moving along swimmingly in his universe and simply isn't all that concerned with who likes it or not. He does not operate his team for the betterment of the city; he runs it for himself—his ultimate toy.

I respect that Marvin is determined to win in Cincinnati, but he has to know the limitations here in doing that. I agree with those that feel part of him settled in this decision; it was the easy thing to do. Through his comments, I sensed that he was so bothered with being out of his routine on that Tuesday that he just couldn't stand it and wanted his job back. Of course I have no idea to the situation at all, but he just seems like that kind of guy.

Either way, he's back. In fact, as of this writing, the only person expected not to return, is Terrell Owens. That includes all the assistant coaches (including he-who-must-not-be-named), all the equipment managers, the heiress, Anthony Munoz and Paul f*!#ing Keels, those increasingly garish uniforms, Bob Bedinghaus, Minister-of-Propaganda—Jack Brennan, and everybody else who makes up the most backward team in the league. It's an outrage that our fair city must be represented by such a jalopy, a lemon, a ship wreck of a franchise, but it's worse that it refuses to see itself as that. We need another Marvin Miracle to make this thing float into next year and beyond, and that isn't fair to him or us, but that's life. So be it.


Mojokong—Mike Brown is a frog who still thinks his kiss is coming. What a fool.

Week 17 Recap: Short-Yardage Shortcomings

Giving up five turnovers is a pretty solid way to lose a game. Missing field goals, kicking the ball out of bounds and punting miserably are other great ways to fail. Yet what stood out to me the most was the Bengals' inability to convert third or fourth down on short yardage scenarios. When the going got tough, the tough got hammered.

Snap-for-snap, the Bengals largely outplayed Baltimore. The defense applied excellent pressure on Joe Flacco once again—typified by the continuously improved play of the sack machine, Carlos Dunlap—and Ray Rice had a fairly modest day running. The beat-up secondary covered well throughout and even the safety play was above-average.

On offense, the young receiving corps continues to shine, highlighted by the sudden star-in-the-making Jerome Simpson. While perhaps still a little too pink on the inside, one can immediately detect the natural skills this young man boasts. He's rangy with an impressive leaping ability, he has large and enveloping hands and demonstrates a keen awareness of his feet and the sidelines. His routes look sharp (I especially liked the quick slant route which initially appeared would be a big play until Simpson fumbled the ball away), and his speed doesn't seem to be a problem. In the last two games, the former second-round pick has finally spread his wings some and now provides team management with a fall-back option should the two superstar receivers move on as they are expected to do.

Another sight for sore eyes is the contributions of one Chase Coffman. With Jermaine Gresham unable to give it a go on Sunday, Coffman stepped into the pass-catching tight-end role without a hiccup. Coffman had been knocked for his lack of blocking capability, but it didn't seem like a problem last week, and, similar to Simpson, makes me wonder what took so long working him into the offense. Fortunately, the plays Coffman put on tape will now demand that the team either play him or trade him. He doesn't have to be a starter, but he can become a viable passing option even with Gresham in the lineup. The kid can play, give him a chance to prove it.

One of the real concerns with the current coaching staff is their inability to progress their young players on offense. Since so many rookies and first-year players get such little opportunities to show off their skills, we as fans assume those young guys just aren't adjusting well to the NFL level. Yet when we see the likes of Simpson, Coffman, Bernard Scott, and even Cedric Peerman make such a positive impact on games, one has to wonder how much stubbornness, personal ego and an inability to adjust, plays a part in the hindrance of their careers. We tend to forget that teams are made up of human beings capable of making irrational decisions, like ignoring the projects until they expire and become useless.

Luckily for the youngsters, the Bengals season collapsed in on itself and forced management's hand to play them and see what they can do. What they can do is move the ball down field at an impressive rate on one of the league's best defenses, but what they can also do is fumble the ball away on crucial drives.

Still, the Bengals were not outplayed, and, for the most part only beat themselves...except on short yardage. The one calling-card that doesn't go away with the Ravens defense, is that they make plays when they have to. Not just on turnovers either—often times, getting turnovers is more of a lucky occurrence than a well executed one—but shutting down teams on third and short is the sign of an effective unit.

Twice in the first half, the Bengals were forced to punt after failing to pick up one yard or less. They did it again in the second half but were bailed out on fourth down by a Ravens encroachment penalty, and were stopped again on both third down and fourth down later on. Cincinnati went one for six on third or fourth-and-one and were simply pushed backward on such opportunities. Even though it was only one yard, not converting made scoring points extra difficult. Unlike last year, this rushing attack has been unable to gain the tough yards and that has had plenty to do with the disappointment of the season.

Had the Bengals been able to pull out even half of the games that came down to the last drive like this one did, they would be a far more respectable 8-8 or so. As it is, the loss to Baltimore in the finale marks their twelfth defeat in 16 games, which stands as a total failure for every man and woman anywhere within Paul Brown Stadium. Some of you Bengals had some displays of success and worthwhile play, but all in all, you are all losers once more. No matter where you are next season, you will have to wait until September to prove (at least to me) that you have improved, that you get it, and that you're a winner. Until then, I will hang my head in shame for ever believing in you. You let me down, Bengals, and not just this past Sunday.


Mojokong—what now?

Week 17 Preview: The Bitter End

As the season winds to a close, the Bengals attempt to go out with their heads held high and their spirits in tact as they look ahead to the murky waters of the future. It is probably difficult for the men in that locker room not to gloss over the match up with the Baltimore Ravens without knowing whether their place on the team is secure beyond that game or not. On the bright side, Cincinnati is coming off of a two-game win streak which sounds modest to most standards but is something of a highlight for this year's bunch. With the higher-profile receivers on the roster shelved for the last game, the Bengals will continue to keep a close eye on the development of the promising younger players who have added a spark to a largely underachieving offense. Bengal fans and coaches are curious to see if Carson Palmer can continue his hot streak with the inexperienced backups, but if it's one thing these guys have shown, it's that when given the chance, they can make the plays necessary to at least give their team a chance to win.

On the slightly more dismal side, they face a team who has plenty to play for. Baltimore could lock up a first-round bye to the playoffs with a win and some help from the Cleveland Browns, and anybody thinking that's not a big deal, clearly doesn't know too much about football. Expect the Ravens to come out with guns blazing in an attempt to put away a struggling team early so that they can hopefully limit the snaps of their starters to prepare for a playoff run. The Raisins boast a mighty offensive artillery that employs three super-quality receivers, three legitimate backs, and a veteran tight end poised to return from injury. If that weren't enough, they also have a quarterback who has struggled to gain the notoriety he deserves across the league, even though in his two previous years in the NFL, he has led his team deep into the playoffs. Add in a perennially tip-top defense to the Ravens, coupled with the team's home finale, and you have yourself a damn-near impossible task trying to beat this group.

If the Bengals are able to escape as victors, they will end the season on a substantial high-note, which might convince team ownership that few changes are necessary after all. Such a bittersweet outcome may placate team supporters in the short term—because everyone enjoys seeing their team win—but may also be a curse in disguise as keeping the team's personnel in tact after an overall failure of a season could lead to further mediocrity or worse in the near future. Regardless of the game's outcome, it seems safe to say that most Bengal observers are likely more interested in the happenings after the season than they are in the chance of winning a meager fifth game. Nonetheless, the game will be played and therefore, must be adequately previewed.

Ravens offense vs. Bengals defense

As has been the theme lately, the Ravens will look to attack the Bengals secondary whose reserves have been ravaged by injury. Starter Leon Hall has remained the healthiest of the defensive backs and is good to go again this week, but fellow starter Johnathan Joseph has missed practice time again this week and may have to sit out yet another game in the finale. Even with Joseph in there, Joe Flacco and the Baltimore offensive brain-trust will likely attack the ailing defensive backfield, especially the nickel who will be forced to cover supreme slot guy, and familiar foe, T.J. Houshmandzadeh. We know Housh to be a reliable target, especially on third down and after a soft showing in the teams' first game, he is probably eager to get back at the team that let him walk in free agency. If the Bengals make it too much of a priority to stop T.J., they would risk leaving the bulky yet fast Anquan Boldin and the aged yet still effective Derrick Mason alone in vulnerable one-on-one match-ups. Even if Cincinnati manages to cover all three receivers, they then risk leaving open veteran tight end Todd Heap, or the promising rookie pair of Ed Dickson and Dennis Pitta. Then, if somehow all of these men are somehow accounted for, Flacco can still look for their dangerous running backs, Ray Rice, Willis McGahee and Le'Ron McClain, to catch key passes on screens and checkoffs coming out of the backfield.

The Ravens offense is armed to the teeth with unique yet equally harmful weapons—the sort of collection we Bengal fans thought we too had and would enjoy watching all season. Obviously Baltimore, a franchise that finds new ways to win plenty of games every season, succeeded with their stockpiling while Cincinnati, a franchise world renown as the ideal loser, managed to allow their new weapons to blow up in their face. The comparison of Wile E. Coyote and the Roadrunner to the Bengals and Ravens has never been more apropros than this season.

Like last week and the week before that, if rookies Carlos Dunlap and Geno Atkins can continue to recharge the defensive line into getting pressure on Flacco, a lot of things could go wrong for the Ravens, but even with the new monsters on the defensive line, facing this offense can prove to be a tough task. Last time these teams played, Flacco was hurried all day and looked awful as a result—so much so that Ravens blogs were actually calling for Mark Bulger—but we are a long ways from that game and both franchises have moved along opposite routes since then. Still, last contest proved what a good pass rush can do and it seems imperative the Bengals follow that up with a similar performance.

Bengals offense vs. Ravens defense

If the Baltimore defense is the Decepticons, then Ray Lewis is Megatron and Ed Reed is Star Scream. Now, for all of you who watched the animated series in the '80's, you remember that when Megatron transformed into a gun, Star Scream would hold him while he fired. The lucky part for the Bengals is that Reed may need to rest this game to get himself ready for the postseason, meaning someone else on that defense would have to hold Ray Lewis once he transforms, and no one can do that quite as well as Reed. Silly cartoon analogies aside, Reed is one of the game's greatest safeties of all time, and if he can't give it a go, Carson Palmer will feel better about himself and about his young bucks.

As for those bucks, there shouldn't be much deviation from the past two week's game plan. If Bob Bratkowski feels the kids are ready to beef up their assignments and workload, then we are likely to see Palmer struggle finding his men running complex option routes. The key is to keep things simple for the lads so they can run the route their supposed to without overthinking themselves or their quarterback.

In the running game, expect Benson to get at least 20 carries for less than four yards a pop and Bernard Scott to get lightly sprinkled into the game plan the way he has since the season plopped into the toilet. If the organization were really smart (stop laughing), they would increase Scott's load to see how life without Benson might actually feel like. With a costly free-agent to be like Benson gobbling up all the carries, and the season officially a waste, this game seems like the ideal time to see how well Scott has progressed when called upon to be the bell-cow back that takes the bulk of the running load.

There is a good chance that Jermaine Gresham will be forced to miss Sunday and that means that rarely-used Chase Coffman will be called upon instead, so keep an eye on the blocking capabilities that Coffman demonstrates against a bruising front seven like Baltimore's. How he can hold up to a bulky defense could spell out a lot in regards to the lighter tight end's future.

Conclusion

It would be nice to see this reinvigorated team bust their ass for their coach one more time before the group is disbanded. All is lost, sure, but, they are still men who should still maintain some fragments of pride. Despite the struggles Marvin Lewis has dealt with in his eight years in Cincinnati, he still managed to elevate the franchise from a laughing stock to a sort of competitive team. If it weren't for him, the players on that roster would be viewed as even more inferior than they are today and in the NFL, that means he has made each man on that team more money. Here in America, we are motivated by money more than damn near anything else, so these players should go out fighting for the man who put a little more food on their tables.

Sadly, however, I don't see a win in the cards this week. Even though they are playing with a new sense of purpose and a surprising amount of focus, the Ravens are playing for something far more tangible than pride or money. This is a legitimate Super Bowl contender who could make their road to such an outcome far easier with a win at home against the Bengals. They are loaded with a host of Pro-Bowl caliber players and are built and coached by individuals who know exactly what it takes to compose such an impressive roster. Like every week, if the Bengals limit turnovers and penalties, they have a shot, but I fear the firepower they face in Baltimore is too much and that they will be humbled once more by a superior force. Then again, they have beaten the Ravens three times in a row and seem, to some degree, to have their number. That number will fall this weekend though, and each team's place in the league will be brutally reinforced. Better luck next year.


Ravens 31, Bengals 19



Mojokong—my beard is not of the playoff variety this go around. It's simply an overgrown chin.