SB Nation User Blog: A Pragmatic Bengals Fan

Henry placed on IR after season-ending surgery; Kooistra to re-sign.

A Pragmatic Bengals Fan — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 19:15:57 -0000

Chris Henry had season-ending surgery on his broken forearm today and was placed on Injured Reserve. Evan Mathis is considered week-to-week and Scott Kooistra is reportedly to be re-signed shortly.

Per the Bengals' official Twitter account, first reported by C. Trent Rosecrans of CNati.com. Rosecrans' Twitter account can be found here. @ctrent

Please continue to debate the merits of Chase Coffman vs. Jerome Simpson vs. Maurice Purify in the event that the discussion is once again relevant when Evan Mathis is fully healthy after getting shaken up yesterday, I don't expect Kooistra to be around for very long. This seems to be a stop-gap type of move to get the team through the next couple of weeks. I still hope to see either Purify, Simpson or Coffman soon.

The one in which the Bengals' secondary is still awesome and the Bengals take a 4-0 division record...Bengals win 17-7

A Pragmatic Bengals Fan — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 22:13:53 -0000

by Al Behrman - AP

3 days ago: Baltimore Ravens fullback Le'Ron McClain (33) is gang-tackled by, left to right, Cincinnati Bengals defenders Domata Peko, Keith Rivers, Frostee Rucker, Dhani Jones and Leon Hall after a short gain in the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Nov. 8, 2009, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Al Behrman)

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Today was the first time in recent memory that I sat down to watch a Bengals division game and did not get nervous from the first snap. Were there some things that happened today that give me pause? Were there some things that happened today that concern me going forward?

Of course there were. I don't like that Ed Reed made Chad Ochocinco cough the ball up again today. That bothers me. I credit Chad for continuing his theme of improving his yards after catch, but when it comes at the cost of possessing the ball it can be a detriment. Chad has been great at making things happen after catching the ball all year long, and it usually happens the same way. He will catch the ball on the left side of the field, turn to his left and spin off a defender and take off like a bat down the field. It is usually a thing of beauty. Got to keep better control of the ball while he's running, but I'm sure he doesn't need to hear that from me.

Let's do some breakdown after the jump, shall we?

The loss of Chris Henry (possibly for the year, unofficially) is unfortunate to be sure. The young man has done a terrific job getting his life back on track and now he likely has a clear schedule for the next eight or nine months. I do believe that he has turned the corner in his personal life, and now he has a great opportunity to prove that to the rest of the world. Now that I've completed my Dr. Phil impression, on the field the lack of Slim 15 will definitely make a difference.

I would fully expect to see the debut of Jerome Simpson dressed for action next week, and hopefully he will make a difference. The solid play of Laveranues Coles and the emergence of Andre Caldwell makes the loss of Henry much less imposing, but regardless a hole now exists where production is going to have to be generated.

On a side note, I apologize for my role in Henry's injury. I picked him up and started him this week on one of my fantasy teams. I now know better and will not do that again. Please don't hurt me.

Looking at different areas of today's game, how about that secondary, folks? Leon Hall and Jonathan Joseph continue to play out of their minds on the field of fake grass. Each contributed one interception of Joe Flacco today along with particularly stellar play from one Jonathan Joseph. Joseph was Deion Sanders-esque out there today. Seeing him laying on the field and limping to the sideline absolutely terrified me, it was great to see him back out later on in the game.

Cedric Benson continues to be a man possessed when he has a football in his hand. Running for 117 yards against Baltimore today made him the first running back since Ricky Williams to gash Baltimore for greater than 100 yards in consecutive games (thanks, Joe Reedy!). Williams ran for over a buck in consecutive games over two seasons, 2002-2003 against the Ravens. To the best of my knowledge, Benson is now the only running back to do it twice in one season. Fantasy owners continue to laud him with praise and more than likely bouquets of flowers for the point totals he brings.

One of the most impressive plays I've seen this year was the exchange between Kyries Hebert and Rey Maualuga to down a Kevin Huber punt inside the one. In the event you missed that one, you may want to keep an eye on ESPN later on tonight. I'm sure that one will be seen again. Huber bounced the punt inside the five and Hebert was right there waiting for it. He jumped backward preventing the ball from going into the end zone and threw the ball into the waiting arms of one Rey Maualuga who caught the ball and stood on the half-yard line. It was a thing of beauty.

The team also continues to miss Antwan Odom much less than expected. Three consecutive sacks to end the Ravens' last prayer at trying to put points on the board was pretty impressive if you ask this blogger. Had my children not been napping upstairs I would have likely shook the windows all the way down my parents' street.

That's pretty much all I have to say about today's game at the moment. I'm going to go and eat now, my dad just finished a fish fry. Enjoy it this week, ladies and gentlemen. One more biggie on the horizon next week at Pittsburgh before things get any easier. I'm looking forward to reading what the national media says about our boys in Orange and Black this week, though. For the Bengals to dominate the first half like that after Baltimore laid the beatdown on Denver that they did last week is a huge statement.

Needless to say, I enjoyed today's game very very much. Thanks again, Bengals.

Ever-increasingly optmistically yours,

A Pragmatic Bengals Fan

That sound you're hearing is a million cups receving a healthy pour of Orange Kool-Aid. Bengals destroy Bears, 45-10

A Pragmatic Bengals Fan — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 00:58:03 -0000

Decisive. From the beginning bell, there was nary a doubt that the Bengals were going to win this game today. They drove 77 yards on the opening drive to score on the Arm of the God of Golden Arms.

Oh, by the way. Carson Palmer, who many have doubted of late, had twenty completions out of twenty-four attempts. He threw for five touchdowns on only 233 yards passing.

I'd say that's pretty efficient, wouldn't you? Perhaps even...elite?

Hit the jump.

Oh, you may have heard at some point during this past week that Cedric Benson used to play for the Chicago Bears as well. No? Well I understand, it was kind of swept under the rug. Swept under the rug about as much as Jerome Bettis hailing from Detroit was swept under the rug, that is.

Regardless of how many tweets I saw come through my feed about the Bears blackballing Benson over the past three days, I'd like to raise a question that was posed by a commenter here in one of the live game threads.

Is there some way we can brainwash Cedric Benson to think he's playing the Bears every week? Holy cow.

The man carried the ball thirty-seven times. Thirty. Seven. Times. He amassed a total of 189 yards with a long of 26 and a touchdown against his former team. This, ladies and gentlemen, is a different man than the Cedric Benson drafted fourth overall in 2005 by those Chicago Bears. Benson was a man possessed today, and it was a thing of beauty.

Oh, and picture this. You're a linebacker for the Bears, lining up for a feeble attempt to stop the Bengals from scoring from your one-yard line. You're trying to psych yourself up, knowing you're going to hit the hole and bring that no-good former teammate Benson down...and you see Domata Peko lining up in the I formation as the blocking fullback. I absolutely love the idea of lining Peko up as a fullback from time to time, I think that seeing Domata running full bore at you would loosen the bowels of any linebacker from Ray Lewis to Lawrence Taylor. I loved it.

And hey, let's not forsake the defense, shall we? Two interceptions by Leon Hall, a pick and a forced fumble by Chris Crocker and they held Matt Forte to 24 yards on six attempts (which admittedly falls back to the offense and their quick start, god bless 'em!).

The good guys held the ball for nearly thirteen minutes longer than the Bad News Bears today and absolutely dominated the field in every phase.

Solid special teams.

Solid defense.

An offense that couldn't have been stopped by the 1985 iteration of the Bears' defense...the 2009 version didn't stand a snowball's chance.

All that said, the bye comes at a good time for some of our nicked up boys in Orange to get right and get ready for the Ravens when they come to town in two weeks.

Bravo, boys. You did us proud today. Very, very proud.

As always I remain (and very happily so on such a beautiful day to be...)

A Pragmatic Bengals Fan

Hey, where's my carriage...and what's that pumpkin doing there?

A Pragmatic Bengals Fan — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 14:20:48 -0000

More photos » by David Kohl - AP

24 days ago: Cincinnati Bengals running back Cedric Benson (32) runs past Houston Texans linebacker Zac Diles (54) on his way to a 10-yard touchdown run in the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Oct. 18, 2009, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/David Kohl)

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Okay everyone, I'm not going to tell you that the sky is falling but I may have reached for my umbrella once or twice yesterday. There is much bad and precious little good to talk about from yesterday's game, so let's get right into it.

I sat down to watch yesterday's game excited. I was anticipating a fight from the Texans, but judging by the mental fortitude shown by our Bengals over the past four weeks I expected the men in stripes to prevail in what I hoped to be the fifth consecutive victory from the Bengals. I was hoping to see a team come out swinigng at home for their fans, for their pride and for a continued sense of respectability in the national media. That wasn't what I saw yesterday.

Instead, I saw a team that came out flat with a short first offensive series after electing to receive the ball once again and a defense that looked good again until it lost two of its best players. Let's not beat around the bush, the loss of Antwan Odom is a very scary proposition and has the potential to be devastating. After the way Odom reshaped his body in the offseason adding bulk he has been an animal this year...a man possessed. He may not have notched another sack yesterday, but he did block a field goal. Losing production like he's provided hurts in a major way, and I don't have high hopes that the Bengals will be able to garner that production from anyone else. Perhaps Robert Geathers can prove me wrong and bring the heat from the other side (or from the right side if they slide him over), but so far this year I haven't seen it from Geathers even after all of the double-teams have been put on Odom through six weeks. Geathers has looked fairly pedestrian this year, a far cry from his 10.5-sack form or the man who terrorized the Ravens in the 2007 season opener.

Frostee Rucker is likely to replace Odom, and that scares me as well. Frostee has always made plays when healthy, but therein lies the rub. The guy can't seem to stay healthy long enough to make a real impact by being on the field to make those plays. I can only hope that the team can pull enough production out of a Rucker/Michael Johnson rotation to make up some of the slack created by Odom's absence for the remainder of the '09 campaign.

I along with the rest of you wait with baited breath for the announcement of Domata Peko's MRI results as well. Not only losing the NFL's sack co-leader but also losing your primary defensive tackle will hurt you in a hurry, and that's what we saw all day yesterday. Tank Johnson brings a lot of the same skill set that Peko brings to the table, but can he stay healthy enough to increase his snaps to cover any prolonged Peko absence? Many will poo-poo Peko's absence saying that they've never seen him be a dominating player, but Domata is a highly underrated player that draws an awful lot of double-teams himself. He is also a respected leader on that defensive line. Not having him lining up for any extended period of time will hurt this team almost as much as losing Odom will. I hope that Katie Blackburn has been on the phone with John Thornton today...we could use him right about now.

On offense I'm puzzled by a few things. Primarily, how bad can Chase Coffman possibly be that he hasn't dressed yet this year? I would go back and count how many critical drops Dan Coats has logged, but I'm not currently in a place where I can take my shoes off. Top it off with J. P. Foschi's fumble yesterday to basically eliminate any chance of an eleven-point comeback and it equals a big fat Tight End Receiving Fail. Coffman was the most prolific receiving tight end in NCAA history a year ago and in a season where Palmer is using the tight end as his primary hot read, how can Coffman possibly not be an option when Dan Coats would make a terrific DB considering how many passes he's knocked down?

Too many penalties continue to pile up on the offensive line. We've talked about it every week. Paul Alexander, please start knocking some sense into our linemen's heads. Mental errors have killed far too many drives over the past six weeks. Please fix this.

Oh wait...I'm not done talking about dropped passes yet. Laveranues Coles, thank you for catching a touchdown yesterday. That isn't going to make me forget about your dropped first down in the fourth quarter, though. Drops are killing this football team. It's getting to the point where I'm waiting for a drop in any drive where momentum is starting to build. I don't know if Carson is throwing the football harder than he did in the past (ever seen Rookie of the Year...maybe his elbow injury had that effect), but if Coles was catching balls from Fastball Favre all year last year I don't understand the dropsies in 2009.

I'm sure there were positives here and there yesterday, but when you watch your Cardiac Cats come out and play with as little heart as they did in the second half yesterday they're hard to come by for this blogger. Additionally, it's not unusual for us to see our offense be out-coached but Houston absolutely just took advantage of weaknesses in the Bengal defense all day yesterday. I don't recall Zimmer being out-coached that blatently since he's been here in Cincinnati. Hopefully he'll be able to bring the unit around and compensate for the losses of Odom and Peko (although hopefully Domata will return to us soon) for Chicago next week.

Again, I'm not ready to declare doom and gloom and preach fire and brimstone yet. I did however have a feeling yesterday that was awfully familiar. I felt like a Bengals fan again, and any of you who have been a Bengals fan as long as I have know exactly of what I speak.

I reman as always (although slightly less optimistically),

A Pragmatic Bengals Fan

P.S. I actually had to come back and write this. We abandon the run most of the day only to decide to run a draw on first down, down by eleven with three minutes to go. I nearly threw something. I actually unleashed the fury of the CAPS lock key on my Twitter when that play was called and subsequently eaten up by the Texans defense.

UPDATED: Chad Ochocinco and Motorola help to end blackout, Sunday's game sold out. Now with more ways to get free tickets!

A Pragmatic Bengals Fan — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 17:41:56 -0000

As if he needed to do any more to solidify his place among our collective hearts after last year, Chad Ochocinco just tweeted that he and Motorola have teamed up and bought the remaining tickets for Sunday's game to end the possibility of a blackout.

See it here at his Twitter account. Chad. Is. Awesome.

UPDATE: Joe Reedy tweets that he just got off the phone with the Bengals ticket office. Chad and Motorola bought some, not all. Still working with other businesses to close the gap.

UPDATE #2: C. Trent weighs in. Says there will be no official word for a couple of hours, but it looks like it'll happen. I'm assuming he means it looks like the blackout will be lifted.

UPDATE #3: Both Reedy and C. Trent (just click the two prior links, how 'bout it) are saying the announcement should come at four. C. Trent says that the blackout will be lifted, due in large part to Chad.

UPDATE #4: Reedy tweets that Local 12 says the team contacted them. The game's a sellout.

UPDATE #5: More Reedy Tweets

"Looks like the game will be on local TV, just awaiting the details on who stepped up to buy what Bengals."

"According to Local 12, the team has informed the station that the game is a sellout"

UPDATE #6: Should be my last update on this one today. If you want free tickets go to Paul Brown Stadium's North ticket office tomorrow. The 1,200 tickets (600 pairs) that Chad bought will be given away starting at 11:30.

Be there early enough to be one of the first six hundred people in line and you've got yourself a free pair of tickets to Sunday's game courtesy of Chad Ochocinco and Motorola. This information also came from the twitter accounts of Joe Reedy and C. Trent Rosecrans.

An Open Letter to Mike Brown and the Cincinnati Bengals Organization

A Pragmatic Bengals Fan — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 14:34:58 -0000

See also "The One In Which Craig Dons His Public Relations Hat."

Dear Mister Brown,

A great opportunity is currently laid out before you. As you know, in just a little over two hours the end of the blackout extension period will be upon us and the Cincinnati area will find out whether or not they will be able to watch your 4-1 Cincinnati Bengals take the field against the Houston Texans on Sunday afternoon. As of the last reporting there were over three thousand tickets that still needed to be bought to sell out the stadium. You probably know the likelihood or probability of the stadium selling out successfully more than I do, but I would like to propose something to you.

All of Bengal Nation has greatly enjoyed the last four weeks in which our team has begun a rise to relevance in the National Football League. Seeing that the Denver Broncos are now 5-0 with one of the highest ranked defenses in the league even softens the blow of the last-second loss at home to start the season which handed our team their only 2009 loss to date. This is a football team that deserves support; this is a football team that deserves a sold-out stadium chanting "Who-Dey" to cheer them on to a fifth consecutive victory. This is a football team full of players and coaches that deserve every bit of support that we as a fanbase can offer them as they go into battle again this weekend.

All that said, how can it be that the game hasn't sold out already? Our football team is enjoying positive national press the likes of which we haven't seen since 2005. Let me answer for the collective fanbase. There are two reasons why the game hasn't sold out. Firstly, the economy isn't in the greatest shape as you know. Secondly, as you also know, since you took over the team after your father's passing things haven't exactly been ideal for a Cincinnati Bengals fan. I don't need to write about the team's record or how that falls into the four major sports in that timeframe...that's been done hundreds of times over by countless writers.

This is the thing, Mr. Brown. The fans don't have a problem with the team, we want to support them. The fanbase is reticent to buy a ticket in this slumping economy where money is a far more precious commodity than in the past because they are reluctant to support you as an owner. Please don't stop reading, I'm here to help. I have a suggestion that can help begin to right the ship as it were.

Mr. Brown, what I would suggest is for you to buy up the remaining tickets and either a) send them to previous season ticket owners who have been unwilling to renew their licenses and re-up their season tickets, or b) offer them at the Will Call window at Paul Brown Stadium on Sunday morning on a first-come/first-serve basis. I would suggest the former because I know several former season ticket holders that wish they hadn't given up their licenses personally. I know I am but a lowly blogger and as such will not likely be listened to seriously, but please listen to my reasoning.

In all likelihood someone like Kroger may do what was done for the season opener and do this for you. I urge you not to allow someone to do it again. The statement that you would make by eating the cost of these three thousand or so tickets would far outweigh what it would do to your bottom line. The fans believe you couldn't care less about them...this would show us that we are wrong in that assumption. You would start to repair the damage that nearly two decades of irrelevance has caused, and I would just about bet that we wouldn't be waiting for an extension deadline again for the remaining regular season games.

It would energize the team to know that their owner cares enough about the fans supporting them to make such a gesture. They would see an entire stadium full of fans excited to watch their football team play a game in person, maybe for the first time in some of those fans' lives. This would increase their intensity and level of play, which makes winning a football game more likely. That brings us back to winning five games in a row, something the team hasn't done since they went to SuperBowl XXIII.

That would also increase the chances of further sellouts.

You are an incredibly savvy businessman, so I think you can see what I am getting at here. The wise business choice in this case is not to sit on your laurels and allow the game to be blacked out, but to be proactive. Buy the remaining tickets so the game will be broadcast live locally for those who can't afford a ticket. Offer the tickets you've bought in some sort of promotion that will encourage your fan base.

Reap the benefits of a good decision.

Just to be clear, I live in Northeast Ohio so I will be watching the game live on the NFL Sunday Ticket regardless, so I really have no investment into what I have suggested. It won't benefit me personally for the game to be reprieved from blackout. I honestly just have the best interests of my fellow Bengals fans in mind.

You can really make a positive impact in both the immediate and the lasting path of your football team with one simple gesture today. Who better to buy up the remaining tickets than the man wealthy enough to own a professional sports team in the Queen City?

Sincerely,

Craig A. Conrad (A Pragmatic Bengals Fan)

Sage advice from Mo Egger for new/returning Bengals bandwagon fans:

A Pragmatic Bengals Fan — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 13:27:29 -0000

This is just brilliant satire from our friend Mo Egger's blog over at The Homer. You'll see it was posted a couple of days ago due to the fact that he refers to Brad St. Louis as a current Bengal, but I'll parenthetically repair that. With Mo's permission I lovingly repost this piece that gave me more than one belly laugh yesterday when I read it. Hit the jump to read one of the best things I've read in a while.

-This week, and for a while until the team falters, the number of Bengals bandwagon fans you'll see will increase. I like bandwagon fans. The more people that want to talk about my favorite team, watch games, tailgate, the better. To an extent, we're all bandwagon fans. Your interest in a team or sport ebbs and flows depending on the success of whom your rooting for.

So if you're a bandwagon fan, new to the 2009 Bengals, welcome. We're glad to have you and we hope you're here for a while, though we know we're just a loss or two away from seeing you leave our lives for a while. Let's enjoy the time we do have. Let's go through a couple of things....

First, let's get rid of that "2005 AFC North Champions" shirt. You need some new gear. That shirt isn't gonna help you blend in. It's been four years, and besides, a team from the Bengals' division won the title that year. Keep it as a keepsake if you must, but don't wear it.

Same for the lame "Two Johnsons and one big Willie" shirt you bought about four years ago. There's a Johnson still on the team, his name is Brandon. Rudi's gone, his effectiveness slipping probably around the time you checked out, sometime late in 2006, injured in '07, cut before last year. He's looking for a job. Chad is still here, but he doesn't go by "Johnson" anymore. He's "OchoCinco" now. And Willie's gone too, blown out before last season. Bobbie Williams, who was actually here when you last wore the orange and black, is the wise-old one on the offensive line.

Actually a lot of players you loved when you were last a fan are gone. Justin Smith has moved on. So has Landon Johnson, Levi Jones, Chris Perry, Madieu Williams, and Eric Steinbach, just to name a few.

Carson is still the quarterback, though he's just now rounding back into form after missing most of last year, when you were wondering why people still went to games and figuring out ways to scalp some Colts tickets.

Remember how much fun you had saying "Houshmandzadeh?" Yeah well, he's not here either. The fun name to say is "Maualuga." (MAH-WUH-LOO-GA)

The crazy hair guy is Domata Peko. Defensive line. Where John Thornton used to play. Shayne Graham is still on the team. He hangs out at 2009's place for the pretentious, Bootsy's. Speaking of Bootsy's, he's so 2005. Crack Sauce is the new Bootsy.

Oh yeah, and speaking of pretentious, Paul Brown Stadium still has luxury suites, football domain of the pretentious and bandwagon jumpers alike. I'm sure if you find your way to PBS, you'll be bee-lining the suites. Give the other a-holes my best. Ask how many people had to be laid off the retain it and how many of their company's lower-salaried workers get to enjoy it.

Also, when you last left us, our men were running up quite the arrest tally. Most of those fellows involved aren't here anymore. Odell Thurman has moved on the something called the UFL (I'd explain that concept, but your head would explode). What may surprise you is that Chris Henry is still here, and believe it or not, acting every bit the model citizen.

Marvin Lewis is still the coach. Mike Brown is still the owner. You won't understand why most of us still can't stand him despite the team's record. Perhaps you do your shopping in Butler County.

Let's see, who else might you be looking for? David Pollack? Neck injury forced him to retire. Sam Adams? Biggest free agent bust in team history, though he was possibly a worse owner than nose tackle. Owned a team called the Jungle Kats that played Arena Football. Actually, he might've been a worse owner than Mike Brown. Torry James is gone too. Replaced by Leon Hall. He and Jonathan Joseph are forming quite the duo in the defensive backfield. Cedric Benson is the new Rudi, wearing number 32. He's doing quite well. However, screams of "Ceeeed" are not repalcing "Ruuuuudi." Just yell "go!" when he carries it. There's also this newcomer named Andre Caldwell...he's been money late in games, caught the game-winning TD passes against both Baltimore and Pittsburgh, which since you might have been rooting for the Steelers at the time, is probably something you remember.

Brad St. Louis is now the object of our frustration. He's the long snapper. (Note from Craig, here's the reference to St. Louis I wrote about earlier. When this was posted two whole days ago he was still a Bengal.) Actually he was the long snapper when you were last with us, but you didn't know who he was because no one knows who the long snapper is if he's good, which he is not. You'll hear some grumbling about a guy named Andre Smith too. He was the Bengals' first round pick this year. He weighs as much as your Prius.

Anyway, welcome back to the bandwagon. It's great to have you. Throw on your new Bengals t-shirt (iron out the folds) or your Maualuga jersey and settle in for the season. At least until they lose two in a row.

Antwan Odom named AFC Defensive Player Of the Month for September

A Pragmatic Bengals Fan — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 15:28:38 -0000

More photos » by Mike Roemer - AP

Shown here bringing quarterback Aaron Rodgers down one of the five times this occurred on September 20th, Bengals Defensive End Antwan Odom was announced today as the AFC Defensive Player of the Month.

Browse more photos »

Ladies and Gentlemen, for the first time since 1989 -- David Fulcher in December -- we have a Conference Defensive Player of the Month on our squad.

Announced on Joe Reedy's and C. Trent's twitter accounts nearly simultaneously (as it usually happens), Bengals Defensive End Antwan Odom was announced today as the AFC Defensive Player of the Month for the month of September.

We've got some things to legitimately be excited about for the first time in quite a spell folks, and Antwan Odom in his second year wearing stripes has been a large part of that.

Congratulations Antwan!

Now go smear Derek Anderson all over the turf on Sunday.

Sincerely,

A Pragmatic Bengals Fan

Bengals come from behind in dramatic fashion to beat Pittsburgh at home

A Pragmatic Bengals Fan — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 03:44:32 -0000

More photos » by Ed Reinke - AP

about 1 month ago: Cincinnati Bengals running back Cedric Benson (32) is lifted in the air by Anthony Collins (73) after Benson scored on a 23-yard run in the second half of an NFL football game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Sunday, Sept. 27, 2009, in Cincinnati. Cincinnati won the game 23-20. (AP Photo/Ed Reinke)

Browse more photos »

There is a fire burning.

In the eyes of every Cincinnati Bengal suited up this Sunday afternoon, a fire burned behind those corneas showing an ironclad reserve to do something they haven't done since before Marvin Lewis and Carson Palmer wore stripes.

This was a group of 45 men and their coaches who were bent on beating the Pittsburgh Steelers at home for the first time in their Cincinnati professional football careers.

And do you know what? They did just that.

No one runs against Pittsburgh. Apparently Cedric Benson and the Bengals' offensive line didn't get the memo. Instead, the fourth quarter consisted of some terrific run blocking and what culminated in a 4.75 YPC for one Cedric Benson, including a pretty amazing 23-yard touchdown run to the left sideline in which no Steeler really had a chance to take down number 32.

As he crossed the goal line, there was a fire burning in his eyes.

Teams aren't supposed to come from behind against the Steelers to win football games on the final drive. Apparently that memo got by one Carson Palmer. He was cold, calculating and clinical in a near-perfect performance with the game on the line and the same old song playing in your speakers. James Walker wrote about Chad Ochocinco's telling of a story after the game. You see, before the first snap of that 71-yard game winning drive, in the huddle, Carson Palmer made a statement. He said "we're going for two after we score."

Not if they scored. When they scored.

They were 71 long yards away from a win or a loss, and Carson Palmer willed his team into the end zone with fourteen ticks remaining on the game clock.

I'll bet the "Palmer is overrated/Palmer is done" crowd is pretty quiet this week, as a matter of fact. You can't ask for more from your quarterback than we got out of Palmer today.

On first and goal with less than twenty seconds remaining, Palmer looked to the back of the end zone. Cool and confident that his offensive line would keep him clean again, he looked the coverage off of Andre Caldwell before firing a silver bullet into Caldwell's right shoulder pad.

The defense saw a fire burning in his eyes as he shifted his gaze to number eighty-seven and delivered a perfect strike.

Brian Leonard, once thought to be on the bubble to make the squad in favor of one DeDe Dorsey, lined up on a 4th and 10 deep in the Steelers' territory with the game on the line. He caught a pass from Palmer and headed toward to the down marker, but was hit and headed toward the ground about a yard and a half shy of the first down. Somehow defying gravity and resembling something out of The Matrix, he placed his hand to the ground and willed himself across the down marker by a good two yards before hitting the ground. He came up hurting, but none of us saw it until the ball was spiked and he headed toward the sideline.

One play later he came in and caught an easy two-point conversion to put his team up by three with :14 remaining.

You guessed it. As he caught that football both times...

There was a fire burning in his eyes.

Antwan Odom, fresh off a five-sack week placing him at the top of the NFL sack leaderboard was the first to get a hand on Roethlisberger to bring him down on 3rd down to end the Pittsburgh series prior to the Bengals' game-winning drive.

There was a fire burning in his eyes as he notched his NFL-leading eighth sack.

Jonathan Joseph (on my cue by the way, wish that happened every time I called for a turnover) stepped in front of a Ben Roethlisberger pass and returned it into the paint for the Bengals' first pick-sick of the season earlier in the 2nd half.

There was a fire burning in his eyes as he stepped across the goal line.

Chris Crocker. Jeremi Johnson. Andre Caldwell with several clutch catches including the game-winning touchdown (he's already a difference-maker, but this kid is going to be GOOD). The entire offensive line. Chad Ochocinco. Laveranues Coles with several more clutch catches throughout the course of the game (seriously, T.J. who?).

I could go on. Really, I could. But I won't.

They all had a fire burning in their eyes, willing themselves to an absolutely critical comeback win today. James Walker said it best when he said the following.

"These aren't your father's Bengals.

"Heck, these aren't even your older sibling's Bengals from a year or two ago."

He's got a point. I dare say even in 2005 after a first quarter like the one the Bengals suffered today they would have rolled over; they would have laid down.

Not this Bengals team.

They've got a fire in their eyes. They've got a tenacity that I have never seen from any Bengals team in recent memory. Who among us can recall the last time in three consecutive games to start the season that the Cincinnati Bengals had three conclusive drives to win games in the fourth quarter? Because that, ladies and gentlemen, is what we have witnessed to start this 2009 NFL football season. Only a fluke tipped pass to Brandon Stokely (which fortunately doesn't appear to have stuck with Leon Hall as I feared it would...again, mental fortitude seems to be in stronger supply than I anticipated) changes the fact that three consecutive weeks have featured a game-winning drive by your Cincinnati Bengals offense.

This football team made a very potent statement today. The next test comes Sunday when they travel to Cleveland to square up against the absolutely abysmal Cleveland Browns. Past Bengals teams would play down to the level of their competition...something tells me this Bengals team won't do that next Sunday. Let's hope I'm right in my assessment of this team's heart so far and we see them finally come out and step on someone's neck. By all rights after the confidence boost this team earned today next week's game should be firmly in hand by the end of the first quarter.

Many times I don't like to see a team run up the scoreboard. That doesn't exactly apply for me looking at next week's game. I want the Bengals to win by fifty points. I want to see them come out and absolutely demolish the Cleveland Browns and say it again, loud and clear, that this team is for real and to be reckoned with.

Then they go to visit the Baltimore Ravens (who look absolutely phenomenal and clearly are the class of the AFC North in 2009). That appears to be a different test entirely, but let's cross that bridge when we come to it, shall we?

There is a fire burning, and I sure am enjoying the warmth.

As always I remain, although pretty darn optimistically today,

A Pragmatic Bengals Fan

Week 2 Recap, Bengals over Packers 31-24

A Pragmatic Bengals Fan — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 20:30:56 -0000

More photos » by Andy Manis - AP

about 1 month ago: Cincinnati Bengals running back Cedric Benson (32) jumps during the second half of an NFL football game against the Green Bay Packers, Sunday, Sept. 20, 2009, in Green Bay, Wis. (AP Photo/Andy Manis)

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First things first. Welcome to the party, Antwan Odom.

Holy cow.

Five sacks from Odom today. Let me say that once again. Five. Sacks. From Antwan Odom. The man beat his guy like a drum all day long. Two of them in particular came at critical times for the Bengals to stop a Packer drive that could have potentially changed today's outcome, which is a BENGALS WIN! Antwan Odom, my hat is off to you sir.

I also have to mention another player before the jump, congratulations to Cedric Benson. 141 yards on 29 carries is a good day in anyone's book, especially how some of those runs came. The man was on a mission today, and the one run that comes to mind in particular was on a third-and-short late in the game. The run-blocking scheme on the left side of the line completely broke down and Benson made three guys miss as he broke to the outside and made the first down plus a good five yards.

Hit the jump!

Before we get into the good stuff, let's talk about what the team absolutely needs to improve on to defend Paul Brown Stadium against the hated Steelers next week.

-Penalties. Penalties, penalties, penalties. While I think umpire Ed "Guns" Hochuli was trying to set a new NFL record for throwing a weighted piece of yellow cloth on the field, regardless there were far, far too many mistakes on offense, mainly on the line. Andrew Whitworth was flagged multiple times, and once again Chad Ochocinco was called for a false start. The mental mistakes have got to stop, which brings me to my next point.

-The interceptions. I'll admit I got ahead of myself when I called for O'Sullivan in the open thread, but I was very frustrated. Two absolutely miserable throws by Palmer ended up putting 14 points on the Green Bay scoreboard. Had those throws been executed properly or just not thrown at all, the game would have been in the bag and we wouldn't have all been chewing our finger nails off at the end of the game. Things worked out due to a tremendous run game and Antwan Odom morphing into He-Man, Master of the Universe before our eyes, but were it not for those factors we would be 0-2 right now rather than 1-1. We all knew it was going to take some time for Palmer to get his rhythm back, but the last seconds ticked off that clock as the game clock approached quadruple zeroes today. Pittsburgh comes to town on Sunday, and everyone has to be perfect.

On to the good, shall we?

-I've already highlighted the stars of the game in taking a quick look at Cedric Benson and Antwan Odom. Were it not for Chris Johnson's huge performance in Tennessee's losing effort at home against Houston (15 carries for 193 yards and 2 scores? Are you kidding me?), you would likely be looking at the NFL's offensive and defensive players of the week repsectively. Absolutely wonderful performances by both players.

-Once again allow me to admit my man-crush on Kevin Huber. Through the course of two games he has proven to be an invaluable addition to this team. He is consistently pinning the other team inside their own twenty yard line, and tonight when he pinned them on their own fifteen (aided by a ten-yard penalty, given) while punting the ball from inside his own ten yard line was a thing of beauty to behold. He about kicked that ball into the stratosphere.

-As a whole the entire special teams unit did a great job again today. How refreshing is it to have a legitimate NFL-caliber punt return man? Quan Cosby is going to pop one off and take it to the house. Soon. Misstep at the end of the game notwithstanding (I mean seriously, can someone go for the ball?), the teams unit did very, very well. Bravo.

-How about the offensive line's run blocking? Bringing Dennis Roland in as a third tackle/sixth lineman on power running plays may be my favorite playcall. Would we be safe to call that package the new Jurassic Line? This is what I've been waiting for since Richie Braham went down on that fateful day in 2006. We lined it up, the whole world knew we were going to run the ball and we did it anyway. Check that, we did it successfully. It was almost 2005-like at times. I've missed that attitude where a lineman could say to his opposing man "Hey, we're going to run over my left shoulder" and the defense was powerless to stop it. Today felt like a move toward returning to that mindset and exectution.

In the end, what matters the most is that the Bengals went to Lambeau Field and won for the first time in their history today. After two weeks the Cincinnati Bengals are 1-1. Granted it didn't happen in the manner many of us thought it would with the loss coming at the hands of the Denver Broncos and winning today's game against the Green Bay Packers, but the result is the same. The momentum must carry through next weekend, but let's stay positive and think happy Who-Dey thoughts.

Lastly, it's Steeler Week. Make some noise, Bengal Nation.

Sincerely and excitedly,

A Pragmatic Bengals Fan