SB Nation User Blog: Bengals FTW

The non-santctioned Cincy Jungle fantasy league

Bengals FTW — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 18:24:37 -0000

Just call it the UFL fantasy league of Cincy Jungle.

This is an update for those who are interested in the league I started to put together about two months ago. Just a couple things.

Also Kirk, sorry for ending up with two leagues, did not realize that there was already one on Cincy Jungle.

We still have two spots that are open. I had them filled up originally, but 2 of the people who said they were interested never contacted me. As of now, those two spots are open to anyone who would like them. First two to emaill me at cincyjungleff@gmail.com (thats cincy jungle f and f) with their screen name on this site will recieve invites. The league is on espn.com, it is a head to head league with a live draft Sunday, September 6th.

As of right now, I have two spots that I am still working on getting people in for. Both of those people have said they will sign up, but if something does not work out, those two spots will become available as well.

And also, please watch this instructional video on what happens to people in my FF league-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1ZCPv94ATo

Imagining a team without Chad Ochenta y Cinco

Bengals FTW — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 18:47:57 -0000

It's not going to happen. I, personally, would love to see it. Chad's offseason antics antics are tiresome and are never about the team, only about himself. I will not deny that all appearances are that he is working hard on his conditioning and his game, but when the OC is putting an entirely new offense into place, your a$$ needs to be here. Every single repitition counts when it comes to a WR/ QB combo that relies on timing routes as much as Carson and Chad have in the past. Chad being in Los Angeles working on his training is not doing everything he can to help the team.

Now while I see no plausible way that Chad will not be wearing a Bengals jersey this season, I have been wondering what the team would look like without him and do we really need him? Are the Bengals deep enough at WR to perform well without him? So I thought I would do my best to break down what the Bengals would look like at WR without Ochenta y Cinco.

#1 receiver- Laveranues Coles- This is the only real choice for #1 in the world without Ochenta y Cinco. Henry has no proven reliability in the past and Caldwell and Simpson do not have enough time in the league. Coles has been a #1 WR before and at least had the speed to be a #1 in the past. However, when you stack up the career stas of Coles and Ochenta y Cinco next to each other, Coles numbers don't stack up. Before last year, Chad was on a 6 year streak of 1,000 yard seasons. Coles has had 3 in his career. Ochenta y Cinco has had a better QB thoughout most of his career, but the gaps are significant enough that Coles would not be as strong as Chad.

#2 receiver- Chris Henry- Even though he still has a long way to go before proving he can even be a #2, much less a #1, Henry takes this spot on pure talent alone. And if all the rumors are right about his work ethic and attitude changing, then it would be a beautiful thing to have Henry on the field at #2. The downgrade to Coles from Chad at #1 could be evened out by having a focused Henry at #2. If Henry were not here, the mere thought of no Chad and Caldwell or Simpson at #2 would have me asking to have to put up with Chad's crap all season long.

#3- Andre Caldwell/ Jerome Simpson- In this scenario, we would finally find out what these two have. I would imagine Caldwell being in when we need a 3rd down conversion or for short yardage passing plays. Simpson would come in as more of a downfield route runner because of his ability to make athletic catches. I would see this being very effective, sort of like a 1/2 punch at RB. Two different styles not allowing whoever is covering them to really get into a rythym. Once again, the talent of these two somewhat makes up for the downgrade of Chad to Coles.

After thinking through all this...... I have to say I will put up with Ochenta y Cinco for at least one more year. This season we can see how much gas Coles have left, see if Henry really got his act together and hopefully get to evalutate a liitle better what we have in Simpson and Caldwell.

I will say though, if Chad is working as hard as the recent reports from nfl.com and NFL network claim, I could be eating my words this season.

At least Ochenta y Cinco kept his mouth shut this year.

Poll

How do you think the Bengals WR's would perform without Ochenta y Cinco?

They shock the world as Coles has 1000+ yards and the young WR's have breakout/ comeback (Henry) years

171 votes

The results would be about the same

98 votes

They don't look bad, but losing Chad would definitely hurt the passing game

191 votes

Horrible, and you sir Bengals FTW, are an idiot.

31 votes

491 votes | Poll has closed

Cincy Jungle Fantasy League

Bengals FTW — Fri, 29 May 2009 13:44:28 -0000

Would anyone be interested in putting one of these togther? Just do a auto draft league (or live draft if everyone wants) for bragging rights. If need be, we could do multiple leagues if we have enough people. Just an idea, post below if you would be interested and if you would want to do a live or autopick draft. If you guys already do this, let me know.

These are words need to make this post long enough. Disregard.

Thought you guys might like this

Bengals FTW — Fri, 15 May 2009 19:40:56 -0000

Top Ten USC Trojans in the NFL

The obvious debate here is which one of our high profile Trojans is #1? I won't reveal it before you watch it, but I will say that I am going to have agree with it.

I was a little disappointed in some of their picks from 7-10 though. I would think there would be some people who would qualify before Steve Smith and Justin Fargas. He may have only played part of a year, but on talent I would think Rivers would have snuck in at the bottom somewhere (that hit- TOTALLY legal btw).

Top Ten Trojans in the NFL

Bengals FTW — Fri, 15 May 2009 19:32:58 -0000

Top Ten Trojans in the NFL

You know Carson is going to be on there. Do you disagree with where he is?

It's hard for me, but I can't say that I disagree. I think it's close, but relative to the impact and exposure that your average safety has vs. your average QB, I am going to have to go ahead and agree. I don't like it, but I can live with it.

Also I feel like Rivers should haven been put somewhere from 7-10. I mean Justin Fargas? Really?

And you wonder why Bengals fan dislike you

Bengals FTW — Thu, 14 May 2009 20:39:45 -0000

Not that you care. Because I am sure you don't. But I have gotten the question from Steelers fans before- Why do Bengals fans hate the Steelers so much?

Let me make something clear first- I don't just randomly hate Steelers fans. I don't see someone with a Steelers jersey on and go out of my way to kick their puppy. Any of the Steelers fans I have held anomosity for in the past have earned it. For example, the fan that threw a full beer can at my head when I was in Pittsburgh for a game in '06. Or the guy that showed up at Bengals training camp with a custom Steelers paint job on his truck and honking his semi-truck airhorn all throughout practice, then talking s#$% to people walking back to there car even if they had kids with them.

That being said, let me point something out- we know we suck. Not as much as we used to, I grew up with the Bengals in the 90's so really it can't get much worse for me, but we are well aware of our history and where we stand (minus the bandwagon fans we have picked up in recent years). How many times do you need to kick a fan when he is down? Which seems to be a lot looking over the pot shots in the posts. I am not saying don't take some (like you owing Mike Vanderjat a SB ring), but what can be gained from constantly taking shots at the Bengals other that to make you feel better about yourself?

The thing that bugs me the most though would be the sense of entitlement some Steelers fans have. That being a Steelers fan you are entitled to SB titles and winning seasons just because you put on a Steelers jersey. Again, I know this is not the case for all Steelers fans, but you are out there. I have met you.

I know this is not going to change anything, I am prepared for the rash of comments that are going to be left on this post. But I just thought I would finally answer this question for those of you out there that are wondering.

A Super Bowl in London??!?!?!?!?

Bengals FTW — Wed, 06 May 2009 18:28:15 -0000

There a ton's of articles on this subject, but heres one from ESPN. Not that I really expect to many die hard sports fans missed this one.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3065254

This might be one of the dumbest ideas I have ever heard. Now this is not a knock on London, I have been there and I hope at some point in my life I have the opportunity to go back. This is just a knock on the idea of actually having the Super Bowl anywhere BUT the United States. There were other countries that have been kicked around as well, but no matter the location, I still think it needs to stay here.

Now I am completely for doing overseas games during the regular season. And I was honestly suprised after the failure of the European Football League (or whatever it was called) that Wembley has sold out two games that have been play there. And at a stadium that holds over 100,000 people. I also LOVED when Ed Hochuli (I want a Hochuli ref jersey) made a call in spanish when they play a regular season game in Mexico.

But the US is still the NFL's biggest market of fans by leaps and bounds. Taking the Super Bowl away from the US would be a huge slap in the face to the dedicated NFL fans that have made some call football America's "new" national pastime.

And before any fellow Bengals fans try to defend the idea of moving the Super Bowl somewhere else, imagine a scenario for me. Say London does get a Super Bowl.... and then the Bengals make it..... and then the Bengals win it.

It already costs probably 5,000 dollars to go to a Super Bowl. How much more do you think it will be to try to get to one in London?

Take a sample Wonderlic

Bengals FTW — Mon, 04 May 2009 13:58:27 -0000

http://vandalaysolutions.com/wpt/wpt.html

Take a shot at the wonderlic, be ready when you click though, its a timed test and it starts as soon as you get to the page.

I am 90% sure this is a shorter test the the NFL players take and they get 12 minutes instead of 2.

Some stats according to wikipedia-

Average for positions-

Offensive tackle - 26
Center - 25
Quarterback - 24
Guard - 23
Tight end - 22
Safety - 19
Linebacker - 19
Cornerback - 18
Wide receiver - 17
Fullback - 17
Halfback - 16

Average for some proffessions-

Chemist - 31
Programmer - 29
Journalist - 26
Sales - 24
Bank teller - 22
Clerical worker - 21
Security guard - 17
Warehouse - 15

Two of the highest scoring active players are Kevin Curtis and Ryan Fitzpatrick, both who scored 48's on the NFL's wonderlic.

Some low scores from Wiki Answers-

Darren Davis running back from Iowa State is reported to have turned in a 4. Sebastian Janokowski the kicker from Florida State turned in a 9. Reports early on in Vince Young's combine said that he turned in a 6 but later scored a 14, which happens to be the same score as hall of famer Dan Marino.

Pulled off a 35 myself.

The great scapegoat

Bengals FTW — Fri, 01 May 2009 19:37:04 -0000

It never ends. NFL writers/ broadcasters just can't seem to help themselves. When the Cincinnati Bengals come up, their eyes light up like Paris Hilton when she spots a guy with a large bulge in their pants. I can't sit here and say that it is not partially justified, but there comes a time to let things go. And that time has long come and gone.

I know I am preaching to the choir here, but the constant mention of character issues in articles and reports all over the internet and TV has pushed it to the point that I do not want to even look at an article written about the Bengals unless it is written by a local writer.

I admit, when I sat down and dug in for the NFL draft, I wanted no drama. While I acknowledged the immense talent of Andre Smith, I was hoping the Bengals would take another one of the top tackles on the board. And it was for selfish reasons. Because I just did not want to hear it.

Smith's foul up are minor. Not the most intelligent of choices, but I do think overblown. He had improper contact with an agent. Ok, dumb move, but the consequences I am sure taught him a lesson. How many players are going to get suspended from a Bowl Game and not see what they did wrong? If he has half a brain, he will learn from it.

Leaving the Combine early, again, was a dumb move. But the way the media jumped on him over that taught him early how much his actions will be scrutinized by the media. How much he needs to watch what he says and does.

The more and more I think about it, this may have actually been a blessing in disguise. The severity of his mistakes were minor and not illegal (in terms of state/ federal law) and the consequences were severe enough that it may have pushed his maturity level ahead 2-3 years.

Rey Maualuga's screw ups are around the same level. Getting into a fight freshmen year of college is a little bit more of a red flag to me because of the nature of the incident, but that was also his freshmen year. Not exactly recent (like many other things the Bengals still have to hear about), nor was he "making it rain" or on the field stomping on opposing players heads. And walking up behind a good looking woman and pretending to grind on her is not by any means mature. To me, it's on the same level as Joe Namath being wasted during a TV interview and hitting on the reporter (I don't remember who the reporter was). Seriously though, is that really enough of a red flag for people to think he has huge character issues?

Bernard Scott is the only one I feel warrants any real examination. 5 arrests, 4 different schools and he was academically ineligible to move up to division 1. This is probably the only pick that I have really questioned. But so far since he has been drafted, he has said all the right things and presented himself in the correct manner. He may not be out of the water yet, but he is swimming in the right direction so far.

I was going to go into how may players have been arrested who are not on the Bengals the past year and the severity of some of their charges (example- Donte Stallworth and DUI manslaughter, Bills DB Donte Whitner tasered and arrested, Plaxico Burress protecting his bling), but this rant has gone on long enough.

The basic point is this- this has NEVER been a problem exclusive to the Bengals. This has been an NFL problem for awhile now. But because of one year and a bunch of arrests of players, of which only one (somehow) is still on the team, the Bengals will have a target painted on their back for longer that I think anyone realizes yet.

So if any big time NFL writer/ broadcaster ever comes across this blabbering blog post (unlikely), my challenge is this. Find something relevant to write about. Stop giving in to what every Steelers, Ravens and Browns fan does and go straight for writing about character issues. You get paid for what you do because you are not supposed to think like the average NFL fan. You are supposed to one step ahead, writing about stuff that people like me haven't even though of yet.

Stop being lazy.

Seacrest. Out.