This simple quote from Willie Anderson based on his less than a week in Baltimore, found on Bengals.com, is all you need to know about why the Bengals continue to be also-rans in the NFL.

"I was shocked this week when I saw how well these guys prepare. I don't know anything about pass routes. But these guys are very unique. They just love football and study it all the time."

From the lack of a GM, to the league's smallest scouting department, and right on through to game planning and execution, this organization is not run like an NFL team should be.

We have the talent to be successful.  What we lack is the determination, the drive, and the passion needed to put in the time and effort needed to win.  In 2005 these guys played hungry, looked prepared, and won.  Since then, from the top down, this organization has lacked that fire, and increasingly looks disorganized and at times disinterested.

When our starting cornerback was Artrell Hawkins, our quarterback Akili Smith, our coach the immortal Dave Shula, losing like this was almost bearable, you could understand why.  I for one am embarrased that a group this talented is this bad. 

Here's another difference which relates to that drive or lack thereof.  Chad says he wants to PLAY for a winner.  Teams like the Ravens are full of guys who want to BE winners.  Huge difference.

Well, with just two weeks to go maybe our boys are perfectly positioned for the season.  After last night's debacle, I can't imagine even the most optimistic of us have any grand expectations for this squad. 

The list of issues this team needs to address in the next 14 days is lengthy.  I think it would be fair to say that cohesion on both sides of the ball would be a good place to start.  It doesn't look like 11 guys working as one on the field, it looks like a chinese fire drill. 

Perhaps Palmer's bloodied (broken?) nose will be the motivational poster this team needs to focus on playing together, and playing hard.  I mentioned last week that it seemed to me this team doesn't play with much urgency or energy, and now I see B. Williams quoted on Bengals.com saying that the practices have lacked that enthusiasm, and it's carrying over to the games.

Getting some guys healthy would be nice, too, which brings me to another point.  For all the raving about our strength and conditioning program, we sure seem to have a lot of guys out with muscle pulls/tears.  Something in that program is clearly not working if we continue to see this many breakdowns.

Maybe we're set up perfectly, like 2005.  We look injured, and beat down before we've even kicked off.  Maybe teams will overlook us, and we can sneak up on some people.  Maybe last night will provide the wake up call this team appears to so desperately need.  Maybe all the things they've been saying for years they need to fix will be fixed in the next two weeks.  Maybe we've been hoping for all of this for years. 

I for one officially have no expectations for this team now.  I just can't believe based on what we've seen so far that this team is heading for anything but a long season.  I hope I'm wrong, and I'll root for them as hard as I ever have, this is my team, always has been and always will be.  But I'm not blind, or dumb, and right now we look like one of the worst teams in the league.  

I just received the newest issue of Sports Illustrated, and lo and behold on page 40 is a story on Marvin Lewis and the Bengals titled "Drawing the Line"! 

"Fed up with distractions and his players' frequent run-ins with the law, Bengals coach Marvin Lewis finally got mad--and is getting back to basics on the field."

What a difference a few days of press lead time can make!  How bad could the timing be? The team had to know this article was coming, why would they so publicly undercut his authority in the same week an article like this was going to go to press?  Unbelievable!

This is both shocking and yet unsurprising at the same time.  After reading Lewis' comments earlier you can't help but be shocked that Henry is actually coming back.  Yet hearing Mike Brown, and watching our offense struggle and take on injuries at that position, is it really surprising? 

The league is full of 'bad guys' I guess, at least Henry is 'our bad guy' seems to be the mindset.  It's a slippery slope now though to losing control of that locker room.  Like I mentioned in my post about Jeremi Johnson likely keeping his job, at some level, most likely ownership, this team does not understand that it takes "good guys not just good players" to be successful.  The Bengals have a history of drafting and keeping troublemakers and malcontents, from Carl Pickens to Corey Dillon to the present day.  Unlike winning franchises like New England or Indianapolis, there is a disconnect between the front office and the coaching staff about the type of players we should be fielding. 

For the sake of Bengals fans I hope Henry has indeed learned his lesson, and that he can come back and be a productive player and a model citizen.  But as a good friend of mine is fond of saying, the best predictor of future action is past behavior, so if I was a betting man I'd put my money on this ending badly for Henry, the team, and maybe at this point most importantly, Bengals fans everywhere.

"We just have to be better, and we are. I can't give you any fancy name for it; we just have to see it. Which we will. It's nothing that can't be fixed." B. Williams on Bengals.com

Every year, for as long as I can remember now, I keep hearing how the Bengals problems aren't a big deal or are nothing that can't be fixed, yet these things never seem to get fixed.  Everyone keeps bragging on this line, and all these skill guys, yet our quarterbacks were under constant pressure, our running game stunk, and our supposed elite qb had a passer rating in the 20's. 

Continue reading this post »

Holy cow! 

Henry Charges Dropped.

Wonder what happens next?  Clearly the Bengals would seem to be done with him, but once he's reinstated, which you'd think might come soon, I'm sure someone will take a flyer on him.  I'd love to see him back in orange and black if you could trust him, but I don't believe you can.  Just hope we don't find him lined up somewhere else in the AFC North...