SB Nation User Blog: goffchile

Introducing (another) New Contributor--goffchile

goffchile — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 13:25:45 -0000

I am going to be joining Mike and Kirkendall on the CincyJungle team so I wanted to give a quick intro for myself. I was born in Cincinnati and grew up there throughout the '70s and '80s. I was fortunate enough to see some good baseball and football. My dad was a season ticket holder going back to 1970, so Sundays at Riverfront were very much a ritual. My earliest memories of Bengals football acrobatic catches by Isaac Curtis heartbreaking fumbles by Boobie Clark.

I currently live in Pittsburgh--which needless to say--makes life a little interesting for this Bengals fan. I am used to being "very lonely" during Bengals-Steelers matchups and have become used to shaking my head, waiting for the day of vindication. Nevertheless, I do have a grudging respect for the Steelers and their fans--which makes me want to see the Bengals beat the tar out of them even more.

Good to meet everyone--and I look forward to helping out Kirkendall and the crew.

My Trip to Heinz

goffchile — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 16:51:08 -0000

I went to the game last night anticipating a blow out. Of course, the Bengals managed to dissappoint--rather than losing easily so I could get drunk without having to focus on the game--they turned in another agonizing loss. The defense, despite not being able to put significant pressure on the QB, actually played pretty well. They need to work on their contain a little, but they really didn't over pursue as much as they usually do against the Steelers and were pretty effective at stopping the run and jamming the passing lanes.

Offensively, of course, the game was painful. Fitz was effective on short timing routes, but in obvious passing situations, the protection was poor and Fitz was off. He also suffered from Glen Holt's apparent inability to catch. The running game--almost non-existent. The Steelers special teams were the only thing that made our offense worth watching--we always had good field position.

Overall, I had fun--tailgated from about 6-8, got a few beers, shots of whiskey, jambalaya, and hamburgers in me before the game. Didn't get razzed too much for my Bengals jersey. One of the good things about being a Bengals fan this year is that you pose no real threat to the Steelers, so they kind of see it as a joke. Also, I wasn't the only Bengals fan at the game--

In fact, I met some nice fellows from Dayton who are going to Eagles concert on Saturday.

My tickets were good--40 yard line, 4th row upper deck--as one may be able to tell from this field shot--

And the Pittsburgh Steeler fans were in rare form, this guy fell asleep in the second quarter, woke in the third quarter, yelled "Boo!" then went back asleep.

And here are a couple of my buddies--

Overall a good time, but I would have loved to see a W.

Going to the Game!

goffchile — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 15:56:25 -0000

I was able to finagle some tickets to the game tonite. Judging from the injury reports, it is looking like it could be a long evening for this Bengals fan. In Pittsburgh, Steelers fans are pretty confident. Most of the news stories have been about possible retribution against Hines Ward rather than the possibility of a Bengals win. The best retribution would be a victory. And you never know, the last Bengals game I went to at Heinz Field was a Bengals victory--2003. So hopefully I am good luck.

In either case, it is going to be cold and I plan on getting drunk. Look for me on theTV!

In the Heart of Darkness--A Bengals Fan in Pittsburgh

goffchile — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 12:49:28 -0000

Due to my crazy work schedule, this was the first game I have actually been able to watch. Since I only have read of the horror and not seen it, I'll post some thoughts.

I watched it in typical surroundings (for me), in the home of a Pittsburgh Steelers fan with my Bengals jersey on (Who Dey!). This week was particularly interesting because the guy who was hosting was my buddy Tom, the head chef for Heinz Field (thanks Tom--the omelets, wings, and shrimp were great!). I tried to convince him to poison Rooney's food, but he wasn't in to it.

As far as the game went, obviously the Bengals are awful across the board. To pick out the negatives would take a while, so I want to highlight some positives. Although the offense was anemic, when Benson got going, he actually looked decent. He hit the whole quick and hard and delivered blows to get extra yardage. He may be a guy we should consider resigning. I don't see him as bell-cow, but he could be a good between the tackles/situational back. Benson and a healthy Watson complemented by a mid-round draft pick could make a decent RBBC next year. Obviously, with no real deep passing threat and a weak running game, it isn't difficult to defend against the Bengals--given that, Fitz had his moments. His biggest problem is the incessant pass rush and his "happy feet" in the pocket. Given the weak pass protection, some of that is understandable, but sometimes he would be better off just standing in the pocket and throwing rather than running. He just can't read the defenses adequately to find the open guy.

I see what people are saying about the defense. They looked a lot better. Although there is no excuse for giving up 38 points--a lot of it can be attributed to the offense's inability to sustain a drive (beyond the last drive of the first half ). The secondary, aside from Pope's blown coverage and Joseph's fourth quarter breakdown, looked decent. The lack of pass rush was disconcerting, but if we had a decent pass rush, our secondary could be a strong group. The front seven came up big several times in short yardage situations, which was heartening. In the fourth quarter, they clearly broke down---partially from exhaustion--partially from lack of will in a game they weren't going to win.

Caldwell looked really good on kick returns and I hope they get both him and Simpson in the mix more often.

Although Pittsburgh fans are typically a very (over) confident bunch, at the end of the first half, I noticed a little perspiration on the brow--it could have been a splash from the Iron City Beer--but I am going with sweat. The rational centers of my brain knew the Bengals probably wouldn't win, but after the closing drive of the first half--my heart lifted, because it seemed like they were actually playing as a team on both sides of the ball. I stayed quiet, however--Pavlovian conditioning from the Bengals pathetic record against the Steelers--but inside I was chanting WHO DEY!

Of course, in a manner that I could have scripted from watching too many years of Bengals football, Cincy unraveled in the second half--with Hines Ward's blow on Rivers being the symbolic moment of the game---physical Steelers football blindsiding the Bengals once again.

The Bengals are a bad football team (newsflash!). But I don't think they are nearly as bad as their record indicates. The rest of the season could be rough. If they decide to sit Palmer, we may be lucky to win a game. This is an eventualality for which I am prepared.

What's really upsetting is that I am depending on the Bengal's front office to correct the myriad of problems.

The horror! The horror!

Rebuilding Year? Or Insanity?

goffchile — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 20:00:18 -0000

I was cautiously optimistic going into this season. Once again, on paper, the Bengals seem to have a reasonably talented team. There were a few weak points—the defense was young and thin upfront, the running game was suspect---but I believed the Bengals did the things they needed to do to improve the situation. I liked the Odom signing, drafting Rivers and Sims, and was willing to gamble on the RBBC of Johnson, Perry, and Watson. I also thought that drafting Ocho Cinco’s and Housh’s replacements made a lot of sense (it was nice to see the Bengals front office actually thinking ahead).

But it has become patently obvious that the Bengals problems are much deeper than I thought. For reasons which aren’t totally clear to me (I understand what the weak points are, but I don’t understand the failure to address them), the Bengals offensive line has been in a state of decline for three years. The running game and the passing game have suffered accordingly. The Bengals failed to draft a RB last year, much to my chagrin, and it appears that this decision is a costly one. Then, they release Johnson right before the start of the season, making Chris Perry, an injury prone player that hasn’t played a complete NFL season as the premier back. The team continues to suffer from injuries to key players (bad luck? Or bad drafting?) and a lack of veteran leadership. The team is in more disarray now than it was last year (bad coaching? bad front office?). It honestly boggles my mind how a franchise can make so many questionable decisions which, not surprisingly, they pay for later. Last year we ran out of linebackers, this year running backs. How does that happen?

Is it too early to start calling this a rebuilding year and looking forward to next season? Clearly, the Bengals need a running back and need to shore up the offensive line. The former can come from the draft, the latter from a combination of signings of Andrews, developing Collins and continuing to draft O-linemen. I have hopes that Simpson and Caldwell will be the replacements for Housh and Ocho Cinco, as I believe that neither will be with the team past this year (Housh to the FA, Ocho traded). It is imperative that they begin to work these two into the offense over the course of the season so they develop a rapport with Palmer. Defensively the Bengals just need playmakers—maybe we can trade for one (see Ocho above) or maybe we keep drafting. There seems to be a strong crop of ILBs coming out next year, so I hope we use our top ten pick to grab one. Ironically, I am more hopeful about short term improvement on the defense than on the offense, simply because we have more young blood on the D.

Again the optimist in me says we aren’t that far away from being competitive---as long as Palmer is vertical, has targets, and the defense can keep us close, we have a chance. But isn’t the definition of insanity doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result?

Damned if we do, Damned if we don't

goffchile — Tue, 20 May 2008 15:45:37 -0000

The recent Odell Thurman controversy demonstrates that the Bengals can't win in the public mind, or even with their own fans. If the Bengals hold on to Odell, it is proof that they coddle "thugs"--and God forbid if their had been another incident--proof that the Bengals are "out of control." Of course, when the Bengals released Thurman, it makes the Bengals look hard hearted because Thurman had been reinstated and was "back on track"—and, of course, his grandma died.

There is no doubt that the Bengals are partially responsible. The team has had its share of off the field problems (mainly Chris Henry). But other teams have had just as many problems and more severe ones---the difference is that they aren't blamed as an organization for the problem---where the Bengals typically are. The media has made the Bengals stand for everything that is wrong with professional football--we are the Barry Bonds of the NFL.

This seems to make Bengals fans hyper sensitive to so called "character concerns." I live in Pittsburgh, and you can imagine the kind of abuse I take, having to be the official Bengals spokesman, accounting for every piece of bad press. There has been a lot of criticism by Bengals fans about some of our draft picks and FA signings because these guys got in fights, had DUIs, etc. My attitude has become "So what?" Every team signs guys with problems, but its only the Bengals that catch hell, and only Bengals fans which seem to have a complex about it.

The bigger problem the Bengals have is not winning in the public mind, but winning on the field. A lot of Bengals fans are upset with the Thurman release because they had made Thurman the "feel good story of 2008-2009." Not only was he going to make the team, he was going to be back in 2005 form and be the savior of the defense. He was "hope."

Well, reality is a harsh mistress. If the Bengals had a winning season last year, I don't think anyone would really care all that much. But for a fan base desperate to grasp at anything, even if it is the unlikely prospect that Odell Thurman can make a comeback, his release seems much more devastating than it actually is.

We may never know exactly why he was released, but I suspect that he still hadn't learned to play by the rules and Lewis had had enough. Marvin Lewis said two years ago that Thurman "wasn't on the team" and I think he meant it. Last year, he also said that he only wanted players who wanted to play football. I don't think this was particularly targeted at Odell, but it suggests that there were guys in the lock room who didn't want to play football. In other words, if you don't play by the rules, you're gone. I am sure Odell knew this and he got burned.

A lot of this will go away if the Bengals simply put together a couple of winning seasons with a nice playoff run. But until then, they will be damned if they do, and damned if they don't.