I think the Bengals could beat any team in the NFL, even Indy. It should be an interesting run.
I think the Bengals could beat any team in the NFL, even Indy. It should be an interesting run.
“And when finally they sense that some position cannot be sustained, they do not re-examine their ideas. Instead, they simply change the subject.” Jamie Galbraith
The game was on TV here, so I decided to watch the first regular season NFL game I've watched in several years, just to see what all of the fuss was about. It was a nice, timely win for the Bengals, but definitely a headscratcher how PIT was still in it there at the end having coughed up all of those turnovers.
I might even watch again if they make the playoffs.
More than DTs the Bengals need like 4 new NFL caliber Safeties. The jokers they run out there are awful. They miss Madieu something fierce...
4009
If the Bengals beat the Browns and the Steelers lose to the Bears next week we would clinch the division title because the Bengals would have the better record in the division.
Last edited by Reds Fanatic; 12-04-2005 at 06:37 PM.
Originally Posted by Reds Fanatic
Operative word there is "If" (right Boyds) woof!
But...if the Bengals can't beat a 4-8 team at home next week, they deserve to lose. I'll be there..cheering for the wrong team.
Some people play baseball. Baseball plays Jay Bruce.
Loved the play by Simmons. Didn't know he had that in him.
I'll be there, in the South End Zone.
Yep. Lewis needs to be concerned when a guy with a bad thumb can have a career day passing (almost 400 yds) against your "D", were outgained 474-324, and the opposition can be -4 in the turnover category, but is still within a TD of tying it up at the two minute warning.
I hate the Steelers/Cowher, and I'm glad the Bengals won, but I was not impressed with this game at all. I was laughing at Pittsburgh's miscues in the 2nd half; but that is what lead to their demise in this game.
"In my day you had musicians who experimented with drugs. Now it's druggies experimenting with music" - Alfred G Clark (circa 1972)
What is surprising is that the Bengals held the Steelers to only 3.4 yards per run. No doubt the D was not very good today, but that total yards figure is kinda misleading. Pitt turned the ball over 4 times, and IIRC, after each turnover, the Bengals had the ball around midfield, minimizing the Bengals chance to get more yards. Cincinnati also had a 93 yard kickoff return (a tremendous play) that doesn't show up in the total yardage statistics. The Bengals also should get some credit for coming up with the 4 turnovers.
Pittsburgh is 18-2 with Roethlisberger at QB, and Cincinnati went into Heniz, and won. I don't see how anyone could not be impressed with the Bengals today.
Good lord. The Bengals win against the Steelers on the road, and they do so without playing particularly well. That usually means a team's pretty good.
“And when finally they sense that some position cannot be sustained, they do not re-examine their ideas. Instead, they simply change the subject.” Jamie Galbraith
ESPN.com: NFL
Sunday, December 4, 2005
Offense leads Bengals past Steelers
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By Len Pasquarelli
ESPN.com
PITTSBURGH -- Revolution typically doesn't occur overnight. Unrest usually foments for a while before the status quo finally comes unraveled. Overthrowing a longtime power in the NFL doesn't happen until you eventually quit overthrowing open receivers.
So when the Cincinnati Bengals all but completed their coup d'etat in the AFC North on Sunday with a 38-31 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers, coach Marvin Lewis reminded everyone postgame that his team had to lay the foundation for its first winning season since 1990 by first cobbling together consecutive non-losing seasons. And right offensive tackle Willie Anderson, one of the longest-suffering Bengals, quickly seconded the motion.
"It seems like we've been climbing [mountains] ever since I got here," said Anderson, a 10-year veteran who, until Sunday, had never played on a team with a winning record. "I guess we're finally near the top. I mean, we're not the [division] champions yet, and there is still some work to be done, but we're feeling pretty good now. It's very gratifying."
Houshmandzadeh scored a pair of first-half TDs and finished with 88 yards.
As well it should be.
In defeating a Steelers team that had won the previous meeting at Paul Brown Stadium by 14 points on Oct. 23, the Bengals moved to 9-3 and extended their lead in the division to two games over slumping Pittsburgh, which lost for the third straight week. Almost as important, Cincinnati continued to reinforce the notion that it might be a force in postseason play, and perhaps the favorite in the AFC North for the foreseeable future.
Lewis has assembled a young team -- every point scored by the Bengals on Sunday was by a player 28 or younger; standout quarterback Carson Palmer is in just his third NFL season; and Cincinnati got a ton of key plays from rookies like middle linebacker Odell Thurman, wide receiver Chris Henry and kickoff return specialist Tab Perry -- one likely to only get better in ensuing seasons.
That the Bengals did so in a manner heretofore anathema in a division principally noted for its stodginess and blue-collar approach, trotting out a diverse and high-octane offense the likes of which hasn't been seen for a while in the AFC North (see: AFC Central), was especially impressive. Lewis still has holes to fill on defense, and Sunday marked the sixth time in its last eight games that Cincinnati allowed 23 points or more, but the Bengals offense continued to render all the opponents' scoring, well, pointless.
This is certainly not the way games are historically won in this division. Sunday marked just the third occasion since the league realigned into eight divisions of four teams, and the AFC Central was rechristened, that both teams scored 30 or more points in a division matchup. The difference in the game, clearly, was the turnover margin. The Steelers lost three interceptions and one of four fumbles, while the Bengals did not turn the ball over at all and, during some stretches, looked virtually unstoppable.
Cincinnati ranked second in the league in total offense and fifth in scoring entering the game, and lived up to these numbers. The defense, No. 21 and still a sieve at times -- it must rankle Lewis, whose acumen on that side of the ball is well documented -- played poorly for long stretches. But it mattered little, because the defense snatched the ball away four times and the offense was rarely held in check.
Veterans in both locker rooms acknowledged Cincinnati potentially possesses the most explosive offense the division has witnessed in recent memory. For years, this has been a division in which defenses tried to pitch shutouts. But with a triggerman like Palmer, who probably won't win NFL most valuable player honors this year but who should be on the short list of candidates, the Steelers, Browns and Ravens might have to refocus now on prevailing in shootouts instead.
"We're kind of revolutionizing the division," said wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh, who had five catches for 88 yards and two touchdowns. "We knew we could score on them with this offense. It's a great offense, really, with a lot of weapons and a great line. We've got playmakers all over the place, a smart quarterback, and we like to attack. We can play you tough or we can finesse you. It's certainly the best offense we've had since I've been here."
Cornerback Deltha O'Neal, who notched his eighth interception of the season with one of the three pickoffs of Ben Roethlisberger, practices every day against Cincinnati's offense. Told that the Bengals defense played a huge role in the victory by often providing the offense with a short field -- the Bengals, as a result of takeaways or kick returns, started four of 13 possessions in Steeler territory -- O'Neal agreed. But he also acknowledged the potency of the Palmer-led attack.
"I don't want to take anything away from the other offenses [in the division]," O'Neal said. "But this offense, I mean, there are times it looks like it can score at will. I wouldn't know how to begin game-planning for it, because it has so many ways of moving the ball and scoring, you know? It's an offense that has a whole lot going for it. They can move it up and down the field. And it seemed like every time the Steelers scored to make it close, our offense answered right back."
Indeed, the Steelers' 31 points represented their third-highest output of the season. And Pittsburgh held big advantages in first downs (28-21), total yards (474-324) and time of possession (33:18 to 26:42). Despite playing with an injured right thumb that several media outlets have reported is broken, Roethlisberger threw for a career-best 386 yards and three touchdowns. But in addition to the turnovers, Pittsburgh was deficient on special teams as well, allowing Bengals rookie Tab Perry 197 yards on five kickoff runbacks.
The most costly was a 94-yard return that immediately followed receiver Hines Ward's first of two touchdown catches, which tied the score at 24 nearly six minutes into the third quarter.
In a superb individual effort, Perry burst up the middle, cut to the left and simply bulled his way down the sideline. He dragged Steelers cornerback Ike Taylor, by unofficial count, for 27 yards before finally being hauled down at Pittsburgh's 3-yard line. The Bengals scored two plays later, on tailback Rudi Johnson's 1-yard run over the right side, to take back the lead for good.
“ It seems like we've been climbing [mountains] ever since I got here. I guess we're finally near the top. I mean, we're not the [division] champions yet, and there is still some work to be done, but we're feeling pretty good now. It's very gratifying. ”
— Willie Anderson, Bengals OT
"I just kept moving my feet as best I could," Perry said. "I kept thinking, 'Well, sooner or later, someone else is going to come and jump on [me],' but it didn't happen. It was a good feeling to make a play like that. I mean, if you can give this offense any kind of a boost like that, well, it can do the rest. Those guys are really clicking."
At one juncture of the first half, in fact, the Bengals offense scored touchdowns on three straight possessions. Over a stretch that began late in the first quarter and went into the third, the Bengals scored on five of six series as Palmer mixed the power running of Johnson (21 carries, 98 yards, two touchdowns) with connections to wideouts Chad Johnson (five for 54 yards), Henry (five for 52) and Houshmandzadeh.
Not surprisingly, Johnson conducted a virtual filibuster after the game and, as he had in the days preceding the contest, donned a Terrible Towel as a bib. And the loquacious wide receiver wasn't the only talkative player in a Cincinnati locker room where players were clearly long on bravado.
Houshmandzadeh cited a quote from after the previous meeting of the year when Steelers linebacker Joey Porter had suggested the Bengals' "measuring stick game" had become a "whipping stick game." Bellowed the confident Houshmandzadeh: "So what kind of stick was this game, huh? Let's here it from them."
Given what Anderson termed "our well-known history" in reference to the Bengals' mostly miserable existence over the past decade and a half, Cincinnati players certainly earned the right to crow a bit following Sunday's outcome. But Lewis, who earned one-year contract extensions after each of the previous two .500 seasons, and could well be appointed coach for life after Sunday's win, might do well to temper things some in coming days. While there seems little doubt now that Cincinnati will claim the division -- it has only one remaining game against a team with a winning record -- there is still a ways to go.
The victory over the Steelers, while a giant step, was not quite a quantum leap. But this is a Cincinnati team that, with its ability to score big, might surprise people in the playoffs, especially if it gets a home game. It's a team, as well, that won't be nearly as stealthy, Lewis suggested.
"We have an opportunity to do something special," the onetime Steelers defensive coach said. "We still have a lot of football to be played. But it's time to stop hiding from it. It's time for us to go sit in the front row."
Len Pasquarelli is a senior NFL writer for ESPN.com. To check out Len's chat archive, click here .
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ESPN.com: Help | Media Kit | Report a Bug | Contact Us | Site Map | Tools | Jobs at ESPN | Supplier Information | Copyright ©2005 ESPN Internet Ventures. Terms of Use for our Site, Terms of Use for ESPN Motion and Privacy Policy and Safety Information/Your California Privacy Rights are applicable to you. All rights reserved.
The Bengals have really shown up this year, they play with great verve and energy, however there are a lot of examples of vain and self-centered behavior like this:
"Not surprisingly, Johnson conducted a virtual filibuster after the game and, as he had in the days preceding the contest, donned a Terrible Towel as a bib. And the loquacious wide receiver wasn't the only talkative player in a Cincinnati locker room where players were clearly long on bravado."
and the completely dangerous and cheap low late hit vrs. Roethlisberger, and finally, after a Bengals first down, the immortal NFL great Perry spiked the ball right at the Steelers bench. These examples lead me to believe that their energy and self-confidence come from ego and vanity, which are temporary, rather than belief in their team, which is the path to championships. That would be a shame, because they have enough talent to beat anyone this year.
Nor, IMHO, should you be impressed. Pitt has been playing awful football lately. Offensively, they have one WR, can't figure out who to play at RB, and a QB with a bum hand hand and the Steelers still grabbed 474 meaningful yards today (i.e. no blowout "garbage-time" yards). Their Offensive Tackles are awful and the Bengals' long kickoff return (which was nothing but the return guy running to the sideline and down the field) was NOT a surprise considering that Pitt can't cover kicks for anything. Defensively, they haven't met a drive they really want to stop or a third down distance they can't allow the opponent to get. The very idea that Pitt could get themselves into a position to drive for a tie was almost inconceivable. If the aforementioned Pitt O-Tackles hadn't single-handedly imploded that last drive, I have little doubt that we'd have seen overtime. But even THAT was predictable because you can always count on the Steelers to shoot themselves right in the foot at the most inopportune of times (they're not a good fundamental team).
The Bengals did some things really well today. But they did other things poorly enough that it should make anyone worry how they'd match up against a good team while said good team is healthy and playing good football. Today, Pittsburgh wasn't and didn't.
"The problem with strikeouts isn't that they hurt your team, it's that they hurt your feelings..." --Rob Neyer
"The single most important thing for a hitter is to get a good pitch to hit. A good hitter can hit a pitch that’s over the plate three times better than a great hitter with a ball in a tough spot.”
--Ted Williams
If by that you are referring to the penalty assessed against Odell Thurman, I didn't see the game live, but I have seen video of the play. From the angle I saw it, it looked not only like Thurman was tripped, but it looks like a Steelers OL intentionally threw his leg out to trip Thurman. If that's the case, you might want to direct the anger towards the idiot lineman who could have not only injured Thurman, but injured his own QB as well.
Terrific- a Browns and a Steelers fan discussing how good the Bengals are. How is the view today boys? 2 back with 4 to go? Don't like your chances, do you? Oh- and good luck against the Bears next week (the Bengals beat them, if you'll remember).
Well, they lined up pretty well against the Colts, didn't they?The Bengals did some things really well today. But they did other things poorly enough that it should make anyone worry how they'd match up against a good team while said good team is healthy and playing good football.
Or weren't they healthy and playing good football?
Look- you can come up with whatever diatribe you want, the Bengals did well today, especially playing on the road. To somehow suggest that they were lucky because Pittsburgh shot themselves in the foot or was playing poorly coming in...I mean, c'mon, that pretty much describes 95% of every team's losses.
You're just mad that the catapult you use to jettison that lard butt Bettis didn't work this time.
Pittsburgh was playing poorly coming in for two reasons: one, they didn't have Roethlisberger when they lost to Baltimore. Secondly, they ran into a team named the Indianapolis Colts last week. Most teams have come up weak against them, haven't they? And both of those games were on the road.
I'm not buying this woe is me over the Steelers.
They are something like 28-2 with Big Ben playing, so to beat them was simply awesome.
Sounds like someone is making excuses after taking a big swig of sour grape juice.
Oh boy, did you leave some things out of the article and from the past.there are a lot of examples of vain and self-centered behavior like this:
"Not surprisingly, Johnson conducted a virtual filibuster after the game and, as he had in the days preceding the contest, donned a Terrible Towel as a bib. And the loquacious wide receiver wasn't the only talkative player in a Cincinnati locker room where players were clearly long on bravado."
Gotta love the Steelers two weeks ago flapping their arms in jest of the Ravens while they were losing to them.
Here is the paragraph from the article that appeared after the quote you posted above:
"Houshmandzadeh cited a quote from after the previous meeting of the year when Steelers linebacker Joey Porter had suggested the Bengals' "measuring stick game" had become a "whipping stick game." Bellowed the confident Houshmandzadeh: "So what kind of stick was this game, huh? Let's here it from them."
How 'bout them Steelers? Nice Ickey shuffle from Hines Ward, huh? What was that, classy?
Consider the hit on Roethlisberger payback for Gary's takedown of Ken Anderson by the facemask.
Oh yeah, those awful Steelers. They just play bad fundamental football. They just lost their first road game in over a year, probably, and they went to the AFC championship game last year. Yeah, they're just terrible.But even THAT was predictable because you can always count on the Steelers to shoot themselves right in the foot at the most inopportune of times (they're not a good fundamental team).
I tell you, if they constantly shoot themselves in the foot, they better get some target practice- quick.
Last edited by Dom Heffner; 12-05-2005 at 12:59 AM.
Posting Permissions
|
Board Moderators may, at their discretion and judgment, delete and/or edit any messages that violate any of the following guidelines: 1. Explicit references to alleged illegal or unlawful acts. 2. Graphic sexual descriptions. 3. Racial or ethnic slurs. 4. Use of edgy language (including masked profanity). 5. Direct personal attacks, flames, fights, trolling, baiting, name-calling, general nuisance, excessive player criticism or anything along those lines. 6. Posting spam. 7. Each person may have only one user account. It is fine to be critical here - that's what this board is for. But let's not beat a subject or a player to death, please. |
Reply With Quote