He is who we thought he was.WDR published their take after Mike Brown spoke to the media Monday. To be honest, I didn't think Mike Brown said anything that was new; mostly saying the same dusty embarrassingly out-of-touch, ignorance and arrogant things he's always said. I've actually raised an eyebrow at those (not WDR) that were taken aback, essentially on course for Mike Brown's vision of profits. This is the same Mike Brown that's been in charge since he filled the void of personnel decisions left by his father. This will be your Cincinnati Bengals until he, and the family, sell the team. Then, and only then, can we join a small band of NFL teams where the vision changes from profits, to championships. Though we believe that championships would only increase profits, but what do we know? Boobs and Beer. Touche.

On the other hand, YES!

Running away. Now that Cedric Benson started his sixth game this season against the Ravens, let's take a comparison of their production, each with six starts.

Losing three fumbles during the seasons's first five games was clearly the poison that killed Perry's chance starting this season, save an injury for Benson. However, in terms of production, there's little difference. When Perry started games, his yards-per-rush was 2.6; Benson's yards-per-carry when starting is just under 3.0. Perry's two rushing touchdowns still leads the Bengals, while Benson is tied with Ryan Fitzpatrick with one.

We're not suggesting that one or the other is better, nor are we disregarding the role of having an offensive line in desperate need to rebuild. And honestly, I feel this team needs a pure fullback as badly as it does a new center (and that's saying a lot!). Based on the production between their starts, six each, not much can be highlighted (other than not losing fumbles). So the question thus becomes, was Chris Perry that bad based on the similar numbers that Benson has produced, or did we put too much praise into Benson, or does it even matter while this roster keeps activating the existing staring lineup between the tackles; which in many ways, vindicates Perry's terrible season.

• There's actually a stat kept somewhere that tracks most injuries during a season. The Bengals placed their 21st guy on IR -- a club record.
• Palmer might not need surgery, though every other beat writer hints/predicts/assumes/guesses otherwise.
• T.J. Houshmandzadeh suffered a mild concussion Sunday, but should be fine.
• Ryan Fitzpatrick is not hot.
• Colts have some injury issues heading into their bye week against the Bengals.
• Reds are professional and family-oriented while the Bengals are fun and profit-maximizing. Fun? I'm dropping an internet acronym here. LOL.

"I ruptured my ACL and MCL. I don't care. I'll do what I want."

The ACL and MCL is overrated, anyway. What's been totally disregarded (save for Mehl) since he went on Injured Reserve, is that starting safety Marvin White played most of three quarters on a ruptured ACL and MCL against the Baltimore Ravens. All we know about a ruptured ACL and MCL is that the word "ruptured" is a terrible sounding word. Even John Madden would tell you, "when you rupture something, you don't perform as well on the football field. Favre. Turkeys. Fat. Football." Better yet, Mr. Mackey would say "rupturing something is bad, mmmkay." At the same time, we learned two weeks ago that tearing the plantar fasciitis is a good thing and speeds the healing process. Detached ligaments from the bone on your throwing shoulder? That don't confront Carson Palmer, as long as he pays his rent (Edit: stopping bad reference right there). He's going to throw around December 7 to see if he can toss a football with detached ligaments. Say what you will about the Bengals, but some of our boys are tough when it comes to dealing with injuries not related to the wonderful playing surface on Heinz Field.

White has been a mix of good and bad. While, in our opinion, he's making strides to becoming one of the league's better run support safeties (provided he doesn't miss the tackle), he's struggled against the pass, which we knew he would coming out of college. With 10 starts and 12 games played, White finished the season with 68 tackles in 2008, second to Dhani Jones and Rashad Jeanty. He's one of eight Bengals with one interception (how sad is it that we don't have a player with two picks?), of which half are on IR (Rivers, Joseph, Lynch and now White).

Turning 25 this Friday, White has made 13 starts in his young career in 27 games played. Six games he recorded seven tackles or more, including seven against the Ravens where he had already ruptured his ACL and MCL. If we gave out Tough Guy Awards (and that's not real likely this year), then White has to be the top nomination.

The Bengals haven't done a lot of things right this season, but when it comes to injuries, we're freaking flawless. Marvin White goes on IR with a "ruptured ACL" in his knee. Ben Utecht suffered a "tear in the bottom of the foot where the arch is supported"; same injury that forced Chinedum Ndukwe out recently. While Utecht could be another IR candidate, The Duke could return against the Colts. Carson Palmer is out.

Speaking of White.

What White's placement on Injured Reserve doesn't do, is help our starting lineup of players the Bengals have put on IR this season; we already had three, but depth never hurts.

QB: Carson Palmer (eventually, I'm sure)
RB: DeDe Dorsey
FB: Jeremi Johnson, Reagan Maui'a
WR: Antonio Chatman, Marcus Maxwell
TE: Matt Sherry
LT: Andrew Whitworth
LG: Scott Kooistra
C: Dan Santucci, Kyle Cook
RG: Justin Britt
RT:

DE: Frostee Rucker, Robert Geathers
DT:
LB: Keith Rivers, Abdul Hodge
CB: Johnathan Joseph, Ethan Kilmer
S: Dexter Jackson, Corey Lynch, Herana-Daze Jones, Marvin White

• Justin Britt (G)
• Antonio Chatman (WR)
• Kyle Cook (C)
• DeDe Dorsey (RB)
• Robert Geathers (DE)
• Abdul Hodge (LB)
• Dexter Jackson (S)
• Jeremi Johnson (FB)
• Johnathan Joseph (CB)
• Corey Lynch (S)
• Reagan Maui'a (FB)
• Keith Rivers (LB)
• Frostee Rucker (DE)
• Dan Santucci (C)
• Matt Sherry (TE)
• Ethan Kilmer (S/CB)
• Marcus Maxwell (WR)
• Herana-Daze Jones (S)
• Scott Kooistra (T/G)
• Andrew Whitworth (G)
• Marvin White (S)

Bengals were disastrous against the Ravens all season.

Disastrous, is the word that comes to mind. The Ravens for a time were a team that the Bengals offense could successfully expose, easily hitting intermediate routes, finding single-coverages or holes in the cover-two zones when applied. Coming into this season, before the season sweep, the Bengals won six of their past seven against the Ravens, including three with a margin over 12 points.

The last time the Bengals were swept by the Ravens in one season, was 2002. Segue to 2008, where the offense suddenly plays sour, the defense plays well enough not to lose games single-handedly, and the Ravens ditched the Bengals like that annoying house fly easily captured because it's too damned slow. In the season sweep, the Bengals amounted 309 yards total offense, in both games combined! First downs? Forget it about it; only 14 were generated. The lone touchdown scored was a fumble recovery and return by Johnathan Joseph in the first meeting. Both games displayed the worst time of possessions for the offense this season(23:45, 21:02), going a combined 4-26 on third down conversions (13%). Offensively, we scored nine field goals in both games.

Both Palmer brothers and Ryan Fitzpatrick were terrible in the series, converting 37% of their passes for a 34.1 passer rating.

Offensively, we were worst than terrible, going three-and-out 15 times out of 26 total drives, scoring three times with Shayne Graham field goals. Aside from the eight-play, 89-yard drive to close out the first half against the Ravens last Sunday, the longest drive in the series went 35 yards.

Since, when. Since Kimo Von Oelhoffen "accidentally" destroyed the Cincinnati Bengals chances during that cold wild card weekend almost three years ago, the Bengals have lost 27 of 44 games.

Please, confuse us. Read this piece and see if it makes a lick of sense.

But seeing the game was still worth $20 to one fan. That $20 got ticket-taker David Ziegler into trouble. Ziegler is accused of taking $20 to let the fan into the game at Paul Brown Stadium. He was arrested and charged with misdemeanor theft.

How did he let a fan in? Hold the "door" open, allowing the person in for $20? If that's accurate, then big deal. The bigger questions is where's the security, just weeks after some guy was arrested for threatening to blow up both stadiums? Classic Cincinnati. Arrest this guy, while we axe 87 correction officer jobs, or "deal" with a $640 million state deficit. Twenty bucks. Get out of here. Seriously, leave.

They said it, not me.

"It was a bad feeling out there," Thornton said. "We were fighting, scratching, but it didn't seem to matter. We were out there too long. The numbers weren't good. They had explosive passing plays. They kind of had us in a good spot. They knew we were undermanned. They threw the playbook at us. We wore out big time at the end of the game. Everybody's hurt. We've got half the team in the training room."

Soloman Wilcox on the Bengals (h/t Chickster... read the post above).

“The one thing is I thought they were going to be able to run the ball this year. Clearly, they can’t. Clearly can’t run the ball. You can’t run. You can’t protect. You can’t throw it. Even their top receivers, when you throw the ball over the middle, they can’t catch it. Too many drops. They’re under-performing in every area. Former first round pick at cornerback (Leon Hall) gets beat repeatedly. Defensively, I thought there was great effort out there, but nothing consistent. Obviously, this is a Ravens offense with a rookie quarterback that looked better against this defense than they had in Week 1. Other than that, they were all right.”

More, more, so much more.

• Paul Alexander is being mentioned for the Syracuse University head coaching spot.
• The 46-yard pass from Ryan Fitzpatrick to T.J. Houshmandzadeh is the longest pass play of the season; actually it's the longest play from scrimmage this season.
• Is Mark "My Name Ain't Michael" Clayton that good, or was Leon Hall that bad.
• Bengals tied a career low, six first downs in a game Sunday.
• Jordan Palmer received a standing ovation, entering late in the game.
• Ravens bulldoze, knockout, the Bengals | Pulling out all the stops, Clayton burns Bengals,
• Should Bob Bratkowski call plays from the field?

The Bearcats own the Big East Title, expecting an Orange Bowl date.

It really wasn't University of Cincinnati's 30-10 win over Syracuse that won the Bearcats a share of the Big East Title and a BCS bid; we can thank Pitt's 19-15 win over West Virginia for that. Beating Syracuse Saturday meant that Cincinnati, for the first time since winning the Missouri Valley Conference in 1964, have won a conference title outright. The last time they've won a share of any title, was the 2002 Conference USA title.

While the Bearcats prepare for Hawaii this Friday (hey, we clinched a BCS berth, let's go to the beach), rumor is circulating that Brian Kelly is leaving for Notre Dame, as per unnamed sources in Cincinnati. It's hardly a secret that Charlie Weis' job is in serious doubt, but rumor suggests a deal with Kelly is already in place, waiting on Notre Dame to buy out Weis. We're having a great run in college football right now, and Kelly leaving would seriously bum us out; especially if he leaves before the Bearcats play their BCS game.

Pike completed 28 of 44 passes for 272 yards and two touchdowns... Bearcats showed off at the recruits at the game... Mayor Mark Mallory recognized Bearcats football... the Bearcats is Ohio's only BCS team...

The Bearcats finished the game with 18 more first downs than the Orange, converting 50% of third downs (7/14), and 412 yards total, while Syracuse picked up only eight first downs, converted only three of 14 third downs and recorded only 211 yards total (a quarter of those yards picked up on a 58-yard run by Tony Fiammetta). No offense to Orange fans, but Syracuse's offense was dreadful. Quarterback Cameron Dantley completed a five-yard pass with 6:47 left in the first quarter. A combination of bad passes, awesome Bearcats pass defense (and pass rush), or dropped passes, Dantley didn't complete a pass until 11:14 left in the game.

Marvin Lewis is either the world's most confident coach, or he's simply losing his mind. The former preferable; the latter possible. After Sunday's 34-3 super-beating by the Ravens in every reasonable way, including the declaration of playing with pride, Marvin Lewis said "...our football team won't have to go through another season like this, nor will our fans... believe me."

We wish we could, but how? Will the entire offensive line regroup and be a better unit next season? Will letting Eric Ghiaciuc go (yes) along with Stacy Andrews leaving Andrew Whitworth, Levi Jones and Bobbie Williams under contract for next season? Would replacing Jones with Anthony Collins make us believe it, even if Jones remains with the team? What about keeping Chris Perry in for third-and-short, or signing Cedric Benson to a long-term deal when he's clearly not that type of back that can perform well with a mediocre line? (what's the point signing him if he can't do it with a lackluster offensive line now?) What about replacing T.J. Houshmandzadeh if he's not franchised? Or allowing Chad Johnson to start, who isn't just a distraction, but severely under-performing that the thought of benching him should be under serious consideration?

Sorry Marvin, but we just can't. At the end of last year, Lewis said that it's "time for us to blow the whole thing up and start from scratch." Come to think of it, I suppose the offense is evident of that.

A four-year old case is ongoing in which 127 club seat ticket owners are suing the club "over the timing and wording of that COA agreement between club seat fans and the team." The club is making them pay for future games, and they don't want to pay.

Young canceled his four club seat tickets after the 2002 season, expecting to forfeit $600 - the $150 COA fee he paid for each of his four seats. But Young said he was so intimidated by a nasty letter from Bengals lawyers after the 2002 season that he bought tickets for the 2003 season.

No word on if Mike Brown was actually at the house gun in hand, though we suspect if their depressing and scared tone portrayed in the article is authentic, then the Bengals are panicking that they could be losing seats, threatening existing customers ala Tony Soprano. Since their contracts expire after next season, we could pretty much assume that the Bengals will drag this out. As this team continues to be, well, Mike Brown's Bengals, then they're going to be losing a lot more. (h/t WDR)

Maybe bad quarterback play is a league-wide problem across the league. Usually after the Bengals lose during the early games on Sundays, I go through the other early games while tracking the later games being played. I was mildly surprised at the quarterback play, generally, throughout the league.

For instance, Peyton Manning threw two interceptions and fumbled at the goalline, sneaking a 10-6 victory from the Cleveland Browns. Bills' quarterback J.P. Losman, replacing an injured Trent Edwards, threw two incomplete passes and sacked on the Bills final attempt to tie the game; they lost 10-3. Even though he threw tree touchdowns and 298 yards passing, Aaron Rodgers was picked off by Jon Beasing in the closing minutes of the game, losing 35-31 at home. Marc Bulger threw three picks (16/35, 149 yards passing, no touchdowns). Drew Brees' third pick ended the Saints last minute chance to tie during their 23-20 loss to Tampa Bay. Only five quarterbacks during the early Sunday games threw for 200 yards or more.

Watching the Steelers-Patriots game is numbing. The game itself is fine, actually. It's Dan Dierdorf, who I'm nominating as the Biggest Sports Color Analyst Dick of all sports; who talks down to every player not named Ben Roethlisberger. For instance, a pass on third down to Heath Miller was low and behind the tight end. While giving Ben a free pass, Dierdorf blamed Miller because he's good enough to make the catch -- reference to the poorly thrown pass wasn't mentioned.

Bengals offense is passion of love terrible. Excluding the eight-play, 89-yard drive that closed out the first half with a field goal, the Bengals gained 66 yards on the game's 45 other plays, averaging 1.5 yards-per-play. Eight of 14 drives went three-and-out, 11 ended with a punt and three ended with an interception, turnover on downs and a field goal respectively.

If a highlight film were shown to a symposium of rookie coaches, the Bengals would be featured as a benchmark of how to flawlessly orchestrate one of the league's worst offenses. Take the team's first six possessions. Even though the Bengals started the game with an 18-yard pass to Chad Johnson, the Bengals recorded 20 yards total, on 19 plays; two drives gained negative yards, all ending in punts. During a stretch of nine possessions, the Bengals ran three-plays-and-punt eight times picking up five total yards. Ryan Fitzpatrick sneaked on a third-and-short scenario converting the Bengals first third-down situation with 13 minutes left in the game.

You know an offense is bad when they...

• ...pick up only six total first downs.
• ...only convert two third downs out of 15.
• ...have the ball for 21:02 of offense.
• ...go for it on fourth down, while on their own-20 yard line to prevent Kyle Larson from setting a new record of most punts in a game.

Mark the entire offense "terrible" across the board. Passes batted at the line of scrimmage, fumbling the football without contact, throwing a dud when he meant to double-clutch, Ryan Fitzpatrick is not an NFL quarterback, personally nominating him among the worst quarterbacks in Bengals history; notably those played in the 90s not named Boomer Esiason. With three minutes left in the game, Fitzpatrick was finally pulled for Cincinnati's most popular younger brother, Jordan Palmer. His first attempted pass, and only completion in the game, went for a pick-six to safety Jim Leonard; his first interception of the year and career touchdown. Center Eric Ghiaciuc doesn't belong in the NFL either, and if all things being equal, Nate Livings proves he's a third guard on the depth chart. Injuries force Livings into the lineup, stupidity forces Ghiaciuc. And I believe that Chad Johnson is simply going through the motions, Chris Henry was given a spot on this team, not through performance or talent, rather size and that Ben Utecht is just as disappointing as any in the NFL.

Don't paint me colors because I hate being painted colors. I'm not a trooper. I didn't sit through the entire game, mindlessly starting choirs during the back-half of the fourth quarter. This is the first game in which I didn't complete the game, not just here on this site, the couch too. I'm having a hard time looking forward to these games, typically a beat-down incorporating the league's worst talent in Cincinnati, and, in some cases, coaching. If you saw the game, then you know my struggle to put things together, recapping the game for this site. If you didn't, then it's a good thing. We're one of the worst offenses in the league, and taking a serious toll on my fandom.