NKU: Transfer's Attraction

The Northern Kentucky University men’s basketball team has eight new players on the roster this year, and five of those players started their college careers elsewhere.

The five transfer athletes that hope to make an impact will be lead by three that have come to NKU from Division I programs. Senior center David Palmer is one player that journeyed through several programs before landing at NKU.

“I originally attended Seton Hall University in the Big East,” said Palmer. “Then I transferred to the University of Iowa.”

Palmer is one of the three Division I transfers along with junior forward Yan Moukoury from the University of Houston and junior forward Chris Knight from Bowling Green State University. The other two transfers are junior guard Mike Hester from Union College and junior center Brandon Callahan from Marion.

The five transfers athletes have a chance to contribute this season, with hopes to repeat the recent success of the NKU men’s basketball program within the Great Lakes Valley Conference. The team won the GLVC Championship last season, and hope to repeat the accomplishment. Palmer is hopeful for more than just a conference championship, however.

“I hope we are in strong contention for a national championship,” he said.

Palmer’s hope actually helped to lure another of the Division I transfers to NKU. Knight attributes his transferring to Palmer telling him that the team would be a contender at the national Division II level.

“I decided at the end of summer,” he said. “David Palmer told me we had a good chance to win a DII title.”

Palmer attended the University of Iowa, a Division I school in the Big Ten conference. The enrollment at Iowa for this academic year is around 30,000, significantly larger than NKU’s enrollment of around 14,000. Average attendance for an Iowa basketball home game last season was 12,000, again larger than the crowds that NKU teams draw to the Bank of Kentucky Center. Before Iowa, he attended Seton Hall University of the Big East Conference, where he says the school size is much more comparable to NKU than Iowa.

“NKU compares almost exactly to Seton Hall,” he said, “but is a lot smaller than Iowa was.”

Palmer attended a much larger school, while Knight attended a school slightly larger in Bowling Green State University. With an enrollment of over 20,000, the school still has a significant edge in size on NKU.

“Bowling Green was a college town,” he said. “NKU is in its own small area.”

Despite the recent success and the opportunity to sustain it, the appeal of NKU to transfer athletes does not lie solely with the idea of basketball championships. For example, despite the size differences between the players’ former schools and current school, the athletic facilities are no comparison.

“The appeal of NKU was the brand new facility,” said Palmer, attributing his transferring to the new arena on campus, the Bank of Kentucky Center. “It is state of the art.”

Other things the players mentioned that make NKU appealing were the tradition of the program, a great coaching staff and very intense effort despite the smaller level of competition. All of these things come together and make NKU a very reasonable destination for a student athlete.

Knight’s explanation was simple when it came to describing NKU in general, leaving little to be said of the total package.

“It’s a great place,” he said.

All of the transfer athletes agreed on that.

Expectations/Predictions for 2010 Under BK

Bowl games have not yet been played and national signing day for recruits is far off in February (okay not that far, but it will feel like forever once the season is over), but here are some VERY early expectations/predictions/thoughts about the upcoming season for Notre Dame under new Head Coach Brian Kelly:

· Wins are most important to Irish nation, and winning right away is a must for a new head coach in South Bend’s spotlight, but what is realistic to expect next season? Realistically, 8 wins would be a very respectable accomplishment with a new quarterback and head coach, with 7 wins being acceptable and expected. But what does my biased and yet not-so-delusional mind think? I think Notre Dame has 7 winnable games (Purdue, Michigan State, Boston College, Western Michigan, Tulsa, Utah, Army), 2 borderline games (Michigan and Navy), and 3 games that would be upset specials (Stanford, Pittsburgh, USC). Without knowing who is returning for which teams and which young players may step up, I believe Notre Dame will win 8 games. They will lose a game to a team they should not, but they will find victory against Michigan or Navy. My heart tells me that Brian Kelly may even find a way to best Pete Carrol in his first year with the Irish to make a statement, but I must keep from becoming delusional as well.

· I firmly believe that Notre Dame has a much better level of talent amongst young players than UC, and Brian Kelly will find success with them that makes this team competitive in every game.

· Dayne Crist will flourish under Brian Kelly… once he returns from his torn ACL. He has the potential to be a better passer than Tony Pike at Cincinnati, but he must overcome a mental hurdle when he returns to the field in August to get started in the right direction. He has a better arm than Pike and will have a deeper set of targets as well, but missing spring practice will not help the cause. If he can put the mental block that is the Torn ACL out of his mind early on and find a rhythm with his receivers, expect 2500+ yards and 32+ touchdowns.

· If you saw flashes of brilliance from Isaiah Pead playing for Cincinnati, then you can expect similar results from Armando Allen and Theo Riddick. Kelly was able to use Pead very effectively both in the run game and the pass game, and he is a similar athlete to Allen and Riddick in that he is shifty and quick. Expect Allen and Riddick to both be used effectively in the offense, giving defenses more than just one explosive back to worry about.

· Aside from explosive backs, look for Robert Hughes to give Brian Kelly play calling options near the goal line that he did not have in Cincinnati. If Kelly wants to line up in 5-wide sets at the one-yard line, that’s fine, because it worked in Cincinnati. But he will have an established power runner in Hughes to use however he sees fit when a tough yard or two is needed.

· With the depth and talent at wide receiver at Notre Dame, the ball will be successfully thrown around the field no matter who the quarterback may be. With Michael Floyd returning and Duval Kamara working back into the mix this past season, two targets are already expected to find success. John Goodman showed an ability to contribute this past season and there is no reason that talent like Dion Walker and Shaq Evans cannot catch a few passes. Even Roby Toma got on the field, showing that he obviously has something that Brian Kelly will see and probably utilize. And lets not forget Kyle Rudolph, a future NFL talent at tight end. Kelly will find mismatches for the big man who has surprising speed and moves after the catch. If Crist can get healthy and find a rhythm at quarterback a few games into the season, expect Floyd to go over 1,000 yards with 12+ touchdowns and expect two other receivers to go over 600 yards.

· Brian Kelly has shown that he can have a defense just good enough to get the job done even after replacing ten starters. He knows how to leave a defensive unit in capable hands, and look for that to be the case next season. They will be more experienced and should be improved from this past season (probably because it couldn’t have been much worse). They will do enough to keep the offense in striking distance at all times, just like the Bearcat defense did for Kelly.

· Expect a lot of true freshman and younger players on the roster get their shots on the field for the Irish, as Kelly will look to grow alongside them. He will feel comfortable coaching up the young guys that he will see for three or four years as opposed to older players who will be gone sooner into his tenure at ND.

A String of Random Thoughts Amidst A Coaching Change

· UC fans really have no right to criticize Brian Kelly for “leaving for the money” or “taking off before the biggest game of the year.” They would do good to remember that Brian Kelly actually left his job at Central Michigan before their bowl game to bolt for Cincinnati, a bigger school in a bigger conference. Be careful of hypocrisy even when you are sour over losing a great coach.

· UC fans also cannot justify the sudden distaste for Brian Kelly. He came to a program and used another coach’s players to run his own offense. He was a mastermind for the Bearcats who left them in a better position than they were in when he found them. He has put UC on the Big East map, and put the program in the minds of every recruit from Ohio. Even if the recruits choose that school in Columbus, at least now they have a thought it the back of their mind about UC not being so bad. You should respect what he has done for your team, and realize that all may not be lost.

· Notre Dame fans would do good to remember that Jimmy Clausen and Golden Tate are gone, and that National Championships are hard to get… Brian Kelly has proven that he is a successful coach no matter who plays for him, but Notre Dame is a whole new animal. Even I, the one warning of a let down, expect success right away, but I think 8 wins are much less than some delusional fans are hoping for. There will be a rebuilding period. Dayne Crist still must return from his ACL injury and even then must learn Brian Kelly’s offense. Michael Floyd must adjust to not getting as many targets, even with Tate gone, because the field will be crowded with receivers in South Bend from now on.

· College football fans in general remember this: the media builds the expectations with the help of a small percentage of overzealous fans, not the reasonable ND fans. I myself was excited by Charlie Weis, but only because he swept me off my feet with his high level of confidence and swagger (that’s a nice way of saying he was a cocky bastard). He was not my first choice, and I did not see him as a savior to Notre Dame. I am not delusional or insanely biased, therefore my expectations are realistic. I am fiercely loyal to the Irish, but I know that Brian Kelly will not win a National Championship right away.

· Final Random Thought: What will become of Jeff Quinn? Will he be a man in line for the UC job, or will he follow Kelly to Notre Dame and continue what has been a very successful coaching relationship? As a Notre Dame fan I can say that since we have Kelly we might as well keep that coaching chemistry intact. But as a UC fan I think he would be a good choice to lead the program. It would be good to test his mettle as a head coach, although it goes against my beliefs of hiring a head coach with no previous experience in that position. If he were to find success as a UC head coach, it would be wonderful for the Bearcats to remain on top of the Big East.

The Tale of a Good Coach Leaving UC... Again (Jumping Ship to a Sinking Boat)

Bearcats fans hold onto your hats. This could get bumpy.

Your team has just claimed its second consecutive outright Big East Championship after a thrilling comeback against a very solid Pittsburgh team.

You are headed to the BCS for the second year in a row.

And you are once again on the verge of losing a good coach.

Lets look at the past few seasons.

Mark Dantonio had moderate success in Cincinnati, which is thought of by most as a stepping-stone, and then bolted for a “bigger” program at Michigan State.

Enter Brian Kelly. In just his third season as head coach, he has accumulated a record of 34-6. He has lead the team to its first perfect season, a 12-0 start, the aforementioned two Big East Championships, and what will be two BCS appearances. Again, let me stress that this is all in THREE seasons.

Dantonio left for a bigger job, and what was his team’s record this year? Oh, I think they were 6-6. Have they won the Big Ten? Nope. Which is the destination program now?

All bashing of former coaches aside, I’ll throw it out there for the Bearcat faithful: it just isn’t fair.

You lost a good coach in the guy sporting Sparty green, and got someone with no big league success. As fate would have it, this guy turned out to be quite legit, delivering success at speeds that the Vikings can’t even drive at. And he is about to be ripped from your program.

I’ll say it again for the people in red and black, because it really is not fair.

Brian Kelly came and finished what Dantonio stated. He took Dantonio’s recruits and used them in a completely new offense. He took a solid foundation and improved it, adding flash to a program with the raw athletes that did not know how good they could be. He has brought in his own athletes and plugged them into his system perfectly, showing that he knows what he’s doing. He has shown that success can be found at the University of Cincinnati on playing surfaces other than hardwood.

He has turned the town into a place where college football is a big deal. A practice facility is on the way, courtesy of his demands. The stadium will be expanded eventually, because he found out how to sell seats through success.

And yet here comes Big Bad Notre Dame. They bring tradition, but no recent success. They look flashy with all the gold on campus (see: football helmets, Golden Dome) and they look like good Catholic people of upstanding morals. They bring an open checkbook. They are greedy in the eyes of UC fans.

UC fans appreciate what Brian Kelly has done. ND fans will forever scrutinize. UC fans support Brian Kelly and wish for him to stay and coach a contender every year. ND fans will support Brian Kelly, but only if he delivers National Championships every three years.

UC is loving, ND is demanding.

I can see how UC fans could question it if BK decides to jump ship to a program already underwater. It would seem like jumping onto the sinking Titanic from a lifeboat, rather than vice versa. But tradition and money carry leverage, and UC is not quite there yet.

Besides, with the way his success rate is looking, Brian Kelly could have salvaged the Titanic himself.

Maybe Notre Dame fans should prepare and find a way to appreciate him, since Cincinnati fans will have to find a way to forget him.

To Bowl, Or Not to Bowl?

We’re going to go ahead and just ignore all of the speculation about the Notre Dame coaching situation. We’re going to let Rob Ianello enjoy being the head of football operations for this piece of writing.

To bowl, or not to bowl? That is the question.

We’re going to say that Notre Dame fans need a bowl game. And we’re going to go ahead and say that the Notre Dame players do not need a bowl game.

Wait, what? No bowl game?

You heard right. If it were up to the fans of Notre Dame, the team would be playing in a bowl game, no doubt. Hell, if it were up to the fans, the Irish would play in more than one bowl game. Every fan wants to see one more game.

Every fan wants to see Jimmy Clausen and Golden Tate wearing gold helmets… for one last time.

What am I insinuating? I am insinuating that Clausen and Tate are gone now. With Weis gone, the only coach they have known in their college days, these players will choose to move on as well. It is probably more certain with Clausen, but after the phenomenal year Tate had, it’s probably a done deal with him, too.

The team has experienced such a vast range of emotions this year that it would drain on even the greatest of players. I would be worn down, ready for the next step if I had the skill and opportunity. Clausen and Tate have both, and it would not surprise me if they choose to end the disappointment they have found in South Bend and move on to bigger things. And this brings me back to the original point.

I’m sure every player would love to suit up for a final game, a shot at one final victory. But then they must consider what is best for themselves and their teammates. Why take a few more weeks preparing for a game that essentially does not matter when that time could be used to prepare for more important things? Like next season?

And why waste three or four weeks to play in a pointless bowl when juniors and seniors with NFL aspirations could use the early jump on preparing for the combine and pro days?

The season is basically lost. A 9-3 record would have been a minor disappointment, with any more than 4 losses being a total disappointment. Well here we are, the Irish are 6-6. This season was “BCS or Bust” and it was just that, a Bust. Why risk injury to potential starters of the future in a game that will not change the way the season is viewed? Why risk injury to those select few players who are NFL-ready in a game that will not impress anyone?

The bowl game would basically be the “Nobody Bowl”… as in no team of significance is playing this game. Notre Dame can no longer be considered significant because it has no true head coach, it has stars that are seemingly ready to depart, and it will suffer rebuilding under the new head coach whether Domers like to think about it or not. The opponent would be similar: a middle-of-the-pack team that wasn’t significant enough to make noise at the top of its conference

Notre Dame still does have bright spots in its future: Michael Floyd, Kyle Rudolph, and Manti Te’o, just to rattle off the big ones. But these bright spots should look to next season and recognize the task of rebuilding. They must prepare to lead a team that will struggle if Clausen and/or Tate leave. A bowl game does not speed up the process of “moving on,” which will be difficult enough as it is.

I would consider myself a relentless follower of the Irish, the most loyal of Golden Domers, defending my team against any individual who speaks ill of it. But I am also a realist. There is much more for Notre Dame and its athletes to lose from playing in a bowl game than there is to gain. A loss would add further insult, while a win would do nothing to save the image of the team. Injuries could happen, and time is wasted that could be spent preparing for the future.

It hurts to say, because I would feel lost without ND in a bowl game, but I believe “Not to Bowl” is the answer. Putting myself in the shoes of a player ready to move on, I would look towards the fresh start that will come with whoever the new head coach turns out to be.

I would rather be in the weight room preparing to shock the nation in the new coach’s first year than to be in the Insignificant Bowl.

"For Whom the Bell Tolls"

I walk through Notre Dame’s campus with a companion on Saturday evening, and I hear church bells ringing. It gives you the chills, really.

Notre Dame on a cold November night, your breath is visible. There is a certain calming peacefulness to the whole situation. Images of the movie Rudy play in your mind. There is a spirit at Notre Dame, and a loyal Domer can feel it everywhere on campus.

Hearing the church bells as fans poured out of Notre Dame Stadium exemplified that spirit to me. It seemed to signal the end of Charlie Weis’ tenure as head coach. It was as if the whole campus, living or not, knew that the final home game of the season meant the end for Charlie and his “schematic advantage.”

A two-overtime loss to the Connecticut Huskies and a loss on senior day for the second consecutive year left me struggling to figure out just how I felt about my trip to South Bend as I walked in the cold night air.

First, out of frustration with a loss, I wanted to say that the trip was a waste of time and gas money. I could have been at home, watching football on TV and saving my money for the holidays.

But that’s not right. No matter the outcome, I always appreciate an opportunity to attend a game in the House that Rockne Built. And as I said, it is special when you walk through campus and can feel the Spirit that everyone talks about.

But the bells continued to toll, and again I’m back thinking about Charlie Weis.

It was touching to see the support the team has for its coach. Rather than running out of the tunnel at the beginning of the game like normal, the team marched arm-in-arm. It looked like a golden battle formation of tightly packed soldiers, with their Head Coach at the middle of the front line, arms linked with the team captains that stand by him through all of the rumors and negativity. He is their coach, and they are with him to the end. But the end is here. If a movie were to be made of Charlie Weis’ time at Notre Dame, the scene on senior day would have been known as “The Last March of Charlie Weis.”

When he was announced as the new head coach at the University of Notre Dame five years ago, he boldly proclaimed that the team was 6-5, and that it was not good enough. “That’s not good enough for you, and it’s certainly not going to be good enough for me,” he said.

And now his team stands at 6-5 after three straight losses. The argument can be made that the Irish are right on the cusp, walking a fine line between mediocrity and greatness. Five games decided by 7 points or less. Five scores away from a potential perfect season. It is a sign of improvement that the team is so close to so many wins. But it is not enough improvement. In the win/loss column, it could be zero improvement after the upcoming trip to Stanford.

You can see the difference in the team. The talent finally has experience. The players finally feel like they should win every game they play. There are no blowout losses, and every week’s effort is respectable.

But this team could have been great. The level of talent on the team is such that every game could have been won, and probably should have. But it did not happen. The talented players did not execute when the time was at hand for execution, and the coaches did not make the right calls when it was time to make them.

The team supports Charlie Weis. I’m sure they would be glad to have him back for one more year. But that was the mantra after last season when Weis was under fire: One More Year.

I believed it and proclaimed it loudly. “Give Charlie one more year with Jimmy Clausen, Golden Tate, Michael Floyd, and Armando Allen, and the offense will be unstoppable. Give him one more year for his defense to improve, and we will be contenders again. Give him one more year so his players get that experience under him, and the National Championship is ours.”

It was wishful thinking, but it was a very real possibility. However, it did not pan out. If he were to get “one more year” again, his team would again have one of the most talented and dangerous offenses in college football. I believe Jimmy Clausen and Golden Tate would return to play under him for their senior seasons. Even if one or both of them did not return, Weis would have his recruits to run his offense, and it would still have firepower. The team would be in a position to have a chance at winning every game.

But time is up. He was given a chance to get the job done, and it did not happen. Waiting another year for change under Weis is no longer an option. Action must be taken. A new leader must be brought in.

Irish nation is impatient, and its patience with Weis has run out. Stability is important, but winning is more so.

Just as the bells on campus tolled Saturday night, the bell has tolled on Charlie Weis. It signals the end of his time in South Bend.

And probably Jimmy Clausen’s. And probably Golden Tate’s.

Message to Bengals: Do Not Bungle Your Strong Start

Words cannot express the frustration with the Cincinnati Bengals.

As much as I would like to believe that they can get to the playoffs and make noise, and just as I am ready to proclaim them as the a member of this season’s elite class, they mess it up.

An elite team does not lose to an inferior team when said elite team has a chance to put a chokehold on their division.

An elite team does not allow a backup quarterback on a bottom five team to drive 80 yards in eleven plays for a tying score as time ticks away in the fourth quarter.

I understand that it is the NFL, and that any team can beat any other team on any given day. Every team has professional talent on its roster, and that talent can show up at any moment and take over a game.

But the Oakland Raiders did not take over this game. The Bengals gave it away. I would rather have been dominated and beaten to a pulp than to lose by three. Especially in the fashion the game was lost.

Bruce Gradkowski puts together a solid drive and puts the Bengals secondary on the ropes, ultimately cashing in for the tying score. Okay, cool. Overtime. The Bengals are better than the Raiders; they will wake up and do what they need to do in OT. Oh wait, Andre Caldwell, you forgot the ball at the 17 yard line. The Raiders picked it up. There’s only 30 seconds left in the game. Shoot, they just kicked a field goal for the win. We didn’t even get to go to overtime.

It almost makes me feel disgusted. All week since the sweep of the Steelers, I have gladly stood up for Cincinnati, supporting them and backing them when all of these people say that “it’s the Bengals, they’ll mess it up late in the season.” I do not feel that they are going to mess it up, but now it is much harder to state my case.

Last week I said that this three game stretch would be an indicator of how mature the Bengals really are, and if they are legit. Three wins from three games against inferior competition would have added major cushion. But now we must hope for two of three.

The Bengals can live with letting the Oakland game slip away. But now they MUST beat Cleveland and Detroit. If the Bengals really have matured, and are contenders, they will pick themselves up, dust off that Oakland baseball field dirt, and win the next two games.

If they can keep from getting down and avoid a slump (losing a game to a bad team can put you in a slump very quickly) they will be all right. If they can respond strongly and show everyone that they are not going to lay down and “blow it” like everyone thinks, then they can continue chasing playoff aspirations.

But for now, I struggle with frustration. I wrestle with logic. I continue to defend the Bengals and their status as a playoff team, even after such an abysmal loss.

I hope my defending them is not in vain. We will know in two weeks whether or not the Bengals bungled their strong start.

There's No Crying in Football

Allow me to go on a short rant here, but I think it is needed.

All week on ESPN and espn.com, all I have seen on college football news (aside from Charlie Weis' job status speculation) is continuing updates in the "Mean Mark Mangino" saga. The Kansas University head coach is under fire for, basically, being too mean.

I understand that there is a line between being a fiery coach and going overboard, but I would not necessarily say that grabbing a player, pointing into his chest, and yelling in his face is warrant for physical abuse claims. Sometimes, a coach has to get "in your face" to get the attention and effort that he wants out of you.

If you are not taking a walkthrough before a game seriously, maybe you need to get chewed out a bit. Football is supposed to be fun, but game preperation during a walkthrough should be all business. They are often the biggest mental preperation periods of the week. You can still have fun, even, but chances are that if your coach notices how much fun you are having, then it is too much.

In my high school football days, we had a coach that loved to yell at us and tell us how terrible we were. If we did not run the football well in the game, or even practice, he would rip us apart during offensive line drills. He would say anything and everything to get us mad, to get us into that nasty mindset an offensive lineman needs. And at the end of the day, we knew it wasn't personal. It was a general understanding that when coaches yell and say things on the field, it is not about a personal attack. It is about motivation.

Not many people openly liked our offensive line coach, but everyone would admit that his tactics got the job done in terms of preparing us for physical play. There is nothing that gets you fired up more than your coach getting in your face and yelling "I have no clue why your teammates voted you team captain! The amount of effort you're giving, you don't deserve it!"

Enough reminiscing.

I researched the accusations of the players, and there seemed to be a few questionable comments made by Mangino. But I do not buy into the whole "he put his finger on me and said mean things while yelling" complaint. If you are a college football player, you should have developed some type of thick skin to a point. I highly doubt that a player could go his whole career without getting coached by at least one fiery personality, and expect every coach to be "soft."

Legitimate accusations or not, it sounds like a few of the players that have come forward have only done so to get into the spotlight. Their complaints are weak. My eight-year-old brother has put up with getting pointed at and yelled at, and he still loves his coach.

You have to take the hostility as motivation. Mangino took over at Kansas in 2002 when the program was in a deep hole. Five years later, in 2007, he lead them to a 12-1 record and Orange Bowl win. It was the best season in program history.

I don't think he put them back on top by being overly nice.

An Ode to Isaiah Pead

To the University of Cincinnati running back, and the man who broke Archie Griffin’s high school rushing records, we salute you.

In a rivalry game that was sure to be a close contest, you pulled through.

In an offense where passing is the norm and running the ball often comes second, you continue to prove yourself when given the chance.

In an offense where a Heisman candidate plays quarterback and a backup quarterback makes just as much noise, you do your job selflessly.

You catch the ball out of the backfield as a check down option.

You run the ball when the defense knows it’s coming.

You played second fiddle to a senior running back until you were given your chance, and it the game that mattered, you shined.

You rushed for 175 yards against West Virginia, and scored a touchdown. You were consistent when the team needed it, and put the offense on your back when the passing game was not as electric as usual.

But your defining moment is why we salute you.

It wasn’t when you rushed for 100 yards in the first half.

It wasn’t your touchdown run in the second quarter.

It was when your offense took over possession after a failed fourth down attempt by the Mountaineers. You took the handoff on the next play and made an excellent cutback, rushing from your own 24 yard line to the West Virginia 33, a backbreaking 43 yard rush.

With excellent vision and impressive quickness, you effectively put your team in position to earn a two score lead on your own.

You rushed for another three yards on the next play, and caught a 10 yard pass on the third play of the drive. You were able to put your team in field goal range in a matter of three plays.

West Virginia may have reached the end zone on the next possession, but your play gave your team the cushion it needed on the scoreboard.

We salute you for coming through when your team needed you, and for making December 5 the most anticipated date of the year for UC football.

Cincinnati Rising? Maturing?

The Cincinnati Bengals are a freak-play-away from being 8-1....

But I'll take 7-2 overall, with possession of first place in the division.

I'll take 5-0 in the AFC North: Sweeps of the Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers, with a possible sweep of the whole division riding on a game with the Cleveland Browns in two weeks.

The Bengals are in control of their own destiny. If they can take care of business the rest of the season, they won't need to sit and watch other games, hoping certain teams will lose so they can make a wildcard game. They will be the ones preparing for a playoff run, not worrying about what other teams are doing.

But lets pump the brakes.

Cleveland is never an easy out against Cincinnati. Detroit has weapons. And do you remember what the Oakland Raiders did to the Philadelphia Eagles?

Everyone assumes that these are three games the Bengals should feast on. But the teams that no one expects anything from are always the most dangerous. Victory is assumed, not worked for. You get complacent.

Now is the time when we find out just how mature the Bengals are. They deserve to enjoy a sweep of the Steelers after a victory at Heinz Field. But they cannot dwell on it. We will find out if the Bengals go back to work, or if they now think they are as good as the experts may say.

The Bengals are talented, and are a very dangerous football team. But it is always scary when the "experts" start to jump on the bandwagon. Newspaper and magazine articles and coverage on ESPN make me nervous. Will the Bengals see all of this and begin to think they are a great team? Or will they continue to work hard during the week, not assuming anything, and go out with an attitude on Sundays?

"People can't wait to see the Bengals fall flat on our face," said safety Chris Crocker. "All that does... it fuels the fire."

That is the attitude the Bengals must continue to have if they truly are a mature football team. They cannot get caught up in the wins, and the expectations that continue to soar with the home fans. They must believe that nobody believes in them.

Because no one does, except for themselves. And it has worked out pretty well so far for the maturing Cincinnati Bengals.

8 Reasons Why Notre Dame and Brian Kelly are a Match Made in Heaven

1. He knows how to sell a program-
Kelly was disappointed with local media's lack of interest in UC football, so he refused to answer the questions of a local freelance reporter. This sparked interest (obviously) and proved just how smart BK is when it comes to making a football program a hot topic.

2. It's his dream job! (According to rumors...)-
Okay, so it's been said about almost every head coach available, but is ND Kelly's dream job? I never found the exact words in any quotes from him, but we could stretch it and say that Notre Dame has all of the things BK wants: an indoor practice facility, more seating capacity in the stadium, etc.

3. ND fans love offense-
Irish fans got spoiled when Brady Quinn and Co. brought their team's passing game to a whole other level. Now they drool just thinking of Jimmy Clausen throwing to Golden Tate and Michael Floyd. Kelly is no stranger to having teams with stellar passing attacks. And hey, offense does sell tickets...

4. BUT DEFENSE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS!-
BK was a defensive coordinator at Grand Valley State before he became the head coach in 1991. He may be an offensive genius now, but he used to call defensive plays for a reason. After last season and a run to the Fed Ex Orange Bowl, BK had to replace 10 defensive starters for this season. Those replacements are all overachievers. He makes good hiring decisions and leaves his 'D' in capable hands. Notre Dame needs a coach like this.

5. He has the perfect personality to survive a job in South Bend-
Notre Dame coaches are some of the most scrutinized and second-guessed coaches in the country... by their own fan base. With great tradition comes great expectations, and Irish nation is demanding. But BK is a man on a mission when he coaches. The "Notre Dame Head Coach Mystique" would not phase him.

6. He has a track record of quick success-
Speaking of Notre Dame coaches being under constant scrutiny, everyone knows that Irish nation is not only demanding, but impatient as well. Again, its not so bad to expect greatness. They want national titles, and they want them NOW. Kelly is a man who is capable of finding success quickly: he took a Central Michigan team with little talent and lead them to a MAC championship in just his third season as head coach.

7. He is an excellent recruiter-
BK takes what is mostly local talent and no true "big name" recruits and still produces good teams. He knows how to spot athletes that can do what he needs them to do. Now imagine what his teams would play like if he could recruit all over the nation for "big name" talent, getting whatever athletes he wants to run his offense. That is what the name "Notre Dame" allows.

8. He is an Irish Catholic
This is pretty self explanatory for people who know anything about the University of Notre Dame. For those of you who don't know: to put it simply, he would be a perfect fit.

A College Coaching Internship

Maybe that billboard was right after all.

"Best Wishes to Charlie Weis in the 5th Year of His College Coaching Internship."

Don't get me wrong. Charlie Weis can recruit with the best of them. He pulled a No.1 quarterback out of California and away from USC. He pulled the most highly touted defensive recruit in recent memory from Hawaii and away from those schools out west, so much closer to home. He has a knack for taking unheralded athletes and turning them into every-down big-play threats (see: Golden Tate, Theo Riddick).

He is an offensive genius and a quarterbacks guru. His athletes allow him his promised "schematic advantage" (though not so much in red zone situations). In his first year of coaching he had Brady Quinn, Rhema McKnight, Maurice Stovall, and Jeff Samardzija - juniors and seniors leading a classic Weis offense: a high powered passing attack, an example for what passing offenses want to be.

And looking back at that set of players, times in South Bend are eerily similar now: Jimmy Clausen, Golden Tate, Michael Floyd, and Robby Parris. An offense of juniors and one senior, with a sophomore thrown into the mix, again leading one of the nation's most dynamic passing attacks.

But three losses later, this offense is not getting the attention or hype it deserves for just how great it is. You see Clausen throwing for 450+ yards and a couple of scores, you think thats a recipe for victory. Floyd and Tate each over 100 yards receiving, delivering like the best WR duo in the nation should. But it was not enough.

To me, this comes back on Weis. He takes responsibility for each loss, and that's nice, but eventually that gets worn out (just like my heart in every close game that should not be close). We can all second guess and shout about the plays he should have called in the red zone, but that's not the point. The point is this: Charlie Weis is not suited to coach a bunch of young men who are still learning and growing. He wants to have the perfect offense and to not worry about the defense. They have a bunch of those guys in the NFL. They are called offensive coordinators. They are not head coaches at the college level.

He has virtually no input with the defensive side of the ball. He leaves everything to John Tenuta and Corwin Brown. Usually, that's really not a big issue. Plenty of head coaches focus on one side of the ball. But a great head coach (which is the only level accepted at ND) is not completely absent from dealings with the other parts of the team. Weis will talk about Manti Te'o, and he will talk about defensive struggles, but he really has no input during the game.

If he is not involved during the game with a particular aspect, he still needs to be sure it is getting done. Nothing against the players, but it is not getting done. He needs to be able to relate to every player on the team as head coach. Weis relates to Clausen. He has a one tract mind.

Lets look at another offensive-minded head coach: Brian Kelly at the University of Cincinnati (he is on my mind as a HEAD COACH for a reason *hint*).

He has one of the best teams in the nation. They overachieve because he expects it from everyone on the team, not just his quarterbacks and receivers. His team won the Big East championship last year and had a defense loaded with seniors. Ten replaced defensive starters and one year later, and the defense is still one of the best out there. This is because of great coaching. Kelly knew the defense needed a change after losing so much talent (4 defensive players taken in NFL draft in 2009) so he replaced his D-Coordinator and changed the defense's scheme. He saw a defensive problem and fixed it, despite the fact that he is an offensive mastermind. He is not one sided. He is a HEAD COACH.

Charlie Weis, you had a good run and seemed to learn a lot from your internship. But you should realize you are not cut out for it. Hey, that's what an internship is for, right? Experience and testing the waters in a professional setting? You brought in stellar athletes, reached BCS bowls in your first two years as a "head coach" and even put the program on your back after a 3-9 season. You carried it through to better times.

But in your internship, you should make a life decision for your professional future. You are an offensive coordinator, a man with a brilliant offensive mind. You are not the head coach Notre Dame needs.

The NFL is calling you home.

Thoughts on Carson Palmer and His Taming of the Cardiac Cats

"I knew if we kept throwing the ball downfield, we would get some pass interference calls," said Carson Palmer. "Being the quarterback, I'm always looking for those."

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I detect some "swagger" in that quote. And some team-ownership.

If you watched the Bengals win the AFC North and make a playoff appearance in 2005, then you watched Palmer checking at the line of scrimmage and changing plays from the no-huddle offense. You could probably tell that it was his offense on the field. And since he is healthy and running the show full-time again, it still is his offense on the field, albeit with some new players.

But when he talks so readily about knowing things from the standpoint of "being the quarterback" after another last-minute victory, you get a new vibe. You feel that it is not just his offense anymore, but his team. He may have felt that the whole team was his all along. But to those of us on the outside looking in, it is clear that this is his team, because he is the starting quarterback who happens to be orchestrating early-season greatness.

I have heard from different individuals that when he went to the huddle before the final drive against Pittsburgh, Palmer said something along these lines: "When we score, we're going for two." I would believe it. It reeks the smell of that "swagger" word.

When you have swagger, you have to be cool and confident. When you have swagger, you have to be tough. Palmer's cool, confident, and tough swagger has lead to consistent acts of late-game heroics, and has lead to fans of Cincinnati seeing his ownership of an entire team, not just an offense.

I hope the toughness and swagger stick around, because that means the thrill of victory will stick around.

Palmer's swagger has tamed his Cardiac Cats.