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.

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.