I'm among the crowd that believes the defense didn't play that bad early-- most the late rushing success was the result of 43 second-half plays by the Baltimore Ravens offense, and only 18 second-half plays; inability to sustain a drive by our offense does take a toll.

If you take away the 42-yard reverse and the Joe Flacco 38-yard run, the Bengals still allowed 149 yards rushing -- including 56 yards on the 7:15 to end the game. It should also be noted that the Bengals rush defense only allowed 20 yards, on eight attempts that included a six and four yard loss, in the two drives before the 7:15 drive to end the game.

So, let's take away the 42-yard reverse, the 38-yard Joe Flacco run and the 56 yards rushing on the final drive of the game. Now we're down to 93 yards rushing for the Ravens offense, on 34 carries. That's a Rudi Johnson like, 2.7 yards per carry. Defensively, the Bengals dropped the Ravens, four times, behind the line of scrimmage on rushing plays; a total of 20 yards lost.

But that's football. You can't take away big plays, or game ending sustaining drives to fluff a point about the Bengals rush defense. However, I will maintain that it wasn't the Bengals defense that lost us the game. The offense truly "sucked", giving the defense absolutely no chance to force the Ravens to punt towards the end of the game; their heads were down, with hands on hips, taking massive huffs of oxygen.

Note: James Walker, like Tiki Barber, the so-called experts, do the same thing that novice fans do. Look at the stat sheet, reflect on the stats, and speak about what the stats tell them rather than accumulating all the means that made that end. Ah, who cares. We looked like crap losing a football game. What does it matter, at this point, how they lost. Most fans have already lost hope for the season after a miserable preseason and a frustrating first game; and the Bengals themselves look like a team that's done. Done, I tell you.

One of the most frustrating things with the offense Sunday afternoon, was that Chris Perry mimicked typical Rudi Johnson results. It makes you wonder if it was ever Rudi's degradation, or just a bad offensive line. I have no love for Eric Ghiaciuc, think that Andrew Whitworth is a good tackle ( with more playing time, could be tremendous, if not better than Andrews), but an average guard and think that Stacy Andrews is paid $7 million more than he's proven to be worth (aka, he's here because of his potential, still).

Take note of this little "fun fact". Of Rudi Johnson's games in which he carried the ball 18 times or more (same as Perry on Sunday), Rudi's longest rushing gains-per-game were 15 (against Baltimore), 20, 15 (against Baltimore), 10, and 22.

Except for the play of Johnathan Joseph, Pragmatic doesn't think that the Bengals defense was that good.

Clark Judge accurately says that one "week Cincinnati releases Deltha O'Neal; the next he's making the game-saving play for New England. That tells you something about both franchises."

Peter Kings says of Carson Palmer: "I think I'm starting to think Carson Palmer belongs in Jay Cutlerville. He hasn't been a commanding presence on the field for some time, I'd say going back to mid-2006, and I'm hard-pressed to think of him in the same league with the top five or six quarterbacks. I did put him there in my top 50 in the SI NFL Preview issue, but after watching him Sunday, I almost wish I could have that one back."

Jim Morris says that the Bengals season is already done.

All 11 teams in the Big Ten won this weekend.

The Buckeyes dropped two spots in the polls, and are now 10.5 underdogs against the Trojans this weekend.

Speaking of USC/OSU, this Matt Hinton piece is, actually, a little fun.

Matt Miller raised the stock of Bearcats cornerback Mike Mickens, who could be a first day pick when he enters the NFL draft (if not a first-round pick).

Bill Koch wonders if now is a good time to start giving Demetrius Jones (the transfer from Notre Dame) some playing time.

Don't expect Dustin Grutza for at least another four weeks, says Bearcats trainer, "It would take and act of God for him to come back in three weeks."

After the 52-26 loss to the Sooners, Brian Kelly isn't phased (one bit). "What this shows is that we've got some more work to do defensively. We haven't arrived there yet." Kelly later says, "You're going to think I'm crazy, but I think we can play with the very best." Dude, Brian's crazy.

The Bengals came away relatively healthy Sunday, with David Jones suffering the most serious; a second-quarter concussion on the 71-yard punt return by Figurs that was called back after a block above the waist penalty.

Dhani Jones went down momentarily for dehydration -- after an IV, he returned. Johnathan Joseph suffered a shoulder injury two players later, but returned soon after.

We examined the game, so let's examine reactions.

I've had more people call me, than the digits on both hands, in the past hour or two; too anxious to wait for my reactions on this very site. Even a Steelers fan (jerk). They're family and friends though, and I can be more curt with them, over-playing the role of pissed off Bengals fan; while it's true, you can get some laughing points too, because, in the end, this isn't like the biggest issue in our lives, you know?

Personally, I'm not that pissed off that the Bengals lost. I've done this gig for a long time; and I've studied the concept of football three times that. I understand why a game turns the way it does; sometimes it's one moment, sometimes it's one aspect or unit, sometimes it's bad officiating. But sometimes it's just man beating on boy (aka, Ravens and Bengals), and that's frustration; times fifty as the departing sun fails to cool temperatures from overheating tempers in Cincinnati -- or "Cincinatti" as the "higher-education" University of Oklahoma spells us.

Continue reading this post »

Usually I have enough hot air to recap a game, long enough to satisfy the crowds, and informative enough to describe the game; the tempo, the atmosphere, the participation, everything. Examining this pathetic attempt at highly (over)paid professionals pretending to exercise the services in which they "earn", is awfully difficult. Through all this, a single question kept resurfacing. No, not the question about "why we are here", or understanding God's master plan, or if we'll be able to prove the Big Bang Theory (though they're going to try this week). None of that.

The question is, "What was that?!" After much consideration, I choose not to answer that question. Why, after all, would I try to examine such things when the Bengals themselves are relentlessly researching the lore of cursed professional Paul Brown teams (so it would seem). By the way, happy birthday to the greatest football legend of all time. One has to wonder how Paul Brown would react. Well, we kind of know; but why connect this game to Paul Brown when it would certainly rob the greatness of one of football's all-time heroes. And considering that the average reader starts to wonder after so many words, characters and 10-page (12-font) written pages in Word, we'll move on.

The "I told you so" crowd will surface, proving the optimists wrong in their glowing Kool Aid premonitions; foolish enough to take the chocolate bar by the stranger next to the rusted-out full-size white van. Some will plead that we should give the Bengals some time; after all, this was the first game in which T.J. Houshmandzadeh and Chad Johnson are together with Carson Palmer. Sadly, the same questions posed during preseason (like can the team protect Carson Palmer) this time around, have been answered; an embarrassing (and enthusiastic), yes. Yes, everything we saw in the preseason would translate to the first game of the regular season. Beyond that, I really don't want to know. I might even pick up a Sunday afternoon hobby; like knitting or gardening.

This one is totally on the offense. When Palmer wasn't tossed to the ground, he was sensing inevitability; throwing with bad technique, doing this scissor-kick while throwing poorly to double-coverage; or at the super-human linebacker that our "Pro Bowl" receiver couldn't discard. I defended the offensive line when Palmer had his nose bloodied against the Saints, saying that it was the combination of several factors. This time, I'm not pushing the blame. When the Ravens pass rushed Palmer, they were in Palmer's face. Eric Ghiaciuc appeared a hundred pounds lighter than the defensive tackle, arms hugging each other, both shaking Palmer's hand, grateful that it only takes a single play for all three to reunite. If it wasn't up the middle, it was the edge rushers, running around the pocket, forcing Palmer to scramble. Luckily, the self-promoted guy that would fill the void of losing Willie Anderson's leadership (Levi Jones) and the guy paid so much, that it forced the team to convince Anderson that he wanted to leave on his own, were those guys too slow to keep Palmer's peripheral vision clear. Thank god we gave Andrew Whitworth an extension. If I learned one thing today, it's that once Palmer starts moving, he's not throwing the ball; and if he does, he's not throwing it well.

100 Yards. We spoke earlier in the week about how 100-yard rushers give a team more chances to win than 100-yard receivers or 300-yard passers. Guess what? Not only did Chris Perry, Kenny Watson, Houshmandzadeh or Chad Johnson fail to record 100 yards respective to their positions, but Carson Palmer didn't even reach 100 yards passing. Even though Palmer recorded 99 yards passing, in truth, that number is 10 yards padded because sacks are not attached to passing yards. Therefore, the Bengals net yards passing is 89 yards.

200 Yards. The Baltimore Ravens finished with 229 yards rushing; 128 of those yards were recorded in the second half.

Time of Possession: One of the most telling stats that describes the success of a team, is the time of possession (if you have the ball more than the other team, more likely you're winning). The Ravens had the ball for an amazing 23:41 in the second half. The Bengals, on the other hand, had the ball for 4:34 in the third quarter and 1:43 in the fourth (only one possession).

Third Downs: A product of winning the time of possession battle, is converting third downs. This stat is frighteningly awful. Of 13 third downs, the Bengals converted two. On the other hand, the Ravens converted 53% of their third downs (9/17).

Charting both by the quarter:

In detail, let's break down the Bengals on third downs.

Of the 13 third down attempts, only four were four yards or less to go; five were 10 yards or more to go. The other four were in-between. In four of the team's first five possessions, the Bengals offense failed to record a first down; in fact, the only times the Bengals punted was after the offense recorded three-and-out (seven of them). Of 12 possessions, eleven ended in three-and-out or turnovers.

Bengals Drives -- how each drive ended.

1. Punt (three and out)
2. Interception
3. Punt (three and out)
4. Punt (three and out)
5. Punt (three and out)
6. Punt (three and out)
7. Fumble
8. Field Goal
9. Punt (three and out)
10. Turnover on Downs
11. Punt (three and out)
12. Turnover on Downs

This defense will not shut teams out. They're just not made up that way. While still in the middle of a rebuilding project with players that were on other teams last year, and tons of youth and inexperience, the Bengals still must rely on the Bengals offense to score 25 points or more. The expected difference this year with our defense is that while they may not win us games, they shouldn't lose them.

Through the first three quarters, I never felt that the defense played collectively bad. They gave up big plays, the 38-yard Joe Flacco run, the 42-yard reverse to Michael Clayton, but it wasn't until the fourth quarter that the Ravens sustained game-killing drives. Yet, I can't fault the Bengals defense for not stepping up while the Ravens milked the clock. When the Bengals offense only holds onto the football for 6:19 in the second half, no defense in the world can beat those odds.

If you examine the Ravens offense, you'll note some successes.

1. Fumble
2. Punt (three and out)
3. Touchdown on trick play
4. Punt (three and out)
5. Punt (three and out)
6. Missed 46-yard Field Goal
7. Punt (three and out)
8. Field Goal
9. Turnover on Downs -- drive went 14 plays, recording 59 yards.
10. Touchdown
11. Fumble
12. Punt (three and out)
13. End of the game -- drive last 7:15, going 13 plays and 62 yards, ending the game.

Don't be persuaded by guys like Tiki Barber, that point out how awful our defense was. He read the stats that we all read; yet failed to mention the Bengals inability to pick up a first down more possessions than not on offense.

In the first half, the Ravens had five drives that gained nine yards or less. And the drive in which the Ravens missed their field goal, they only ran six plays for 12 yards.Worn down in the second half, the Bengals defense allowed three sustaining drives of 59 yards or more. Remember the second half time of possession discrepancy.

Keith Rivers and Dhani Jones led the team with 10 tackles each. Johnathan Joseph had a tremendous game with five tackles, three passes defended and a fumble recovery for a touchdown. Fanene shed off a blocker or two, and Rucker made a nice play on the Ravens possession after Joseph scored the Bengals lone touchdown. Unfortunately, neither the Bengals offense or the defense could capitalize on the momentary shift in momentum.

Still, the Bengals defense has a ton of work to do when it comes to rushing the passer. You had to use both hands to count the seconds before Joe Flacco had to get rid of the ball.

All in all, this was one of the worst games I've ever seen. The offense didn't return the investment for a ridiculously (apparently) group of players that are robbing the team, financially, in the middle of the night. The defense kept the Bengals in the game, but as the second half wore on, so did they.

This isn't something we can just put on Mike Brown, or Marvin Lewis, or Bob Bratkowski, or Carson Palmer, or the Bengals offensive line. No. If you're associated with this team, in any way, everyone should take credit for this shameful, disgusting and embarrassing attempt at actually accepting money to play football.

Note, this isn't the last that we'll speak of this game; it will take a series of other pieces.

Game: Cincinnati Bengals (0-0) at Baltimore Ravens (0-0)
Series Leader: Ravens, 11-13
Streak: Bengals, won three straight six of the past seven.
Coaches vs. Opponent: Lewis is 7-3 against the Ravens. This will be John Harbaugh's first game.
Broadcast: CBS (1:00 PM ET) SIRIUS: 119 (Bal.), 107 (Cin.). Direct TV: 704. Direct TV HD: 7041
SB Nation: Baltimore Beatdown
NFL.com: Game Center
Weather: High of 86, 20% chance of rain. [Weather.com]
Uniform: Black
Site: We plan on being here.

Bengals @ Ravens Primer

Injury / Practice Report

BENGALS

OUT - S Chinedum Ndukwe (knee), DT Pat Sims (toe)
DOUBTFUL - WR Andre Caldwell (toe)
PROBABLE - DE Jonathan Fanene (illness), WR T.J. Houshmandzadeh (hamstring), LB Brandon Johnson (hamstring), WR Chad Johnson (shoulder), DE Antwan Odom (foot), QB Carson Palmer (nose), DT John Thornton (knee), RB Kenny Watson (hamstring)

RAVENS

OUT - QB Troy Smith (illness)
DOUBTFUL - DT Kelly Gregg (knee)
QUESTIONABLE - S Ed Reed (neck)
PROBABLE - T Oniel Cousins (back), TE Todd Heap (knee), RB Willis McGahee (knee), G Marshal Yanda (thumb)

Cincinnati Bengals at Baltimore Ravens -- Injury Report

STATUS

BENGALS

OUT - S Chinedum Ndukwe (knee), DT Pat Sims (toe)
DOUBTFUL - WR Andre Caldwell (toe)
PROBABLE - DE Jonathan Fanene (illness), WR T.J. Houshmandzadeh (hamstring), LB Brandon Johnson (hamstring), WR Chad Johnson (shoulder), DE Antwan Odom (foot), QB Carson Palmer (nose), DT John Thornton (knee), RB Kenny Watson (hamstring)

RAVENS

OUT - QB Troy Smith (illness)
DOUBTFUL - DT Kelly Gregg (knee)
QUESTIONABLE - S Ed Reed (neck)
PROBABLE - T Oniel Cousins (back), TE Todd Heap (knee), RB Willis McGahee (knee), G Marshal Yanda (thumb)

Practices

DNP - Did Not Practice
LP - Limited Participation in Practice
FP - Full Participation in Practice

Cincinnati Bengals at Baltimore Ravens

Cincinnati Bengals

OUT
Wednesday: RB Jeremi Johnson (knee), S Nedu Ndukwe (knee), DT Pat Sims (toe)

Did Not Practice
Wednesday: DE Jonathan Fanene (illness)

Limited Practice
Wednesday: WR Andre Caldwell (toe), LB Brandon Johnson (hamstring)

Full Practice
Wednesday: WR Chad Johnson (shoulder), QB Carson Palmer (nose)

Baltimore Ravens

Did Not Practice
Wednesday: DT Kelly Gregg (knee), QB Troy Smith (illness)

Limited Practice
Wednesday: TE Todd Heap (knee), RB Willis McGahee (knee), S Ed Reed (neck)

Game: Cincinnati Bengals (0-0) at Baltimore Ravens (0-0)
Series Leader: Ravens, 11-13
Streak: Bengals, won three straight six of the past seven.
Coaches vs. Opponent: Lewis is 7-3 against the Ravens. This will be John Harbaugh's first game.
Broadcast: CBS (1:00 PM ET) SIRIUS: 119 (Bal.), 107 (Cin.). Direct TV: 704. Direct TV HD: 7041
SB Nation: Baltimore Beatdown
NFL.com: Game Center
Weather: High of 86, 20% chance of rain. [Weather.com]
Uniform: Black
Site: We plan on being here.

If you combined the touchdown totals for the Ravens roster of quarterbacks, their combined 47 career touchdowns is merely 15 more than the season Carson Palmer had in 2005 (32). While Palmer played 16 games that season, Boller, Smith and Flacco combined to play 57 -- though Flacco has yet to play a regular season down. On the other hand, the Ravens signed the intimidating Todd Bouman. All right, so make that 58 career touchdowns among four quarterbacks that have played 83 career games.

How has Palmer played, in his career, specifically against the Ravens (he's 6-2 against the Browns Colts Ravens)?

Jinx alert: Palmer hasn't thrown a pick since the November, 5, 2006 win.

Speaking of Carson Palmer, he's 3-1 when starting kickoff weekend.

We do a funny thing at Cincy Jungle. Most of the historically reference items that are used for comparison reasons -- suddenly misremembering a significant chuck of my dead brain cells -- is when Marvin Lewis took over as the club's head coach. The rest, we simply throw out like some Professor Dumbledore spell. With that in mind, the Bengals since 2003 against the Ravens:

That's right, the Bengals are successfully owning the Ravens since 2003 with a 7-3 record. Never mind that I refuse to recognize the seasons before that; you know, the really bad ones that I misremember.

When the Bengals beat the Ravens 27-20 during regular season game #1 of 2007
When the Bengals beat the Ravens 21-7 during regular season game #9 of 2007

Chad Johnson Ocho Cinco's career against the Ravens.

T.J. Houshmandzadeh's career against the Ravens

Why doesn't someone pay me for this stuff?

DID YOU KNOW: Team are more likely to win games with a 100-yard rusher than a 300-yard passer; or even a 100-yard receiver? I hope so, because that's just one of the common-sense things that most football fans know. But to prove it...

The winning percentage of all NFL teams -- based on 100-yard rushers, 100-yard receivers and 300-yard passers -- over the past five seasons.

Specifically speaking on the Bengals.

A quick note on accuracy of the above numbers. I went through each game, checked off if they recorded the numbers above, and whether or not they won. It was a quick scan, and could prove wrong in some instances.

You'll note that last season, anytime Palmer threw for 300 yards or more, the Bengals won only one of five games -- usually because we're forced to make up a decent-sized deficit.

DID YOU KNOW: The Bengals are 19-21 all-time in season openers -- including a current three-game winning streak.

DID YOU KNOW II: This Sunday marks what would have been Paul Brown's 100th birthday (b. September 7, 1908).