Bengals - Turning point for a franchise - Behind the Steel Curtain

Bengals - Turning point for a franchise

by upabob on Nov 5, 2009 9:57 AM EST Comment 13 comments

The Cincinnati Bengals have two crucial weekends coming up. A franchise that has been in serious decline since Kemo von Oelhoffen rolled into Carson Palmer's leg is on the verge of laying the foundation for a strong playoff seed and redefining the disappointing Marvin Lewis Era.

The Bengals are currently 5-2, tied atop the division with Pittsburgh and one ahead of the Ravens. Just as importantly, they are 1-0 against both teams. They host the Ravens this weekend and travel to Pittsburgh next Sunday.

Two wins and they are 7-2, have a sweep of their rivals and have at Oakland, Cleveland and Detroit up next. With the schedule after that (at Minnesota, at San Diego, KC and at the NY Jets), they'd really have to screw up to blow the division, holding the tie-breakers as they would.

But lose both games, and they'd (with some luck in Denver) be two games behind the Steelers, wtih a season split, and (assuming the Ravens beat the woeful Browns next weekend) one game back of Baltimore, also with the season split.

The Bengals have not had such a critical point in a season since week 13 of 2005 when they beat the Steelers and essentially secured the division title.

Think about it: after Palmer got hurt in the wild card, the last vestige of hope for Bengals fans was three-plus quarters of desperately willing that backup QB Jon Kitna could beat the Steelers. He couldn't and Pittsburgh won the Super Bowl. After going 11-5 and winning the division, Cincy finished 8-8, 7-9 and 4-11-1, while Pittsburgh won yet another Super Bowl. The momentum of a franchise was stopped dead when Palmer went down.

I'm telling you, Bengals fans are keyed up for the next two games. They've waited for years to be important again. It's generally acknowledged that the only reason Marvin Lewis hadn't been fired was because Mike Brown is too cheap to pay him not to coach. Now, Lewis (who is a good guy) has Cincy lined up for a return to prominence. Huge two weekends for the Bengals. Hard for Steeler fans, who are accustomed to continual success, to fathom. But it's there.

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sweep?

they didnt sweep us that year..we won early in the year at cincy!

by nycsteelerfan on Nov 5, 2009 10:25 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Oops, my bad

by upabob on Nov 5, 2009 10:28 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

see!

you need a woman to set you straight! LOL!

by nycsteelerfan on Nov 5, 2009 3:43 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Something about the uniform I think . . .

that makes talented, highly-drafted players suck when they sign with Cincinnati. Call it the curse of Mike Brown if you will. The Bengals definitiely are improved this year, but they’re still the Bengals. Unfortunately, there’s no cure for that.

by Billy52 on Nov 5, 2009 4:32 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

There is talent on that team but I still can’t say I think they are for real based on past history. It seems like in the past when they have had early season success they get quite happy with themselves and end up turning what should be little bumps into season ending slumps. Not saying they will but I can easily see them losing to the Ravens, Steelers, Vikes, Chargers, and Jets. We’ll see how they handle it.

by DarinS on Nov 5, 2009 5:11 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

They are Carson Palmer. Without Palmer, they would suck. Without Flacco, the ravens would suck. Without Ben, we could still win.

by qwikdoc on Nov 5, 2009 7:58 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

But not Super Bowls

Give Ben his due,… no one else would have taken us to the Super Bowl last year with that offensive line…

by MarkJoel66 on Nov 6, 2009 9:47 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I do agree

And we certainly aren’t as good nor would we win as much without Ben and his uncanny ability to make plays when we need them. My point is that we have a better team and organization than the other two.

by qwikdoc on Nov 6, 2009 2:27 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I'm looking forward to some AFC Norris football for sure....

If the Bungles can beat the ratbirds in baltimore, I would have to say they are for real. I will also say this…if i had a bunch of money to wager against them this weekend, i would do it. The ratbirds are probably gonna pound them. This is probably the only scenario when you would find me pulling for the ratbirds, but this week I am. Then they can come to the burgh for some more reality. also, Kimo, wherever you are, here’s to you!

by SteelersFnRule on Nov 6, 2009 1:02 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

So you are saying the bungles are for real? Because they did beat them in Baltimore

"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty." - Winston Churchill

by PixburghArn on Nov 6, 2009 1:05 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

my bad....and I am thinking that they are not for real.

they also had some pretty favorable officiating from what I saw. Now we all know that there are questionable calls that go both ways. I do not want to get into that can of worms! anyway, I really feel that the bungles are not as good as their record indicates. I believe that we will see them start to fold up starting this weekend.

by SteelersFnRule on Nov 6, 2009 3:32 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

BungHolio

I need TP

Ron Paul was Right.

by Steelchamps !! on Nov 6, 2009 7:41 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Not much folding up yet

Cincy totally dominated that game from the first series. It wasn’t as close as the 17-7 final score. Next week’s game in Pittsburgh is huge for the division title. Much more important than tonight’s Broncos game.

BTW, watching that game, the Ravens corners couldn’t cover anybody. Good sign for us.

by upabob on Nov 9, 2009 7:51 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs