Bengals Have a Shot...
 

They convincingly beat Chicago today. Chicago supposedly has one of the best defenses in the league, but they allowed 24 points (although I will hand it to them, they allowed less than 250 yards total offense). They're now in a three-way tie for first place in the NFL. Even though I'm obviously biased (and taking the first opportunity in 15 years to gloat), with Pittsburgh losing, the Patriots getting hurt, and the Colts offense stifled, I can see a serious run for not only the playoffs (which is now a probability), but deep into the playoffs and even into the Super Bowl. The defense is tops, and if they make the playoffs should be able to shut down the other probable AFC playoff teams (Indy, Pittsburgh, New England) that rely more heavily on big passing plays. Palmer has quickly developed into a smart player and team leader, and although he can't make a play after scrambling, is dangerous while inside the pocket. They look like a sharp, professional, competitive team, and most importantly, they know and are confident in each other's ability. They have a weak schedule for a while, but play Pittsburgh around week 8. What do you have to say about that???

Palmer, the Johnsons and the "D" with Coach Lewis = a very very formidable team.... and I have all four on my fantasy teams..... even have Houshmanzadeh.... and kicking ass with them.

I really think by the time they play the Steelers they'll be a very tight team.

This is the first time in years they have been off to a good start. They showed last year in the second half how good they could be.

Love to see them kick the Browns ass (only team I like to see beat the Browns)....... my heart bleeds for the Tribe and the REDS and Bengals but I am not as big a Browns fan (don't get me wrong I still root for them but between the Bengals and the Browns my heart is with the BENGALS).

Ummm... You're getting way to excited about them, so far. You're right, they have a chance, and so does about 15 other teams. The season is far to long to speculate at week 3. Case in point, look at the Minnesota Vikings, they normally come out strong, then hit the wall. Yes, winning is exciting, but you <I>still</I> have to play my Steeler's twice. But I do think the the bengals have looked really good so far.

^Which is more than can could have been said in the recent past. All of us long-time Bengals fans (not the bandwagoneers) are really excited. We gotta have our fun while we still can.

Or, think about it this way...........they got 6 turnovers and could only convert 24 points. ;)

I think they are a team on the rise, but I wouldn't put them past the first round of the playoffs just yet. :o

I'm sure Gary Burbank is having fun with this on his "All My Bengals" show on the BIG ONE 700WLW.

/end semi well placed endorsement

They are looking good, but they haven't played a particularly hard team yet. Orton put Chicago's D in a pretty shitty position all day, Culpepper was in some kind of funk the first couple games (even though the bucs and bengals played well defensively), and well the browns are the browns. They play Houston next week which will be a blowout, and their first real test will be in week 5 against Jacksonville which should be a pretty good game.

I can understand your enthusiasm after waiting 15 years for a playoff game, but it might be a little early to be buying your Superbowl tickets. Marvin does have them looking good so far, but it's only 3 wins.

Its got to be nice not to have to hear the Bungles and such, and to know the satisfaction of expecting the team you root for to win instead of lose each week. I think its great that they are playing better, as long as they have fewer wins come the end of the year than the Ravens, I will be happy for you.

But I also won't be surprised to see a drop off once they play a few difficult games.

That said I must admit to being a little envious of your Quarterback. Palmer would look good in purple.

Remember, the NFL loves parity, so when a team like the Bengals has a not so good year, they get an easier schedule than say the team that finished first in their division. Yes they still play all divisional teams twice, but out of division and conference games are set up as 1st v 12st, 4th v 4th and such.

Plus now they are 4-0.

The win today wasn't very convincing. However, there are several circumstances that can hopefully be remedied by next week. The main problem was penalties. Most of it was bullshit, flag happy officiating (for both teams), some of it is just stupid errors. Another obvious factor is that both of our centers got hurt. A guard was playing center. Add that to the fact that Willie Anderson isn't 100% (like usual) and that there are two starters from last year on IR, and you've got a real problem with injuries, especially in the O line. That's the reason why Palmer got flustered so easy today, and since he isn't a scrambler, you couldn't expect a much better performance out of him, especially since he had zero interceptions today. A lesser team would have lost. If the Bengals overcome the injuries and work on the penalties, things should work out fine.

Oh, and about Palmer. I was skeptical about Marvin starting him last year instead of Kitna, but I see exactly why he did now. He's already shaped into one of the best pocket passers in the league, and is getting very comfortable with Houshmenzadeh and Chad Johnson.

woot go bengals!!! 4-0 but then some other random teams are 4-0 like the redskins.. lol

I love Housh. The team looks good, and I think they make the playoffs, but I gotta point out that the four Bengal opponents have a combined 3 wins. 1-2, 1-2, 1-3, 0-3. It's not like they took down the 2000 Ravens or anything. I love the offense, and I think the defense is going to use these early games to break in some younger talent, and by season's end, they'll be capable of competing with other contenders. For now, it's a great start, and 2 more games against the NFC North will help, but there are a fair number of teams that'd post a 4-0 mark on that slate.

Beat the Steelers, up 2 games in the AFC North. Gave the Colts a true run for their money.... the Bengals maybe the 2nd best team in all of the NFL.

And what's great is Carson Palmer is young and only going to get better.

We could be seeing the start of a Bengal powerhouse team, that will last for the next few years.

Wow. So Denver lost, the possibility of a first-round bye for Cincy exists. Incredible. WHO-DEY!!!

Moreover, I can't even begin to describe how good it feels to know that we FINALLY HAVE A WINNING SEASON!!! Who dey think gonna beat them Bengals???

As a KC Chiefs fan, if the Bengals and Chiefs keep playing like they are the last game of the season should be fun! I love Palmer and Johnson and I'm not looking forward to seeing KC defense try to stop them!

Good luck until that game!

Good luck to you guys, you have a very good coach there, was always a favorite of mine.

Something in my gut this week gives me the feeling the Browns are going to upset the Bengals and not just by a little.

Don't know why.

I love both teams (Ohio boy and all), but I've always been more partial to Cincy teams.

Frye is the real thing, and it'll be great to watch him and Palmer play each othe the next few years.

But this gut feeling just says Cincy is going to go in and play horribly against them and the Browns are just going to surprise everyone..... I truly hope I am wrong.

After seeing the Bengals run with the Colts to the 4th qtr, and seeing them hold off Pittsburgh with the turnovers, I'm hoping to see a good game vs. the Browns.

Cinci needs to really tighten their defense. It was disgraceful in both the Colts game and the Steelers game how the opposite team marched down the field to score. If they can shore up the defense by the end of the season, we may even be looking at Super Bowl! (did I just say that?!?)

Who Dey!?!?

^ I agree with that, we do need to be more physical on defense. If we can do that, and don't rely soley on trying to make turnovers, we would be unstoppable. Just make the tackles, and don't worry so much about making a turnover every play. It seems that our DB's are giving up 5 yards because they're trying to strip the ball rather than just bring the carrier down. Needless to say, I'll be at PBS Sunday, freezing my ass off and watching the Battle of Ohio. If you watch the game, look out for me, I'll be the only guy wearing a Takeo Spikes jersey.

WHO-DEY. My only complaint was that my feet got cold because I wore the wrong shoes. I'll tell you what though, that Frye is real deal. He did well when we brought the pressure. He'll be fun to watch in the next few years. Our halftime entertainment was the actual guys who do the Bud Light "Real Men of Genius" commercials do a live performance with a Bengals Real Men of Genius. Fun times.

The game had me scared, my gut feeling almost came true. The Browns are a lot tougher than many think, especially with Frye. Just think next year if Winslow and Edwards come back and are the real deal.

Frye, Edwards, Droughns and WInslow vs. Palmer, the Johnsons and Schobel.... those will be 2 awesome games.

Ohio teams are on the rise.

I was crushed in fantasy because of Palmer and Chad's poor performances. But the Bengals won, so all is good.

Hey TS, does Burbank still do 3-7 weekdays on WLW? I miss him, Earl Pitts, Gilbert Gnarley, All my Bengals and the rest of his show..... ahhhh good times listening to him in the 80's and 90's. So freaking funny.

I believe so, at least he did as of last year. Haven't listened to the radio much this season though, the power antenna in my car went out and am too poor to replace it.

Just had to gloat again... WHO-DEY?!?! Division winners baby!

Congrats TS.

Perhaps you can score me some playoff tix. ;)