Larry Johnson signed a one-year deal with the Bengals earlier today. Johnson said he was just happy for the opportunity blah blah blah. Nobody really seemed surprised that it was the Bengals that picked up Johnson, considering that (a) Cedric Benson is hurt and (b) Johnson is kind of a prick. But there are concerns.
The Bengals are taking a needless chance and risking a good thing. Johnson is the kind of player M. Lewis has spent a few years trying to get rid of. It’s odd he would add a guy like that. The Chiefs are paying him $2 mil to go away. Lewis was adamant Monday that if Benson is OK, Johnson will be a scout team guy and likely inactive on Sundays. He also said he approached Ced about it last week, meaning a bruised ego was a concern. –Cincinnati Enquirer.
The Bengals play next at Oakland next week, which seems appropriate. The Raiders are terrible and they abuse their women, plus that who human sacrifice thing. Wait, that’s not the Raiders. I’m thinking of the Aztecs. My b. That’s the Aztecs, right?
Christmas Ape, our old friend and possibly former gay lover as far as any of you know, humbly delivered this video of rowdy Bengals fans setting fire to a Terrible Towel in the street after Pittsburgh lost to Cincinnati, 18-12. And after listening to these fellers talk, I’m a bit surprised that said street is actually paved. But to be fair, being a Bengals fan over the past twenty years does involve a great deal of head trauma. The Bengals are now 5-0 in their division and hold first place in the AFC North all by them HEY DON’T STICK THAT FOAM FINGER IN THE FIRE YOU BIG HILLIGAN!
It was the statheads at FootballOutsiders that coined the notion of the Curse of 370, the seemingly magic number of carries by a running back in a season where his production falls off significantly the next. It’s an indicator of overuse, and it’s something worth keeping an eye on as the second half of the season unfolds.
To reach 370 carries in a season, a back would have to average 24 carries in a game. And as we stand at the midpoint of the season, only one player is getting that much work–Bengals juggernaut Ced Benson. Benson leads the league with leads the league with 198 carries in just eight games; that’s right at about 24 per clip.
While Carson Palmer’s resurgence and the outstanding play of the Bengals’ front seven certainly have been factors in how Cincinnati has overtaken the AFC North, Benson’s production might have to be curbed if the team expects to make it back to its first Super Bowl in 20 years.
The owners of two NFL teams–the Cleveland Browns and the Washington Redskins–both reached out to their sad fanbases earlier this week. The teams, who are 1-7 and 2-5 respectively, enjoy two of the most loyal fanbases in all of sports, but those fanbases have had their patience tested with front office instability and questions over the the long-term prospects of their current personnel, especially at quarterback. Redskins owner Daniel Snyder said he was “apologetic” to a small group of reporters after a fundraising event.
“We feel frustration and are disappointed for our fans,” Snyder told the crowd. “Obviously our performance to date is not what we expected, and we hope to turn that around.”
“I feel bad for the fans. I feel sorry for the fans, and we’re very, very appreciative of our loyal fan base,” he said. “We just feel terrible. We’re disappointed. We’re embarrassed, and we hope to get it going soon.” –ESPN.
Browns owner Randy Lerner actually met with two members of Cleveland’s famed “Dawg Pound” during a two-hour meeting earlier today.
The season-ticket holder, aka “Dawg Pound Mike,” one of the best known members of Cleveland’s rabid bleacher section of fans, spent two hours on Tuesday meeting with Lerner, who stepped away from a turbulent week and his busy schedule for the visit.
Randall and his friend, Tony Schafer, have been encouraging others to stay out of their seats for the opening kickoff of Cleveland’s next home game on Nov. 16 to protest the Browns’ futility.
“It was great,” Randall said. “How many owners would spend two hours meeting with two fans? None.” –Tulsa World.
Of course, other crappy franchises have found other ways to combat oncoming fan apathy. Like the Bengals, who sit at 5-2 and atop the AFC North division. That sounds a lot better than any apology.
Cleveland Browns head coach Eric Mangini is 0-4. He’s the aberration of the Parcells-Belichick pedigree, who already has alienated his players faster than a ex-stripper widow from a Charlie Sheen movie. But things were looking up in Cleveland yesterday… He managed to take the Bengals, who had been playing very well of late, to overtime. Guess how that turned out?
After Palmer and his teammates convinced their coach to gamble on fourth-and-11 with just over one minute left, Palmer scrambled for 15 yards to set up Shayne Graham’s(notes) 31-yard field goal on the final play of overtime, giving Cincinnati a 23-20 victory over the winless Cleveland Browns on Sunday. via.
This was after Cleveland blocked a field goal and an extra point earlier in the game. And then the other opposing coach HAD TO BE CONVINCED BY HIS QUARTERBACK TO PLAY FOR THE WIN IN OVERTIME. The Bengals, longtime authors of The Suck Book in the AFC North, are 3-1 and have a realistic shot at the wildcard, if not the division. Cleveland, however, seems to have nowhere to go but down. If you enjoyed watching the Lions go 0-16 last year, watching Mangini and the Browns do it will be even better.
Bengals wideout Chad Ochocinco actually scored in Cincinnati’s win over Green Bay yesterday, burying both the promise of the Packers’ offense and my chances in the With Leather suicide pool. But Ochocinco said that he’d execute the famed “Lambeau Leap” if he found the endzone Sunday, and execute he did.
We’re looking for a sharper image, but even here you can make out the enterprising young Packers’ fan who decided to send a message to the rest of the football-watching world. It’s good to know that some people out there will tell you that you’re No. 1. It’s pretty tame compared to what he could have done, but I appreciate the fact that he came up with something on the fly. I’m a sucker for improv.
Video’s after the jump… Read the rest of this entry »
