| 13 December 2009
However, the Bengals need to turn the page and get ready for the game at San Diego next week because Cincinnati is still very much in the hunt for the No. 2 seed in the AFC playoffs, which would mean a first-round bye and a home game in the divisional round.
As for those awful moments in the Vikings game...
* If there is a head coach in the NFL worse at time management than Marvin Lewis, I'd love to know who it is. Lewis is clueless when it comes to clock management at the end of halves.
Against the Vikings, the Bengals were very much in the game at 13-7 in the final moments of the second quarter. The defense had just held Minnesota to a field goal deep in Cincinnati territory and it looked like the Bengals would go into halftime down by just six points.
The Bengals got the ball back with 35 seconds left and two timeouts. As any competent football coach would know, they had two options there: Throw the ball down the field and try for a last-second field goal, or kneel on the ball and run the clock out.
Lewis and the Bengals decided to try something in between. They didn't want to go for big yardage, but they didn't want to completely kneel on the ball either. They were stuck in the middle. And on the second play of the drive, Brian Leonard fumbled after catching a screen pass (it was debatable if he had the ball long enough for the catch to count - but they didn't even replay the play) and the Vikings recovered. They kicked a field goal on the very next play to take a 16-7 lead with them into the locker room at halftime. Talk about giving away three points there. And I put the blame solely on the head coach. Make up your mind, Marvin. You are either gambling and throwing the ball down the field, or you're taking a knee. There is no room for indecision in the NFL and it cost the Bengals in that situation.
* More proof that the Bengals are a poorly coached team? All the penalties. They were racking up so many penalties today (11 for 85 yards to be exact) that the Raiders' teams of the 1970's would be jealous. But how can you say Marvin Lewis is not a good coach? The Bengals are 9-4 this year. True, but I just see too many things that would not happen on a well-coached team. I don't think Lewis is a terrible coach by any means; I just think he's average at best. Honestly, I think the Bengals have won in spite of him at times this year. I see a coach that has no idea what he's doing in the clock management department and I see a team that plays with not enough discipline.
* Speaking of coaching letdowns, offensive coordinator Bob Bratkowski should be ashamed of himself. The Bengals managed just 210 yards of total offense against the Vikings. And yes, Minnesota has one of the best defensive units in the NFL, but that's still inexcusable when you have as much talent as the Bengals do on the offensive side of the ball. I'll continue to say it until I'm blue in the face: Can you imagine what a good offensive coordinator would be getting out of this offense? There is plenty of talent in place with Carson Palmer, Chad Ochocinco, the deep stable of running backs and a solid offensive line. Simply put, Bratkowski is not getting enough production out of this offense. I think often time he comes into games with a questionable plan and doesn't do a good job of adjusting during the game and calling the right plays.
* In fairness to Brat, the loss of Chris Henry has really hurt this team. The Bengals don't have a legitimate deep threat other than Ochocinco and teams key on him so much that it's difficult for him to get behind defenders. Not throwing the ball down the field is also part of the problem. You have to take some shots deep and we're not seeing the Bengals do that enough this year.
* What has happened to Kevin Huber? I thought the rookie punter looked great early in the year, but he's really hit a dry spell. Against the Vikings, he managed a paltry 32.4 yards per punt (on seven attempts).
* Hey Shayne Graham, I know you have a weak leg on kickoffs, but can you at least not kick the ball out of bounds and give the opposing team the ball at the 40? Thanks. When the hell are the Bengals going to sign a kickoff specialist? If Graham is your placekicker, you need someone else handling kickoffs. That must be obvious to everyone except Mike Brown and the Bengals coaches.
* Man Dhani Jones is awful in pass coverage. And Rey Maualuga had his worst game of his career against the Vikings with a boneheaded late hit out of bounds and some missed tackles. Poor day at the office for the Bengals' linebackers. And I continue to think Keith Rivers is the reincarnation of Brian Simmons (and I don't mean that as a compliment). Brandon Johnson is the better player for my money. (Oh yeah, money, that's why Rivers is playing. He is a former first-rounder, Johnson is a former fifth-rounder that the Bengals signed as a free agent.)
* Laveranues Coles, are you still on the team? Are you still alive? Should someone call the police or something? Has anyone heard from him? (For the record, I think momma Coles meant to spell his first name "Laverneus." Because the way it's spelled now, it looks like it should be pronounced "Lav-er-a-noose." Maybe that only bothers me though. ... Kind of like that safety Herana-Daze Jones the Bengals had a few years ago. He somehow pronounced his first-name "Hernandez." But that didn't make any sense the way it was spelled. It looked like it should have been pronounced "Her-ANA-daze." I think his momma meant to spell it "Hernan-Daze" ... and that would have been plenty stupid too, but at least would have made a little more sense.) But as for Coles, talk about a guy not earning his paycheck or even close.
* Jerome Simpson, how pathetic are you to not even be able to make the game-day roster on a team that needs athletic wide receivers (as opposed to undersized possession receivers like Lav-er-a-noose)? Calling Simpson a bust doesn't even do justice to how big of a disappointment he's been. But it's not his fault the Bengals foolishly passed on DeSean Jackson in the second round of the 2008 draft for him. Jackson was an obvious pick because at the time the Bengals needed a WR and a return specialist. Jackson would have filled both voids and would have filled them well. But somehow, Brown and his brain(less) trust messed it up. Shocking, I know. And now the team is left with Simpson taking up a spot on the roster and adding absolutely nothing to the team. C'mon, he's got to be better than Lav-er-a-noose, right? No? OK, you're probably right. I shouldn't be so hard on Coles. He's at least better than Jerome Simpson, I'll give him that much.
* As for that signing of defensive tackle Shaun Smith, it certainly didn't last for long. Smith was released and defensive back Rico Murray was signed from the practice squad to the 53-man roster. However, there are reports that the Bengals could re-sign Smith next week or later in the season if need be.
* Starting DT Domata Peko is a huge loss for this team (arthroscopic knee surgery) and it will be interesting to see if he can get back in three weeks for the season finale against the Jets. I just hope he's OK for the playoffs. The Bengals need just one win in their final three games -- or a loss from Baltimore -- to clinch the AFC North championship. But Cincinnati has bigger plans than that and it will all start with the showdown at the Chargers this coming Sunday. The Bengals and Chargers are neck-and-neck for the No. 2 seed and that game could basically decide who gets the coveted first-round playoff bye (the Chargers are currently one game up, but the Bengals would obviously own the tiebreaker if they defeat San Diego). But yeah, the way the Bengals looked on Sunday, maybe we should just hope they get in the playoffs. However, I'm not worried about that at all considering the lone home game remaining is against the lowly Chiefs. The Bengals are going to make the playoffs. My only questions are how high of a seed will they get and can they do any damage once they get in.
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