A truly painful loss...

This one really, really hurt.  The offense was lackluster, the defense was even worse.  It was bad enough that this loss came against the hated Steelers, but what really makes it painful that the Bengals were actually pretty "close" in this one.  It underscores that every play is important and that players need to make plays when given the opportunity to do so.  Like a Carson Palmer pass bouncing off of Chad Johnson's facemask, the Bengals muffed this chance -- and turned a potential win into an ugly loss.

-- Anthony Schlegel's missed tackle on the screen pass in the Second quarter.  Read the play - check.  Put oneself in position to make the tackle - check.  Hit the runner (the 3rd string runningback, for that matter - check.  Make the tackle............. Loss of five turns into a gain of eight.  Steelers drive continues.

-- Johnathan Joseph's Dropped Interception in the end zone.  A professional cornerback makes that play.  JJ made a play last week to seal the game;  JJ blew it this week.  Steelers drive continues.

-- Dhani Jones' Blitz.  Perfect call, yet Jones does not come in under control.  Big Ben breaks contain and completes a pass for a first down.  Steelers drive continues.

There were also countless times when Bengals had a shot at sacking the Big Idiot and they failed to wrap up.  If I had to listen to Randy Cross talk one more time about how powerful the Steeler's QB is, I was going to vomit.  Powerful as he is, it's hard to scramble and complete a pass if someone is HOLDING ON TO YOU!  The Bengals failure to wrap up -- especially in situations when the first guy was not going to complete the sack -- came back to bite them in the ass.  Why is this problem not corrected week after week?

Chad's drops are also inexcusable.  They speak for themselves.

Contrast this with the Steelers - a team that makes big plays in key situations.  Polamalu's pass defense on the flea flicker and Harrison's strip of Watson were just two good plays.  Why can't our team ever do anything resembling those?

My point is that the Bengals put themselves in situations where they could make plays.  They just failed to execute.  It's enough to make one sick.

The Refs:  I hate discussing the referees but there were some pretty bad calls in this one.  It is almost as if the referees meet before ever Bengals game to figure out how they can screw Cincinnati that day.

Holmes' "catch" was a terrible non-reversal.  The replay clearly showed that the ball hit the ground.  Lewis seems incapable of winning challenges, however, so it was to be expected.

The Big Idiot's Heave into the Stands:  The intent of the intentional grounding rule is to prevent the QB from throwing the ball away to avoid a sack.  The NFL changed the rule to allow smart QBs to throw the ball away in the general vicinity of a receiver without penalty.  To argue that the Big Lug's blind heave twenty feet above any player's head was within the rules is absurd.

Both of these calls enabled two touchdowns by the Steelers.  A non-call for the blatant holding of Justin Smith late in the game also enabled the final field goal drive.  Shame on you Walt Coleman.

I attended a wedding a few weeks ago and one of the guests was a former NFL referee who is now heavily involved in the quality control for the league.  I was one of the ushers and I intended to ask him about how the NFL deals with bad calls made by its officials.  I've heard about the apology letters issued in secret throughout the season - but does the league do anything else?  Unfortunately, I hit the open bar a bit to hard and did not get the chance to ask.  

It also hurt that Najeh Davenport was on the field for the Steelers.  Not suspending a player whose workout regimen involves beating his wife is bad enough, but to have that asshole on the field against the Bengals - the kings of the absurdly long suspensions - was a slap in the face.

In sum, the season is effectively over.  8-8 would be a good record at this point, but that does not even seem likely.  This is going to be a tough season.  I just hope the Bengals play better' I hope they beat the Browns and Steelers at least once.  It makes me sick, however, that we're back in the realm of moral victories.  All that was supposed to be over under the Lewis regime.  Oh well.