Unacceptable.

This was one of the more excruciating games that I have ever watched in my career as a Bengals Fan.  After all of the promise following the victory over Baltimore, this really, really hurt...but was not unexpected.  Every prognosticator (save one) predicted a banner day for the Bengals on both sides of the ball.  Naturally, I expected the Bengals to have a let down against a bad team - the same, mentally weak BS that has plagued the team in past.  My hope was that we could win despite that - evidently not.

I lay this loss on the feet of Chuck Bresnahan and Darrin Simmons - and of course the players that found ways to miss tackles in big situations.  

I am hard pressed to think of a game in which one team was outcoached to this degree. (Two come to mind - Jim Tressel v. Urban Meyer in the 2007 BCS Championship Game; Chuck Bresnahan v. Chucky, 2003 Super Bowl)  Whereas last week, the Defense dictated the game against B'more, Bresnahan and the rest of Bengals coaching staff had out their Steno pads for this one.  Blitzes produced no pressure and exposed the young corners to being picked apart - by the Browns' young offense.  (One point on the blitzes, it seems the DBs  would hit the outside shoulder of the Browns' blockers, allowing them to be easily ushered around the QB.  As the Bengals were getting zero pressure up the middle (where was Ahmad Brooks today??), Anderson had a perfect pocket all day.  I kept screaming for them to rush on the inside shoulder and force Anderson out of the pocket - he's not fast and probably not so accurate throwing on the run.)  This was a game in Kellen "I'm a Soldier" Winslow was allowed to run free - I'm all for supporting the troops, but he is one "Soldier" I'd be more than willing to leave hanging.  This was a game in which a tubby has-been ran for over 200 yards on the "improved" run D - The only chance the Bengals had was to dial up a local drug dealer (ask Jonathan Joseph, he'll know the number) and toss Jamal Lewis the phone.  The D played so badly, they made a Michigan wide receiver look good in the pros - that is an accomplishment!  CBS panned to the sideline and caught Bresnahan staring blankly into space - end the era of the Peyton Manning face, begin the era of the Chuck Bresnahan face.  (I don't mean this in a political manner, but the expression was remarkably strikingly similar to President Bush's expression on 9/11 when he was told that America was under attack.)

Bottom line:  Brenahan clearly had a failing game plan and neglected to make any adjustments of which to speak.  One stop and we win that game.  One stop - against the Duke Football of the NFL.  Well, Duke did win this weekend - perhaps we should have known!  I vote for Marvin Lewis to pull a Brian Billick, fire an under-performing underling and take the reins himself.  Hey - the D can't get worse, right?

The Bengals kick coverage teams are atrocious.   The Bengals have not had a good kick coverage team in my memory.  Further, it doesn't seem to matter who the other teams (particualrly the Browns) plug in (Dennis Northcutt, BJ "Drunk Driver who was not suspended" Sams, Ed Reed, Antoine Randal-El, Cribbs) - they always rip us in that part of the game.  This hidden yardage is deadly - don't tell me that the Browns would have let Anderson be so agressive if he wasn't starting at midfield so often!  On another note, Kudos to Glenn Holt for making the return game a threat.  He was an unexpcted bright spot.

Three plays that really stick out in my WTF meter:

1.  Rudi fumbles for the second week in a row.  WTF?
2.  Carson tries to get a cheap touchdown on 3rd down via a "surprise" QB sneak on the Browns' goalline in the start of the 2nd half.  The D had finally made a play.  Rudi had just carried four or five tacklers on his back the previous few plays.  Why go for a cheapie?  The subsequent field goal felt like a loss.  WTF?
3.  Braylon Edwards fumbles on the Brown's last possession.  It was not called and they claim his forward motion had stopped prior to the fumble.  The whistle had clearly not blown and the replay seemed to show that he was fighting for more yards - just losing in his effort to do so.  WTF?

Still, all is not lost.  Cincinnati is 1-1, the victory is over the best team in the division.  If the Bengals can hold serve at home and steal one in Pittsburgh, they still have a shot at the division.  Sorry Browns fans, your team is still pretty bad, I don't think the Bengals need to worry about losing a tie-break for a playoff berth to the Browns.  Let's hope that the Bengals will be embarrased enough to make a change for the better.  Clearly, the Browns were inspired by the sports media asserting that they were the worst team in the league.  Will the Bengals D be inspired in the same manner?