Rose Colored Glasses Alert

This was one of the worst games I have ever seen in my life.  As a Bengals fan, that is really saying something.  That said, let's look on the bright side.

The Bengals looked terrible today.  I agree with Kirkendall, the blame for this abortion on the football field lies firmly at the feet of the offense.  Our defense was mediocre - but hey, they are a Bengals defense.  They aren't supposed to be awesome. 

The offense was out of sync.  Carson Palmer never got comfortable. Chris Perry rarely had room to run.  Chad Johnson and TJ Houshmandzadeh looked like this was the first practice of spring mini camp (oh wait, it was for them...).  The offensive line lacked punch and leadership, sort of like it was missing someone important...  Bratkowski called plays like he was playing original Techmo Bowl and the Ravens defense just happened to pick the same play.  Nothing went right. 

But, being a good Bengals fan, I try and look on the bright side...

First, all is not lost after one game.  Pittsburgh looks good, good enough to win at least 10 games.  Cleveland looked arguably as bad as the Bengals.  The Ravens might have won their first and only game of the season.   Wildcard is the goal. 

Outside the Division, JAX lost to the Titans where neither team looked any good - and Vince Young sprained his knee in the 4th Qtr.  The Chiefs looked bad - as will the Raiders (I'm comfortable making that call before the game).  SD lost to Carolina.  The Bills and Jets - I'm not too afraid of either team.  Ditto for the Broncos.   Remember, NFL week 1 has 16 winners and 16 losers.  9-7 takes a playoff berth - the Bengals have to go 9-6 for the rest of the season.

Second, this game was awful, but mainly for problems of the Bengals own making.  In short, things can be solved.  Bonehead penalties, drops of passes that would be first downs, horrible, predictable calls in key situations.  The Bengals executed as poorly as OSU did against Ohio in the first half and STILL had an opportunity to tie the game in the 4th Qtr.  I'm not saying these problems will be fixed, I'm just saying they can be fixed.  Many teams come together after a horrible loss - new leaders emerge on leaderless teams (I'm looking at you, Carson).  Clearly, the Bengals were overconfident, (and based on today, that should never happen again).  Let's see how they come out against Tennessee before we write the season off just yet.

Third, everything that could go wrong today, did go wrong.  Every time the Bengals showed a sign of life, something would happen to extinguish it.  The deflection inside the red zone that led to the Bengals' first turnover.  The drop by Utecht that would have been a first down.  The delay of game penalty that took away a first down in Ravens' territory (BTW, that was a quick trigger by the ref. The ball was snapped as soon as the playclock showed zero, a situation that Manning and Brady have ALL THE TIME and don't get called).  With the absence of JJ's fumble return and the penalty on the punt return for a TD, nothing went right for the Bengals all day long.  This won't happen every game (at least, I hope it won't).

In sum, we all know our offense is not as bad as it was today.  In the absence of an offense, the defense performed as well as to be expected.  Punting looked pretty damn good.  If the Bengals are anything less than 2-2 after week 4, however, the season is done.  Let's reserve final judgment until then.