Here is the thread for week #9 of our Cincinnati Bengals player pick 'em contest.  (We didn't start until week 3 – and then the BYE week screws it up even further – for those of you curious about the mismatched numbers.)  To see the full write-up of the original rules see here.  Last week's scoring results and a summary of the rules are repeated below the jump.  Here are the current score standings:

1 (tie) – brandone – 78 pts
1 (tie) – FriarBob – 78 pts
2 – Richard L – 74 pts
3 – CincyMike56 – 67 pts
4 – Deisel2405 – 60 pts
5 – Vman in Germany – 54 pts
6 – ZJiff30 – 53 pts
7 – jsl413 – 50 pts
8 (tie) – The Dealio – 44 pts
8 (tie) – supergrover – 44 pts
9 – Carsonorbust – 43 pts
10 – Mr. X – 39 pts
11 – ritalin – 28 pts
12 – Bengals FTW – 21 pts
13 – Greener’s eyes – 20 pts
14 (tie) – IFChris – 19 pts
14 (tie) – featherman – 19 pts
15 – Kabash – 17 pts
16 – WHYUS!! – 16 pts
17 (tie) – JohnnyK – 15 pts
17 (tie) – indesignkat – 15 pts
18 Danimal – 13 pts

Last week really sucked.  Especially for all of those who picked offensive players in this game, as not a single one of them scored a point for anybody.  And yet some people think Brat is doing a good job this year?  OK, whatever.  Lucky wins and overachieving players do not excuse idiocy from the management in my book.

As I feared we might, we treated the Raiders like we had the Browns.  The previous time we did that we got lucky and won anyway.  This time we did not.  Will we learn from our mistakes and treat the Browns this week like we should have treated the Raiders last week, and like we did treat the Bears after the previous embarrassing loss?  Or will we play down to the level of the competition yet again?

Time to place your bets.  Do you expect an offensive shootout?  We've got plenty of WRs and RBs to pick for the scores here.  Do you expect a defensive slug-fest?  We've got some secondary players who can catch INTs and linemen who can force fumbles now, so maybe they are the way to go instead.  Either way, pick your player to hang your hat on, and best of luck to all.

The scoring recap post from last week is repeated here as well:

Hmm. I really just don’t know what to say about this one except that I do kinda like that “mulligan” concept. Except of course that we lost ground for the BYE. Guess we all better cheer for the Saints on MNF to put the Pats back down a notch on the list. And for KC to help us out with San Diego as well.

Anyway, no offensive player scored points for us by the rules of this game. As an offensive coordinator Brat is definitely appropriately titled. Oh well. On defense, Domata Peko (x2), Dhani Jones (x1), Robert Geathers (x2) and Johnathan Joseph (x2) scored points for their adherents. Unfortunately nobody picked Peko so his fumble recovery does nobody any good.

So here is our weekly scoring only:
supergrover – 44 pts (Johnathan Joseph)
Richard L – 44 pts (Robert Geathers)
jsl413 – 22 pts (Dhani Jones)

This leaves us with a five week leader board of:
1 (tie) – brandone – 78 pts
1 (tie) – FriarBob – 78 pts
2 – Richard L – 74 pts
3 – CincyMike56 – 67 pts
4 – Deisel2405 – 60 pts
5 – Vman in Germany – 54 pts
6 – ZJiff30 – 53 pts
7 – jsl413 – 50 pts
8 (tie) – The Dealio – 44 pts
8 (tie) – supergrover – 44 pts
9 – Carsonorbust – 43 pts
10 – Mr. X – 39 pts
11 – ritalin – 28 pts
12 – Bengals FTW – 21 pts
13 – Greener’s eyes – 20 pts
14 (tie) – IFChris – 19 pts
14 (tie) – featherman – 19 pts
15 – Kabash – 17 pts
16 – WHYUS!! – 16 pts
17 (tie) – JohnnyK – 15 pts
17 (tie) – indesignkat – 15 pts
18 Danimal – 13 pts

If you see any problem with the scoring above please speak up ASAP.

If you haven't played yet, here is a brief recap of the rules:

1) Pick one player (Make it easy on me, make him the title of your post.  Both first and last name please.) who is NOT officially listed as a QB, P, or PK on the roster.
2) An offensive score is worth one point per participant who did not pick your player.
3) A defensive player is worth 3/2/1 point per participant who did not pick your player based on if he 3) actually scored, 2) gained possession of the ball for the team but didn't actually score, or 1) allowed the Bengals to gain possession by causing a fumble (or blocking a kick) that another Bengals player recovered.  Sacks or tackles behind the line of and by themselves are not worth anything unless they are a strip-sack (1 point if we recover) or they are also a safety (3 points).
4) You score the maximum possible points for your player but only one time.  So a defensive player who forces an opponent's fumble that Cincinnati recovers and recovers another opponent's fumble at a different point in the game is worth 2x points (not 3x cumulative).
5) Keep commentary to the bare minimum please.
6) Predictions on how they will score are not required, and if you provide one they don't net you any bonus if you are right nor do they detract if you are wrong (so long as they do actually score by game rules).
7) Try to be original yet still pick somebody you think has a realistic chance to score or cause a turnover.
8) Only ONE (1) player entry per contestant, per week is allowed.
9) Deadline for player entries each week is THIRTY (30) minutes prior to kickoff.