Here is the thread for week #10 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 – ZJiff30 – 70 pts
4 – CincyMike56 – 67 pts
5 – Deisel2405 – 60 pts
6 – Vman in Germany – 54 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 was better than the previous.  It only partially sucked instead of completely so.  Well I suppose that's improvement.  Sort of.  At least we won.  That's better than nothing, right?  I'm not actually 100% sure it is.  Once again we somewhat played down the the opposition, but our defense at least stepped up enough to prevent our moribund Steeler-lite offense from giving the game away again.  Unfortunately they didn't step up in the turnover department, which means all of those picking defense went scoreless.

Well once again we face another bottom feeder team.  Up next we have Detroit, a team you can pass on all day and have time left over for a nice meal with your wife/girlfriend/whatever while the game clock is still running.  Heck even Brady Quinn threw four TDs against them.  Will we?  Probably not.  I don't think we'll even attempt to throw the long ball again until we are down 3+ touchdowns to the Vikings.  Nor will we even try play action even for only a 10 or 15 yard play.  Sigh.  And so Palmer gets rusty with disuse and when we need him to step up to save us from our own idiocy in a couple more weeks, he won't be ready to do so.  Oh, I hope I'm wrong.  I'd be delighted to be wrong.  But until proven, I can't expect it.

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:

Well, on one hand, I’m happy, we did sweep the division. On the other hand, I was hoping for another bounce-back game like the Bears. Guess I’ll have to settle for what we’ve got.

Well, unlike last week, the offense scores at least a little something for somebody. Better than nothing, I suppose. But the defense did squat this time around. So the only player who scored points for anybody this week was JP Foschi with his TD catch.

So here is our weekly scoring only:
ZJiff30 – 17 pts (JP Foschi)

This leaves us with a nine week leader board of:
1 (tie) – brandone – 78 pts
1 (tie) – FriarBob – 78 pts
2 – Richard L – 74 pts
3 – ZJiff30 – 70 pts
4 – CincyMike56 – 67 pts
5 – Deisel2405 – 60 pts
6 – Vman in Germany – 54 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.