Bengals lack Pro Bowl representatives. Chad Ochocinco reminds us: Glory is only defined by one thing. Victory
by Josh Kirkendall on Dec 29, 2009 10:01 PM EST
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PrintIt was a forgone conclusion that the Cincinnati Bengals would have at least one player named to the Pro Bowl roster. I mean, you have to include at least one player from a team that clinched the AFC North right? Four times the Bengals beat the Steelers and Ravens, two teams that are fighting for a Wild Card spot. The best Wild Card team in the NFC, the Green Bay Packers? No problem. The Broncos, another team battling for the playoffs, needed a fluke play. The Chargers needed a soft defenses on the edges and a long field goal. Either way, I honestly believe that there's no team in the NFL that the Cincinnati Bengals can't beat.
Tweet of the Night comes from C Trent:
AFC North Pro-Bowlers: #Ravens 5, #Steelers 2, #Browns 2, #Bengals -- 6-0 in the division -- 0
A team that wins a division has to have talent. It was just a matter of who goes. Cedric Benson? Alright, he missed some time that likely cost him a spot and he hasn't scored a touchdown since November 8. Fine. I can accept that. Chad Ochocinco had nine touchdown receptions, only six players had more -- of whom is Randy Moss, who leads the NFL with 13 touchdown receptions and like Chad, won't be playing in the Pro Bowl. But can you argue against the seasons that Andre Johnson, Reggie Wayne, Brandon Johnson and Wes Welker are having?
No, the Bengals had few dominating players, especially on offense, that make a claim for a Pro Bowl spot.
The biggest snub, perhaps in the NFL, is Johnathan Joseph and Leon Hall. Yes, I'm a homer. I'm by default a Bengals fan. Darrelle Revis, Nnamdi Asomugha and Champ Bailey, all fine cornerbacks, were selected. Let's compare them with the Bengals corners.
| Interceptions | Passes Defensed | Tackles | |
| Johnathan Joseph | 6 | 26 | 66 |
| Leon Hall | 6 | 30 | 67 |
| Darrelle Revis | 6 | 37 | 54 |
| Champ Bailey | 3 | 16 | 72 |
| Nnamdi Asomugha | 1 | 5 | 34 |
If you compare these five, then Hall and Joseph rank in the top three in interceptions, passes defensed and tackles. In fact, Nnamdi Asomugha, as great as he may be, has absolutely no reason to be included here. No one throws to him because he's so good. Fine. Should someone be rewarded because of intimidation factor being the best corner in the game in the previous seasons? Was that the popularity vote? He's a great corner, but is he more deserving than Hall or Joseph, who largely were thrown on and bested nearly every receiver they faced, almost always in single-coverage situations?
I don't have a problem if you believe that this is pointless anyway, considering that the Bengals were the epitome of team, without having a single player honored above the other. In fact, I'm on board with that. This team has matured way beyond our expectations. They've come back and won, when they used to fold, yell and pout. When guys needs to come through with a big play, they have, multiple times.
But if you ask me to take the Pro Bowl seriously? I can't. Not when the AFC North Champions lack a representative. Not when the Pro Bowl won't have the leading touchdown receiver through 15 games.
As much as I'd like to be self-centered, the issue is that the Pro Bowl is a farce. Fans aren't rewarded with the investment of watching a game, or really caring who wins and who loses. I even understand the reasoning why players don't play hard. Injury, exhibition, camaraderie with your NFL brothers. At the same time, don't expect us to really care.
Chad Ochocinco reminds us that there's only one glory. Victory.
Just been informed myself nor any of my teammates made the Pro Bowl-bengal fans we wouldn't be abe to play in it anyway! SUPER BOWL BABY!!!
Pro Bowl year after year with nothing else to look forward to--this year no pro bowl but a chance at The Lombardi-damit ill take it-WHO DEY
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I'm kind of outraged by this.
I can’t understand how no Bengal gets in… one of the top defenses in the league. wow.
Child, please! Did somebody hurt your feelings?
Who cares? Pro bowl talk is for losers…. Teams like the Redskins, who aren’t going anywhere, really care about getting several players into the Pro Bowl. It soothes a wounded ego and keeps up fan interest in a team with no playoff hopes. It gives losers something to talk about.
I’d rather be the Bengals and have nobody picked and be division champs and going to the playoffs than some team with half a dozen guys on the squad. And remember, the only team to go undefeated and win a Super Bowl will forever be remembered for its “No Name Defense.”
Oh, it’s nice to have people honor your players. And its nice for those overpaid jocks to get whatever bonuses their contracts say they should get if they’re chosen to the Pro Bowl. After all, as one overpaid jock in another sport once said, “I have to feed my family.” (That, of course, would be overpaid thug jackass Latrell Sprewell.)
But I’d rather cheer for a TEAM…a team of underdogs….a team that’s not the darlings of the national media….(and a team that flies under the radar of the oddsmakers, but that’s a business matter)….Teams win championships, individual players don’t.
The headline that I just saw says it perfectly: meaningless rosters for a meaningless game.
I would kill everyone in this room for a drop of sweet beer.
- Homer J. Simpson
I find it hard to get my shorts in a bunch over this.
In fact, I’m happy we got shut out. When do the Bengals play their finest football of 2009? When they’re underdogs, that’s when. Week 1 of the playoffs, we’re going to be playing a team seeded lower than us. What better way to put the same underdog-fire into their bellies than to have this whole thing hanging over their heads? Hell, I hope the Jets cream us next week. Let’s get this tiger as hungry as possible. They’ve got five and a half weeks of football left in front of them.
by thevole on Dec 29, 2009 10:35 PM EST reply actions 1 recs
It's like Zimmer said, and I paraphrase...
This team is a bunch guys nobody wanted. It’s time to claw our way through the playoffs. I don’t know about the rest of you, but I kinda love the underdog role and how nobody expects anything from our boys. All week it’s been how we’re going to rest players against the Jets because we’re afraid to play the Sheelers again. If this isn’t fuel to feed our fire, then I don’t know what is. I’m not sure our boys need it, but I love the idea of them using this as an extra bit of motivation. Who to the Diz-ey.
by McWad on Dec 29, 2009 10:35 PM EST reply actions 1 recs
Here's my beef
When it comes down to hall of fame voting, and who knows how these players careers will pan out, pro bowls matter. Super bowls matter more, but the selection committee will look at 09 and see that no bengals made the pro bowl. And it could hurt a deserving players candidacy.
RIP Slim.
by brandone on Dec 29, 2009 10:57 PM EST via mobile reply actions
Fuck ESPN
And all sports annilists. Somehow green bay is ranked higher then the bengals yet we beat them. So is Dallas who sucks. Rodney Harrison actually had the nerve to say the bengals are a scam. Fuck him he is a retarded piece of shit along with Peter king. No one watches the pro bowl anyway but the sad fact that none of our players got voted in is absolutely insane. Ray Lewis is old and crap and should not be in the pro bowl. And how in gods name is benson not in the pro bowl?
by Diesel2405 on Dec 29, 2009 11:08 PM EST via mobile reply actions
Also how does any browns player make the pro bowl?
They are the worst fucking team in the NFL. Every single player they have sucks donkey balls
by Diesel2405 on Dec 29, 2009 11:11 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
I'm no Brownies fan, but Cribbs and Thomas are world-beaters. No gripes about either of them making the PB roster.
No one can deny that Cribbs is the best return man the NFL has seen in years, and Joe Thomas’ pass-blocking technique is absolutely flawless. There are better run-blocking left tackles in the league, but few if any pass-block better than Joe Thomas.
by Craig Conrad on Dec 29, 2009 11:31 PM EST up reply actions
agreed
I have no beef with Cribbs or Thomas making it… I would gladly swap out 28 for Cribbs and any lineman not named Whitworth for Thomas. Maybe Cook too… a smart center is very important.
Also… analysts, Diesel. or Annihilists might be fun too.
Gnight, Slim
i have no quarrel with the cribbs selection, but joe thomas wasn’t as good as andrew whitworth was this season. at least, joe thomas wasn’t as good as andrew whitworth was in the two games i watched joe thomas play.
i'm going to go america all over your ass!
by Raging Clue on Dec 30, 2009 11:16 AM EST up reply actions
My problem with Sports analysts
Is that they aren’t very good at analysis. Analysis takes more than just knowing the subject matter. There are very few former players that are good at analysis. Former coaches are better, but I find overall sports analysis to be poor.
I agree about Hall and Joseph, though there may only be room for 1 in a fair probowl roster. Revis and Asomugha certainly deserve to be there. Asomugha doesn’t have the stats, but if you watch the game you see that the guy he’s covering may as well be sitting on the bus for all the good he does his team. I think Champ Bailey got in on reputation and history more than his play this year, which has been good but not on par with the other guys we’re talking about.
The Raiders are 14-33
In the last 3 years.
Asomugha has 3 interceptions and 19 passes defended in 45 games. Is he really that good?
You’d think if he shut down half the field the Raiders would have more wins than 14.
The Raiders have ranked 27th, 22nd, and 29th the last three years in defensive yards per pass attempt. If Asomigha was so good you’d think they’d be better.
Asomugha is that good, he doesn’t have the stats because opposing QBs don’t throw to the guy he covers. The rest of the team sucks like Michael Vick’s mom, but that doesn’t mean Asomugha isn’t awesome.
I'd be interested to see how many targets Asomugha's receivers have gotten this season.
It has to be miniscule against the league average.
"If it wasn't this, it'd be something else."
by ZJiff30 on Dec 30, 2009 6:43 AM EST up reply actions 1 recs
They beat us
and 3 other contenders through tough defense. If they hadn’t forced Russell to play they could be contenders.
Is it REALLY that Asomugha is so good or that the other Oakland DBs are so bad that no one has to throw his way? Why take a chance if there is a man open on the other side? Until he is tested consistently like Hall and Joseph have been this year no one can convince me he is better. Revis is good but Hall and Joseph are right there with him. The whole process is a sham and the game itself is just a popularity showcase. I rarely watch it unless a Bengal gets a free trip to Hawaii but they don’t even get that now! Most of the time the best part of the show is the stuff they film besides the game. The Bengals have won as a group and this just solidifies their one heartbeat mentality this year…I’ll take it!
by RedskinatHeart on Dec 30, 2009 9:35 AM EST up reply actions
This sucks
But I have to laugh a little bit. I was listening to some sports radio guy out here in Minnesota who was listing all of the teams that he thinks are contenders for the superbowl, and all of the teams that are not contenders. He forgot to even mention the Bengals for either category. He even listed the Ravens as a noncontender, and we don’t even know if they will be in the playoffs. Yes, this is an outrage, but it’s typical of how the world will always view the Bengals until we win a Super Bowl.
Might as well laugh.
This is our year!
i think it’s how the bengals will be viewed until they win 3 super bowls in a row.
i'm going to go america all over your ass!
by Raging Clue on Dec 30, 2009 11:19 AM EST up reply actions
4-11-1 to 10-5...he'd better already have that title locked up.
by Craig Conrad on Dec 30, 2009 1:14 AM EST up reply actions
it’ll probably be caldwell or payton.
i'm going to go america all over your ass!
by Raging Clue on Dec 30, 2009 11:19 AM EST up reply actions
Who cares?
It’s just the Pro Bowl. Just a meaningless game that offers players another chance to injure themselves.
by WhoDeyDerek on Dec 30, 2009 2:20 AM EST reply actions 1 recs
It's Obvious the Media Doesn't Respect You
so as a Broncos fan, I implore you to take out the lack of Pro Bowl selections’ frustration on the Jets. Those worthless scumbags don’t deserve a playoff berth and if you win, you’ll be helping my Broncos provided we beat the Chiefs. You guys are great, especially if you do this for us!
Brad James
by the new Bradfather on Dec 30, 2009 2:58 AM EST reply actions
I actually want the Broncos in.
I would love to see the rematch.
Priority is keeping the players healthy, however. If it f the steelers, that’s gravy.
Gnight, Slim
As much as I think our guys should have gotten in...
I find it difficult to be mad about this. My feeling is that the Bengals have earned their respect as a team this year, without relying on a few superstars to shoulder the load. Our players that stand out statistically do so below the radar. They’ll get the respect they deserve eventually. I’m not too worried about it.
by Jaegner on Dec 30, 2009 4:45 AM EST reply actions 1 recs
These are the no name blue collar hard working Bengals
No big name stars but every one of them wear the proud Bengals uniform ’cause we shed that terrible image of the past. Go Bengals, go make the fans proud of you.
by Richard L on Dec 30, 2009 6:54 AM EST reply actions 1 recs
This may be a blessing
These guys have played great with the “cast-off” mentality. Notice as soon as they swept the division, they loosened up a bit. Maybe this will piss them off just enough to make a nice playoff run.
I also think it improves their “team” mentality. The pro-bowl shows who the best individuals are. Our guys know they are better as a team than by themselves.
Pro Bowl Date?
Still trying to wrap my brain around why the Pro Bowl is the week before the Super Bowl? If the Vikings made the Super Bowl do you think any of those players are going to play in the Pro Bowl? What was the thinking behind the dates? Is there something I’m missing? Please help! The Bengals locker room bulletin board has just gotten more crowded.
by Vman in Germany on Dec 30, 2009 9:07 AM EST reply actions
NFL is trying to make it seem more something
not meaningful, not interesting, can’t think of the appropriate word.
Tying in with Superbowl to make it more appealing.
Gnight, Slim
I think the word you’re looking for is “profitable”
by indesignkat on Dec 30, 2009 10:09 AM EST up reply actions
that'll do in a pinch
I was trying to avoid the capitalist bent. Appealing was close. It’ll end up being some damned archaic word like comportment.
Gnight, Slim
Asomugha didn't deserve the nod, but counting stats are a terrible way to make a case for or against a corner
If a hypothetical CB had 0 INTs, 0 PD and 0 Tackles, but the receiver he was covering never caught a pass all season, he’d be an all-pro corner. Those stats would be a bit better if the number of times they were the target in pass coverage was included.
The case against Asomugha is that the Raiders have been shredded by #1 WRs despite a pass rush that isn’t half bad.
Luck is probability taken personally, clutch is probability attributed to individuals.
Very good point. By comparison, we know what Leon Hall has done to #1 WR's.
He’s eaten most of them for lunch all year.
by Craig Conrad on Dec 30, 2009 11:41 AM EST up reply actions
good take on this by the OP
Joseph and Hall just as good if not better than the 3 who made pro bowl
My spin is : Marvin must be some coach to take a team to the playoffs with no probowlers
Falcons only other decent team to get shut out on selections
He’s always open. He catches a lot of balls. He’s un-guardable, no matter how old he is
If a team has multiple pro bowlers and don't go deep in the playoffs
it means that they are very week in other places. We have a team with only one real weakness and that is the TE position and we have never depended on that though I admit if we had gone after Gonzales we would probably be a 1 or 2 seed.. We are good and maybe even very good every other area. Except on a day or so when the team is a bit flat, which happens to about every team, you can’t run big against us and you can’t stop our running game. You can’t throw it on us and you can’t stop out passing attack when they decide to switch it on. Our specials teams are good enough to keep us in the game. Penalties are our biggest weakness and if we fail I would expect that to be the biggest factor. The team we have to fear the most is ourselves.
" My enemy said "Love your enemy". I obeyed and loved myself." Gibran
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