Bengals Banter: The New York Jets are in the AFC Championship game; does that make you feel better?
by Josh Kirkendall on Jan 18, 2010 11:03 AM EST
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PrintAs fans, we tend to justify why our favorite team loses games. Focusing on mistakes, instinctively blaming coaches, players or front office staff is something we do quite often. Now that the New York Jets beat the San Diego Chargers, a team that the Bengals lost to by three points, the question of why the Bengals couldn't beat the Jets was answered. Right? They're pretty good, playing great football at the right time with a mix of missed critical field goals at the right time. The Bengals weren't playing good football. Cincinnati had lost steam; they looked tired, if not exhausted, mentally and physically. Losing four of your last five, and five out of your last eight tends to prove that.
So Cincinnati was beat by a team that will play in next week's AFC Championship game. Does that make you feel any better, now that perspective is put into its little puzzle pieces? Yea, me neither.
Marvin Lewis sat down with Geoff Hobson.
NO, NO, BRATKOWSKI IS FINE. In one of Geoff Hobson's latest, he writes that Bengals "offensive coordinator Bob Bratkowski has indicated he would be back."
HOT SEAT APPLIES TO CAPTAIN'S CHAIRS TOO. Chick Ludwig is now wondering if Carson Palmer is on the hot seat.
And we have a quarterback in 30-year-old Carson Palmer, who has yet to win a playoff game.
To me, Palmer represents the single biggest mystery of 2009. During this, the Bengals’ turnaround season from 4-11-1 in 2008 to 10-6 in 2009, Palmer had a down year, an off year, an inconsistent year.
We could see the Baltimore Ravens next year without Ed Reed or Derrick Mason. Speaking of Baltimore, Bruce is calling out the Ravens because they are not fulfilling their potential.
Chad's head coach for the Pro Bowl this year will be San Diego's Norv Turner.
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I was pulling for the Jets
After playing both San Diego and the Jets (once for real). I felt the Jets were a better team. Stong Defense, strong running game and an effective passing game. I saw San Diego as one dimensional. A great passing game but not much defense and weak running game. Though S.D. did play the Jets running game very well.)
I was happy to see the Jets win but I think Indy will beat them next week.
by CalBob on Jan 18, 2010 1:20 PM EST reply actions 1 recs
What happened to the SD running game.
I never thought a team with LT, Sproles and a high caliper passing game would be ranked 31st in the league. LT looks like he is 100% finished.
by smoormandiddy on Jan 18, 2010 1:39 PM EST up reply actions
I'm torn.
I was rooting against the Jets, not because they beat us but because I can’t stand Rex Ryan. On the other hand, it does kind of validate our losses to them. Sure they beat us, but they might be the AFC champs. I actually think that was the best game of the playoffs so far – I really enjoy watching defensive battles like that. I think the Colts will beat them next week, but then again I thought we’d beat them and I thought the Chargers would beat them too.
but if the Jets win the SB the media will be on a life long bromance with Sanchez
Just look at their crush on Eli ever since he won and he’s terrible.
by smoormandiddy on Jan 18, 2010 2:25 PM EST up reply actions
Exactly.
But even if he loses they will still drool over him. It’s Nu Yuk. Was there any realistic chance of that NOT happening?
Still, I wanna see the two #1s in the SB. For awhile it looked that could have been a pair of 18-0 teams and I would have liked that even better. But at least if they both still get there then everybody will have to shut up once and for all about “flukes” and all that crap they spewed about them before this weekend.
so right
never has there been so much money and interest in so low a qb rating. not liking the beard either. i am really disliking him and i am not sure i can really explain it. he has been riding the rex ryan wave while not doing much of anything although i grant him that he was effective against cincy and the chargers, i credit the coach and gameplan more than anything he has really done. there are a lot of qb’s who can throw a nice slant.
by andyfrombrooklyn on Jan 18, 2010 5:23 PM EST up reply actions
actually it does make me feel better
and the game was kind of similar right down to the missed field goals by shankapottamus and his west coast cousin.
by andyfrombrooklyn on Jan 18, 2010 5:16 PM EST reply actions 1 recs
Glad I waded through the predictably horrid Hobson column...
for this line alone..
Marvin Lewis: “We’ve got to throw it down the field. We have to put fear in them”
From your boot to Brat’s ass, Marvin. And Palmer’s lazy arm. Man I hope that’s an injury issue that can be corrected before next season starts.
Lazy arm?
Last I looked, when the WRs weren’t dropping passes, they needed step ladders to get up high enough to catch them! Palmer needs his old mechanics back!
by TheWalrus1971 on Jan 18, 2010 9:05 PM EST up reply actions
Nah...
The Bengals weren’t playing well enough down the stretch to beat anyone, really. The Jets just happened to be the one of many teams that would’ve stuck it to us.
True dat.
Since midseason the Bengals struggled in wins vs Cleveland, Detroit, and KC. Lost to everybody else including da Rayduhs. Hardly worthy of a playoff team.
The offense was not the same without Chris Henry, and the defense did not play well once it had accumulated enough lost starters (R Williams, Mualaga, Odom) – the run D was noticeably bad the last part of the year and teams figured out how to exploit the holes not being guarded by J Jo or Hall.
by occams_tiger_teeth on Jan 18, 2010 9:15 PM EST up reply actions
Yeah, I really do think the defense played well enough to win games, but once the offense reverted back to 2000(Palmer=Akili/Benson=Dillon) I knew we were in for a rough go. Once we drafted Palmer, I really thought the days of 7 yard passes being an adventure were over.
Look at the bright side: Quan Cosby doesn’t run 7 yards backwards when returning punts and doesn’t fair catch at the 2 yard line.
STUNNED
This year I saw more lucky bounces for our opponents than ever starting with Denver. I am still shaking my head about .L.Coles being stripped when it seemed that we were going to put the Chargers away.Then they kick the winning field Goal with 3 seconds! I’m really pissed that the Colts didn’t beat the Jets and send Rex Ryan home for the season like he said after losing to the Falcons 10-7.Then when we played the Jets in the last game it wouldn’t have meant anything. But when we did have to play them again Coles fumbles after the big return on the opening kickoff. Grahams first missed field Goal after driving all the way down field in 1st Quarter. I saw Leon Hall being clearly blocked in the back on the Shonn Greene 39 yd TD score in the first half. Then C.Bensons169 yards rushing was a Bengals record! Ochocinco dropping a pass that he catches 9 out of 10 times for a TD in the fourth Quarter?TWO more missed field goals! and then the Jets being the first team since 1934 to have a rookie passing TD and a rookie rushing TD in a Playoff game?Unbelievable! No it doesn’t make me feel any better just sick to my stomach..
by naturallywired on Jan 18, 2010 11:47 PM EST reply actions
The week 17 game absolutely meant something
I’m sick of hearing that it didn’t. If the Bengals had won that game, the road to the Super Bowl would have gone through San Diego instead of Indianapolis. That’s a MUCH better matchup. Furthermore, the Ravens have a much weaker defense than the Jets, MUCH weaker offensive line, slightly weaker running game, roughly equivalent passing game (if that), and the Bengals had already beaten them twice. If the Bengals had beaten the Jets in week 17, they’d have made it to San Diego. I have absolutely no doubt.
Look back to 2006. How would the playoffs have gone if the Bengals hadn’t been too busy celebrating a division championship to actually play the last few weeks of the season? They had all but locked up a bye, if not home field advantage. Instead of continuing to play hard, they lied down and let teams run all over them and ended up playing and losing in the first round. Carson hasn’t been worth a damn since.
Excuse me? Our road, maybe, but the road in general wouldn’t have. We would have been the three seed and gone to SD if we could have beaten the Texans. But that still wasn’t enough to guarantee we’d make it.
And frankly, even if we had played week 17 to win, do you think we would have? I don’t.
Your first paragraph makes no sense. maybe, no, yes.. what?
Though you are right about one thing: it would have been Houston at the #6 spot instead of Baltimore. Still, that’s a much easier game than the Jets. I said it then, so this isn’t hindsight. Why not at least try to avoid having to play the team with the #1 running game and #1 defense in the NFL? Those two stats combined on one team generally mean a successful postseason.
Maybe they couldn’t have beaten the Jets in week 17 if they’d tried, but we’ll never know because they didn’t bother. I think Chad’s pre-game injury probably doomed it, but we still don’t know.
My issue is with people saying the game meant nothing. I was raving about this at the end of their last playoff-bound regular season. That time they could have at least had a bye, if not home field advantage, but they didn’t bother to try. They were content to be in the playoffs.
It’s different if you have home field advantage locked up, then I understand that it’s meaningless. If there is chance of improving your seed, however, that definitely matters.
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