Good morning everyone! It's Friday and you know what that means? It's the final day of the week that you have to endure that annoying coworker and suffer sitting through meetings that waste time more than anything. And it also means that there's only two days until the Bengals epic showdown against their rivals the Pittsburgh Steelers. 

Showdown Sunday is just over 48 hours away. We should be in-store for an exciting and grueling 60 minutes of football. For two key Bengals players it will be their first time competing in this rivalry.

Andy Dalton and A.J. Green will hopefully be able to continue performing the way they have been up to this point. If Green gets shut down by the Steelers cornerbacks then Dalton is going to have to rely on a different target to pass to. Also the Bengals then might have to rely on a lackluster running attack that is long overdue for a breakout game.

It should be interesting to see what play calling Marvin Lewis, Jay Gruden, and the Bengals decide to go with. I think they should mix it up during the first quarter and see what is having more success. If the passing game is lacking then back-off on passing for a few drives in the second quarter, as long as the defense is doing their part of limiting the points Pittsburgh puts up. 

Either way the game shouldn't leave us disappointed, unless the Bengals lose on a last second play then obviously that would leave us with our heads buried in our palms.

Also I would like to say thank you to everyone who has either served in the military or is currently serving in the military. Thank you for fighting for and protecting our country and freedom.  

Alright here is what you may have missed or overlooked from Thursday.

• Check out the weekly podcast.
• Bodog has released their second half odds. And for the Bengals, well things are looking better than before the season started.
• The Bengals offensive and defensive snap count against the Tennessee Titans.
• The latest injury and practice report for the Bengals and Steelers. And heading into Sunday the Bengals injury situation at tight end could be a concern.
• Former Bengals wide receiver Isaac Curtis believes that rookie wide receiver A.J. Green might be a step above former Bengals wideout Chad Ochocinco.
• Discipline has been a huge factor and trait that the Bengals have displayed recently and a closer look at the Bengals discipline was examined in the second quarter report.
• Sports Illistrated's Peter King predicts the Bengals will defeat the Steelers on Sunday by a score of 24-20. And Pete Prisco agrees that the Bengals will win, but by a score of 20-17.
• Get caught up with the latest news from around the AFC North.
• ESPN's John Clayton gave the Bengals an "A" for their midseason grade. It took him long enough to finally come around and realize that the Bengals are better than what everyone speculated at first.
• Scouts Inc. has named Bengals defensive end Carlos Dunlap as one of the top-ten up-and-coming stars. His hard work has paid off and hopefully it will continue. Also Scouts Inc. ranked Andrew Whitworth in the top-50 players at the midway point of the season.
• Jamison Hensley believes that the Bengals turnaround season is due to their lack of drama. All of us within Bengals Nation couldn't argue with that one.