FanPost

ML's control of the team and The Importance of the Underdog Mentality

Excuse the length of this...I hope its not unbearable Peter King length for you guys.

This is sort of going to be a 2 for 1 article. Up first (and I know it’s been discussed before); does Marvin Lewis have more control over his team now? I feel like it deserves another look with recent contract extensions and the signing of Donald Lee.

Back early in the off-season, there was a lot of speculation as to whether Marvin Lewis wanted to re-sign here or not. A hard schedule mixed with misfit players and poor practice conditions lead Marvin to make several demands if he were to return. Negotiations, from our outsider’s perspective, showed Marvin coming in and out of the stadium and a few times it looked as if he had coached his last game here. Amongst other things, Marvin supposedly was demanding more control over the team and a new practice bubble. Someone finally bent and Marvin signed an extension to remain as the Bengals head coach.

At the time I chalked the resigning to the fact that he didn’t have many interviews in other places to be a head coach and No head coaches could’ve done a better job at the time for the organization. It was easy to deduce that Mr. Brown was being his usual stubborn self and that nothing would actually change. Marvin never fully released the terms of the new agreements but again most of us figured he did not want to step back as a defensive coach somewhere and no one wanted him as a head coach. It was a reluctant signing for both sides.

Several things since have begun to change my previous opinion. Overall Marvin seems to have more control of this team. Less than a month after signing his new contract, Bob Bratkowski was fired as OC. This was a god send for a team once known for a high power, gun slinging bunch, was no known as a dull predictable group. It was hard to tell if this was Marvin’s doing or Mr. Brown’s. Next, the draft came along and we had what many analyst have said to be one of the best drafts conducted by any team in the NFL this season. Signing one of the most highly touted WRs since Randy Moss, picking up a QB to solve our quarterback debacle, and making moves to enhance our O-line and linebacking core are just some of the examples of what we were able to accomplish. Other notable moves:

-Chad OchoCinco is traded

-Terrell Owens isn’t re-signed

-Cedric is brought back

-Rey’s move to the middle linebacking position

-Major contract extensions for Leon Hall, Andrew Whitworth and possibly more to come.

-keeping a simple low key team that believes in itself despite wide spread speculation that they are the worst team in the NFL and apparently pro sports

-A week one win brought a sigh of relief from the remaining fan base and the team quietly goes about its business by recently signing veteran TE Donald Lee

-Talks have recently resurfaced of having a new practice bubble put in to compensate for the cold weather (probably not this season but next)

-etc…

Granted this is all speculation .but I am beginning to wonder if Marvin Lewis can now fully spread his wings and take over a team that he can now call his own. The contract extensions for key players on our offense and defense are something I haven’t seen our team do in a while, at least not with players deserving of them. This could be in preparation for the new cap-spending rules put in place with the new agreement but I don’t think so. Call it my blind faith in the Bengals but this team is different because Marvin can now do what he needs to with little to no resistance from his overbearing owner.

(Don’t get me wrong. I know Mike Brown is still in control. I know this is Mike Brown’s team still, but he seems to be letting go of some of his power).

and now...THE IMPORTANCE OF THE UNDERDOG MENTALITY:

Every year there is at least one team in the NFL that has that "us against the world" mentality. It’s not just the Bengals this year but more so than normal; a large majority of teams in the NFL and coaches seem to be deploying this strategy.

A team like the Bengals for instance came off of a high expectation year only to finish 4-12. A supposed worse team this year returned drooling from the mouth, punch drunk and only needing one final blow to finish them off. But nothing happened. The team like any good American underdog story pushed off the ropes and began slugging back. There was no talking and no "we’re going to shock the world" statement. There was just solid smash mouth football. This team is built around letting it’s performances on the field speak for itself. A week ago we can all agree we have heard non-stop rants about how bad this team is, how we’d be lucky to have one win. This week those same proponents have ignored the Bengal’s performance. Unlike the 49ers, our coach was not asking why there weren’t more highlights on television. In fact he was happy our team is still not being picked to surprise the NFL this year.

And yet this mentality has grown amongst other teams too. Aaron Rodgers took his moment in the spotlight the other night to spout out several "I told you sos" to the media. This was pertaining to the medias judgment of their lack of off-season unity. Rex Ryan every year brings this same mentality to his Jets in an attempt to make his team think everyone is truly against them. Hell, I even heard Jim Rome say that Tom Brady used an underdog idea when he recently passed for over 500 yards. The exact same Tom Brady who has several Superbowl rings, a supermodel wife, endorsement deals out the ass, and belonged to what could have been known as one of the greatest NFL teams ever (the "almost" perfect year). I know this is nothing knew, a few years back I can even recall Coach Bill Cowher instilling this thought into his team despite the fact they were favored over us.

It makes me proud to know that these teams will never truly know the experience of what it’s like to actually feel this way. Their fans will never know the real meaning of adversity. This same adversity we face every day when our friends, family, coworkers and acquaintances ask us how we do it. They will continually use the front that their team has everything going against them when in fact most people do give them the benefit of the doubt. Nowhere else in the NFL are there more resilient fans than right here in Cincinnati. Between the ranked 32(33) out of 32 teams, having the "worst starting QB in the NFL", and last but certainly not least being ranked the worst sports franchise in all of sports we have sifted through some heavy shit that most fans will never know.

Much like the Bengal’s players, the few of us that remain have thick skin and chips on our shoulders also. We were the ones who walked by our coworker’s desks that were decked out in Steelers (or other teams logos), with a smirk on our face the other day. We want that same feeling again this week after Denver. Nothing has to be said to them because they already know it. But what they don’t know is that we hold a secret that they don't. Besides the secret of how to survive being a fan of "the worst sports franchise", we know just how dangerous this team is and will be in years to come.

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of Cincy Jungle's writers or editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan, which is as important as the views of Cincy Jungle's writers or editors.