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It's the beginning of Bye Week. Here's a day-time discussion thread anyway. Monday 10/26 Links and Notes

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I hate the Bye and I love the Bye. On the one hand, it helps the football team get healthy and rest - and week 8 is a great time for rest and recovery. On the other, what the heck am I supposed to do with my Sunday afternoon?! I guess I could watch other football games (yawn) or be productive (unlikely), but Bye weeks are torturous. They're like an unwanted taste of the off-season when you can't look forward to watching the Bengals in a few days.

But, the Bengals are 5-2 after beating the Bears, with losses coming to the rising Texans (who won't be rising much longer if Andre Johnson misses significant time) and 6-0 Denver Broncos. The Cats have overcome a relatively difficult early schedule, beating Green Bay and Baltimore on the road and Pittsburgh and Chicago at home. Quality victories, folks. I think we all would have taken a 5-2 start to the season 7 weeks ago, especially with how close our beloved team is to 6-1. But it's time to get over the Broncos loss and move on.

We've got a bye, then Baltimore and @Pittsburgh. These are incredibly important games (we say that every week, and we mean it) before what should be sure-thing-victories against Detroit, @Oakland, and Cleveland.  If the Bengals manage to at least split those AFCN contests, they'll be in good shape. Anywho, this is about what professionals have to say about the Bengals. Links and notes, after the jump!