Cincy Jungle's Week 7 "Unsung Hero of the Week" Award

Since we gave out a game ball earlier this week to Bengals Owner Mike Brown for his shrewdness in the Carson Palmer trade, we decided that we would keep the ball rolling on the "Unsung Hero of the Week Award", even though the Bengals didn't suit up and play. And, even though they had their bye week, some events unfolded that allowed the Bengals and their 4-2 record to keep pace in the suddenly even AFC North.

The major event that aided the Bengals this past week was the surprising victory of the Jacksonville Jaguars over the Baltimore Ravens on Monday Night Football. The Ravens were supposed to come in to Jacksonville and dominate the reeling Jaguars, but a sloppy game prevented the expected from happening.

The "Unsung Hero of the Week Award" usually honors a Bengals player whose contributions are overlooked in the previous week's game. Since there was no Bengals player to give the award to this week, we decided to give it to a Jaguars player, because they helped the Bengals' cause with their victory.

The easy candidate for MVP in this game would be Jacksonville's kicker, Josh Scobee. He was responsible for all twelve of Jacksonville's points and hit some of his four field goals at crucial times and from long distances. Scobee has put himself as one of the better kickers in the NFL right now. But, again, this award isn't for the Most Valuable Player.

So, this week's "Unsung Hero of the Week Award" goes to Jaguars defensive end, Jeremy Mincey. Remember this guy? He was seemingly everywhere in the game against the Bengals a couple of weeks ago, racking up tackles, sacks and general havoc. And this was against a Pro Bowl quality tackle in Andrew Whitworth. We didn't like him when the Bengals had to face off against him, but we loved him this last Monday.

Well, he led the charge of the Jacksonville defense once again, and they absolutely stifled the Baltimore offense. The Ravens only scored seven points in the game, their quarterback Joe Flacco looked horrible and ray Rice was a non-factor. It's Mincey and his defense that has the Jaguars hanging on to any sense of relevancy and competitiveness this season.

Don't worry Cincy Jungle faithful, next week's edition is sure to give this award to a Bengals player, as we will the rest of the season. But for this week, a tip of the cap to Mincey and the Jaguars for their help.