Domato Peko on Tedy Bruschi: 'He needs to start watching our games'

Former New England Patriots linebacker and current ESPN analyst Tedy Bruschi hasn't been the biggest supporter for the Cincinnati Bengals, usually finding ways to downgrade the Bengals overall performances during wins and then pointing at their losses by saying, "see!". Despite having a two-game lead heading into this weekend against the Indianapolis Colts, Bruschi said on Saturday that he didn't believe Cincinnati would win the division.

Domata Peko watched with his family.

"He was saying we weren’t even going to win the division," said Peko, the Bengals’ defensive tackle said via Fox Sports Ohio. "Me, my wife and my kids were watching. We were like ‘Change the channel!’… I have nothing but respect for Bruschi but he needs to start watching our games."

We get that perception about "the past" can dictate people's opinions (it's not like the Bengals have secured three straight winning seasons and a winning record in four of the past five years, but whatever).

But analysts are supposed to have a bit more subjective perspective based on the current year, or at the very least, the existing threads. On Sunday, the Bengals beat the AFC South champion Indianapolis Colts. Earlier this year, they beat the probable AFC East champion New England Patriots. And if the Detroit Lions or Green Bay Packers win the NFC North, they'll have beaten them too (and the Bengals beat Green Bay with Aaron Rodgers while fighting back from a 16-point deficit). And that's not including a west coast trip to San Diego that was largely a seven-point win but a much more controlled game by Cincinnati.

Peko is right. If people are going to make bold predictions about the Bengals, perhaps they should watch the games.