Bengals Bites: Is fan confidence low?

Cincinnati Bengals fans not very confident going into the 2014 season | Cincinnati Bengals
Despite three straight playoff appearances and having plenty of reasons to be optimistic about the 2014 season, Cincinnati Bengals fans aren’t very confident. Recently a digital marketing agency, Prime Visibility ranked all 32 NFL teams based on a metric that evaluated how fans are feeling about their teams via social media mentions. Here is how they calculated fan confidence, according to Yahoo Sports:

The Prime Visibility ranking said that 78 percent of Bengals fans are confident, which means they think at best Cincinnati will have a .500 record this season. That puts them in the middle of the pack at number 15 overall. Sounds a little low to me, but at this point it seems like nothing but a playoff win will satisfy.

It's hard to disagree with that last line.

Chad Johnson claims he was on the phone with the Bengals this morning
Ocho Cinco has been in the Canadian Football League this year showing he can still play the game. Today, Ocho tweeted out that he was on the phone this morning with Hue Jackson, the Bengals OC and Marvin Lewis, the head coach of the Bengals. With the lose of Marvin Jones for a few weeks maybe the team will consider bringing back the once face of the franchise?

NFL.com Says Seahawks "Giving the Dick" To Chargers | Robert Littal Presents BlackSportsOnline
I am trying to figure out what the intern was trying to say with the headline and I am coming up with a blank. Maybe, they were hacked? Maybe the intern was mad he got passed over for job and decided to plot his revenge like this?

NFL Trade Rumors - Bill Polian Believes He Would Still Be With The Colts If He Drafted QB Andy Dalton - NFL Trade Rumors
According to Judy Battista of NFL.com, former Colts GM Bill Polian told Bengals HC Marvin Lewis that he would not be working for ESPN had he drafted QB Andy Dalton in 2011. The comments are interesting, as Dalton has proved to be one of the most polarizing quarterbacks in the league.  He just signed a six-year deal worth up to $115 million, but he has his share of critics primarily due to his postseason struggles.

PFT Live: Andy Dalton ready to make a run at a championship | ProFootballTalk
Bengals’ QB Andy Dalton joins Mike Florio to discuss what he defines as a successful season. Dalton says the team has to do whatever they can to get back to the postseason and really make a run at winning a championship.

Cincinnati Bengals waive OL Chandler Burden, now down to 85 - ESPN
The Cincinnati Bengals waived offensive lineman Chandler Burden on Sunday, bringing their roster total from 86 down to 85. A Cincinnati native, Burden played at Kentucky before spending time on the Miami and Kansas City practice squads as a rookie last season. The Bengals signed Burden as a free agent on June 3 and played him in both of this season's preseason games.

NFL Preseason: Cincinnati Bengals vs New York Jets

Andy Dalton was perfect last night, going 8 of 8 for 144 yards and a touchdown.  Dalton has really stepped it up after receiving his new lofty contract, and is looking to finally get past his playoff mishaps.  Although Dalton cracked the top five quarterback rankings last season, I still see Dalton as a high end QB2 option.

New York Jets vs. Cincinnati Bengals - Recap - August 16, 2014 - ESPN

Andy Dalton's first throw was right there. So were his next seven. Even his longest pass came down in the exact spot he intended. Perfect, all around. Dalton completed all eight of his passes and led the Bengals to a pair of touchdowns and a field goal during three impressive series Saturday night before the New York Jets' reserves rallied for a 25-17 preseason victory.