Archive for September, 2009

OK, reaction is still filtering out in the wake of the Bengals’ loss to the Broncos, and at Bengals.com Geoff Hobson gives us this: “I’ve never felt like this,” said Bengals running back Brian Leonard . “It’s like getting beat on a blooper. A blooper play.” There was shock and disbelief more than anger and outrage after the Broncos stole the heart out of the Bengals and Opening Day with 11 seconds left Sunday at Paul Brown Stadium. Nearly an hour after Bengals cornerback Leon Hall tipped a pass in the air on the sideline at about the Bengals 35 [...]

There really isn’t much more to it than that. Poor decisions by Carson Palmer. Dumb penalties. Iffy offensive line play and blitz pickup failures. Dropped passes (Laveranues Coles and Dan Coats, I’m looking at you). The defense gave up 12 points today. 12 points. I hope the defense went into the locker room after the game and beat the crap out of the O. Seriously, nothing could make me happier than a picture of  Rey Maualuga kicking Palmer in the vagina nuts. Let me say it one more time: 12 points. Someone, anyone, remind me why I waste my time [...]

The Cincinnati Bengals meet the Denver Broncos at Paul Brown Stadium today. Ahead of the game, the Bengals have announced their inactives, which include RB DeDe Dorsey and S Tom Nelson. Injured players Scott Kooistra and David Jones are also out. The remaining inactives are Frostee Rucker, Jerome Simpson and Chase “Crash Dummy” Coffman. First round pick Andre Smith is under a roster exemption and will not play.

Every year before the start of the season, I usually feel the same way: my heart says the Bengals will be a contender, while my head says the Bengals will be a disaster. And for most of the last 20 years, my heart has been broken. This year is different. This year, my head tells me the Bengals will vie for the playoffs, and possibly more. But my heart refuses to be moved. My head says Chad Ochocinco is motivated, working hard and in great shape. Just look at how he stiff-armed Tedy Bruschi to gain yards after the catch! [...]

This game has been on the Bengals schedule before. It’s a game they should win, one in which they seem to have an advantage in almost every area. And the Bengals have lost it before. So let’s hope the Bengals can avoid a similar fate in their first game this season. There aren’t many must-win games in Week 1, but I truly believe this is one of them. If the Bengals can’t win – and perhaps if they can’t do it convincingly – this could be a troubling season. Denver has a new coach who appears to be ill-equipped to handle [...]

In good news for anxious Bengals fans, QB Carson Palmer had a full, uneventful practice today. He described himself as “100%” but will wear a brace on his sprained ankle next Sunday. In other news, rookie LB Rey Maualuga will start on the strong side against Denver, a not-unexpected development given what fans have seen on HBO’s “Hard Knocks.” Injured kicker Shayne “The Franchise” Graham also said he expected to go against Denver. Head coach Marvin Lewis met with the media before practice today and expressed confidence that he finally had the team he wanted.

Do you think that Bengals owner Mike Brown is a soulless, greedy scumbag whose sole interest is vacuuming as much cash as possible out of the pockets of a gullible fanbase? In other words, are you a card-carrying member of whodeyrevolution.com? Well, if so, you’re in for a disappointing read. It turns out that when it comes to being a soulless greedhead, our Mike doesn’t hold a candle to Redskins owner Dan Snyder. Write’s espn.com Page 2′s Patrick Hruby, The Washington Post reports that the Redskins directly sold large blocks of tickets to professional scalpers brokers, as opposed to fans [...]

FanSided has partnered with FanSection to host a Facebook Salary Cap style fantasy league for readers of StripeHype. If you are unfamiliar with salary cap style football, there is no draft and you can alternate players on your team through out the season. The winner of this free league will get a $25 gift certificate to Team Fan Shop, and the player with the highest score across all FanSided sites will get a $300 AMEX gift certificate. Below are instructions on how to join this free league. Step 1: If you are a member of facebook just click the link [...]

Though the first games have yet to be played, the 2009 NFL season is underway as teams commence game planning and film work ahead of week 1. For the Cincinnati Bengals, the target is the Denver Broncos, whose offseason has been a rolling disaster. Teflon Mike has been replaced by Bill Belichick disciple and wanna-be (right down to the hoodie and torn sleeves) Josh “the second coming of Dave Shula” McDaniels. Starting QB Jay Cutler whined his way out of town and was replaced by Kyle Orton. Yes, on purpose. WR Brandon Marshall has been doing his best Ocho Cinco [...]

The Cincinnati Bengals have formed their practice squad: S Corey Lynch FB Chris Pressley RB James Johnson DT Clinton McDonald OL Jason Shirley WR Maurice Purify TE Darius Hill LB Dan Skuta