Archive for December, 2011

The Bengals haven’t been able to beat the supposed “elite” teams all year. Their six losses have come to Pittsburgh (11-4) twice, Baltimore (11-4), Houston (10-5), Denver (8-7), and San Fransisco (12-3). On the other hand, they have been a perfect 8-0 in beating teams with record below .500. What’s to explain for this trend? Are the Bengals simply a slightly-above average team? I think it comes from their youth. The Bengals sport the youngest record in the AFC, and most of their talent comes from these young players. They have 4 Pro Bowlers or Pro Bowl Alternates who are [...]

The biggest injury news this week comes from the Ravens side where Pro Bowl Offensive Lineman Marshal Yanda is doubtful. Yanda suffered a rib injury during last week’s game against the Ravens. Yanda means a lot to this offensive line, but I’ll let a Ravens fan take it away: The bad news is that guard Marshal Yanda has not yet returned to practice from his thigh and rib contusions and is in jeopardy of missing this week’s game. Yanda has been voted to his first Pro-Bowl this season and is the Ravens’ best offensive lineman. He consistently blocks into the [...]

When the Bengals and Ravens square off on Sunday, there will be much at stake for both teams as far as the playoffs are concerned. If the Ravens can win, they’ll lock up the #2 seed and a first round bye. If the Bengals win, they are guaranteed a playoff spot for only the third time in the last two decades. But besides the playoff implications, there are some other note-worthy incentives: With a win, QB Andy Dalton can become fifth rookie QB in NFL history with 10 or more wins as starter. Ben Roethlisberger, Joe Flacco, Matt Ryan, and [...]

Cedric Benson is in an interesting position now, with one game left in his contract with the Cincinnati Bengals after having fumbled 5 times in the last two games. He may be playing in his last game as a Bengal, and this fumble problem has sprung up at the most inopportune time. So, does the team continue to use him as a feature back in the most important game of the year? Offensive Coordinator Jay Gruden hinted that the team will continue to use Benson as their starter, but he will be on a short leash: “We’re married to him [...]

In a week where the young Bengals need their fans to show up to one of the biggest games of the last few years, Mike Brown is doing his best to get as many fans back to the stadium as he can. The first big move that Brown made was announced last Saturday: the buy one, get one free ticket promotion available to season ticket holders. This sale was gobbled up by Bengals fans eager to watch the Bengals fight to get into the playoffs, and it’s a huge reason that the 65,500-seat stadium sold out after having almost a [...]

The Bengals-Ravens game was officially declared as a sellout game earlier this morning. It’s only the second sell-out of the entire year for the Bengals, the first was in week 10 during a 17-24 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Only 41,273 attended last week’s home game against the Arizona Cardinals, which means only a select handful of Bengals fans got to see Jerome’s frontflip live. With a reported sellout, 65,500 fans will be able to watch the Bengals take on the Ravens on Sunday in a win-and-in situation for the NFL Playoffs. The Bengals offered a buy one, get one [...]

RANKING LW COMMENTS ESPN 10 13 WR Jerome Simpson would jump for joy again if the Bengals make the playoffs. (James Walker) NFL.com 10 11 Win and in. Can’t ask for a better situation for this team, a group which has struggled against good teams. Well, they’ll have to beat the Ravens to get ‘er done. What more can a Bengals fan ask for? Beating what’s considered the best team in the division in the Ravens, and possibly the best in the AFC, rubber stamps the postseason approval for Cincy. Pro Football Talk 8 12 Andy Dalton gets one more [...]

The NFL just announced the NFC and AFC rosters for the league’s annual Pro Bowl, which is slated for January 29 in Honolulu. Rookie WR A.J. Green was the lone Bengal to make the initial roster, which is an extremely high honor for a rookie to make the Pro Bowl. He’s got 63 receptions for 1,031 yards receiving and seven touchdowns on the year, and has been instrumental in getting the Bengals to nine wins and keeping them in the playoff hunt.  He’s now the team’s all-time leading rookie receiver, as he broke Cris Collinsworth‘s mark that’s stood for 30 [...]

Former Bearcat Armon Binns has been promoted to the Bengals active roster today, meaning that he may see the field in the Bengals final game against Baltimore this Sunday. He’ been on the Bengals practice squad since September 20, 2011. The 6’3″, 209 pound receiver was signed to the practice squad when Jordan Shipley was sent to the IR and Andrew Hawkins moved from the practice squad to the active roster. The move was triggered by the Bengals sending WR Andre Caldwell to season-ending IR. Caldwell was dealing with nagging groin and abdomen injuries that simply began to hurt too [...]

Here’s my film review of the Cardinals game on Saturday. The first three quarters were great for the Bengals on both sides of the ball. But the 4th quarter was almost one of the worst meltdowns in Bengals history. The first five bullets are my thoughts on why the 4th quarter went so awry. After that I get into the positives and negatives of the game in chronological order. Absolutely failed at run blocking in the second half. The team needed to possess the ball and kill the clock with a 20 point lead, but Cardinals were putting 8 or [...]