Monday Morning Hangover: 0-5

Kingwilly and Dave Howard have some comments on yesterday’s loss here. (Thanks for the assist, guys, it’s appreciated!) Having missed the game, I don’t have a lot to add, except to second (or rather, third) the notion that Chris Perry ought to have fumbled his way off the roster by now. If Kenny Watson’s hammy is better this week, I say cut Perry and bring Watson back. Dave is also right that the team is only now rounding into any kind of form after an offseason in which too many key players did their own thing.

In the wake of the loss to the Cowboys, B.J. at BengalsBlog points to a Stephen A. Smith column on Lewis’ tenure in Cincy that concludes he shares some of the blame for the team’s woes, though a larger chunk belongs to meddling owner Mike Brown. On the other hand, The Bengal Blitz is coming around to the opposite conclusion. My own view is this: there’s only so much Marvin can do to motivate players who aren’t interested in being motivated, and I believe that’s the main reason you saw guys like Deltha O’Neal, Willie Anderson and Rudi Johnson released, as well as why you aren’t seeing a rush to re-sign T.J. Houshmandzadeh. Along with Chad Johnson and Levi Jones, all these guys were in that aforementioned “do their own thing” club last offseason. This was (and is) the 2008 version of the old “Cancer Corner,” and its lingering impact is all too apparent on the field this year.

I don’t think it’s a coincidence that, with the exception of the mercurial O’Neal, all those players are pre-Marvin guys. I wrote a while back that, despite any talent considerations, the Bengals may never really be able to get beyond the Nineties until all the Bungles are gone. That seems more and more right as time goes by.