At the Half (Plus 1)

With the Bengals headed into a bye, expect a flurry of first-half-plus-one-game-of-the-season reviews like this. I don’t know if I can give out any awards for anyone’s performance. That isn’t to say that some Bengals have not played well enough to merit mention, but at 1-8 extolling individual achievement rings a bit hollow. Last offseason saw a lot of focus on the “individual,” with Chad Johnson doing his circus act and key players like T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Levi Jones, Rudi Johnson and Willie Anderson skipping all or much of offseason activities. And I strongly believe that’s a big part of the reason the Bengals are what they are in 2008. This “team” needs more “t” and “a” and less “me.”

And yes, my first thought was, you’re joking, right? No head coach whose team is 1-8 deserves to win coach of anything. In an unscientific survey of 100 fans in Cincinnati, espn.com found Bengals fans almost evenly split at 51-49 on whether Marvin Lewis should even be retained. Of course, the true cause of the Bengals’ woes lies higher up in the organization, but that’s ground well-plowed by now.

Anyhow. It’s the bye. Bengals fans have time to kill. WDR recommends a visit to Chinedum Ndukwe’s restaurant. Whodeyfans demonstrates the proper way to spend quality time with your favorite feline. Bengal Stripes sticks with the basics: go to the park, grill out. With the weather still nice, yeah, that sounds like a plan.