Free Agency- Sour grapes

No , Free Agency is not free or even cheap. Now that there is a new agreement for the players and league the Cap is raised again! Instead of penalizing teams who over spend cap money into future years they let them extend their over cap moneys into the future farther. Redskins are back in the spending mode again!

The small team will only be able to compete by trying to have a good team every 3 or 4 years by loading up for one year and then biting the bullet when the older players get in their final years by cutting and taking cap hits which reduces the payroll allowance.

You might get a 1 year contract from a player trying to make a comeback from an injury. If he plays well he is gone the next year! If he does not you get stuck with a backup part-time player or quote" good team" role player!

What's the answer? I don't know! I guess it still is the best system in all of pro sports. Unless you want a work stoppage like the NHL, but that is rotten way to solve a problem. Did that bring ticket prices down?

Upon further review

As I see it :
The year for 2005 was another step in the ladder to becoming a consistent contender in the battle for the yearly playoffs. It was proved that defenses win championships in the NFL. In the NFC & AFC all 2nd round teams had good "D" !

Although the Bengals were the leaders in turnovers they lacked a good run and pass rush defense. Their punting and special teams need to improve, usually these are draft pick contributers. The run "D" will probably be addressed by free agency or the younger guys learning how to keep rolling into a QB legs. We also need a safety who will make the receivers crossing the middle of the field get "alligator arms".

The "O" line is pretty set if we can resign them as their contracts expire. Need improved TE play and some WR that can stay off the police reports. Backup QB until Palmer returns(not sure Johnson is the answer). RB's are still lacking the breakaway threat (that michigan guy runs too east/west)!

Schedule next year will be alot tougher so every home game is a must if the playoffs are in sight.

Whodey!!!

Bengals & Packers Review

The Defense pulled it out for us again! Brett Favre kept us on the edge of our seats except for one fan who decided to take the ball from him so he couldn't throw another pass! Our offense still piles up all the stats passing yards, passer ratings, receiving yards but sure can't turn it into scoring points! We could have/ should have won the game by 3 td's with all the opportunties the D gave us. Our Special teams still can't stop anyone inside the 25 on kickoff's and our punt/kickoff teams can't find a lane for a big runback. But it was a WIN !
After watching the Monday night game Steelers/Ravens I look for us to have a tough game at Baltimore this week, the Ravens back is to the wall now and they still have a good D without that RAY Lewis guy.

Check this out pictures 5, 8 and 9. These are all people in our group Here's the link:
http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/gallery?Avis=AB&Dato=20051031&Kategori=SPT02&Lopenr=1031001&Ref=PH

Time to Circle the wagons!!

We had our chances early last week but to the credit of the Steelers they withheld the emotional rush and put our playoff hopes in limbo!

As I see it at the present time our best chances can be as a wild card! The Steelers defense have them to be the front runner in the Division at this time!

Last year 11 wins would get you in the tournament, 10 is risky. Must wins our GB, Cleveland, Baltimore(2), Detroit and any of 1 of 3- Buffalo, Indy or Chiefs. Biggest problem is we can't tie with Jacksonville for last wild card because of tie breakers which make the Buffalo or Chiefs game also very important.

Our defense front 7 must step up and make some tackles AT OR NEAR THE LINE OF SCRIMMAGE or the run defense is a BIG PROBLEM!! Our offense has got to convert on RED Zone opportunties especially when trying to run the ball close to the goal line( Is it Luchey time? or was he just a wasted pickup off waivers!!)

Our special teams needs to become special and make some big runbacks instead of starting inside the 30 yard line each possesion!

The next two games are key and as Dandy Don Meredith would say on Monday night football- "TURN OUT THE LIGHTS THE PARTY IS OVER!!"

Terrible Towel Time

Usually you see about 50/50 ratio of steeler/bengal fans at our home games because it is a short trip from Heinz field and you have the west virginia and mid ohio fans that can jump on the easy bandwagon and back off as they choose. When you see them come out and wave those terrible yellow towels bring out that WHODEY chant!!

This is the week to PUT UP OR SHUT UP!

Yea, we(bengal fans) hear all the easy schedule naysayers question the 5-1 record! You can only play your schedule and if anyone of the naysayers would have been asked before the season started you would have gotten alot of 3-3- predictions if we were lucky.

Well when the steelers get the Johnson, Johnson, and Johnson treatment this week they will be needing the band-aids from the D led by the Thurmanator and picked cleaned by James and O'Neil thiefs! And we will still have to hear we haven't played anybody with a over 50/50 winning record!!!

WHODEY!!!

Church WHO DEY!!!

What A Game!

I just want to give a shout out to ALL of you that had the chance to root on our beloved Bengals yesterday, as we handed it to Daunte Culpeppers Vikings!

I myself was at the game , and it was loud enough to send chills down a Vikings fan spine. Just remember we are 2-0 but it's not time to start talking smack just yet. We have been 2-0 before and finished 6-10. Remember that BE HUMBLE, yet determined.

After the way Carson (with the exception of his famous endzone INT), and our BIG D played this weekend we have a good chance of starting out 5-0 headed into the Steelers game.


KEEP IT LOUD!!!

Time to ROAR!

Bengal Fans, after beating the Browns on their field and now preparing to play our first home game of the season against a quality team it's time to Restore the Roar to the Jungle!! I plan on coming home hoarse!! The offense needs our support but the defense is key and crowd noise can make a real difference in a game! Audibles, snap counts and line calls all can be made hard to make by the Vikings if we all make it that way. Home field advantage has been reported to make as much difference as 3 points for home teams in close games! The Vikings had a bad day last week with turnovers and if the fans make just a split second diffference in the timing of plays this could be a home field advantage!! Think about it!! The black hole, the dawg pound, steeler country, philly, places visiting teams do not want to play there. Let's add the JUNGLE!!!

Bengals healthy heading into Sunday's opener

The Bengals are a healthy team heading into their opener Sunday at Cleveland.

The first official injury report lists only wide receiver Kelley Washington (hamstring) as questionable and cornerback Tory James (foot) as probable.

Cornerback Greg Brooks also was back at work, having gone to his hometown of New Orleans and finding all seven of his immediate family members alive and well.

Though his property was destroyed by floods wrought by Hurricane Katrina, Brooks found his mother, young son and grandparents. They had evacuated to Baton Rouge, La., in the middle of last week.
Brooks flew into Jackson, Miss., on Monday – when he still did not know if his relatives had survived – rented a car and drove to New Orleans, he said. He was stopped at a police roadblock on the interstate but allowed in because his grandfather was at a New Orleans hospital.

“It’s 10 times worse than it looks on TV,” Brooks said this afternoon at Paul Brown Stadium.

“I could see my grandfather’s house from the hospital. The roof is gone.”

Perry prepared for opener, And I don't mean Chris

The football somersaults through the air and 11 players of varying size and demeanor begin a full-throttle charge downfield.

This is not Tab Perry's recurring nightmare, but it will be his reality soon enough.

"You're going to get hit. You just try not to get hit too hard," the rookie Bengals wide receiver said. "It doesn't bother me. I like it. It's fun."

The 23-year-old, who set several kickoff return records at UCLA, is listed on Cincinnati's depth chart as its No. 1 kickoff returner entering Sunday's season opener against the Browns in Cleveland.

One of four players who returned kickoffs during the preseason, he was the only one spared when the Bengals set their roster Saturday.

"I'm ready for it," Perry said. "I've just got to show people I belong here."

The Bengals picked Perry in the sixth round of this year's NFL draft.

His size (6-feet-3), speed (4.40 seconds in the 40-yard dash) and big-play capability intrigued teams, but his special teams ability helped separate him from others available late in the draft.

"That was, obviously, a big part of what helped him make the team in addition to the other things he can do in other phases," Bengals special teams coach Darrin Simmons said. "He's not just a kickoff returner."

The Bengals opted to have Perry return kickoffs over Cliff Russell, Jamall Broussard and Freddie Milons. All three were waived. Broussard was signed to the practice squad.

Russell led the Bengals in kickoff returns (39), kickoff return yardage (872 yards) and average kickoff return yards (22.4) last season despite having no previous return experience.

"Actually I feel better about our situation right now than I did last year," Simmons said. "The first time (Russell) ever lined up deep was against Pittsburgh (in Week 4), and that was with one week of practice.

"So is that risky? Yeah, probably. At least this guy has had the ball in his hands back there before."

The ability to return kickoffs, Perry said, was first realized at Milpitas High in California.

"The first time I touched the ball in high school, it was on a punt return and I scored on it," he said. "Then the next week, I scored on a kick return."

When Perry completed his eligibility at UCLA last season, he held three kickoff return records - most kickoff returns in a season (29 in 2000), most return yards in a season (626 in 2002) and most career kickoff return yards (1,476).

He averaged 22 yards per kickoff return.

Twenty-four NFL players, each with at least 20 kickoffs returned last season, averaged 22 yards or more per return last season. The Bengals ranked 12th in the AFC last season with a 20.6 yard average.

"Probably one of my best strengths as a football player is that I can just see a lot," said Perry, who also caught 84 passes for 1,547 yards and six touchdowns in 43 career games in college.

"I'll be able to look one way and feel something coming from the other side, or get that quick glimpse and know where guys are still coming from."

The role does require good instincts and indisputable athleticism. But it is more than catching the ball and running to avoid would-be tacklers so the offense can inherit favorable field position.

Before a kicker even places the ball on the tee, the kick returner has begun skimming over a mental check list.

"We have certain keys and certain reads that they move to," Simmons said. "He has a whole check list, a progression is what we call it, that he goes through from the time the kicker is handed the ball to the time (the returner) touches it."

Kenny Watson, who has returned 43 career kickoffs and probably will line up deep beside Perry on Sunday, said the most difficult thing for a young kickoff returner to grasp is patience.

"A lot of times you see something, you might see a hole, and you try to take it too early," Watson said. "When you do that, you mess up blocks for other guys that are trying to work for you."

Just as Perry is learning the intricacies of the NFL, the Bengals are still learning about him.

Perry missed time during training camp, including preseason games against the Redskins and Eagles, because of a hip injury. He returned two kicks an average of 22 yards.

"He's a guy that's got explosive speed once he gets his wheels rolling," Simmons said. "We've got to block people and get this guy started and let his ability take over."