Football Beats Politics
The President of the United States is commonly referred to as “the most powerful man in the world.” He’s got nothing on the NFL. ProFootballTalk.com reported last night that President Obama...
View ArticleColts v. Bengals: What I’m Watching
Well, despite the increasing (and delicious) capacity of the internet to circumvent NFL blackouts, I will probably be listening to tonight’s game, not watching it. In spite of his goofiness — and often...
View ArticlePreseason Wins and Losses
Despite ultimately losing 17-13 to the Indianapolis Colts on Thursday to finish the preseason at 1-3, there were some wins on the field for the Bengals. Here are some of my takes from the game, as well...
View ArticlePreview: Bengals @ Browns
The long wait is finally over! The 2011 season is finally here! Bring on real football! First up, the Bengals travel to the Mistake-On-The-Lake. Let’s take a look at what to expect in this game. TWO...
View ArticlePreseason Power Rankings Are Worth What They Cost
The endless lists of preseason power rankings hold all the predictive power of Johnny Carson as Carnac the Magnificent. And they are almost as funny. (If you are old like me, and it’s been too long,...
View ArticleCautious Optimism
Yesterday I posted my preview of this week’s game in Cleveland. After reading a reading a review of the Browns as they head into the game, written by Terry Pluto of the Cleveland Plain Dealer, I feel...
View ArticleBengals-Browns: Match-Ups To Watch
I can’t help myself. I think I’ve accomplished roughly 3 hours of work this week. I keep thinking about how the Bengals match up with the Browns for the game on Sunday. Partly because the long NFL...
View ArticleObservations of a Giddy Fool
What a win by the Bengals! I’ve been so pumped up since the end of the game that I have driven my wife half nuts. I don’t know how long it will last, but for this week at least, the Steelers are...
View ArticleBengals @ Browns: By The Numbers
Despite leaving the game at halftime, it looks like we can mark Andy dalton as the 5th rookie quarterback to win his first game on the road. Here is a look at the numbers that gave the Bengals the win...
View ArticleStruggle Is A Good Thing
The Bengals need to struggle this season. As much fun as a 28-point beat down of the Browns would have been to watch on Sunday, I am happy that the Bengals won they way that they did. That they lost...
View ArticlePreview: Bengals @ Broncos
This week the Bengals (1-0), fresh off of a win built on the success of the running game and on the defensive front 7, face off against the Denver Broncos (0-1) in another road game. (The Bengals are...
View ArticleWill The Bengals End The Denver Drought?
After a surprising (to some) win in Cleveland last week, a number of Bengals fans are primed for the Bengals to take their record to 2-0 in Denver this week. A number are quietly hopeful but still need...
View ArticleDisappointing Result. Encouraging Moments.
I thought the Bengals had a good shot at coming home from Denver at 2-0 and in the driver’s seat of the AFC North. And had they taken care of business and punched in a TD after stripping the ball from...
View ArticlePreview: 49ers @ Bengals
With 25% of their road games already behind them, the Bengals finally come home on Sunday to host the enemies-for-life, ring-stealing 49ers, who are playing their first game away from Journey’s famous...
View ArticleStriking Gold Against the 49ers
Boy, some bad news has really stolen some of the momentum away from a team that was beginning to build a little excitement. Sunday’s game will be a test if this team can push through the distractions...
View ArticleMomma Said There’d Be Days Like This
“Let Dalton start. Let the kid take his lumps now.” Well, Dalton got some lumps this week. But I am glad that most Bengals fans seem to understand it and are not riding the kid for it. (I just wasn’t...
View ArticlePreview: Bills @ Bengals
Oh yes, I remember the Bills. I was in my backyard raking leaves last fall (due to the first of a line of blackouts now stretching as far as the eye can see) as I listened to a 35-point lead evaporate...
View ArticleUgly Win = Perfect
I like the ugly wins. They are exactly what I want for the Bengals right now. The Bills were just as bad as the Bengals last season. Yet they shocked everyone by engineering a pair of spectacular...
View ArticlePreview: Bengals @ Jaguars
The Bengals find themselves in a very similar position as the Bills were last week: coming off of an exciting, emotional, come-from-behind win at home against an opponent that they had not beaten in a...
View ArticleAt the Quarter Pole
After being universally declared as the worst team in football by every media outlet on Earth just a month ago, the most recent iterations of those same Power Rankings put the Bengals at either #21 or...
View ArticlePreview: Colts @ Bengals
After another gritty win, the frustration and apathy that has had a stranglehold on Bengals fans everywhere is giving way to hope. We will always have some of those beloved You-Just-Wait killjoys, but...
View ArticleBeing Wrong Feels Great. So Does Being Right.
I was completely wrong. And I love it. Before the season I picked the Bengals to finish 4-12 again this year. I wanted to pick higher, but my pessimism won out. But it only took Andy Dalton and the...
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Preview: Bengals @ Seahawks
I have had a difficult time deciding exactly how I feel about this week’s game with the Seahawks. Frankly, it’s because the Seahawks are completely inconsistent from week to week. Will they be the team...
View ArticlePreview: Bengals @ Titans
Take yourself back to August 21st. The Bengals had just been dropped to 0-2 in the preseason after taking a 27-7 beating by the Jets, which had been preceded 9 days earlier by a 34-3 beatdown at the...
View ArticleAre You Satisfied With The Running Game?
I’m not. I am not saying that the running game is bad, but it isn’t all that good either. It is mediocre and in need of an upgrade in the offseason. What would you do to bolster the ground assault?...
View ArticlePreview: Steelers @ Bengals
It’s Steeler week!! Let’s hear your best WHODEY, people!! Now the real test begins, as the Bengals play Pittsburgh and Baltimore 3 times in the next 4 games. Will they establish themselves as a...
View ArticlePreview: Bengals @ Ravens
When I think of Bengals v. Ravens, I think of hard-hitting, run-pounding, trash-talking, bone-jarring games that typify the AFC North. There is no love lost between these two teams, and that’s just the...
View ArticleOne Step Closer To Playoffs
Thank you, Tim Tebow. By beating the Jets on Thursday night, the Broncos opened the door for the AFC North to send three teams to the playoffs. That means the Bengals have the inside track for being...
View ArticleGrowing Pains
In the first two “measuring stick” games against division rivals, the Bengals have come up a TD short each time. And while the losses sting a little bit, we knew the growing pains had to come. That was...
View ArticleThe Closers
Remember the days when no lead for the Bengals felt safe? For years the Bengals were on the cutting edge of creating new ways to lose. I still wake up occasionally in a cold sweat, cursing Chuck...
View ArticlePreview: Bengals @ Steelers
Wow, it’s Steeler week again already?! You can make a solid case for either of two factors as the cause of the Bengals’ 7 point loss to the Steelers in round 1. On one hand, the defense gave up 132 yds...
View ArticleEntering The Home Stretch
After going 4-0 in the 2nd quarter of the season, posting wins over Jacksonville, Indianapolis, Seattle and Tennessee, the Bengals entered the toughest stretch of their schedule with four straight...
View ArticlePreview: Texans @ Bengals
To secure a playoff spot, the Bengals have to find a way to knock off at least one of the two 9-3 teams remaining on their schedule: the Texans or the Ravens. The Texans come to Paul Brown Stadium with...
View ArticlePreview: Bengals @ Rams
The Bengals embark on their final road game of the season to play the injury-ravaged Rams, who look like they may have to sit QB Sam Bradford this week. If you live around Cincinnati, make sure you are...
View ArticleWhere Are You With The 2011 Bengals?
This year’s Bengals have had us all over the map. They were predicted to be as bad as the Colts have turned out to be without Manning. By mid-season they controlled a playoff spot. Now they are on the...
View ArticlePreview: Cardinals @ Bengals
A month ago, playing the Cardinals on Christmas Eve looked like a mulligan for the Bengals. But a funny thing happened on the way to the postseason hunt: the Cardinals got kinda good. Not great, but...
View ArticlePreview: Ravens @ Bengals
With the Bengals playing a win-and-you’re-in game against the Ravens, I am impressed with the front office’s BOGO promotion to try to sell out the stadium for the second time this year. Say what you...
View ArticleHelp The Playoffs Party Pooper
Tuesday morning, as you stand around the proverbial water cooler and discuss the Bengals making the playoffs for the third time in seven years, “that guy” will be squawking at his loudest to make sure...
View ArticleRavens Illustrate Flaws In Bengals’ Game
As I watched the Ravens and the Bengals on Sunday, I saw two teams that looked more similar than different. In what was supposed to be the first of a couple of rebuilding years for the Bengals, that...
View ArticlePostseason Preview: Bengals @ Texans
Welcome to the playoffs, WhoDeyFans! The good guys are back for another shot at ending the dry spell of playoff victories. With the number of bad streaks this team has snapped this year, I am excited...
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Random Offseason Thoughts
After a weekend filled with football, family and more football, it’s time for me to catch up with the rest of my WDF mates and post a few thoughts as the Bengals begin the offseason. Because it’s...
View ArticleGrading Units
Now that 2011 is officially in the books, let’s compare notes on the various personnel groups did over the season. Some brought a lot of value, and a some were not as good as they needed to be. Here is...
View ArticlePosition Review: Quarterback
In order for us to develop informed opinions about who the Bengals ought to pursue in free agency in March and in the draft in April, we need to look through each position and evaluate its performance...
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Position Review: Wide Receiver
The Bengals keep six receivers. With Jordan Shipley and Andre Caldwell ending the season on IR, we have eight names to sort through as we evaluate the wide receiver position. As a whole, the wide...
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Position Review: Running Back
I was going to review tight ends next. But when I saw Nate’s post considering the possibility that Trent Richardson could slip to the Bengals at #17, I had to switch gears. Coming into the season,...
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Position Review: Tight End
Is it me, or do the Bengals just seem lost when it comes to the concept of the tight end? Every year the defense struggles to cover them. And despite producing one of the first great TEs of the modern...
View ArticlePosition Review: Linebackers
I was trying to think of the last time I felt really good about the group of linebackers that the Bengals had. Boy, it’s been a while. This year’s crew was as good as they’ve been in a while, but I’m...
View ArticlePosition Review: Cornerback
With the Bengals losing Johnathan Joseph in free agency and Adam Jones beginning the season on the PUP list, the corners were looking like a major concern going into the season. The front office...
View ArticlePosition Review: Safeties
Much like the CBs, the safety position needed and received some retooling in the brief offseason. Starters Nelson and Crocker returned, and the Bengals got back Gibril Wilson after he spent 2010 on IR....
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Rookie Of The Year: Dalton Or Newton?
On Saturday, the NFL will pass out its awards for the 2011 season, including Rookie Of The Year. While the Bengals have two legitimate candidates for the award, we all know that they will get very...
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