Okay, okay, I know I have talked about the Bengals and my lack of respect for the organization’s management. Bengals fans always point out that this is the year, they have a great QB (which they do!) Great receivers (one anyway!) and a good coach (ok…..). But, as is customary for the Bengals under Mike Brown, they usually fall flat on their face because of injury or lack of discipline with penalties. Most Bengal fans will tell me that it is just bad luck…..but I beg to differ, and this morning, Tuesday the 23rd, in a video on MY COUNTY LINK, I got to completely express my point that it is NOT BAD LUCK….but a systematic problem that haunts them.
You may have heard some of this, but it is worth remembering….YOU HAVE TO RUN THE FOOTBALL! Football is really simple; if you can block and tackle, you can win. The Bengals could not block your grandmother in a walker! Why? Because offensive linemen are not a priority with the player personnel department! (i.e.-Duke Tobin.) Allow me to prove this point.
Since 2011, the Bengals have drafted 20 offensive linemen. NOT ONE of them has ever signed a second contract with the Bengals, and most are out of the league now. The Bengals under Mike have drafted 40 linemen total, and only 2 have been all-pro: Kevin Zeitler and Andrew Whitworth…and THEY TRADED THEM AWAY! Some will now say, “What about Anthony Munoz, arguably one of the best tackles ever?” I agree, but he was drafted in 1980 when Paul Brown was in Charge! Remember also that Paul started the Bengals in 1968, and his very first pick was Bob Johnson, a center from Tennessee, who played twelve years for the Bengals and was All-AFL in 1968. He is the only Bengal that has had his number retired.
Now that doesn’t sound like a big deal, but back then, we had two leagues, AFL and NFL, All-AFL was like all pro now. You want to hear a really gruesome statistic? Probably not, but it helps to understand the problem: Chase Brown, a very good running back, I think, has carried the ball 47 times this year and has 92 yards total! That is sad. Because of the offensive line, which, as of this writing, is ranked 32nd out of 32 teams, Joe Burrow is lost to the team again….probably for the year. With their receivers and talent at tight end and running back, this could have been the year………what might have been!
I would love to root for the Bengals again, but I can’t until I believe the front office understands the game of football like Paul did. I think Paul’s granddaughter, Katy, is a salary cap genius, but with her dad and the Player personnel people around her, she HAS to be. Mike and Duke Tobin, the Director of Player Personnel since 1999, love the flash, not the substance. They like the exciting guys like Ja’marr Chase and Tee Higgins, and Chase Brown, and they have as much talent as anybody in the NFL. Joe Burrow could be the best QB in the league, and I say that, including Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson. BUT, if you can’t keep him healthy and UPRIGHT, what is the point for all the flash and dash?
It is basic football, YOU HAVE TO RUN THE BALL TO SET UP EVERYTHING ELSE, and that is on the offensive line! For years now, the Bengals haven’t learned that lesson. They had another QB that could have been all-world in Carson Palmer, but they got him killed also, so bad that he left, said I’m done here. I just wonder if Joe is going to get fed up, too? There is only so much of a pounding that a man can take. Joe was drafted in 2020 and has missed parts of, or all of, two seasons, plus suffered other smaller injuries.
As of the start of September this year, the Bengals have played in 80 regular-season games and 6 playoff games. Joe has played in 69, which means he has basically missed 20% of their games. Now he will probably miss 14 and a half more. According to StatMuse, Joe has played an average of 11.8 games a year because of injury, and been sacked 201 times for an average of 33.5 times a year! When will they learn in the front office that when you have valuables, you protect them?
I was a Bengals fan when Paul and Forrest Gregg were running the team. They understood the game. But this group, it seems to me, only cares about money and Flash, not continued success. Under Zac Taylor, the Bengals’ rushing rank per year in the league has been 25th, 24th, 23rd, 29th, 30th, and 32nd so far this year. I will just let that speak for itself!
I know I pound on the Bengals a lot, but darn it, I want them to succeed! They are our home team. But I cannot root for a team that doesn’t really care about winning. By the way, did you watch the Vikings game this week? The worst loss in franchise history, 48-10! The worst part is they looked like they didn’t want to play or care. THAT is not a good sign, and whose fault is that, Zac Taylor??!
Well, I have vented my spleen long enough; I could go on about stupid draft picks (Akili Smith… really?) and other stuff, but you get the picture. I am a football fan, I love the game. I watch NFL Red Zone every week so I can see as much as I can, and I love it! But the teams closest to where I live haven’t really done anything to get better. Deep down, I am a Bengals fan from before… but not now. I will stick with the teams of my youth, “The helmet teams” (because I liked their helmets!), the Cardinals, Rams, Eagles, and my favorite, the Vikings.
I hope some of the stats I showed you will help explain the Bengals’ lack of success. I did love getting on the Bengal fans this week because the Vikings gave them a thorough thrashing! But, I do love the Bengals fans’ passion for them. I just wish the ownership had the same passion for their fans!
That’s the way I see it….from the sidelines
