Cincinnati Bengals: On The Brink

Outmanned, outcoached and simply put, the Bengals were outplayed in Minnesota on Sunday. Losing by twenty should illustrate the disparity in the two squads, but as anyone who watched the contest can attest it wasn’t even THAT close.

And that’s the biggest dilemma coming out of yesterday’s debacle: we weren’t even close.

Baring a collapse of epic proportions, the Bengals should win the AFC North, needing only one win against their final three opponents OR a Baltimore loss. (That being said, this is a Cincinnati sports team, so nothing is out of question.) Theoretically, a 1st Round Bye is still attainable. Who-Dey fans should be rejoicing at their good fortune, considering they’ve ventured to the playoffs only once in the past nineteen years. Yet in a postseason environment against a postseason team, the Bengals didn’t appear to be postseason ready. (The previous statement offered the perfect opportunity to make a Tiger Woods joke in reference to Cincinnati’s performance, but I feel like the Woods-affair gags have nuked the fridge. Keeping that in mind, can’t wait to see Tig’s bruised grill for the first time, simply for the requisite “looks like Elin over-clubbed” dig.)

In the defense’s, um, defense, the unit played held their own against the Peterson/Favre combo, taking into account Minnesota seemingly had great field position every possession. Besides the lack of discipline exhibited by the team (illustrated by 11 penalties totaling 85 yards), most of the blame could be pointed towards the offense. A glance at the box score would indicate Cincinnati’s run game fared well (24 carries for 119 yards). However, taking away Cedric Benson’s 42-yard gallop, that figure drops to 23/77, amounting to a paltry 3.3 yards a carry. Minnesota’s front seven is a nasty group, but for a team whose bread and butter is the run, the performance was disheartening.

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As for the passing game…wow. Two schools of thought seem to be prevailing in the 513 area code about the Bengals air attack (or lack thereof): Carson’s hurt, or the team misses Chris Henry. Unfortunately, both aren’t the main culprits of this crime. Carson might not possess the same arm strength from 2005, or even 2007, but his health does not appear to be a concern. And yes, while Henry did open the field and served as a secret weapon, he was the 4th receiver. There are two other contributing factors more at fault than Carson’s elbow and Henry’s absence. The first is Laveranues Coles. Through 13 games, he’s hauled in a measly 33 balls for just over 400 yards - Not exactly T.J. Houshmandzadeh-like production. The second is the TE position. J.P. Foschi has been serviceable since replacing Daniel Coats, but far from reliable. Without T.J. or a TE running across the middle, it’s no wonder the aerial assault has been stagnant.

All hope is not lost. As Arizona proved last year, all a team needs is to get hot at the right moment to do damage in January. This week’s match-up against the Chargers will be a similarly daunting task, taking into account San Diego’s impeccable December record and Cincinnati’s historical failure on the west coast. (Note: You’ll hear talking heads discussing the playoff implications of this game, describing the importance of an extra off-week. This, my friends, is total B.S., as three of the four teams with Byes lost last season.) This game should provide a good litmus test for the Bengals’ postseason merit.

They weren’t even close against Minnesota. Doesn’t mean that will be the case in San Diego.

By: Joel Beall
ProFootball-fans.com Cincinnati Bengals Correspondent