Cut down day is never easy. For a professional athlete it may mean the end of a long sought after dream. Sometimes, it is just a bump in the road. However, it is never easy to have someone tell you you're not good enough.
Remember the days when you were trying to make the elementary, junior high or high school teams and you had to wait until the coach posted the names of those who made the team? Or maybe the coach called your house? You wanted the news, but, you didn't want to answer the phone.
This was the kind of game that can make or break a season. This s what most Bengals fans were saying and most Bengals coaches and players were thinking before the game.
Well it certainly did define the season and maybe the team overall.
Watching the Bengals pathetic defense give up a 21 point lead, 49 total points total, and now a three game lead to Baltimore did define this years Bengals.
There isn’t enough makeup in the world to make this pig look presentable.
The Cincinnati Bengals’ 49-41 loss to the San Diego Chargers was a bad one, as bad as it gets in the ninth week of a 16-week season. In that narrow context, it may have been the clunker of all clunkers, a game that even the old Bengals — those Bengals — would have had trouble duplicating.
Timing, as they say, is everything, and the timing of this debacle couldn’t have been much worse. This was a game Cincinnati almost certainly had to win to have a realistic shot at repeating as AFC North Division champs, and they were well on their way to doing that, with 28-7 halftime lead against a quality opponent, when their defense turned into 3,000 pounds of quivering jelly.
{mosimage}LaDainian Tomlinson's exceptional running has helped make the San Diego Chargers strong contenders. A bad run has caused contention for Chad Johnson and the Cincinnati Bengals.
Tomlinson looks to continue his torrid stretch as the Chargers try to win three straight for the first time this season when they face Johnson and the stumbling Bengals on Sunday. Tomlinson ran for 172 yards and three touchdowns on 18 carries to lead San Diego (6-2) to a 32-25 win over the Cleveland Browns on Sunday.
Power RankingsThese rankings were suppose to have one explicit rule, rank teams on how they have played lately,because as we all know, come playoff time, the hottest team usually wins (Not the one with the best record). Since I ate Skyline chili last night and liked it, I have decided to keep the Bengals and their miserable 1-4 record in their last five games in the hunt. However, I don't know how much longer I can do that with a straight face. So here we go, if the playoffs were set up after week 9, they would look like this...
NFC
1. N.Y. Giants- Somehow they just jumped from third to first in the rankings (which should never happen if you only slip by Houston), but that's what happens when your two best stars aren't out and you didn't just lose to Miami.
2. Chicago Bears- What in the name of George Halas happened on Sunday, losing to the Dolphins isnever good, unless of course Dan Marino is their quarterback.
1.The Bears' loss to the Dolphins Sunday only proved one thing, Rex Grossman is a poorman's Heath Shuler, which means he should be out of football and in congress in the next six years.
2.For all of you female football fans out there, please tell me, what is more painful; childbirth or watching the Raider's offense?
Remember when the NFL schedule came out and the last game of the season for the Cincinnati Bengals looked like a perfect way to springboard into 2007?
Pittsburgh vs. Cincinnati in Paul Brown Stadium on New Year’s Eve. Not long ago, word was the NFL would change the 1 p.m. scheduled start to prime time, which it still might do.
But instead of that game serving as a prelude to the playoffs, not much more than draft position might be at stake. Welcome to Mel Kiper Jr.’s Rockin’ New Year’s Eve!
Baltimore scored two quick touchdowns off turnovers and never trailed in a 26-20 victory, their second straight since coach Brian Billick took control of the offense.
"Huge win for us in the division," Billick said. "It puts us in a position to go forward and do some good things."
Steve McNair passed for 245 yards, Jamal Lewis scored a touchdown and Matt Stover kicked four field goals for the Ravens (6-2), who took a two-game lead over second-place Cincinnati.
Since Billick fired offensive coordinator Jim Fassel and assumed playcalling duties, the Ravens have scored 61 points and McNair has played brilliantly. He was 21 of 30 against the Bengals after going 17 of 23 in a 35-22 win at New Orleans last week.
McNair fared far better than Cincinnati quarterback Carson Palmer, who went 12 of 26 for 195 yards. His first pass was intercepted and returned for a touchdown, and his last pass was also intercepted, ending any hope the Bengals (4-4) had of finishing a comeback from a 17-0 deficit.
Will the Baltimore Ravens tighten their grip on first place in the AFC North by knocking off their only serious challenger, the Cincinnati Bengals?
Bart Scott and his Ravens teammates will put pressure on Palmer.
Yes. The Ravens will seize control of this game on defense. They will add to the frustration that Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer has experienced for much of this season by blitzing the daylights out of him. Cincinnati's injury ravaged offensive line simply can't stand up to the tremendous pressure Baltimore is able to bring from Bart Scott, Adalius Thomas and Ray Lewis (presuming that Lewis survives the punch in the mouth that Bengals receiver Chad Johnson promised to deliver -- and hopefully will forget about before kickoff).
With coach Brian Billick calling the plays, the Ravens have rediscovered their running game. That will do plenty to enhance their defense's hold on the game. Look for the Ravens to frequently use two-tight end formations and pound the ball with Jamal Lewis. Left tackle Jonathan Ogden and left guard Jason Brown form an overpowering duo that should have little problem plowing open holes against the Bengals' poor run defense.
Steve McNair, who quickly returned to his comfort zone in Week 8 after having a bye week to recover from a concussion, should lend additional help to opening up the running game by connecting on some quick slants early to his favorite receiver, Derrick Mason, and also finding tight end Todd Heap open on seam routes
