Bratkowski chalked it up to the inevitable frustration after a tough loss.

"No offense taken," he said.

Bengals coach Marvin Lewis scoffed at a question about Bratkowski’s job security Monday, and there’s no indication the coordinator has reason to update his resume.

"I don’t think I’m on the head coach’s hot seat," Bratkowski said. "I don’t think I’m on the owner’s hot seat. Those are the only two that matter."

He didn’t say this defensively. In fact, he was chuckling. He understands as well as anybody that second-guessing is part of deal in his job.

If part of the allure of sports is that fans believe they’re experts, no football coach is more emulated than the offensive coordinator.

"People play a lot of video games," Bratkowski said. "They call their own plays when they play Madden. I think that’s where a lot of it comes from."

Ravens coach Brian Billick, a former offensive coordinator, believes the criticism of Bratkowski is ludicrous.

"Bob is as good an offensive coach as I’ve ever known," Billick said. "I have a huge amount of respect for Bob Bratkowski. I think Bob Bratkowski has great potential, a great future as a head coach in this league. His pedigree … I really admire what he has done offensively over the years. To question his abilities is nonsensical to me."

But that’s what’s happened. Not long ago, Bratkowski took heat for the Bengals’ seeming reluctance to stretch defenses with deep passes. After the Atlanta game, it was about the disparity of passes and runs. The Bengals ran only 18 times out of 56 snaps against a defense they believed they could manhandle.

Bratkowski said the lopsided ratio is misleading. He said the Bengals faced 10 third-down calls and 13 in the two-minute offense, in which the running game had to be abandoned.

"So when you boil it down, it was somewhere around 36-37 first- and second-down snaps," Bratkowski said. "In those snaps, we were 50-50 run-pass."

For an offensive coordinator, every call is subject to criticism. Billick said a general manager is judged largely by the few draft picks he makes each April, which may take years to evaluate definitely. A coach is judged over a 16-game season. An offensive coordinator is questioned every 30 seconds.

"As a play-caller, you’re held accountable for about 1,200 calls a year, and particularly on the offensive side," Billick said. "I don’t think defensive guys get criticized as much because what are you going to criticize. You should blitz more? You should play more zone? Offensively, (after) every call, you passed when you should have run. You drawed when you should have screened. You went vertical when you should have gone short. You thissed when you should have thatted. Every single call. And everybody — everybody — is an offensive expert. That adds another layer to the mix."

Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer called the criticism of Bratkowski unfair. Palmer has play-calling authority when Cincinnati is in its no-huddle offense.

"A lot of people want to point their fingers at ‘Brat,’ but if you’re looking for somebody to point your finger at, you can point it at me because I’m calling a large percentage of the plays," Palmer said.

Bratkowski is no rookie coach. He knows he’s in a results business.

"If things aren’t going well and you’re not winning, I think every coach in the business feels at risk," he said. "But this is what we do. It is the way it is in this business and we’re all aware of it. You try to stay a step ahead."

Columbus Dispatch

http://columbusdispatch.com/bengals/bengals.php?story=dispatch/2006/11/03/20061103-F1-04.html