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Bengals wideout not happy with offense's inconsistency, especially on third down. T.J. Houshmandzadeh is getting sick of looking at the game summaries and seeing one ugly stat. The Bengals' wide receiver had an outstanding game — 8 catches for 145 yards and two TDs — but other numbers leap off the page: Cincinnati was 1-of-11 (9 percent) in third-down efficiency. That contributed heavily to its 27-20 loss to Kansas City, which converted 7-of-16 (44 percent) of its third-down opportunities. Add in the Bengals' 0-for-7 on third down against New England, and Cincinnati has moved the chains once in its last 18 chances on third down. "We're just not consistent," Houshmandzadeh said. "Why? I don't know. We're not giving ourselves the opportunity to string together several plays that keeps our offense on the field and our defense off the field. Confidence is a big thing. We've got to suck it up, man up and play (better)."
Head coach Marvin Lewis blasted the players after the Bengals got trampled by the Patriots 34-13. He tried a different tactic this time, saying the club played more as a team in the second half when it outscored the Chiefs 13-7. But the Bengals couldn't overcome a 20-7 halftime deficit. Quarterback Carson Palmer's two TD passes to Houshmandzadeh were offset by his two interceptions and lost fumble on a sack by Chiefs defensive end Jared Allen. "(Lewis' message is) one of those things where you can only beat a guy so many times when he's down, and right now, we're down," Houshmandzadeh said. "We all know what's going on here. We're not good right now. That's the bottom line. You can sugarcoat it any way you want. "I mean, I think we're good. I say it every week that we're losing to teams that aren't as good as we are. But eventually I'm going to have to quit saying that, and we're going to have to start beating them. As of now, we are not. So it is what it is." Dayton Daily News http://www.daytondailynews.com/s/content/oh/story/sports/pro/bengals/2007/10/15/ddn101507benside.html |
