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'There are some things around here that are a little stale,' he says.
Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis is big on slogans. Maybe his theme for next season can be: Lewis sounded like The Riddler after the Bengals' 38-25 season-ending victory over Miami at Dolphin Stadium. Last week, he said no major changes were forthcoming. Over the weekend, he said, "It's time to blow this whole thing up and start from scratch." On Sunday, he attempted to clarify everything after the Bengals closed with two straight wins to finish 7-9. The Dolphins ended 1-15. "We're going to make sure everything is different," Lewis said. "But there's no changes you're going to know or perceive. So you can relax. "My point is it's been five years (with one winning record). There are some things around here that are a little stale. We need to take all those doggone binders from five years of games and get rid of 'em — clean the offices, clean the boards, clean up as though we were new people coming in. The coaches have to understand that. The players have to understand that.
"It's got nothing to do with the playbook. I'm just talking about in general. You know how you look at your garage and say, 'God, I've got to get rid of this junk and just freshen.' "When our players come back, there will be a fresh outlook and not that cloud that we've allowed to hang over our heads a little bit. (The season) has been a disappointment. We didn't reach our goals. We're not happy with it, but I am happy with the way the guys finished the season." In a season where everything seemed to go wrong for the Bengals, everything sure went right on Sunday. Quarterback Carson Palmer (4,131 passing yards) and wide receivers Chad Johnson (1,440 receiving yards) and T.J. Houshmandzadeh (112 receptions) set franchise single-season records as the Bengals triumphed in Miami for the first time since their inaugural season of 1968. "A lot of things need to change," said Palmer, who threw three TD passes — two to Chad Johnson, including a 70 yarder for the club's longest play from scrimmage all year. "We have got to find a way to run the ball better and keep the turnovers down. "One of the biggest keys to this year was that we got out-executed. We didn't do our jobs correctly enough to give us a chance to win games. We're a very, very average football team — at best." Dayton Daily News http://www.daytondailynews.com/s/content/oh/story/sports/pro/bengals/2007/12/30/ddn123107bengals.html |
