A FEW MO' THINGS, 10/1/12
There have been worse weekends to be a sports fan in Cincinnati. Let's work backward.
The Bengals' season will ultimately be defined by how they do against the quality teams on their schedule.
The Jacksonville Jaguars are not one of them.
But for those games to have the importance we want them to, the Bengals will have to, as they did last season, beat the inferior teams on their schedule.
The Jacksonville Jaguars are one of them.
Yesterday was, in part, about simply surviving. While the Bengals might have more talent than the Jags, and while that game in Jacksonville was one they should have won, their third straight win didn't come without obstacles.
Especially on defense.
With a secondary so depleted it had to use a guy we were tired of, (Chris Crocker, who got the pick we wish he would have nine months ago) some guy most of us had never heard of (Chris Lewis-Harris), playing without their top four corners, and playing with a group of either inexperienced or underachieving linebackers, plus given how bad the Bengals had been against the run, even this matchup against a below-average Jacksonville team presented its share of problems.
But the Bengals defense didn't simply survive, instead, they thrived. Six sacks against Blaine Gabbert, whom I'm convinced will never be a star in this league simply because he has an awful first name, no Jacksonville plays of longer than 23 yards (and only one longer than 19), the long-awaited interception, and a fantastic collective performance against Maurice-Jones-Drew, highlighted the best defensive effort of the year.
(Please, Domata, no more Gangnam Style)
The Jags might not be that good, but Maurice Jones-Drew is. Except we wasn't yesterday. The league's toughest man to tackle finished with 70 total yards, and less than three yards a carry. The Bengals consistently won up front, giving MJD very few running lanes, and when a Bengal got near him, they made the tackle.
The defense has their issues, and they might plague this team all year long, but the D-line has a chance to be very, very, good.
So does the offense.
These guys are at least fun to watch. And right now, it's just as fun to think about how good they might be in a few months. AJ Green is moving into the class of the elite wideouts in the sport (the route he ran on his touchdown catch was beautiful), Andrew Hawkins just consistently makes things happen (On both offense and special teams. The dude is just a football player), and the matchup problems Jermaine Gresham can present defenses is unlike anything the Bengals have had at tight end in an eternity. Yesterday Andy Dalton connected with eight different pass-catchers. The offense got substantial contributions from the obvious (Green, Hawkins, Gresham, etc.) and from the not-so-obvious (Chris Pressley) and while Cedric Peerman's long run on a fake punt might have technically been a special teams play, it highlights how diversified and creative the Bengals have become. For the first time in a while, opponents have a lot to think about.
I'd still like to see more from the running game. It'd be nice if Benjarvus Green-Ellis' dependability with the football was as good as advertised. And the offense has had the luxury these last three games of not just playing against bad defense, but also not having to play from behind. The opposition will eventually get tougher and at some point, Andy and the boys will have to overcome some sort of deficit, but a quarter into the season, the questions about the offense are not nearly as amplified as they were a month ago.
The Bengals might not have done anything special these last three weeks, but they've at least done what they should have, which is important enough in the NFL. They've won two road games, kept pace with Baltimore, and regardless of what you think about who they've beaten, it's hard to argue that they haven't improved at least a little from the performance we saw in week one.
They survived yesterday in Jacksonville. They've survived the first month of the season. And because of it, they'll have a chance to thrive as the season grows longer and the schedule gets tougher.
Outside Perspectives
From Will Brinson of CBS Sports....
3-1 for Cincinnati now and they're beating up on the teams they should. Schedule looks good for them and the Ravens loss is distant in the mirror at this point. A.J. Green might be at top-five wideout right now. BenJarvus Green-Ellis fumbles are a bit odd and concerning. Defense is still a problem, Jags just couldn't do much.
From Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com...
What can you say about the Bengals one-quarter of the way into the regular season? They're fun to watch. The Bengals are scoring more points than the Packers. They're among the league leaders in sacks (defensive tackle Domata Peko scored big points in celebrating the first of six Bengals sacks with a "Gangnam Style" dance, a nod to Korean rap sensation PSY. And the Bengals have the most exciting wide receiver in the AFC in A.J. Green.
And yeah, that's pretty much it. If you're one of those who gets angry when the local 22 doesn't get any love from the national scribes, don't peruse the 'net today. Almost everything focuses on how bad the Jags are, which is fair. But most leave out a pretty solid performance from the men in stripes. Oh well, there's other stuff to focus on, like....
The Cincinnati Bearcats
(Photo courtesy of Getty Images)
Other locals played as well. Ohio State won a tough one at Michigan State. Miami hung 56 on Akron, in maybe the best game of Zac Dysert's 13-year Redhawk careers. Kentucky scored 17 points against South Carolina. But yeah, I'm a UC guy, and this game was among the best I've been too....
Munchie Legaux at his own 15 yard line, with no timeouts, needing six, down four. Admit it, you didn't feel good about it. I didn't feel good about it.
Frankly, up until the final, incredible drive, where UC converted on two third and longs, and that culminated in one of the most memorable catches in UC football history (no exaggeration at all), Saturday's game felt like a huge missed opportunity about to slip away.
The Bearcats outplayed Virgina Tech, whipping them defensively for three quarters before tiring from carrying the team all afternoon. The offense moved the ball capably enough, but there had been so many missed chances...
*A first and goal situation where the Bearcats had to settle for three.
*The promising drive that ended with Travis Kelce's fumble
*A drive that began at the Va. Tech 11 and resulted in zero points
*Julian's drop in the end zone that preceded a missed field goal
....and the defense's effort for most of the afternoon looked like it'd be overshadowed by how winded it was late in the game.
The fourth quarter had the feel of a game slipping away. That game getting away would've only intensified the criticism of the program, that Cincinnati is not, and never will be, capable of beating name opponents.
People might still say that, and until the Bearcats consistently win on big stages, there may even be some validity to that, but Saturday's win was huge. Maybe this isn't a great Tech team, maybe the win won't erase the frustration of New Year's Day 2009, but UC needs signature wins. Saturday felt like one.
There were other heroes...Ralph David Abernathy's 76 yard run and catch seemed to rejuvenate the UC fans at FedEx, Kenbrell Thompkins beautiful route that led to the Cats' first TD seemed to help the offense relax a little, and obviously Julian's game-winning grab made up for his earlier drop, and no win over Virgina Tech can happen without special teams contributions - Pat O'Donnell dropped four punts inside the 20 -but every quarterback at some point needs to lead his team to victory in a critical situation.
Pike did it. Collaros did it. Now Legaux has done it.
The throw that one the game was his best of the day, delivered while being hit and placed right where it needed to be. Munchie inspires some uneasiness at times...he carries the ball as carefully as I carry my car keys and his throwing motion - which led to some balls being batted down - still needs work....but for this quarterback to come through in that situation, with a mostly hostile crowd, a quality defense, and distance, time, and score all working against him, showed that at least the moment won't get the better of him.
Big, big, win, and one that could the stage for an even bigger game at the end of October. The next three are winnable. Miami is a better football team, but the Bearcats should win the Battle for the Victory Bell at home, they'll beat Fordham, and while Toledo presents some problems offensively and gets UC in their stadium, that's certainly a less than unbeatable foe.
That sets up a matchup with Louisville, a 5-0 team that struggled in the rain at Southern Miss, but that has a better than average chance of winning against Pitt and South Florida after a bye.
Could we have 6-0 Cincinnati and 7-0 Louisville, playing for both first place and the Keg of Nails on the national tube later this month? It's a possibility.
Thanks to Munchie.
-For all the talk of Saturday's game being played in a half empty stadium, the atmosphere for UC/Va Tech was incredible. Bearcat fans were greatly outnumbered, but were loud and the back and forth nature of the game kept the crowd loud and into it all afternoon.
UC took more than $3 million to move the game, a move that's left some fans unhappy and others from the outside to point and laugh at the program.
1) Teams play neutral site games. Did anyone point and laugh at Alabama and Michigan for taking hefty paycheck to play in Dallas?
2) UC would've been stupid to turn down the money. After expenses, they'll clear about $2.5 million. That's more than the payouts from 25 of last year's bowl games, and UC didn't have to split the money with anyone. You might not like it, but this program operates with a small budget and doesn't net as much from home games as other programs. This was a business decision, and a smart one.
-How good a time is it to be a sports fan in Cincinnati right now? The Reds win two of three in Pittsburgh, get a dramatic win yesterday, AND get the franchise's first no-hitter in 24 years and I write 1700 words before addressing it.
Yesterday stood out for three reasons...
1) Xavier Paul. One of the best midseason scrap heap finds in recent memory. The dude can just hit. His bomb in the ninth inning yesterday temporarily shifted the focus of the Holy Grail crowd from the events in Jacksonville to the happenings in Pittsburgh. If the Reds get to the World Series, you're going to look back at a big Xavier Paul at-bat as one of October's bigger moments.
2) Wilson Valdez. The throw nailed nailed Jose Tabata at third will probably not make the season recap DVD, but was one of the better plays made by a Red this season.
3) Aroldis Chapman. Still working out kinks. Whatever happens these next three days in St. Louis, what I want to see more than anything is for The Missile to throw a dominant inning without walking a guy. He recovered nicely yesterday, aided by Wilson's throw, but he still doesn't look like I want him to look heading into the playoffs.
Oh yeah, Homer Bailey threw a no-hitter. 
I saw the last three innings.
I finally made it to Camden Yards, taking in Friday's Red Sox/Cartoon Birds tilt. Your quick review of Camden: I like it, I don't love it. Solid food choices, great atmosphere, plenty that celebrates the team's history, beautiful views from the outfield, and a great pulled pork sandwich...but too many seats covered up by the level on top of it, a really bad hot dog, and you can't see the game from the concourse.
So I followed Reds/Pirates on the out-of-town scoreboard.
After the sixth, I got a text from a buddy that told me to go find a TV and demand that they put the Reds game on, that Homer Bailey was "doing something special."
Done.
I watched the seventh on my phone (God love MLB.TV), then found a little pub area with about eight TVs inside the ballpark. I found a bartender....
Me: "Hey can you out on the Reds/Pirates game"
Him: "Do you know what stadium you're in?"
Me (a little taken aback): Yeah, but this game is on every TV here and it's being played about 50 feet from us. Can you find MLB Network or something and put it on one TV? Homer Bailey is throwing a no-hitter."
Him: "Who's Homer Bailey?"
Great. Fortunately, I found friendlier staff member who was sympathetic to my plight, found the game (the bar had the stickers advertising the MLB Extra Innings package in the window) and I watched it there, the only person who really cared.
I was happy for Homer. He's a good, often under-appreciated year. He's never met the unrealistic expectations so many had for him and because of that, it seemed like many fans cooled on him. But he's gotten better every year. His early-season struggles had many wanting him shipped out of town and yet he's become a big part of what the Reds have done this season, and if the Reds make a run this month, he'll be a big part of it as well.
And as much as I didn't like the reference to GABP crowds, I did like him speaking up a bit about the Reds and their lack of attention. Maybe it will stir things up a bit.
It was a nice way to cap what's been a very, very, fun year. And a nice way to cap what's been a very good year for Homer Bailey.
-Still though, worth mentioning, these guys still aren't hitting. We've talked about it for 159 games...the offense's inconsistency is troubling. And the opposing pitching is only about to get tougher.
-The Reds need the Dodgers to do their part if they're going to eliminate the Cardinals in St. Louis this week, but aside from a no-hitter, I can't think of a better way to end the regular season.
And if the Cardinals clinch the second wild card spot against the Reds, I can't think of anything lamer than a major celebration in front of the team that sit atop their division.
-More later. #MoHawkMonday starts at 3:04 today on ESPN1530. Go to the Hoxworth Bengals Blood Drive on Wednesday. I will be there from noon until 2:00. Give blood. Help people. Eat a cookie.
