The ScooterBlog

I hate the Ravens, I hate Jeff Triplette. You put them together and it doesn’t exactly bode for a good day for me as a Bengals fan, especially when this day is in Baltimore, MD, not at the home field. But as it turned out, both of these parties had a bad day, and it led to a great Bengals win!

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not sure the Bengals deserved this win based on their offensive and special teams mistakes, but as they have done in their three wins (and even in their loss), it was Carson Palmer leading them down the field on their final drive to winning scores (or what should have been). I have not fully watched the final drive yet, but with the key penalty being Ray Lewis trying to take Chad Ochocinci’s head off, he should be commended for one thing … after his totally correct rant last week against rinky-dink personal fouls for kinda sorta roughing the passer, he showed the kind of aggression that really is of the 15 yard variety. I’m sure Chad didn’t appreciate the demonstration, Bengals fans now certainly do.

Other thoughts about the successes and failures:

* Brad St. Louis should be given a plane ticket back to Cincinnati with the team, and the dignity to leave through the back door of the facility with no press around for 10 good years of team service, but at this point, we need a new long snapper in the worst way. We’re 4-1 with half of our special teams not working at all, and if it was working, 5-0 would be more than realistic right now.

* Cedric Benson having a 100-yard day is nothing short of sensational. There are so many good running backs out there, and Benson is not the league leader in yards, although he is darn close, but is there any thought to giving him or Palmer some MVP love this early on?

* Take a trip back to 2008. If your starter these five weeks is Ryan Fitzpatrick, don’t you think we’d be 0-5? Nothing against him, he was decent but he doesn’t have the big play and comeback flair that Palmer does.

* My condolences go out to Mike Zimmer and his family on their loss, and I could not be happier to see the team’s success even in a time of great need for him for things much more important. Sometimes work helps you get through the worst things in life, and I’m sure this weekend was a fine tribute.

* The way they are playing right now, 11-5 is beyond reasonable. I could see one division loss at home, and tough games against the Vikings, Chargers, and Jets at the end of the year. 11-5 would definitely get this team into the playoffs, and would have them contending for a division crown, and really, because a lot of the big games are at the end of the season, they would set up to be 10-2! That kind of record would put them in the driver’s seat in a big way.

Other thoughts from the NFL world:

* In what kind of alternate universe do I live that the Broncos are 5-0?! Of course, I don’t mind this right now, their defeating the Patriots helps the cause of the Bengals by allowing them to leapfrog another team in the standings. I would chalk them up to win the division, but let’s not forget last year’s four game collapse at the end.

* If the season ended today (if my calculations are right), three teams from the AFC Central would be in the playoffs.

* I don’t care who does it, be it Roger Goddell with a suspension, or Al Davis with the jumpsuit, or anyone with a brain. Someone, please tell Tom Cable to go away! No, it won’t fix the Raiders, but it can’t hurt any more than they do right now.

* The same thing needs to be said to Jim Zorn. The entire world knows he is going to get fired, someone, for his sake, end the misery!

And selfishly:

* It could be another 3-0 week for me in Fantasy Football! That would make my teams 3-1-1, 3-2, and 4-1 respectively. 10-4-1 is the kind of start I can get used to! It isn’t a given yet, all of the games have something riding on the outcome tonight, but it does admittedly look pretty good.