By Paul Daugherty
pdaugherty@enquirer.com
The Cincinnati Enquirer
http://news.cincinnati.com/
December 12, 2010
Steelers linebacker LaMarr Woodley outruns Bengals receiver Chad Ochocinco to the end zone for a touchdown after intercepting a pass intended for Ochocinco in the fourth quarter. It was the Steelers' second Pick Six of the game. (Associated Press/Keith Srakocic)PITTSBURGH – Every Sunday is Groundhog Day now. The season has lapsed into a predictable, try-hard coma, familiar to any fan beyond voting age. The Bengals don’t look like the Brad Childress Vikings or the Wade Phillips Cowboys. The TV folks aren’t astonished by their lack of effort. Other items astonish them. Namely, how a team with some elite players and a top five defense last year can be so solidly inept for 10 consecutive weeks.
It was another week when the better team played down to the level of its foe. That is, another week when a competent Bengals club could have won. The Steelers were nothing special. Their dinged-up offensive line didn’t allow for special. Ben Roethlisberger shoved the offense down the field with screen passes and short slants. The line had three holding penalties on one third-quarter drive, a 15-play, 50-yard wart that resulted in a punt.
Newest Steeler Carson Palmer saved the day. Palmer threw three TD passes, including a fine 45-yarder in the second quarter to Troy Polamalu and a perfect 14-yard strike in the fourth quarter to LaMarr Woodley. The fact that Polamalu is a safety and Woodley a linebacker – and both play for Pittsburgh – seems hardly relevant.
What, in fact, is relevant now, when the subject is the Bengals?
Beyond the two TD passes to Pittsburgh, the 7-23 loss was loaded with ennui, a French word that means “If I have to watch any more of this, I’m going to clean my sinuses with a drain snake.’’
We could dissect whose fault the pick-sixes were – both looked to be on Palmer – but as with everything else related to the football team, we have exhausted our supply of caring.
PITTSBURGH - DECEMBER 12: Hines Ward #86 of the Pittsburgh Steelers catches a pass in front of Johnathan Wade #26 of the Cincinnati Bengals during the game on December 12, 2010 at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jared Wickerham/Getty Images)For one drive, the Bengals offense looked NFL-ready. Cincinnati moved 69 yards in eight plays, none of which looked to come from Bob Bratkowski’s cookie-cutter. The march ended with a 1-yard TD pass from Palmer to Andrew Whitworth, the left tackle.
Hallelujah. After a few-years absence, someone seemed to have passed the smelling smalts beneath Brat’s nose.
Problem was, that was the first drive of the game. Bratkowski evidently dispensed every jack-in-the-box in his toy chest, in the game’s first five minutes. After that, the Bengals offense spent the rest of the game in Time Out. They went 69 yards on their first drive, and another 121 the rest of the game.
I asked Terrell Owens, “Should the Bengals offense be harder to gameplan against than it is, given the players you have?’’
Owens, generally affable and candid, was out of answers. “That’s not my department,’’ he said. “Everybody knows we’re a talented team.’’
Too bad about the offense, because the defense deserved better. If you’re looking for good things – and you are, right? It’s the season of giving – you could point to the heat put on Big Ben, led again by rookie Carlos Dunlap. He had three tackles, broke up three passes, took part in a sack of Roethlisberger and was generally a pleasant pain in the rear. That Pittsburgh had zero offensive TDs wasn’t just because its line is limping. .
And yet. . .
It is fair to wonder what the future holds for the once and former franchise QB. The Bengals dedicated the offseason to getting Palmer more pals with whom to play catch. They bungled the Antonio Bryant signing in vintage fashion, but rallied to sign Owens, who has made himself some money this year, going forward.
They drafted a big-target tight end and a third down go-to flanker. Still, Palmer has looked ordinary. For the third time in 13 games, he threw three interceptions. He’s tied for the league lead in that ability. The picks Sunday took his team entirely out of the game.
Would a change of offensive coordinators help Palmer? A change of style? Would Palmer fare better in a West Coast-style attack? Does he need better protection, given he isn’t exactly Mike Vick back there?
The Bengals best come up with something. Because chances are, Nine isn’t going anywhere. He makes a lot of money, and would count a lot against the salary cap. Besides, if you release him from the local football jail, you’re starting all over.
Meantime, three exciting weeks of NFL action remain. The Bengals are undoubtedly the finest 2-11 team in the league. Of course, they are the only 2-11 team in the league. But who’s counting?
“Lost" isn’t just a television show.
No comments:
Post a Comment