Bengals using bye week to find identity and avoid meltdown
Published 12:40 am Sunday, October 17, 2010
The Associated Press
CINCINNATI — The Bengals are going through an identity crisis.
No longer a run-first team, they haven’t figured how to pass their way to wins. Coaches that played it safe a year ago, letting the punter and the defense finish ’em off, are now taking risks with the game on the line. Instead of staying at the top, they’re closing in on the bottom.
Who are these Bengals?
They’ve got a week to figure it out. And if they don’t, a meltdown could be right behind.
Cincinnati (2-3) had plenty of things to think about during its bye. The defending AFC North champs dropped back-to-back games to lowly Cleveland and youthful Tampa Bay. Now the tough part of their schedule kicks in — at Atlanta, Miami, Pittsburgh, at Indianapolis, Buffalo, at the Jets, New Orleans, at Pittsburgh.
The Bengals know they’re already teetering on the brink.
“The panic button is going to get hit,” receiver Chad Ochocinco said. “You go into a hole at 2-4 and that’s tough. Especially with the schedule we have, that’s tough.”
A lot of the bye-week introspection involves the offense.
There was no mystery last season on their way to a title. They ran the ball, whether the receivers liked it or not. They loaded up on extra linemen to block for Cedric Benson, who set a club record with six 100-yard games.
The playoffs were a reality check. Unable to throw the ball, they got drubbed by the Jets, who could do a little of both. So Cincinnati decided to change. The Bengals signed receiver Terrell Owens. They drafted pass-catching tight end Jermaine Gresham. They figured their balance would help them do something no other Bengals team has done — win back-to-back division titles.
Instead, they’re stuck, only one game out of last place.
“Right now, we don’t have an identity because we’re not doing either one well or we’re not doing either one well enough,” Ochocinco said. “Expectations are super-high. Everyone is focusing in on Terrell and I being so explosive, but it’s not that easy.”
And things are reaching the critical point. Players are starting to wonder what’s going on.
Benson is sometimes on the sideline now on third-and-short plays, and he doesn’t know why. Asked if it’s frustrating, Benson said, “I suppose, but I removed my emotions from the game weeks ago.
“You know, the decisions that are made for me to not be in on third down or whatever plays are called on third down — I have no control over (it), so I totally remove myself from getting emotionally involved in that. I could throw a fit or do anything, but that’s not going to change anything. Matter of fact, I don’t think anybody’s going to listen.”
He’s not the only one.
Owens did an interview with Michael Irvin before a 24-21 loss to Tampa Bay and said that he’s also given suggestions for improving the offense, but has been ignored.
“They hear it, but it’s one of those things — they’re listening but they’re not hearing me, one of those type of deals,” Owens said. “I just want to win. That’s all I want to do. I want to give that input to help us win.”
The coaching staff hasn’t been able to correct the many flaws. After the coaches harped on false-start penalties for weeks, the Bengals went out against Tampa Bay and had two false starts on the opening drive, which ended with a punt.
Twice, coach Marvin Lewis had to explain a decision that went awry. The Bengals failed to get a field-goal attempt in the closing minutes of the first half at Carolina, when he decided to try to score a touchdown instead of taking a chip-shot kick. The clock ran out after a completion.
Lewis took the blame for throwing in the closing minutes against Tampa Bay even though the Bengals had a seven-point lead and the Bucs were out of timeouts. Lewis said he wanted to finish off Tampa Bay by getting a first down rather than punting and letting the defense do the work.
For the first time during his eight years in Cincinnati, Carson Palmer is becoming a target for unhappy fans. He was booed loudly on Sunday as the team collapsed in the closing minutes.
“I’ve been in this situation before,” said Palmer, whose passer rating is a below-average 78.3. “That’s really par for the course when you play quarterback. You’re expected to win games and when you don’t, you take the brunt of it. When you do, you take a little more credit than you deserve.”
The most disturbing trend: In some important areas, things aren’t getting any better.
“As a football team goes, I think we have a good group of players that are going to perform and be pros, take a look at themselves, don’t look any further than the end of their nose and know that our opportunity to be successful long-term lies right there in front of them,” Lewis said.
If the losing continues much longer, the locker room won’t go quietly. Owens made that clear.
“I don’t want this to be taken in a sense that oh, I’m griping,” Owens said. “It’s frustrating to lose. That’s not what I came here for. And yeah, it’s early in the season, but I don’t want to use that as a crutch. When it’s week 12, 13, 14, 15, you can’t say that no more. The time is now.”