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Chick Ludwig covers the Cincinnati Bengals. He also writes about his other passions: college football, basketball and golf.Home > Blogs > Chick Ludwig At Large > Archives > 2008 > September > 28 > Entry
Bad news for the Bengals: Things are gonna get worse, a lot worse, before they get better; Palmer’s hurt, team’s in disarray
BENGALS ARE A CALAMITY,
WRAPPED IN A DISASTER,
TUCKED INSIDE A TRAGEDY
===LUDWIG AT LARGE claims it’s not the end of the world. It’s just the end of the Cincinnati Bengals’ season. And it could very well be the end of quarterback Carson Palmer’s season if he has to go under the knife to fix his ailing right elbow.===
Brad Johansen — who is also known as Brad So Handsome — came up with the line of the day after the Cincinnati Bengals, and their season, were laid to rest by the Cleveland Browns, 20-12, at Paul Brown Stadium on Sunday:
“God have mercy on Bengals fans for the remainder of the year.”
Brad can’t find a victory on the schedule.
I can’t either.
Houston? Forget it. After Hurricane Ike, Texans fans are dying to play at home…and when they do, woe is their opponent.
New York Jets? Yeah, right. They scored 56 points on Sunday. That’s more than the Bengals have scored (52) in four games.
Kansas City? Hey, the Chiefs just clobbered previously-undefeated Denver.
The way the Bengals are playing, they couldn’t beat Xavier University’s Club Team right now.
And, folks, I hate to say this, but I will. THINGS ARE GOING TO GET A LOT WORSE BEFORE THEY GET BETTER.
That’s like saying American Idol star Clay Aiken is gay.
Not exactly a scoop, now, is it?
I’d like to take this opportunity to apologize to all Cleveland Browns fans. I predicted the Browns would be the first AFC North Division team to implode.
I was wrong.
Dead wrong.
The Bengals are the first AFC North Division team to implode and I’m confident they’ll continue to ride the implosion throughout the 2008 season.
Yes, the Browns are bad. They’re lousy. They stink. They’re terrible. Even horrible.
But the Bengals are worse.
Much worse.
The Bengals are a calamity wrapped in a disaster tucked inside a tragedy.
And, sadly, it’s everywhere … from the offensive and defensive lines … all the way to quarterback.
Quarterback Carson Palmer has an inflamed right elbow that prevented him from playing in Sunday’s debacle against the Browns, and he’ll likely be held out of next week’s game at Dallas.
Palmer wanted to play, but a 20-mule team of Bengals’ doctors, trainers and head coach Marvin Lewis said no.
Holding Palmer out against his wishes was a precautionary measure. But Palmer’s refusal to disclose results of an MRI scan speaks volumes that the injury is more serious than the club is willing to allow.
Palmer was hurt in the first quarter against the New York Giants when he got sacked by cornerback Corey Webster, who pulled Palmer’s arm as it was going forward, causing damage to his elbow.
Backup Ryan Fitzpatrick had moments of productivity against the Browns, rushing for a team-high 41 yards and passing for a TD.
But he had ball-security issues and was too erratic He threw three interceptions, got sacked three times and fumbled on a sack by Cleveland linebacker Alex Hall as the Browns (1-3) kept the Bengals (0-4) winless — along with St. Louis, Detroit and Houston — and evened the “Battle of Ohio” series at 35-35.
Fitzpatrick has to play a smarter, more efficient game to pull off an unlikely upset of the very, very angry Dallas Cowboys (3-1), who are licking their wounds after a 26-24 loss to the visiting Washington Redskins.
Now Dallas is licking its chops at the thought of feasting on the Bengals without Palmer.
The Bengals have more issues than Wall Street.
They play neither hard nor smart; litter the field with mistakes; commit too many stupid penalties; and everything from their game management to clock management to time-outs management is absolutely brutal.
Sunday’s game wasn’t a carnival of color, sound, action and fury. It was a 2-hour, 57-minute root canal.
I needed more caffeine than usual to stay awake in the press box.
The Bengals are gonna have to hustle to be as good as 2-14.
“God have mercy on Bengals fans for the remainder of the year.”
You damn right.
Permalink | Comments (16) | Post your comment | Categories: Bengals
Comments
By John
September 28, 2008 11:39 PM | Link to this
Reality! Reality seems to be settling in with our “Chickster”. The Bengals will contend the rest of this season for the First draft pick next year. Concerning Marvin and benching Carson; Marvin probably sees more QB sacks coming and is protecting his QB in ways the OL can’t get it done. Too bad for Ryan.By Phil
September 29, 2008 12:10 AM | Link to this
Chick, Attention needs to be paid to Chuck Bresnahan’s PATHETIC play calling. The number of times I could predict a Chris Perry run up the middle was almost 100%. The offense is arcaic. I was furious last year when Bresnahan wasn’t fired along w/ the D coordinator. Bresnehan did way less with a lot more last season. His days are numbered (I hope). The play calling is like a junior high offense; no creativity and easy to defend. Look to last week’s flea flicker and its success, without more creative play calling even a pro bowl offense would suck!By jon
September 29, 2008 1:27 AM | Link to this
Phil, do you play for the bengals?By larry
September 29, 2008 6:33 AM | Link to this
hey phil, the offensive un-cordinatoor is bob bratkowski.but, i don’t blame you for being so incensed.i was going to call for shula’s head! or is it homer rice’s!By VietVet
September 29, 2008 6:51 AM | Link to this
Cheesy little flea market team getting exactly what it deserves.Replacing coaches won’t help.Can’t fix the problem until the franchise owner sells the team and the new owner allows the new coach and GM to run the team and stays out of it.Won’t happen in Cincy for a long time. Brown is too stubborn to give up control.Get use to losing as long as he’s around.By larry
September 29, 2008 7:53 AM | Link to this
hey phil, the offensive un-cordinatoor is bob bratkowski.but, i don’t blame you for being so incensed.i was going to call for shula’s head! or is it homer rice’s!By Steven Ross
September 29, 2008 8:34 AM | Link to this
VietVet hit the nail on the head. The infrastructure is flawed and replete with feckless nepostism. Nothing changes until the Brown Family moves on. Period!By 0-16!
September 29, 2008 9:19 AM | Link to this
It’s time to root for reverse perfection. The Pats trademarked “19-0” and the NY Post trademarked “18-1”, it’s time for Ludwig at Large to trademark “0-16”! Let’s join together to witness and embrace history! Fortunately, if it can’t get done this year, the window will be open for a very long time, which meams maybe we can even get it done twice!! This is something that Shula, Coslett, and even LeBeau couldn’t do; Marvin Lewis is the right guy for the job. In Marvin We Trust! Believe in Now… Or Next Year… or perhaps the year after that if we’re lucky…By Doco
September 29, 2008 9:28 AM | Link to this
Even as bad as the Bengalberries played, they still had a chance to drive for the tying score….until Alex Hall was allowed to start a play in the Bengals backfield and get to the QB untouched! Chick, was there any mention of that offsides after the game? The DVR was pretty clear.By Yippee
September 29, 2008 9:59 AM | Link to this
“Brown is too stubborn to give up control.Get use to losing as long as he’s around.” Hahaha, get used to it? We’ve been used to it for the last 15+ years! The Bengals are now back to the pre-Marvin days…By Akili Smith
September 29, 2008 10:36 AM | Link to this
It only took 9 posts for a pathetic, whiney Bangholes fan to blame the refs for this sucky team. Put down the kool-aid and back away Doco. Or change your name to Loco. Now go wash your Choko Sucko jersey that you cried into all night.By MGOOTEE
September 29, 2008 10:39 AM | Link to this
until mike brown leaves cincinnati.. we will never have a team… wake up 18 years of this is enough..please move.. who cares anymore… thanks mike . no wounder every good player wants out… they know they r in football hell no way out….By Browns Fan
September 29, 2008 10:59 AM | Link to this
Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha (Catching breath) Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha Where all you bungle fans hiding at now, most likely on Ebay trying to get what you can for your worthless tickets. Kind if like Wall Street this morning.By Hey IDIOT Brown fan
September 29, 2008 11:55 AM | Link to this
What are you laughing at, typical browns fan to be happy wit that win, anyone but Cincy would of stomped a mudhole in Cleveland.Theyll be lucky to win one more than cincy this year, which aint more than four by the way!!! Different year same story, wont change until Mike Brown gives up the team, he is making a MOCKERY of his dads legacy not honoring it. See ya in 09 for the SAME thing.By Derrick
September 29, 2008 1:38 PM | Link to this
There needs to be a total housecleaning in Cincinnati starting at the very top with the executives and including all coaches, trainers, lobbyists, and a lot of players who can’t do the job either. Run ‘em out of town, or lock up the stadium so they can’t dishonor it any longer. Start a write-in campaign asking for ticket refunds (just for the aggravation of it)By Jer
September 29, 2008 5:14 PM | Link to this
People really expect the Bengals to win that game after it was announced the Carson Palmer wasn’t playing? I thought it was a miracle the Bengals were winning 6-3. I disagree with Chick on a few things. I thought the Bengals actually played hard. The defense played fair enough to win. In fact, the defense actually seems mediocre this year, but unforutnately, the offense usually stinks. The Bengals win the game easily if Carson Palmer plays. I’d rather see his brother play than Fitzpatrick. It’d at least make for an interesting storyline. In closing, Mike Brown is still the problem and will always be the problem.