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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 > December > 29 > Entry
No heads roll: Business as usual in Cincy
SOMEBODY NEEDS TO BE
HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR
BENGALS’ 4-11-1 SEASON
OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR BRATKOWSKI,
O-LINE LINE COACH PAUL ALEXANDER
SHOULD BE UNDER HEAVY SCRUTINY
On a day when three NFL head coaches lost their jobs — Cleveland’s Romeo Crennel (4-12), Detroit’s Rod Marinelli (0-16) and the New York Jets’ Eric Mangini (9-7) — it was business as usual in Cincinnati.
No way was Bengals owner/president Mike Brown going to fire head coach Marvin Lewis. Mike can’t be happy about what transpired in 2008, but he wasn’t going to dump Marvin and eat his salary.
Marvin Lewis
Lewis got to keep his job despite a 4-11-1 record and he had no coaching changes to announce during his rather dull and informative season-ending news conference on Monday afternoon.
As far as his assistant coaches are concerned …
“We’ll see what happens when it happens,” said Lewis, who acknowledged that “some guys have aspirations.”
One of those guys is quarterbacks coach Ken Zampese, who longs to be an offensive coordinator in the NFL.
Lewis said right offensive tackle Stacy Andrews will undergo surgery on his torn right ACL, linebacker Keith Rivers will have an ankle cleaned out and cornerback David Jones will have a knee scope.
Ken Zampese
Lewis also said it “remains to be seen” whether or not wide receiver Chad Johnson needs surgery to repair the torn labrum he suffered in the preseason.
Clearly, the offensive line was the most disappointing unit on the squad. The O-line got its act together for the final three games of the season, but by then it was too late.
“We have to get better,” Lewis said. “That’s one of the areas we have to get better in.”
It all started with a Week One 17-10 loss at Baltimore when “we didn’t knock people off the ball,” Lewis said.
What did Lewis discover about his team?
“When you have guys who want to play, you have a chance to be more productive,” he said.
Lewis also praised the defense, and rightfully so. The unit finished 12th overall in yards allowed (325.5) — the highest ranking in Lewis’ six years as head coach.
The credit, of course, goes to first-year defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer. The job he did was nothing short of miraculous.
“Each and every week, Mike put an outstanding plan together,” Lewis said.
The unit gave up a ton of explosive plays the first half of the season. In the second half, those mistakes disappeared.
A tip of the cap to Dhani Jones, John Thornton, Domata Peko and Chris Crocker for their production … and leadership.
And what about the three rookie wide receivers … Andre Caldwell (11 catches, 78 yards), Jerome Simpson (1 catch, 2 yards) and Mario Urrutia (practice squad)?
“I was very happy with what I saw out of both of those guys (Caldwell & Simpson), including Mario,” Lewis said.
Mike Brown
Let it be known that Simpson’s redshirt season is over. He was picked in the second round over the Eagles’ DeSean Jackson (62 catches, 912 yards and 2 TDs).
You tell me … which team got the better deal?
The Bengals need to quit drafting “workout warriors” and pick proven players.
DEFENSE
(Category—Per-game average—NFL rank)
Points—22.8—19th
Total Yards—325.5—12th
Passing Yards—205.4—15th
Rushing Yards—120.1—21st
OFFENSE
(Category—Per-game average—NFL rank)
Points—12.8—32nd
Total Yards—245.4—32nd
Passing Yards—150.4—30th
Rushing Yards—95.0—29th
IN OTHER NEWS:
The Bengals on Monday signed seven players to the team’s offseason roster. All seven were on the Bengals practice squad as the 2008 season concluded. The seven are:
G James Blair (Western Michigan)
CB Marcus Brown (McNeese State)
C/G Digger Bujnoch (Cincinnati)
DE Victor DeGrate (Oklahoma State)
WR Maurice Purify (Nebraska)
FB J.D. Runnels (Oklahoma)
WR Mario Urrutia (Louisville)
Note — Runnels was a third-year NFL player in 2008. DeGrate was classified a first-year player. The other five players signed were rookies in ’08.
THE BENGALS WOULD LIKE TO DEDICATE THIS SONG TO THEIR LOYAL FANS:
Permalink | Comments (8) | Post your comment | Categories: Bengals
Comments
By Robert Young
December 29, 2008 3:17 PM | Link to this
No front office changes equals me not sending in a ticket deposit check for Mikey to redeem. Mikey you’re run at being the Redeemer has come to an end for this household. Goodbye 20+ years of season tickets and hello big screen from Best Buy.By Michael
December 29, 2008 3:51 PM | Link to this
Nothing will really change until Mike Brown gets a general manager, and that probably won’t happen until Mike Brown is too weak mentally to realize what papers he is signing.By Mike
December 29, 2008 3:58 PM | Link to this
Definitely get rid of the predictable one, Bob Bratkowski. Promote Zampese. He has earned it. As for O-line coach, is there any other option but approaching Richie Braham? I think Mike Zimmer could be the guy that replaces Giggles Lewis in the next few years.By BJO
December 29, 2008 4:33 PM | Link to this
Would Marvin ever consider having MB go after Brian Billick as O-Coordinator? Either way, I think Alexander deserves a chance at redemption. Injuries and the Brown/Blackburn morons took away his top players. We must get a tackle in the draft, even though I live me some Beanie.By psychostats
December 29, 2008 5:16 PM | Link to this
Twelve months ago, the Bengals fired both their defensive coordinator and their linebackers coach. That made me think that maybe, just maybe, they would see the light and fire Bratkowski this offseason. Is it naive to think it could still happen? Here’s part of an old report from espn.com (Jan. 2, 2008): “Just days after indicating that he was satisfied with the work of his staff, Cincinnati Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis fired defensive coordinator Chuck Bresnahan and linebackers coach Ricky Hunley on Wednesday.” Well, we can dream, can’t we?By photoman
December 29, 2008 5:58 PM | Link to this
I believe these coaches are “teflon coated” until the stadium seats are empty on game day. Remember, MB’s goals have been met with the sellout crowds every Sunday.By thadanimal1980
December 29, 2008 8:43 PM | Link to this
the worse part about the sellouts and the team is alot of the young people who but tickets don’t pay as much attention as some of the die hards or longtime fans. When you lose the fans of 20 years, you lose families. its all a party, I know. I was there. But then I wised up and went for the free tickets. We need a Offensive Cord. thats for sure. But like Chick said… there needs to be proven players, not project players.By Ft. Myers Foursome
December 30, 2008 4:12 AM | Link to this
Fire Bratkowski, yes. Paul Alexander, no. For years Alexander has taken nobodys from nowhere and developed them into productive linemen. What he can’t do is get into the minds of players like Levi Jones and Stacy Andrews and make them want to play hard. Who knows, maybe this year he can find a center who can hold his own. I know one thing. If the offensive line doesn’t improve, you better resign Fitzpatrick bacause Palmer isn’t fast enough to last a whole season.