Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No...no it isn't. Its a ROOKIE quarterback from a small D-1AA school named Joe Flacco, but on Sunday, he looked like the caped crusader himself. I think that pretty much sums up the Bengals horrific opening game vs the Baltimore Ravens.
They let a kid (he's 23 years old), who many people said looks more like an accountant than a pro football player, RUN a 35 yard touchdown on them...let me repeat...the Bengals new and improved defense let a rookie quarterback RUN a long touchdown on them. The Bengals defense also let Flacco throw for 129 yards (30 yards more than Carson Palmer) and rush for 37 yards (the same amount as the Bengals starting running back Chris Perry).
I have one word for all of you...Oye.
There are only a few words powerful enough to describe the train wreck that is the beginning of the Bengals season. I (the guy who wears a life size tiger suit to the Washington DC Bengals bar, The Bottom Line) was speechless for the majority of the game...I wanted to say so many things...but all I could do was sit there with a blank stare on my face. Once, someone even had to come over and make sure I wasn't having a stroke.
Usually I would chalk this one to the fact that we have new faces, a new D-Coordinator, the weather wasn't right, Carson's favorite t.v. show was canceled the night before, no one was there to tuck Chad into bed on Saturday night...something, that would explain the lack luster performance at Raven's stadium...but I can not even make excuses.
It was terrible. Period. From Carson (one of my favorite players of all time) to Chad/TJ (4 receptions between them) to the coaching staff to Who Dey the mascot (sorry Who Dey, I didn't mean to take a cheap shot at you)...it was terrible.
Let is all hope/wish/pray that something happens this week. Brat gets fired, Marvin steps down, we make a 53 man trade with the Dallas Cowboys...something to help us win again. If something doesn't happen...SOON...we are all in for a long...long season. If Joe Flacco can look like Superman against the Bengals...what is going to happen when we play Brett Favre, Peyton Manning, and Tony Romo? Is there anything out there that is more unstoppable than Superman? Because if there is...this could and will get ugly.
Who Dey.
The one play thats etched in my mind and probably every Bengals fans mind was the Flacco bootleg. Keith Rivers got sucked so bad into the line with such a mediocre fake but that wasn't the worst part. It made me sick to see Rivers running half speed after him down the sideline almost certain that Leon or Dex was going to get off there block and make the tackle. After 25 yards he then realizes that ain't gonna happen, he then hauls ass and proceeds to tackle the cement footed Flacco into the endzone. The embarrasment to be a Bengals fan at that time can only be compared to that of a 13 year old boy being caught tugging his tike in the bathroom by his mortified mother. Awful...just awful.
Posted by: JMo | September 08, 2008 at 08:25 PM