Some of you may have caught Comrade Simon's post about some bogus excuses being thrown around. He briefly discussed Mark Crunutte's article claiming the defense is playing better this year. This is pure spin worthy of any top political campaign. Let's examine how one constructs a misleading and utterly worthless piece of journalism.
First, find a fact which may support a conclusion. Bengals defense has given up 17 points per game this year. Last year, 24.1. Next, draw a conclusion without considering ANY context. Seriously, just say the Bengals D is playing better this year than last year. Do not mention week 1 where they gave up over 350 total yards, including 229 rushing to a rookie qb from Delaware, rookie RB from Rutgers and a 260 lb fullback with 18 yards rushing in his career. Do not mention the 24 points Tennessee scored with a backup QB (Kerry bleeping Collins) playing with 60 mph winds. Also do not mention how the Bengals Offense has been so bad, that other teams can simply run the ball every single play to run the clock out, and the D has done NOTHING to stop it.
Finally, after making a completely asinine statement, try to qualify it with an equally meaningless fact. The Bengals still give up too many big plays, and then play it off like it is not a big problem because it is just "one or two plays." Are you kidding me? Does it matter if you give up 6 rushes for 60 yards or one carry for 60 yards? I don't care. I know the scoreboard doesn't either.
I understand Mr. Crunutte is a beat writer and his job is to simply report the "facts". And yes, I understand that the Bengals giving up fewer ppg this year is a "fact". But to take that piece of information completely out of context and try to support a conclusion (Bengals D is better) is either lazy journalism or an attempt to mislead readers into finding something positive about the first two games.
I know it can be very difficult for a beat writer to be critial of the players, coaches, and managment because of the day to day interaction with the people involved. I know if Mr. Crunutte wrote that Levi Jones does not deserve to play in the NFL anymore (which is true), he would have to stand up to him and explain himself. But this is why you receive a paycheck for doing your job (and not from Mike Brown) and I just waste my time obsessing about a team that does not care. The only good thing about this article is how the Enquirer commentators have called our Mr. Crunutte and his absurd declaration. But when Enquirer commentators become the voice of reason, the world is in serious danger.
The post was brought to you by firejoemorgan.com...and I LOVE it. Seriously, that is simply a shoddy piece of sports reporting worthy only of ESPN.
Posted by: Sleeping With Bieniemy | September 15, 2008 at 06:41 PM
I think Geoff Hobson ghost wrote that article.
Posted by: Andrew Simon | September 15, 2008 at 07:11 PM