Cincinnati Bungles Another

The accursed Cincinnati Bengals (or, the "Bungles," as the late, great Myron Cope loved to call them) found yet another new way to lose today -- and stunningly, at that.

As the Dayton Daily News reported in an artice headlined, "Snakebit Bungles Lose on Broncos' Miracle" ...

"What appeared to be a one-point Cincinnati victory turned into a heartbreaking, five-point Bengals’ defeat in a matter of seconds ... The Denver Broncos pulled out a 12-7 triumph over the Bengals in the season opener for both teams on a miracle play with 11 seconds ... Kyle Orton’s desperation pass toward Brandon Marshall on the left sideline was tipped into the hands of Brandon Stokley for an 87-yard, game-winning touchdown. "

And, as noted on the Bengals' Web site, in a post titled, "Nightmare at Paul Brown Stadium" ...

"The brilliant defense got absolutely no help from a staggering offense that offered no consistent running game or protection for quarterback Carson Palmer and the boos of 62,831 greeted the third-quarter gun as the Bengals flirted with their first shutout since 2001."

Again, from the Dayton Daily News ...

"This snakebit franchise could overcome neither themselves, the Broncos nor the football gods.

"Among Cincinnati’s mistakes: Brad St. Louis’ high snap that sailed through the hands of holder Kevin Huber on a botched 28-yard field goal attempt at 1:51 of the first quarter; two interceptions thrown by quarterback Carson Palmer; and two dropped passes by Laveranues Coles — my goat of the game.

"Coles never dropped one pass all spring or summer. Clearly, he’s already 'Bengalized.'"

The Bungles stink. Again.

(photo credit: Jeff Swinger, The Cincinnati Enquirer)

The Rest of the NFL Begins Play Today

Fresh on the heels of Thursday night's blockbuster NFL season opener between the Super Bowl Champion Steelers and the Nashville Titans -- which happened to be the highest-rated televised event since the Super Bowl on Feb. 1 -- the rest of the NFL teams kick off their season today. Should be fun.

Actually, the slate really isn't all that compelling. Sure, there may be some good game, along with some match-ups and rookie debuts that will be interesting to watch, but really ... Lions-Saints? Chiefs-Ravens? Vikings-Browns? Rams-Seahawks? Bills-Patriots? Come onnn-n-n.

Those games are likely to be one-sided or just plain drab.

Granted, all eyes will be Brett Favre-Favre-Favre. Brady Quinn? Maybe. And rookie QB sensation Mark Sanchez, sure, as the Jets take on the Texans in Houston. But, still ... puh-lee-e-ease.

Two games, in any case, should draw the attention of Steelers fans.

One is the Broncos-Bengals clash in Cincinnati. The Broncos are of interest because the Steelers play at Denver on Nov. 9, and the Broncos have had arguably the most turbulent off-season of any NFL team, although you could add Tampa Bay, Oakland and Minnesota to that conversation.

Denver's new boy-wonder head coach, Josh McDaniels, is a Bill Bellicheat protege. McDaniels promptly set about to make his mark in the Mile High City by trading the whining, so-called franchise quarterback Jay Cutler to Chicago for a bundle of future draft choices and chronic underachieving drunk QB Kyle Orton. That should go well. Yeah. Oh, and Denver, of course, also has been prominently in the news because of the summer-long antics of petulant prima donna wideout Brandon Marshall, who demanded a re-worked contract and then a trade, and who pouted, sulked and acted out like a pouty enfant terrible all summer. The Broncos finally suspended him, only to lift the suspension last Friday and supposedly offer a lucrative contract
extension to reward, uh, what? We're not really sure. Maybe just to show who's in charge, which of course begs the question, Who is in charge there, anyway? Again, we're not sure.

For all that, the Broncos do have some potent offensive weapons (except at the crucial quarterback position). For all we know, too, McDaniels may be a good Xs-and-Os game manager. And Denver is always tough at home, which is where the Steelers will play them.

As for Cincinnati, the Bengals will be interesting to watch today simply because they are a divisional rival, and we play at Cincinnati in only two weeks.

Every year, Joey Porter's Pit Bulls keep expecting the Bengals to improve significantly. And, every year, the Bungles suck. This year, we expect to see improvements on a defense that ranked No. 12 overall in the NFL last season, believe it or not. And quarterback Carson Palmer, as over-rated as we believe he is, does return (presumably healthy). So, yes, the Bungles once again concern us, and they bear watching, for as long as you can stomach it.

Speaking of bears, of particular interest to Steelers' fans will be tonight's Bears-Packers game, since the Steelers play at Chicago next Sunday. We shall see if the much-ballyhooed arrival of wunderkind Jay Cutler will pan out as hoped in Chicagoland. Yeah, we know: Cutler has a big arm. The punk, however, has never won anything. His career record at Vanderbilt and in Denver is well below .500. And Chicago still doesn't have any wide receivers who are accomplished, polished or much of a threat. We shall see.

Should be fun.

Get Well, Troy

Joey Porter's Pit Bulls are cautiously optimistic the Steelers will continue to win without Troy Polamulu, athough the All-World safety took his play to a new, astounding level in the first half of Thursday's season opener against Tennessee. It's a concern, certainly, and we're keeping our fingers crossed for his full and speedy recovery.

Pro Football Weekly aptly summed up the situation of his absence and what it might mean for the Steelers, as things stand today ...

"The Steelers have fared well in Polamalu's absence before. In the eight career games he has missed, Pittsburgh has limited opponents to 10 points or less six times. In another instance, his absence coincided with other starters resting in the meaningless 2007 season finale vs. Baltimore, a game the Ravens won 27-21.

"The other game Polamalu missed came in Week 14 of the 2007 season, when Patriots QB Tom Brady riddled the Pittsburgh secondary in a 34-13 Patriots victory. Surely you recall Steelers FS Anthony Smith's prediction of victory and his inability to back up his words.

"Smith, of course, is no longer a Steeler, but Clark, who missed the New England debacle, too, is playing at a high level. And Carter knows the defense very well.

"This isn't to say that the Steelers won't miss Polamalu if he's not in the lineup when Pittsburgh is slated to face quarterbacks like Jay Cutler, Carson Palmer and Philip Rivers and runners like Adrian Peterson and LaDainian Tomlinson in the weeks to come. But there is more than enough talent to ensure the Pittsburgh defense's play won't regress to the point that it's a weakness."

Sounds about right.