Reds and Bengals: No longer anything to joke about
I never thought I would see the day when the Cincinnati Reds and Cincinnati Bengals would both be good at the same time. Well, the day has come as the sports gods are finally starting to smile on the Queen City. Where they have been the last 20 years is beyond me, but hopefully now they are hear to stay. It's no secret that the Reds and Bengals have been, well quite, horrible for the past, I don't know, 20 years. With the exception of the Bengals two short playoff appearances, the professional sports team in this town have been embarrassing to say the least, but not anymore.
The Reds, baring a major collapse, should make the playoffs for the first time since 1995. They have enough pitchers to make up two major league teams and a variety of young and veteran talent that makes them a very dangerous team. The Cuban Missile, Aroldis Chapman, whose has been clocked throwing 103 mph, might get the call up in the next week, which gives the Reds just one more powerful young arm. Aaron Harang and Homer Bailey are still due to come back from the disabled list and Chris Dickerson should give the outfield a much needed boost when he returns.
The major turning point in the season could come down to the series against the St. Louis Cardinals next week. The Reds and Cardinals have been trading places for the whole season and with the Reds having just a 1/2 game lead, the door could be blown wide open with taking 2 or 3 from the red birds. The Reds are better than the Cardinals in every facet of the game and I would take MVP Candidate Joey Votto over the Cardinals MVP, Albert Pujols, any day of the week. If the Reds make the playoffs and Joey Votto continues to lead the NL in hitting and stays in the top 5 in HR and RBI, no question he wins MVP. First Red to win MVP since I think Barry Larkin in 1995, but don't quote me on that.
Usually by August the Reds are 20 games out of first and the talk of the town is all Bengals, but this year people are talking about the Bengals as much as they are the Reds. The Bengals finally have to share some of the spotlight, which is just fine with them. I love a team that flies under the radar and is a dark horse, and the Bengals are just that. The rest of the NFL stills doesn't think much of the Bengals, even though they went to the playoffs last year. Although the Bengals have a tough schedule, I think they can still make the playoffs and even win the division for the second year in a row.
I have never been so excited for a Bengals season in my life, because it looks like Mike Brown finally decided to try and make a commitment to winning. It only took him 20 years to figure it out. The Bengals had a great draft, Jermaine Gresham and Jordan Shipley are great weapons for Carson to throw to and Carlos Dunlap, Brandon Ghee and Roddrick Muckelroy give the defense some added depth. Then their is the man that everyone knows by just by two initials, T.O.
When I first heard that the Bengals were interested in signing T.O. (Terrell Owens) I thought it was a terrible idea, but now seeing Owens in camp, I think he will fit in just fine. T.O, Shipley, Gresham, Cedric Benson and Chad Ochocinco are 5 pretty damn good players and I challenge you to find a team with 5 better position players than the Bengals.
A solid defense, with an outstanding defense coordinator in Mike Zimmer, reining Coach of the Year Marvin Lewis, an offense loaded with weapons, equals one scary good team. Bring on the first place schedule because the Bengals are ready. Get to see them in action for the first time in the Hall of Fame Game, Sunday night live from Canton, Ohio. Are you ready for some football? Hell yeah, with a bit of playoff baseball thrown in of course.
Before the season I will write about the upcoming season in more detail, along with my predictions for the Bengals and the rest of the league. Including surprises, MVP, rookies that will make an impact, and more. But first here is who I believe the starters (in bold) will be for the Week 1 matchup against the Patriots, as well as who else is bound to make the team.
Offense
QB: Carson Palmer; J.T. O'Sullivan
RB: Cedric Benson; Bernard Scott; Brian Leonard
FB: Fui Vakapuna
WR: Chad Ochocinco; Terrell Owens; Antonio Bryant; Jordan Shipley; Andre Caldwell; Quan Cosby
TE: Jermaine Gresham; Reggie Kelly; Chase Coffman
C: Kyle Cook; Jonathan Luigs
G: Bobbie Williams; Nate Livings; Evan Mathis; Otis Hudson
T: Andrew Whitworth; Andre Smith; Dennis Roland; Anthony Collins
Defense
DE: Antwan Odom; Robert Geathers; Michael Johnson; Carlos Dunlap, Frostee Rucker
DT: Domata Peko; Tank Johnson; Pat Sims; Jonathan Fanene, Geno Atkins
LB: Keith Rivers, Dhani Jones; Rey Maualuga; Roddrick Muckelroy; Rashad Jeanty; Brandon Johnson
CB: Leon Hall; Jonathan Joseph; Morgan Trent; Brandon Ghee; Adam (Pacman) Jones, David Jones
S: Roy Williams; Chris Crocker; Chinedum Ndukwe; Kyries Hebert; Gibril Wilson
Special Teams
K: Mike Nugent
P: Kevin Huber
LS: Clark Harris
Other possible players to make it:
K: Dave Rayner
QB: Jordan Palmer, Carson's younger brother
WR: Dez Briscoe; Jerome Simpson
DB: Rico Murray, played some last year and he went to Moeller; Mike Mickens, former UC Bearcat
LS: Mike Wundt, excellent long snapper from UC and has lots of experience snapping to punter and former Bearcat Kevin Huber, which might be to his advantage.
And here's what others are saying about the Bengals, yes even ESPN likes what they see out of the Bengals.
http://espn.go.com/blog/afcnorth/post/_/id/15527/camp-confidential-bengals
The Reds, baring a major collapse, should make the playoffs for the first time since 1995. They have enough pitchers to make up two major league teams and a variety of young and veteran talent that makes them a very dangerous team. The Cuban Missile, Aroldis Chapman, whose has been clocked throwing 103 mph, might get the call up in the next week, which gives the Reds just one more powerful young arm. Aaron Harang and Homer Bailey are still due to come back from the disabled list and Chris Dickerson should give the outfield a much needed boost when he returns.
The major turning point in the season could come down to the series against the St. Louis Cardinals next week. The Reds and Cardinals have been trading places for the whole season and with the Reds having just a 1/2 game lead, the door could be blown wide open with taking 2 or 3 from the red birds. The Reds are better than the Cardinals in every facet of the game and I would take MVP Candidate Joey Votto over the Cardinals MVP, Albert Pujols, any day of the week. If the Reds make the playoffs and Joey Votto continues to lead the NL in hitting and stays in the top 5 in HR and RBI, no question he wins MVP. First Red to win MVP since I think Barry Larkin in 1995, but don't quote me on that.
Usually by August the Reds are 20 games out of first and the talk of the town is all Bengals, but this year people are talking about the Bengals as much as they are the Reds. The Bengals finally have to share some of the spotlight, which is just fine with them. I love a team that flies under the radar and is a dark horse, and the Bengals are just that. The rest of the NFL stills doesn't think much of the Bengals, even though they went to the playoffs last year. Although the Bengals have a tough schedule, I think they can still make the playoffs and even win the division for the second year in a row.
I have never been so excited for a Bengals season in my life, because it looks like Mike Brown finally decided to try and make a commitment to winning. It only took him 20 years to figure it out. The Bengals had a great draft, Jermaine Gresham and Jordan Shipley are great weapons for Carson to throw to and Carlos Dunlap, Brandon Ghee and Roddrick Muckelroy give the defense some added depth. Then their is the man that everyone knows by just by two initials, T.O.
When I first heard that the Bengals were interested in signing T.O. (Terrell Owens) I thought it was a terrible idea, but now seeing Owens in camp, I think he will fit in just fine. T.O, Shipley, Gresham, Cedric Benson and Chad Ochocinco are 5 pretty damn good players and I challenge you to find a team with 5 better position players than the Bengals.
A solid defense, with an outstanding defense coordinator in Mike Zimmer, reining Coach of the Year Marvin Lewis, an offense loaded with weapons, equals one scary good team. Bring on the first place schedule because the Bengals are ready. Get to see them in action for the first time in the Hall of Fame Game, Sunday night live from Canton, Ohio. Are you ready for some football? Hell yeah, with a bit of playoff baseball thrown in of course.
Before the season I will write about the upcoming season in more detail, along with my predictions for the Bengals and the rest of the league. Including surprises, MVP, rookies that will make an impact, and more. But first here is who I believe the starters (in bold) will be for the Week 1 matchup against the Patriots, as well as who else is bound to make the team.
Offense
QB: Carson Palmer; J.T. O'Sullivan
RB: Cedric Benson; Bernard Scott; Brian Leonard
FB: Fui Vakapuna
WR: Chad Ochocinco; Terrell Owens; Antonio Bryant; Jordan Shipley; Andre Caldwell; Quan Cosby
TE: Jermaine Gresham; Reggie Kelly; Chase Coffman
C: Kyle Cook; Jonathan Luigs
G: Bobbie Williams; Nate Livings; Evan Mathis; Otis Hudson
T: Andrew Whitworth; Andre Smith; Dennis Roland; Anthony Collins
Defense
DE: Antwan Odom; Robert Geathers; Michael Johnson; Carlos Dunlap, Frostee Rucker
DT: Domata Peko; Tank Johnson; Pat Sims; Jonathan Fanene, Geno Atkins
LB: Keith Rivers, Dhani Jones; Rey Maualuga; Roddrick Muckelroy; Rashad Jeanty; Brandon Johnson
CB: Leon Hall; Jonathan Joseph; Morgan Trent; Brandon Ghee; Adam (Pacman) Jones, David Jones
S: Roy Williams; Chris Crocker; Chinedum Ndukwe; Kyries Hebert; Gibril Wilson
Special Teams
K: Mike Nugent
P: Kevin Huber
LS: Clark Harris
Other possible players to make it:
K: Dave Rayner
QB: Jordan Palmer, Carson's younger brother
WR: Dez Briscoe; Jerome Simpson
DB: Rico Murray, played some last year and he went to Moeller; Mike Mickens, former UC Bearcat
LS: Mike Wundt, excellent long snapper from UC and has lots of experience snapping to punter and former Bearcat Kevin Huber, which might be to his advantage.
And here's what others are saying about the Bengals, yes even ESPN likes what they see out of the Bengals.
http://espn.go.com/blog/afcnorth/post/_/id/15527/camp-confidential-bengals
SWEEP! So much for your "The Reds are better than the Cardinals in every facet of the game"
ReplyDeleteThe Reds acted like 2 year-olds!
to whoever made this harsh comment let's see who's one top in october. I appericiate the comment, at least someone reads my blog, which is nice to see, but who's in first place now. Oh, yeah that's right the Reds. So, before you count the Reds out, let them finsh the season then let's talk. And the Cardinals complain like 2 year olds and fight like 2 year olds too.
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