NFL 2012: Week 8 Picks
Let's start off with a question that football fans have heard far too often over the last 21 years in the city of Cincinnati. Are you ready to give up on the Bengals yet?
After watching the Bengals the last three weeks, I think fans in this city have come to the realization that the Bengals are indeed just a mediocre football team and although it's only October, it may be time to start looking ahead to next season.
I now realize that at the start of the season I was naive. I was naive to think that ownership cared about winning. I was naive in thinking that the coaching was good and I was wrong about the talent. It might look good on paper, but it surely hasn't been good on the field.
The Bengals were unimpressive once again last week in a 24-17 loss to the arch rival Pittsburgh Steelers and to make matters worse, millions of people saw it on Sunday night football. I thought the tides had finally changed in Cincinnati, but I guess I was wrong and being a lifelong Bengals fan I should've known better.
Back in 2010, the Bengals went 10-6 and won the division which led everyone to believe that they had finally turned the corner and had found a way to win on a consistent basis. A dismal 2010 season at 4-12 proved otherwise. Fast forward to 2012 and history has repeated itself. Last year was so promising with the Bengals making the playoffs despite their two best players being rookies. Andy Dalton and A.J. Green got fans excited about Bengals football again and for the first time in 20 years, it looked like the Bengals had finally put together a team capable of winning 10 games every season. Once again, however, the fans have been misled.
So, what happens next?
Marvin Lewis is in his 10th season as head coach of the Cincinnati Bengals and in that time he has a record of 72-80-1, including a record of 0-3 in the playoffs. I like Marvin, but it's time for a change. He did some good things while he was here, like getting the Bengals to three playoff games and he made the Bengals respectable again. Instead of being the laughing stocks of the league, the Bengals actually gained some respect from the league, the media and the fans. However, 10 years is a long time and I think the Bengals need a new scheme and a new face leading this football team.
The biggest thing that needs to happen though is the present ownership needs to step aside. Owner Mike Brown has brought Cincinnati fans nothing but heartaches since he took over the team in 1991 and a record of 127-215-1 (.371 winning percentage) doesn't even begin to describe how terrible the last 21 years have been. The fact of the matter is though, Mike Brown will probably never step down as owner, general manager and dictator of the organization, so fans might have to wait until he's pushing up daises to see Mr. Brown out of the owner's box. Mike Brown likes money though, we all know that, so why doesn't do us all a favor and sell the team?
Earlier this year, Forbes released its list of the most valuable teams in the NFL and out of 32 teams, the Cincinnati Bengals came in at #26, valued at $871 million. The one thing that Mike Brown should be commended for is the fact that according to Forbes, the Bengals somehow had $18 million in profit. To make $18 million of a team this pathetic is truly mind blowing, but nonetheless there has to be a group of people out there with $871 million to throw at Mike Brown to get him to sell this team. In fact it would probably take close to $1 billion because Mr. Brown likes to make money and I bet he would be a tough negotiator, but there has to be someone out there interested in owning the Cincinnati Bengals, right?
I don't know who or where that person is, but I know that I would absolutely love the opportunity to run the Cincinnati Bengals. You can't really major in running an NFL franchise in college, but I wish you could because I can't think of any job better than running my own football team. Better yet, my favorite football team and one that I've been a fan of since you were in diapers. When I was a kid I wanted to grow up to be a garbage man, but I've decided to set my sights a little bit higher now. I may not have $1 billion and probably never will, but owning the Bengals is my ultimate dream job and if anyone needs an idea of what to get me for Christmas, there you go.
Until I get $1 billion or Mike Brown finally decides to do the fans of the Cincinnati Bengals a great service and sell the team, I'm afraid the losing just might continue.
The rant is over and rather than bore you with more, here are my picks for Week 8 and nothing more.
Week 8 Picks (Home team in CAPS)
MINNESOTA over Tampa Bay
CHICAGO over Carolina
San Diego over CLEVELAND
DETROIT over Seattle
GREEN BAY over Jacksonville
Indianapolis over TENNESSEE
New England over St. Louis (in London)
NY JETS over Miami
Atlanta over PHILADELPHIA
PITTSBURGH over Washington
Oakland over KANSAS CITY
NY Giants over DALLAS
DENVER over New Orleans
San Francisco over ARIZONA
Byes: Buffalo, Baltimore, Houston, Bengals
Last Week: 11-2
Overall: 64-40
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| Andy Dalton can only look on in disgust, as the Bengals lost their third straight game Sunday night. (Frank Victores/US Presswire) |
After watching the Bengals the last three weeks, I think fans in this city have come to the realization that the Bengals are indeed just a mediocre football team and although it's only October, it may be time to start looking ahead to next season.
I now realize that at the start of the season I was naive. I was naive to think that ownership cared about winning. I was naive in thinking that the coaching was good and I was wrong about the talent. It might look good on paper, but it surely hasn't been good on the field.
The Bengals were unimpressive once again last week in a 24-17 loss to the arch rival Pittsburgh Steelers and to make matters worse, millions of people saw it on Sunday night football. I thought the tides had finally changed in Cincinnati, but I guess I was wrong and being a lifelong Bengals fan I should've known better.
Back in 2010, the Bengals went 10-6 and won the division which led everyone to believe that they had finally turned the corner and had found a way to win on a consistent basis. A dismal 2010 season at 4-12 proved otherwise. Fast forward to 2012 and history has repeated itself. Last year was so promising with the Bengals making the playoffs despite their two best players being rookies. Andy Dalton and A.J. Green got fans excited about Bengals football again and for the first time in 20 years, it looked like the Bengals had finally put together a team capable of winning 10 games every season. Once again, however, the fans have been misled.
So, what happens next?
Marvin Lewis is in his 10th season as head coach of the Cincinnati Bengals and in that time he has a record of 72-80-1, including a record of 0-3 in the playoffs. I like Marvin, but it's time for a change. He did some good things while he was here, like getting the Bengals to three playoff games and he made the Bengals respectable again. Instead of being the laughing stocks of the league, the Bengals actually gained some respect from the league, the media and the fans. However, 10 years is a long time and I think the Bengals need a new scheme and a new face leading this football team.
| The Bengals dynamic duo of owner Mike Brown and head coach Marvin Lewis need to be a thing of the past. (Jeff Swinger/The Cincinnati Enquirer) |
The biggest thing that needs to happen though is the present ownership needs to step aside. Owner Mike Brown has brought Cincinnati fans nothing but heartaches since he took over the team in 1991 and a record of 127-215-1 (.371 winning percentage) doesn't even begin to describe how terrible the last 21 years have been. The fact of the matter is though, Mike Brown will probably never step down as owner, general manager and dictator of the organization, so fans might have to wait until he's pushing up daises to see Mr. Brown out of the owner's box. Mike Brown likes money though, we all know that, so why doesn't do us all a favor and sell the team?
Earlier this year, Forbes released its list of the most valuable teams in the NFL and out of 32 teams, the Cincinnati Bengals came in at #26, valued at $871 million. The one thing that Mike Brown should be commended for is the fact that according to Forbes, the Bengals somehow had $18 million in profit. To make $18 million of a team this pathetic is truly mind blowing, but nonetheless there has to be a group of people out there with $871 million to throw at Mike Brown to get him to sell this team. In fact it would probably take close to $1 billion because Mr. Brown likes to make money and I bet he would be a tough negotiator, but there has to be someone out there interested in owning the Cincinnati Bengals, right?
I don't know who or where that person is, but I know that I would absolutely love the opportunity to run the Cincinnati Bengals. You can't really major in running an NFL franchise in college, but I wish you could because I can't think of any job better than running my own football team. Better yet, my favorite football team and one that I've been a fan of since you were in diapers. When I was a kid I wanted to grow up to be a garbage man, but I've decided to set my sights a little bit higher now. I may not have $1 billion and probably never will, but owning the Bengals is my ultimate dream job and if anyone needs an idea of what to get me for Christmas, there you go.
Until I get $1 billion or Mike Brown finally decides to do the fans of the Cincinnati Bengals a great service and sell the team, I'm afraid the losing just might continue.
The rant is over and rather than bore you with more, here are my picks for Week 8 and nothing more.
Week 8 Picks (Home team in CAPS)
MINNESOTA over Tampa Bay
CHICAGO over Carolina
San Diego over CLEVELAND
DETROIT over Seattle
GREEN BAY over Jacksonville
Indianapolis over TENNESSEE
New England over St. Louis (in London)
NY JETS over Miami
Atlanta over PHILADELPHIA
PITTSBURGH over Washington
Oakland over KANSAS CITY
NY Giants over DALLAS
DENVER over New Orleans
San Francisco over ARIZONA
Byes: Buffalo, Baltimore, Houston, Bengals
Last Week: 11-2
Overall: 64-40
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