Ravens 17 Bengals 10-What a Disgrace

Answer: Embarrassing, pathetic, atrocious, inept, terrible.

Question: How did the Bengals look in week one?

I have never been more pissed off watching a game than when I left the bar following Joe Flacco's 38 yard touchdown run. Another Bengals fan asked, "You're leaving??" My response, "I can't take anymore of this sh*t." I fail to see any reason to have any kind of hope for even a little success this season. Same old garbage, just a different year. As bad as Marvin Lewis might be at making adjustments and managing a game, one constant remains, MIKE BROWN. He is an unquestioned success at making money, yet he is a colossal failure at running a winning football organization. I feel like a broken record, but this team will never experience sustained success until either; A) Mike Brown retires/dies, or B) he hires a GENERAL MANAGER. As long as he is in full control of the team, Sunday's display will be your product.

Some game notes:

• Offensive line is a joke. Ghiaciuc is not an NFL player. He was consistently pushed into the backfield, disrupting anything the offense was trying to do. If Stacy Andrews(-->) is your franchise player, your franchise sucks. Andrew Whitworth and Bobbie Williams, a push would be nice every once in awhile fellas. Chris Perry had only 37 yards on 18 carries, and the Ravens applied pressure to Palmer all day long. This offensive line is the result of poor managerial decisions: letting Steinbach walk, signing Willie to an expensive deal, franchising Andrews. I would just have one question for Mike Brown and Marvin Lewis; Would you rather have Eric Steinbach, Willie Anderson, or Stacy Andrews?? This team committed money to the latter two (one who isn't even on the team anymore), and the other (Steinbach) is one of the better left guards in the league.
  
• Carson Palmer looked bad. I have defended him in the past, and he has all the tools necessary to be a great QB, but he has his feet stuck in cement. With a porous offensive line, you have to be able to move around a little bit, and Palmer cannot. He has never quite looked the same since his knee injury a few years back, and he will get the crap beaten out of him all year behind that line. Of course it also does not help when your two best receivers have not practiced with you since last season.
• This team does not have a third corner. In the present day NFL, you need three quality corners in order to successfully defend the different looks offenses will throw at you. After Jonathan Joseph and Leon Hall, there is not anyone else who can cover man-to-man. Meanwhile, Deltha O'Neal is off to a winning start with the Patriots.
  
• Bob Bratkowski has not changed a thing in his playbook in years, and it shows. Same plays over and over. Fourth and two, shovel pass to Watson. Geez, haven't seen that play before. Against a team blitzing and an offensive line struggling, why not try a few three step drops and some quick hitters?? Hey, I'm no football coach, but I think I could tell you what they are going to run half of the time.
• One positive note; Jonathan Joseph looked very good today, deflecting several balls, and returning a fumble 65 yards for their only score of the game. Leon Hall and Joseph might be the best two players on the defense, but they will be of a little use when teams are running it down the Bengals throat in the fourth quarter while the clock ticks to zero.
• Not a bad debut for first round pick Keith Rivers. He had 10 total tackles, but he did over-pursue on Flacco's long TD run. He will continue to learn, hopefully, and should be a fine player for a long time.
• If anyone has a class in clock management, use of challenges, and halftime adjustments, Marvin Lewis needs to sign up. He has yet to grasp any of these concepts despite the fact that he is in his sixth NFL season as head coach. His teams are always under prepared, they never adjust to the other team, and they continually take stupid delay of game penalties while wasting their timeouts in other frivolous situations. I have ZERO confidence in his ability to prepare a team, and I have negative confidence in the front office being able to put together a roster capable of winning consistently.
• How long till basketball season?