Just Can't Make It Easy

Not since Week 3 have the Bengals had a comfortable lead in a game and been in control in the third and fourth quarter. Boy, did I miss that feeling. Too bad I didn't get that today. A 34-0 lead vanished with 21 straight points late in the third quarter and 4 total touchdowns in the second half. Even against teams like the Texans, Packers, and Ravens, Cincinnati could just not pull away until very late. It made for some anxious Sunday afternoons. Still, the Bengals keep beating the teams they should and have assured the franchise a third straight non-losing season. Five games left to get that first winning season in 15 years. Maybe it's time to start making some playoff preperations?

Some thoughts about today's game:

First off, illegal contact has got to be changed in the NFL. I like the five yard penalty, but the automatic first down has got to go. The Ravens had a 3rd and 24 and the drive was kept alive because of a marginal, tickey-tack "illegal contact" six yards from the line of scrimmage. Even if the player was thrown to, even if he made the catch, he still wouldn't have been close to even halfway to the first down marker.

Second, it looks like Tony Dungy might have been right about the cost of Brian Billick not giving up. The Colts head coach criticized Billick for preserving time at the end of the season opener, even though his team was clearly out of it. He believed that prolonging the game served no purpose other than to promote injuries. Down two TDs with less than a minute to go, Billick's team did the same thing today. And, as the clock ran out, there was a Bengal player down on the field. Hopefully, it wasn't serious or to a major contributor. If so... thanks, dickhead.

The remaining schedule: at Pittsburgh, Browns, at Detroit, Bills, at Kansas City. Big game this week. Hopefully, the Colts will beat up the Steelers so they'll be easier to beat on Sunday.

"I am not going to sit on my ass as the events that affect me unfold to determine the course of my life. I'm going to take a stand. I'm going to defend it. Right or wrong, I'm going to defend it. "