Jan 3rd 2009 1:33PM by Michael David Smith (author feed)
Filed under: Bengals, Patriots, NFL Media Watch
When the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year voting was tallied, it was no surprise that New England Patriots linebacker Jerod Mayo was the runaway winner, with 49 votes on the 50-member media panel, chosen by the Associated Press.
But it was a big surprise that the one other vote went to Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Keith Rivers, who played in only seven games all season. How on earth could anyone pick Rivers over Mayo? To find out, I asked the guy who voted for Rivers, Jay Paris of the .
Via e-mail, he told me he had no excuse — he just made a mistake and voted for Rivers even though he acknowledges that the award should have gone to Mayo.Continue Reading
Dec 28th 2008 5:18PM by Sportz Assassin (author feed)
Filed under: Bengals, Chiefs, AFC North, AFC West
Compared to what Lions fans are dealing with, folks in Kansas City and Cincinnati are rooting for a team that is on the right track. Of course, we all know that isn’t true, as the Chiefs just capped off a 2-14 season, their worst in franchise history.
They did manage to win two games, but this truly was one of the worst teams in NFL history. Counting last year, they have lost 23 of 25 games. The Chiefs recorded just 10 sacks this season, breaking the record for least sacks in a season (the Colts had 11 in 1982).
What is amazing is that they were sharing the field with the Cincinnati Bengals. The Bengals have been one of the worst franchises in the NFL over the past 17 years and were 1-11-1 just three weeks ago. An upset win over the Redskins and wins over the listless Browns and Chiefs gave Cincy a nice three-game winning streak to end the season. It also gives an excuse for owner Mike Brown to stay the course and keep head coach Marvin Lewis.Continue Reading
Dec 27th 2008 12:39AM by Sportz Assassin (author feed)
Filed under: Bengals, AFC North, NFL Free Agenc
Despite the feeling that he would get tagged, NFL.com’s Adam Schefter is reporting that the Cincinnati Bengals will not use the franchise tag on receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh.
He cites a league source, so this could be real. However, everything would point to them placing the tag on Housh. He is a Pro Bowl receiver, he’s been one of the best players on the team despite their recent swoon and they really have no one else they need to use the tag on.
Last offseason, they used the tag on offensive tackle Stacy Andrews. Just last Sunday, Andrews blew out his knee and is done for the season. It is highly doubtful that the Bengals would bother tagging him because his value has dropped this season. So the thought was that the franchise tag could be used on Houshmandzadeh.
The article says that the Bengals will instead attempt to sign Housh to a long term deal, something it hasn’t been able to get done all year long. If they can’t get anything done, the Bengals still could use the tag on him.
This news could also mean that Chad Johnson could still be in Cincinnati next year. No way does the team let T.J. walk out and then they deal Chad.
Dec 18th 2008 2:00PM by Sportz Assassin (author feed)
Filed under: Bengals, Redskins, NFL Fans
This season, FanHouse writers take their cameras to NFL stadiums to document what happens when you stop being polite and start getting real. Or something. We’ve cleverly titled it “FanHouse in the Stands.”
My wife and I attended the Redskins-Bengals game at Cincinnati’s Paul Brown Stadium. I, of course, am a Redskins fan, and got to see them lose to the lowly Bengals, 20-13.
There is nothing like watching your team’s season go down the tubes and then hearing chants of “Who Dey” as you are filing out of the building. But it’s all worth it when your wife starts talking smack back and reminding everyone that it was just Cincy’s second win of the season.
I will say that there were a ton of Redskins fans at the game. I sat two rows up from the goal line and was surrounded by other Skins fans. The usher who showed us to our seats welcomed us “to Redskins Stadium.” He also told me to come get him if anyone bothered me, but felt that I wouldn’t have to worry about that.Continue Reading
Dec 18th 2008 11:50AM by Will Brinson (author feed)
Filed under: Bengals, NFL Eliminated Teams, NFL Rumors
The NFL did a smart thing (or rather, the owners did) by naming “Franchise Tag” what they did. It implies an importance to the franchise and denotes some sort of upper echelon status for certain players. There’s only one problem — the franchise tag essentially hurts the player because, while he gets a nice one year payday, there’s little in the way of long term guaranteed money.
Which explains why T.J. Houshmandzadeh doesn’t really know if he’s cool with the Bengals franchising him.
“I don’t know how I can put this,” Houshmandzadeh said. “Would I be happy with it? Yeah, because it’s a lot of money. But would I be happy with it? No, I wouldn’t. I don’t know if that makes sense.
“It’s going to be my ninth year (in 2009). I didn’t play (much) my first three, so I look at it as being my sixth year. You just want to know what’s going to happen. If you get a franchise, they want to keep you for one year and that’s it. It’d be cool, but it wouldn’t be cool.”
That’s a pretty solid attitude to take — other players have been vastly less amicable towards the notion of being locked down for a season, particularly since any sort of long term injury would essentially wipe out a big signing bonus that would come with a new contract.
Housh will still probably pull, as PFT notes, somewhere between $9 and $10 million next year, which is still a pretty freaking nice payday when everything sorts itself out. But at the same time, being designated the “Franchise of the Bengals” is like being called “FanHouse’s Sexiest Bachelor”. Believe me, it’s not exciting.
Dec 16th 2008 2:00PM by Matt Snyder (author feed)
Filed under: 49ers, Bengals, Dolphins, Giants, Rams, Ravens, Redskins, Seahawks, Steelers, AFC East, AFC North, NFC East, NFC West, NFL Media Watch, Overpaid NFL Players, NFL RefereesWow, this was a long weekend to those who support the boys in stripes. That group may only consist of myself at this point, but I still do. Those people who like to call the officials “blind” — which, by the way, is incredibly uncreative and lame — or believe they are out to screw a team out of a game, really don’t have any idea what it takes to officiate at that level. Hell, I don’t. I do know what it’s like to be on the field and be a constant scapegoat for people who aren’t accountable for themselves and/or their favorite team.
Continue Reading
Dec 16th 2008 10:00AM by Will Brinson (author feed)
Filed under: Bengals, Buccaneers, NFL Media Watch, NFL Rumors is, of course, an awesome movie. It has Michael J. Fox, a girl named “Boof” and, well, werewolves. Also, it has Styles, Fox’s lovable sidekick-type friend that has huge sunglasses and sports crazy antics. Yeah, he’s awesome.
Greg White, Tampa Bay defensive lineman, thinks the character is so awesome, actually, that he has officially changed his name in order to honor the guy.
Tampa Bay’s second-year DE has officially changed his name. On Monday, a Hillsborough County Circuit Court granted White’s request to change his name from Gregory Alphonso White Jr. to Stylez G, White.
Circuit Judge Steve Scott Stephens signed off on White’s petition and as White walked through the Bucs locker room Monday, he gleefully distributed copies of the final judgment.
White said he picked his new name from a character in the 1985 movie “Teen Wolf,” starring Michael J. Fox. Continue Reading
Dec 16th 2008 11:15AM by Ryan Wilson (author feed)
Filed under: Bengals, Redskins, NFC East, NFL Fans
Yesterday I mentioned that Santana Moss got slapped with a post-touchdown excessive touchdown celebration penalty after he thought it would be great fun to use a towel to clean his shoes in the end zone. knows that a towel is considered a prop.
Okay, nobody knew that, but anytime someone scores a touchdown and lingers in the end zone, there’s a pretty good chance it’ll draw a flag. I’m not saying it’s right, that’s just how Roger Goodell rolls. In Moss’ case, the offense was particularly idiotic because a) the Redskins were battling for their playoff lives, and b) they were trailing the sad-sack Bengals 17-6 at the time.
Washington would go on to lose, prompting Jim Zorn to call himself the “worst coach in America.” Moss, who was probably also embarrassed by the loss, was indifferent about the end zone penalty. “I don’t care, I really don’t care,” he said, when asked if he knew his celebration would draw a flag. “We needed something, something to boost us, and we had a touchdown so I was feeling real good, you know what I’m saying? Other than that, I really don’t care about it. What we needed to do is keep scoring.” Not caring aside, Moss is right: the Redskins needed to keep scoring. Unfortunately, they couldn’t muster much offense against an injury-ravaged one-win team, which tells you all you need to know about the current state of Washington’s offense. Godspeed, Bill Cowher.
Dec 15th 2008 12:32AM by Sportz Assassin (author feed)
Filed under: Bengals, Redskins, AFC North, NFC East
In Washington, it is good etiquette to concede when it looks like you aren’t going to win. The Redskins made today the day the told the world that they aren’t ready for a playoff berth.
That’s what happens when you lose to the Cincinnati Bengals, 20-13.
Just yesterday I showed how this game trended toward a Bengals’ victory. The trend I forgot to point out was that the Redskins aren’t playing well at all right now. The offense isn’t very efficient, the defense can come unglued and they are making mistakes that they weren’t making earlier in the year.
Examples? How about a Chris Cooley fumble on the opening drive? Or Mike Sellers’ fumble at the goal line? Or giving up 79 yards on a screen pass when it was 2nd-and-23? Or being down 17-0 before you get a first down? Or getting a celebration penalty which causes the kickoff to be penalized 15 yards? Then that kickoff goes out of bounds and gives the Bengals the ball in your territory?
Playoff teams don’t do that. They certainly don’t do that against a team that entered mid-December with just one win.
Continue Reading
Dec 15th 2008 2:51AM by Sportz Assassin (author feed)
Filed under: Bengals, AFC North, NFL Fans
Whether it’s putting up anti-Mike Brown billboards or reporting Brown to the team’s jerk-line, the Who Dey Revolution has done a fantastic job at showing the angst of Bengals fans.
Yesterday, WDR started their “Get Pissed” campaign, also known as “Put Your Yellow On Brown.” Volunteers distributed 1,000 urinal cakes in Paul Brown Stadium during the Bengals’ game against Washington yesterday. Those cakes looked similar to the picture shown. For pics of them actually in the urinals, click here.
The “98-186-1″ stands for the Bengals record during owner/general manager Mike Brown’s record in his 18 years of running the franchise.
I love the idea, but I think it would have gotten a better reaction if, say, Brown’s face was on the cake.
