Last week the bandwagon was almost full. This week I look around and see plenty of seats. What can the Bengals do to right the ship?  Well in my opinion the ship is not sinking.  This is a Bengals team that just finished a stretch of three division games in probably the toughest division in football. They won all three of these games. While I was hoping they would not let down against the Texans part of me had a gut feeling that a letdown was coming. As hard as it may be for some people to get, this loss had nothing to do with Mike Brown. Mike Brown fumbled exactly 0 times. He never got beat deep and he was called for no penalties. He didn't even have 1 bad snap.

I am not stating that I agree with every decision Mike Brown makes or even half of the decisions he makes. However, this season, Mike has made some pretty good decisions. Some point at the fact that Mike did not draft a tight end last season. They reference the Jerome Simpson pick where the Bengals could have drafted a tight end. I took a look at the 4 tight ends drafted after Jerome Simpson. Here are their stats:

As you can see, none of the available tight ends are really putting up the kind of numbers that an elite or even average tight end would be putting up. It is easy to fault the Simpson pick but the kid has amazing talent and that sometimes never matures. Hindsight is always 20/20. Most of these people are also the ones that come up with statements like: "We should trade our 7th round compensation pick for Antonio Gates!" You can not have a logical debate with these people.

Reggie Kelley was not an elite tight end. However he was someone that was solid at blocking for the run and occasionally could catch a pass. Dan Coates came into this season as the 3rd tight end and may not have even made the team. Chase Coffman is not NFL ready. People screaming for this kid are going to be angry when he fails to read the defense and causes Cedric to get blown up in the backfield. Naysayers claim it is not that hard to learn how to block. I am sure it looks simple from the safety of your couch with a cold one in your hand.

The draft this year and free agent pickups have given the Bengals one heck of a defense. This is also what these band wagon jumpers were screaming for in the offseason. Some said the Bengals should pick all defensive players in the draft. When the offense struggles these people flip flop on those statements too.

Speaking of flip flops, many of these people were ready to trade Chad Ochocinco for a bag of popcorn. He had one bad season and because he is a kind of leader on this team he got a lot of the blame. I always thought Chad should stay and am glad that Mike Brown agreed with me.

Enough about the naysayers on the net. Let's look at what the Bengals have to work with going forward.  This Sunday the Bengals play a beatable Bears team. It has been announced that Peko is not lost and his injury may not be all that serious (which given the history of the Bengal trainers makes me very nervous). Now we get to see what rookie end Michael Johnson can do, I have a feeling he will make mistakes but also has the freakish ability to be disruptive in this defense. Jonathan Joseph and Leon Hall will calm down and go back to playing the solid defense they have been playing all year.  I believe the breakdown we witnessed on Sunday was partially because the Bengals were struggling and guys were trying to do too much. This can cause over pursuit and mistakes by the D.

Cedric Benson should be focused more in this offense. Contrary to popular belief, the Bengals should not "throw it deep" every play. Toss one every now and then to Chris Henry? Yes. This past Sunday the Bengals got away from pounding the ball and I believe that was a mistake. The pieces are there, the players just need to execute.

Long story short, stay on the Bandwagon. I am not going to get back into the buying tickets debate, just do what you want. However, continue to support this first place team. The Steeler fans are riding high after beating the Cleveland Browns and love to think that all their problems are fixed. The Bengals are still ruling their own destiny and that is always the position you want your team to be in. Looking back at the Beginning of the season if I was to tell you the Bengals would beat the Steelers, Ravens in Baltimore and the Packers in Green Bay you would have been ecstatic.  Well, be ecstatic. This is still a fun ride.

WhoDey

Mo Egger had an interesting topic on his radio show today (you know the 1 of 2 sports radio talk show hosts on in Cincinnati) and it got me thinking. He was talking about how many people rag on the Bengals scouts and front office about their terrible judge of talent. I admit, I often think this also and I know the Bengals could benefit from a larger scouting department. However, I decided to look at the draft for the last several years and also free agency in the last couple to see what kind of talent the Bengals have been bringing in.  I was surprised at the results.

In 2003 the Bengals had a really strong draft.  Players still with the team are Carson Palmer, Jeremi Johnson and Scott Kooistra.  Other quality picks were Eric Steinbach and Kelley Washington (still productive in the NFL and current Raven favorite). If an NFL team has 5 solid picks in a draft I think it shows as a successful draft.

In 2004 the Bengals drafted Madieu Williams, Landon Johnson and Robert Geathers. Geathers is still a top defensive presence on this team.  Wiliiams and Johnson contributed heavily when they were here and both continued to play for other NFL teams.

In 2005 the Bengals struck out big in the draft in their first few picks. David Pollack and Odell Thurman looked to be possible pro bowlers in the making.  However one was injured and one was an idiot.  Neither are in the NFL. I don't blame the Bengals for that.  Like Chris Henry (also drafted) who is still an excellent receiver and still a Bengal I think the gamble on Thurman was a risk worth taking. Those that bitch about Thurman are also the ones that leave the casino thinking "If I only would have....". Hindsight is 20/20.  At the time the Bengals needed the upgrade and he gave it.

2006 was another good draft. Jonathan Joseph is a great player. Andrew Whitworth is improving every week and so far this season shut down one of the best ends in the NFL (Dumervil in week 1). Frostee Rucker is a force for the defense and Peko looks to be our most solid interior defensive lineman.

While 2007 did produce Leon Hall and Chinedum Ndukwe, that is about it from the Draft.

2008 was a big year. The Bengals strengthened the team through the draft with players like Keith Rivers, Pat Sims, Anthony Collins and new star Andre Caldwell. In fee agency Brandon Johnson filled a need and Antwan Odom looks to be a pro bowler this year.

The jury could still be out on some of the 2009 pickups. JT Osullivan looked to be an upgrade over Ryan Fitzpatrick in the pre season. Brian Leonard has not done much except for making the biggest play to win the game against Pittsburgh. Laveranues Coles is a solid receiver and I know then the passing game picks up he will show why he has been a number one for so many years. Tank Johnson and Roy Williams instantly brought toughness and attitude to a defense looking for an identity. All of the above were free agents, the Bengals also scored high in the draft. Rey Maualuga, Kevin Huber and Bernard Scott have all ready shown their value in this short season.  Andre Smith and Michael Johnson have the potential to be upgrades at their positions with time.

Looking over the above, I have to give the talent scouts a little more credit than I had before (which was none).  I do think the Bengals could use some help in scouting and personnel decisions, but I also think it may not be as bad as some would have you believe. With the obvious success in the last couple years in building talent, I hope the Bengals continue the trend and build a team that can not only win, but sustain for more than one fluke season.

WhoDey.