Wow, what a lousy start. I'd never have guessed that this team would be 2-3 going into the bye, off two vomit inducing losses to lousy Tampa Bay and lousier Cleveland. Worse still, is the way they've lost and the fact that they've basically been outplayed and out-coached in all three loses. Not good enough, not by a long shot, and the storm clouds are moving in for what could be a very rough middle of the season. Marvin Lewis is going to have to do his best coaching yet to rally this group if they have any hopes of making the playoffs. The easiest stretch of schedule is over. I thought they'd have to be at 3-2, minimum, to have a shot at the playoffs. Let's hope I'm wrong, because this season is taking on the feeling of a requiem for the Lewis era.
Before going too far forward, let's take a moment to look back. Way back. Before the Marvin Lewis was hired as head coach, after a successful run as linebackers coach in Pittsburgh and defensive coordinator in Baltimore and Washington, the Cincinnati Bengals were a laughing stock for more than a decade. Bengaldom had to suffer through the likes of Dave Shula, Bruce Coslet, and Dick Lebeau (terrific coordinator, terrible head coach), as the leaders of this franchise. Marvin brought structure, a plan, and a level of professionalism that immediately changed the culture of losing. Everyone chanted "In Marvin We Trust" as the team looked to be turning slowly away from the abyss and back towards relevance. We've come a long way baby, and not in a good way. Eight mediocre years later, two playoff loses later, I don't know how many tears will be shed when Lewis does not return as head coach next season. I for one, am and will always be, a Marvin guy. And I'm very sad about the way this has gone. I think most other fans are angry, me, I'm just sad. I wanted so badly for Marvin to bring a title to Cincinnati, and it's not going to happen.
Despite some very talented teams, and despite personal drive, accountability, and professionalism, Marvin's teams have consistently shown a lack of the characteristics he exemplifies. I don't know how to explain that. This year's team is a perfect example. 12 win talent, 6 win discipline and execution. No excuse for that, and apparently no answers for fixing it. I love Marvin Lewis as a football CEO, but even I will admit that he and his staff often are out game planned and out-adjusted during games. Aggressive when you just don't need to be, sloppy when you need to be precise. That is frustrating. Watching team after team play this team waiting for them to self-destruct. Time after time, the Bengals accommodate. It's cliche, but I can't count the times the Bengals weren't beaten, they beat themselves. Ultimately, doesn't that come down to coaching?
Marvin deserves the heat, and so do his assistants. Three defensive coordinators have come and gone in the Lewis era. Leslie Frazier should probably still be here, but personal and professional differences ended that relationship. He's one of the hottest head coaching prospects in the game now. Chuck Bresnahan suffered from the least amount of talent on that side of the ball during Lewis' tenure, including the losses of high draft picks David Pollack and Odell Thurman, and the erosion of the skills key guys like Tory James and Deltha O'Neal. Never had a chance. Mike Zimmer has infused a new attitude and confidence in the last couple of seasons, and has also benefited from a ton of high draft picks contributing. The emergence of Leon Hall and Jonathan Joseph as star players would help any coordinator look good. The defense was good early, bad in the middle, and good again late, but never as dominant as we all thought it would be under a defensive guru head coach. Top 10's statistically, yes, but truly dominant, no.
Offensively, we've seen the highest of the highs and lowest of the lows under Lewis. Much of that has and does revolve around the health of Marvin's first draft pick, Carson Palmer. Lewis, Palmer, OC Bob Bratkowski (who Marvin retained as OC from the Lebeau regime), and Ken Zampese have been together throughout Lewis' tenure, destinies and legacies intertwined. The '05 Bengals will always be the great "what if" team. Much like the '09 Saints, this Bengals team featured a potent offense capable of running or throwing on anyone, and an opportunistic turnover creating defense. But the first play of that first Lewis playoff game changed everything, and a Steelers team that would've gone home for the remainder of the playoffs went on to win the Super Bowl. The ultimate insult added to injury. Ah, what could have been.
The Bengals have never returned to that height on the mountain. Injuries to key guys, free agency, and the general roster turnover that is par for the NFL course, took their toll. It would be four more years before the Bengals would sniff the playoffs again, but there is no way the '09 team was as talented as the '05 team. (The 2005 Bengals had arguably 9 or 10 offensive pro-bowlers and another 2-3 on defense and special teams). The '09 Bengals won on grit and a physical style of play very different from any other Lewis team. But they couldn't beat the better teams without more firepower offensively. So they went into the 2010 offseason, probably Lewis' last, with that in mind. The added names like Gresham, Shipley, Bryant and Owens to a healthy Carson Palmer and a running game returning all it's key players. Expectations were understandably high. And in typical fashion, the Bengals under Lewis have not lived up to them.
Watching the first 5 games of the 2010 season has been torture. Death by a thousand cuts. Penalties, turnovers, bad decisions, bad philosophy, bad execution, you name it. The Bengals have found just about every possible way to make the kind of mistakes that lose games. And it's been everyone. Palmer has taken the brunt of the criticism, and much is deserved, but it's been a team effort to create this shit sandwich, and we've been forced to eat it. No playoff team is going 1-3 against Carolina, Cleveland and Tampa. Especially in the AFC. Especially when the hated Steelers were nearly 4-0 with the equipment manager playing quarterback. (I almost threw up in my mouth writing that). The Bengals needed a fast start, and this has been anything but.
They've looked great in spots. Flashes of brilliance. Then it's burns out. Why? Why do they continuously do this shit? Why do they have to make it harder on themselves? Why the silly pre-snap penalties? Why do you call a high risk play when you don't need it? Why do you throw a high risk throw when you don't need it? Why do you let other teams dictate the tempo and the play calls? The simple answer is, it's coached that way, or isn't coached depending on how you look at it. If it's coached correctly, guys either aren't implementing or don't care to. TO is bitching, Chad is bitching, Cedric is bitching, the line is bitching, and now even Palmer is bitching and beginning to throw coaches under the bus. It's not a good sign, at least in the short term. Maybe it is time for Coach Lew and Coach Brat to be gone, but it's week 6! "Game over man"!
At Atlanta, Miami, Pittsburgh, and at Indianapolis. The next month looks fun doesn't it? How is this team going to do better than 2-2 against that? Maybe they'll be lucky to get to that. If they are 4-5 after week 9, that will give them one more loss over the last 7 weeks or they are out of the playoffs. No way a 9-7 team, with 2 conference loses already, and Baltimore and Pittsburgh in the division already leading them, is making the playoffs. Sprinkle in the potential for a fractured locker room and this thing could be all but done before Thanksgiving. I pray to the football gods that I'm wrong.
My biggest concern going into the season was the lack of a contract extension for Marvin because we've seen how this movie ends. Seattle, Mike Holmgren, last season of a contract, high expectations. That Seahawk team struggled early and absolutely mailed it in the second half because they knew, even with the replacement HC on the staff, there would be no accountability. Pride and professionalism are not enough in today's NFL to get athlete's to give their best. There must be accountability.
Marvin wants personnel control. Mike Brown won't give it to him. The lines have been drawn, and Marvin looks and sounds like a guy that knows the end is coming. Many will be happy about that, maybe they're right. For me, I'm profoundly sad about it. Most fans have a very short memory, and the NFL is a unique business. Win or lose, those are the only results that matter. Maybe that's a good thing, maybe it's not. I have the feeling we're about to find out if the field turf really is greener on the other side. I don't know that it will be......
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