dc.

He wasn't a starter here either until Landry got injured. We know how he can play - it's a matter of whether he's able to do it. It's a reasonable question considering the play of the rest of our secondary...

Watch the replay... Carr tried to chuck Caldwell and Caldwell was just not having it... just like Moss in NE. Caldwell literally ran OVER Carr, Carr lost him, fell down... That was just botched coverage... and as we've discussed... a bad scheme. Our DBs can do some things very well... but they are too small to be physical with big receivers. So don't ask them to play it tight and chuck a guy who's going to bowl them over on his way to the endzone.

The only thing I can clue in is that I always thought Orton should have been better than he was with the Bears... he was great at Purdue. The Broncos have a solid running game and very good defense... and Brandon Marshall is a playmaker... three important pieces to great success.

Ravens Insider and others are reporting that "The Bengals used bracket coverage to take Mason out the game and his signature routes." Meaning? Fancy word for double team. And what does that mean? It means two things... if Mason was double covered ALL GAME we should have known and adjusted - it should have created some openings elsewhere on the field when we spread the defense and it definitely should have created some holes for our running game. But Flacco and our run game both failed to find those weaknesses. Secondly... it again tells us that the Bengals succeeded where we failed. First, we failed to neutralize Chad Johnson. Then, when we did quiet him a bit, Palmer and the Bengals were able to rip open the rest of our secondary as well as run through our front seven - with the help of some missed tackles and stupid plays. Bottom Line: They simply executed. The Ravens didn't.

Well, I disagree with the FB thing. I like McClain as our FB, because he's a solid blocker and can still drop out for a pass or hand-off. As for where were Willis and McClain? Not sure. I think the offensive play-calling was all over the place. There were times we were super conservative. There were times we were far too aggressive. It didn't seem like our players knew the gameplan very well - they just looked disjointed. And as well as Oher and Yanda played, they both missed some assignments that cost us. Meanwhile, the Bengals looked like they knew what was coming every damn play. And credit to them. Maybe we were just that predictable. I really don't think it's about personnel... at least not offensively. But it is certainly about making good play-calls and executing them.

I still think our DBs just need a serious lesson in running with your man AND playing the ball. They know how to run with their man... they've done that pretty damn effectively... but they have no concept of playing the ball or making the play. I hardly ever see the 'head turn' so that they can even prepare... Let's be honest, though, people... our problems yesterday were not just our DBs. The offense didn't work, at all. And we couldn't stop their running game either. The DBs were left alone because we were pulling our LBs and safeties towards run coverage ... and even good DBs would get burned here and there in that situation. NO part of our play was good yesterday. The only head-to-head battle we won was long snapper vs. long snapper.

I still do not mean to take any credit away from the Bengals... because really, they played one hell of a game... but I still just not sure about them. I mean, despite a downright overpowering performance on both sides of the ball for most of the game... you were losing going into that final drive. And if not for a few penalties (justified or not), the final score would have been that much less likely. You should have been winning going into those final minutes, not trailing. Just like in Cleveland. And after all that - the defense's numbers (again, outside of the pass rush) are pretty darn average. Just like I worried for the Ravens in their 3-0 start, I would worry for the Bengals... the lead-up and the final product don't entirely match-up. How long can that keep up?

No, they disagreed that it was a cheap shot.

Or maybe the offense can just stay on the field for more than 20 minutes... and then the D won't have to be on the field... and we can let them rest, etc etc... As bad as the D was, they were not alone in their ineptitude. Just like in years past, they need some kind of support.

But if we were to win, you would have said, "Oh, I told you so..."

I really miss Leonard as well... but he was actually very undersized as well. As confused as Landry has looked at times, while Leonard may have been more on the mental game, he would have been just as outmatched as Fox and Fab, etc...

by the way... Chad agrees... "please don't fine Ray Lewis Mr. Roger Goodell, it was a clean hit, it's part of the game, save the fines for me, Esteban out."

NFL network disagreed. So does NFL.com

No. The first post (actually several) in its entirety was trying to give you credit. Then I dropped the niceties. You didn't call me on anything. I was purposefully being an ass - and meant it.

NFL Players can be so stupid sometimes... Titans rookie McCourty just introduced himself on Sunday Night Football as from "University of Rutgers" You went to the damn school and don't even know that it's either Rutgers (with the pompous title "State University of New Jersey) or Rutgers University. But University of Rutgers is just... wrong. Seriously. That about sums up what the NCAA system and pro systems are all about.

In football? Most of them because it's an easy money-maker right now. Bisciotti would not be one of the league's bigger spenders.

Actually, the one thing the announcers got right all game was about the Carson Palmer scramble on the final drive... just a nice offensive play call... drop deep, send routes long... let the defenders come towards Palmer... There's no real way to defend that without a QB spy... which maybe we should have done... but then you risk leaving a man open downfield. Just hard to combat that when he only needs a yard.

Didn't he do the flip in the endzone? That's an automatic penalty. You can flip while still on the field and land in the endzone... but if you are in the endzone, you cannot "go to the ground."

I mean, I was trying to give you credit and you didn't want it. Make up your mind.

It wasn't a cheap shot. It was 1/2 a second after the pass and it was chest to chest. What part of that is illegal? I love Chad getting up and jawing about it too... it was such a cheap shot, so violent, so bad that Chad was immediately on his feet and able to yell about how much he didn't like it. Take the hit, get to the line of scrimmage and tell your QB to stop laying you out. Welcome to Todd Heap's world, pansy.

Cincy's statistical numbers suck and yet they are 4-1. Screw the numbers. Win the games. Stop making mistakes and win the games.

Fine. You're right. You all sucked for the last two decades. Congrats, I admitted it. Meanwhile, you continue to suck and will come back to earth. Low ranking offenses and low ranking defenses and teams that can't even employ passable long snappers stand no chance in the long-run. Big failures await. Minus three questionable calls and one questionable non-call, your team loses a game that shouldn't have even been close - just like in Cleveland the week before. Feel oh so proud about it.

If Fabian had put his hand on Chad's back, would the pass have been called uncatchable? Doubtful. If it's a play, you can hit 'em. Chad was involved in the play and should expect contact over the middle. The end.

03 to 07 you were competitive at least, lots of 8-8 with the 11-5. Again, not stellar... but by no means historically awful.

People say Ray puts on his act for the cameras... wow... McDaniel takes it to a new level... After the handshake, he's sure to have the cameras follow him has he "salutes" the crowd and then does a series of like six ridiculous fist pumps towards the endzone. You're a grown man and coach, Josh.