*Frankly, I don't think anything that happened in the game matters more than the empty seats it was being paid in front of. We knew that crowd would be sparse, and it was. What this franchise has in front of it this offseason and beyond - getting people to care again, and eventually, getting them to support it financially - is unenviable, and if either Marvin Lewis or Hue Jackson is the head coach next year, it's impossible. The en masse rejection of this team is a middle finger to the status quo, and this picture reminds me of where we were when Dick LeBeau was coaching his final home game in 2002.
*Not that it required an advanced degree in football coaching to give the ball to your best running back when you're trotting out a backup QB, but for a second straight week, the Bengals used Joe Mixon a lot, and for the second straight week, he was productive. It's almost like letting your best ball-carrier handle a heavy workload is a good idea!
Joe is playing hard, and while I don't say that to claim that his teammates are mailing their efforts in, his care and concern shows. Joe Mixon gives a sh*t.
*Sam Hubbard was a steal with the 77th pick in last year's draft. I sincerely hope he doesn't fall victim to a coaching staff overthinking his role next season.
*It was nice to see Geno Atkins taking the place of the guy whose been wearing number 97 for the past two months. Geno started the season on fire, then was almost un-noticeable for weeks. He was fantastic against the Raiders.
*Jeff Driskel is not good. He missed some very, very wide open receivers and while I think John Ross could've adjusted his route a little on the deep ball that was picked, it was still a really, really bad ball. Yet amazingly, it wasn't his worst. He had some easy throws that he flat out didn't make. Fortunately, the game plan involved the aforementioned Mixon.
*I had a very busy weekend, a good weekend, but a very busy weekend. A few commitments kept me from being able to see as much of the UC/Mississippi State game as I'd hoped. Every time I was able to direct my eyes toward the TV, I saw a Mississippi State guy making a three. Or someone being assessed with a foul.
I'd had that game chalked up as an L for a while now. If the Cats handle UCLA on Wednesday, I'll consider the non-league portion of the schedule a success.
That has nothing to do with the Bengals, but college hoops is infinitely more interesting right now than the local NFL squad. Got to see most of IU/Butler which was the best game I've watched this season. I watched the second half of UD/Tulsa. This Flyers team is maddening. I took in NKU/Miami, which was a really good game won by a Norse team that took some punches last night and kept getting up. I took a pic from the game for good measure.
That is all I have for now. The level of insight you're getting on this particular entry is incredible.
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