Bengals 18, Steelers 12. They beat us at home more definitively than they beat us at their place, swept the series for the season, and you just can’t come to any conclusion other than that the Bengals are the better team this year.
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donnah
It was a thing of beauty. Since I’m a Bengals fan, I was disappointed that they made mistakes, but they held on. The Bengals of old would have folded like a cheap umbrella; this team is tough.
Terri
Count your blessings and quityerbitching. At least you’re not a Buccaneers fan.
licensed to kill time
Sorry your Stillers sucked. Have some Leapfrog, no ice, and fuggedaboudit.
JenJen
It’s a beautiful day. :-)
Linkmeister
To quote Mark Knopfler:
“sometimes you’re the windshield
sometimes you’re the bug”
srv
Just to show that no good deed goes unpunished, my cousin donated a kidney to his little sister and the hospital gave him H1N1.
I really think we need to redesign medical care. As in, why do we put all the sick people in the same place with people who are getting operated on?
Neutron Flux
@Linkmeister: At least you are not desperately hoping the Chiefs beat the Raiders, so that you may end up at 2-14. It was not always this way for me, and there will come a time when it is not this way again. But in this particular space time nexus, well it just sucks.
PaulW
Think of the good news.
You’re not Detroit.
Max
The Buffalo Bills are a disgrace.
I left the house at halftime to go on a hike. The dog and I did a hill I had no business doing. I thought for sure I was going to have to call Flight for Life. And yet, that wonderful, 4-legged, love of my life just scampers up the cliff like its nothing.
I’m now couch-bound for the remainder of the evening. I might even leave my laundry in the dryer, it would be too painful to get up to get it.
Max +1
Neutron Flux
I have no idea why I responded to Linkmeister. Sigh.
General Winfield Stuck
A better man. Last loss it took 3 days or so till you posted again, but that could have been cause nothing sane out there to write much about these days.
Congrats. Jenjen, the Bungles ain’t that this year. I am going to go out on a limb and predict the Browns lose tomorrow against the traitor Modell et al. Then if a miracle happens, I will do like Sarah Serendipity and give me life to baby jeevus and the wingnut welfare rubber chicken circuit. I ain’t monkeyin’ around bout that.
PaulW
@srv:
Wasn’t there a study that showed if the hospitals spent just a relatively little amount of money in cleansing/disinfecting their own buildings every so often, they would save millions more in preventative care?
smiley
Saints still unbeaten. Back in the day, in the Bobby Hebert/Jim Mora era, they finished the regular season with only one loss. They then went on to lose in the first round of the playoffs. Somehow I see something similar this year.
In other news, the Gators don’t look like a national championship team. I predict ‘Horns v. Tide in the MNC game.
Brachiator
Damn. That’s some brutal honesty from a sports (and specifically a Steelers) fan. A great and bracing tonic.
It was even more fun to come across this after I was discussing with someone how sports writer Dan Wetzel embarrassed himself with his stupid blogging on the Pacquiao Cotto fight, flat out refusing to see how overmatched Cotto was from about the fourth round on.
PaulW
@Terri:
Even us Bucs fans snark that at least we’re not the Lions.
>:-)
Martin
I agree, FTFY.
PaulW
@smiley:
Deal is, even though I’m a Gator alum, I’m personally hoping for a Boise State/Cincy title game. The resultant riot by TV executives will force the NCAA to switch to a playoff system at last. >:-)
Otherwise a Boise/UF matchup would be sweeeeeet.
PaulW
Damn blockquotes not working properly again. Sigh.
Turgidson
What a horrible week in NFL football this is shaping up to be for me. Jay Cutler throws 473 interceptions to destroy what was an otherwise decent game by the Bears (defense played well, Forte showed a pulse).
Now my 2nd-place fantasy football team is on the brink of going down to the team in last – a team so bad the GM doesn’t bother setting his lineup anymore. And to add injury to that insult, my RBs Michael Turner and Ronnie Brown both got hurt, and D’Angelo Williams was already gimpy. Now I’m watching Romo get sacked every 3rd time he drops back, which is both horrible for fantasy reasons and could easily lead to HIM being hurt too. Egad.
Martin
For-profit and not-for-profit hospitals don’t care that much about preventative care (the institution, not the individuals working in them). They care about making earnings, and sick people help them make earnings. Most hospitals are in this category.
Brachiator
@PaulW:
Not gonna happen. The fix is in. Unless all the higher ranked teams blow a gasket, Boise is permanently set at the number 6 or 7 spot to help rationalize not offering them a shot at the championship.
General Winfield Stuck
CoLleGe BAS KEt BaLl SeAsOn == Yippee!!
redbeardjim
Those words just don’t look right arranged in that sequence.
Corner Stone
@PaulW:
Can you imagine the mass seppuku? The mind boggles. Boggles!
smiley
@Brachiator:
The fix has always been in. It’s called “strength of schedule.” That was built into the formula from the beginning to make sure thatr upstarts like Boise or whoever never make it in. You have to realize who makes the rules, and his first name seems to be Calvin…
Kiril
@smiley: Keep in mind how many of the Saints defensive players were injured today. It still wouldn’t surprise me to lose to the Pats, but if our boys are healthy, we can steamroll ’em and finish our sweep of every team in New England.
Ryan Cunningham
@donnah: The Bengals are really making us proud this year. It would be so nice to make the playoffs for a change!
Linkmeister
@Neutron Flux: Grins. I admit to a bit of puzzlement.
gogiggs
I’ve seen a bunch of Steelers games over the past couple seasons and when the Bengals went up by 6 I really expected Roethlisberger to get a touchdown somehow. I’ve just seen him do it so often I’ve come to expect it. Not this time, though.
Looks like the Bengals are for real. Didn’t see that one coming.
CaseyL
I’m watching Seattle make a game of it against the Cards, and not caring very much. Just not into it today – though apparently the players are: they just had to break up a fight. Fights are always fun!
Ryan Cunningham
What a game that was, though. Graham and Reed’s stats are nicely padded.
Both teams were playing for keeps. I’ve never seen two defenses hit so hard.
Brachiator
@smiley:
Yep. But stuff like the Stanford USC game, and some of the other unexpected results this season, quietly underscores the fact that “strength of schedule” is often nothing more than a polite fantasy.
justcorbly
As a member of the Elite Cincinnati Sports Fan Diaspora, I welcome this happy turn of events. But, I’d live in Pittsburgh over Cincy.
Now, if someone would fix the Reds…
lost in GA
When my Ravens lose to the Browns tomorrow I will break out my rusted Bauers and skate along the depths of hell, as it will clearly be frozen over after this weekend of football.
RaptureReadyAndLovinIt
@srv:
Because that’s where all the nurses are.
drillfork
I don’t know why anyone even bothers watching college football.
At least when they choose the winners in gymnastics, the judges have years of practice at it.
At least when they choose the winners in pro wrestling, it’s based on pushing a storyline and how the combatants get over with the audience.
When they choose winners in college football, it’s based on nothing more than making a few distantly connected institutions a shite-ton of money…
drillfork
That’s “making” a shite-ton of money.
So much for my pithiness…
General Winfield Stuck
@justcorbly:
No shit. Don’t know what the problem is but am holding my annual winter seance to bring back the BRM/
Linkmeister
@General Winfield Stuck: I remember those 1970s teams. As a Dodgers fan I always got extra excited when we’d play Cincy. Not quite as excited as playing the Giants, but close.
burnspbesq
@General Winfield Stuck:
A-muthafuckin-men.
Just Some Fuckhead
Well, Ravens fans ain’t ready to lay down with our ass in the air yet. Yeah, we’re losing to everyone in the div right now except the Drowns and yeah, we got a hellacious schedule ahead of us, and yeah, we still have no idea exactly why we’re losing these games, and yeah, the Bengals beat the piss out of us last week, and yeah, they swept us too, but dammit, this was our year after just falling short last year with a rookie coach and rookie quarterback. Hopefully we get one more game against Cincinnati.
And what the hell is up with ESPN’s site? They got so much SHIT on their pages now that they take forever to load. I dread even going there any more. They need to delete it all and start right the fuck over. Idiots.
Comrade Darkness
I watched some of the bills but at the start of the 4th decided I had a life and went off to do something productive. Looks like a wise move in retrospect.
General Winfield Stuck
@Linkmeister:
Oh yea, big rivals before they split the division. It was always satisfying to see that mouthy cue ball with chikken legs Lasorda have a hissy fit when the Reds handed him his ass. :—)
Halffasthero
@smiley:
I think that was against the Vikings. The Vikings then went on to beat the Niners then blow the game against the Redskins.
smiley
@Brachiator:
You miss my point. The rules are being made by the commissioners of 6 college football conferences. The Mountain West and WAC are not among them.
MikeJ
* “I think any sensible person would say that if you got a bunch of teams who played throughout the season and many of them have one loss or two losses, there’s no clear decisive winner that we should be creating a playoff system.”—Barack Obama New York Times: Sorry, Mr. Obama, College Football Isn’t Sensible (November 17, 2008)
* “Eight teams. That would be three rounds to determine a national championship. That would add three extra weeks to the season. You could trim back on the regular season. I don’t know any serious fan of college football that disagrees with me on this. So, I’m going to throw my weight around a little bit. I think it’s the right thing to do.”—Barack Obama
MikeJ
FYWP
Tom
I just can’t accept that the Bengals are a better team than the Steelers and I’ll just ignore the fact that they beat them twice this year. I’ll wait until the playoffs and see who is there at the end and which team wins when and if they meet again. Then maybe I’ll have to concede the point, but not until then………
MikeJ
In light of the quotes I just posted, when will we be hearing Palin or Limbaugh or any other republican leader saying that the current college football system is the best of all possible worlds?
Lisa K.
It can’t be a bad day when both the Jets and the Steelers lose, and in excruciating fashion.
Now a Pats win will be the super-duper sweet cherry on the top!
SiubhanDuinne
John: you know, I’ve never been a football fan. Don’t get it, don’t understand it, can’t follow it. But I have infinite admiration for you, perhaps the biggest, most enthusiastic partisan Steelers fan anywhere ever — because you can say, OK, the other guys were/are the better team and say it without in the least surrendering any part of your team fandom. I think that’s the mark of a true fan *of the game* and I really admire and respect you for it.
I think it’s called — what’s that archaic term again? — *sportsmanship*.
+2 so possibly a bit sentimental if not downright maudlin
Morbo
McNabb throwing for over 400, 2TD 0 INT. Still overrated though, right, Rush?
JenJen
And… still basking in that Bengals glow. Just finished eating the awesome dinner I made, with friends, too. Life is good!
justcorbly
@General Winfield Stuck:
Hear, hear, General. I remember those days fondly. I’d wager serious cash on the ’75 and ’76 Reds against any other MLB team from any era. When 4 of the starting 8 offensive players end up in the Hall of Fame, that ain’t shabby. It should be five, ’cause Concepcion should be in there.
Watched the ’75 series in a consistently empty officers club at the Air Force Academy. Just me and the bartender. Great steaks, and a long story. (The club at the academy sits about 8000 feet up the side of a mountain. Not a bad place to hang out in.)
Comrade Kevin
For some reason, “Hookers and Cocaine” hasn’t come back to gloat yet.
eastriver
And your baseball team sucks.
DBrown
Don’t worry too much John – the Ravens will provide for what ails the Steelers. I see sweep and as a Ravens fan I don’t see much good for the Ravens, that is. At least the Ravens will learn that a good secondary drives all other aspects of the defense. Next year for the Ravens but Cinci may still see the Steelers in post season play. Go Cinci!
Lee Hartmann
As an ex-Browns fan (I grew up in the Jim Brown era)
all I can say is:
Sorry about that. No, really. Steelers have been a good team playing the right way, and Ben is a good dude.
And so are you.
Linkmeister
@justcorbly: I was on Kwajalein. We had no live TV; everything we got was on videotape and late. Only game of the whole ’75 WS we got was Game Six.
That was the Carlton Fisk HR game.
Just Some Fuckhead
@JenJen: Jesus, you even got friends? It’s all coming up roses for you.
arguingwithsignposts
@smiley:
His first name is Goldman. His last name Sachs. He makes the rules.
terry chay
Still scratching my head at Bruce Arians play calling. Clearly, Big Ben was a cold passer (under or overthrowing constantly), probably because of the excellent pass rush by the Bengals. Calling all those pass plays when the running game was getting good yardage.
It boggles the mind.
In any case with the blitzes the Bengals ran at the end—hats off to Cincinnati.
Ron
It’s painful to admit, but yeah, sounds like Cincy is better this year. I didn’t get to see the game though because living out here we got the joy of watching the Bills have their massive 4th quarter collapse. I’m curious how it all went down with no offensive TDs from either team. I really hoped Ben could produce the game winning drive when it was 18-12. Alas, it was not to be. Now the Steelers almost certainly have to play the game of trying to make the playoffs as a wild card.
cokane
Wooo Who Dey
Joel
that didn’t suck as badly as the mental abortion that was belichick’s fourth quarter.
and the john parry 31 yard interference call.
Paul in KY
Browns play tonight. Should be fun (heh). I was there last year in Cleveland when we were up 2 TDs in 3rd quarter & ended up losing the game (final nail in coffin of Crennel).
I’m beginning to think Mangini is worse (took me long enough to come to that realization).
Anyway, rot in Hell Art Modell.
"Fair and Balanced" Dave
Cincy was certainly better than the Steelers in one area: Special Teams. The Steelers’ kick-off coverage has been abysmal. They’ve allowed returns for TD’s by Cleveland, Minnesota, and now Cincy. That was the only TD either team scored yesterday and, as it turned out, was the difference.
Another big factor was the loss of Troy Polamalu. The Steelers’ secondary is not nearly as good without Polamalu in the lineup. He injured his knee in the season opener against the Titans and the Steelers then lost their next two games against The Bears and The Bengals. The only good team they’ve beaten this year without Polamalu in the lineup was San Diego and they did that by playing old fashioned Steelers football: running the ball and keeping Philip Rivers sitting on the sidelines.
If the Steelers have one thing going for them right now, it’s their schedule. Of the remaining 7 games on their schedule, only 1 is against a team with a winning record (The Packers on Dec. 20) and they also face three of the most dysfunctional teams in the NFL: Kansas City, Oakland, and Cleveland.
The Bengals also have a fairly weak schedule ahead of them–the only team that, IMO, has any chance of beating them is Minnesota on Dec. 13. Therefore I think it’s almost a given that Cincy will win the division and the Steelers will go into the playoffs as a Wild Card team.
ET
Sorry the Seelers lost but woooooooo, the Saints won.
JenJen
@“Fair and Balanced” Dave: Steelers have allowed return TDs in five straight games. It’s unbelievable. They certainly let that streak beat them yesterday. I have no problem with that, obvs.
I’m a little concerned about my Bengals visiting Raiders f’n Nation next week. We play like shit there.
brad
what was with the pitt 2 minute drill?
was it arians calling the long stuff, or was it ben? i was disappointed to see them try to get it all in one or two plays.
"Fair and Balanced" Dave
@JenJen:
So do the Raiders, don’t panic.