Tough-guy Bengals pick up gauntlet

[BengalszoneBilly]

A great article from The Columbus Dispatch!

Tuesday, September 11, 2007 3:37 AM

By Rob Oller

CINCINNATI -- The brutality is unbearable at times, causing us to turn away in sickened recoil.

A man catches a football, turns and takes a helmet to the ribs. Or he hurls himself into another body. He collapses like a milk jug being readied for recycling. Usually he gets up. Slowly. Sometimes, like in Buffalo on Sunday, he does not. Tragic.

It is a violent sport, a series of choreographed human collisions, but if a team expects to excel it cannot shy from the ferocity. It embraces the vicious and discards the frail.

For too many seasons, particularly on defense, the Cincinnati Bengals have played like United Nations peacekeepers rather than gladiators welcoming the fight. Not last night. The Bengals welcomed into Paul Brown Stadium one of the bullies of the NFL, the Baltimore Ravens, and didn't back down, even as the bodies went down during a 27-20 win.

Willie Anderson limped off like a Hummer with a blown tire. Eric Ghiaciuc hobbled off after taking a shot to the head. Dexter Jackson suffered dehydration, as did Chad Johnson and Deltha O'Neal. Even kicker Shayne Graham aggravated a hip injury.

Forget "Who Dey?" This was "Who's hurt now?" The easy answer was everybody, on both sides. Ravens tough guy Ray Lewis buried his face in his hands on the sideline after pulling a muscle in his right arm. Baltimore quarterback Steve McNair strained his groin.

It wasn't pretty, but it was exactly the kind of statement game the Bengals needed. They couldn't afford to get pushed around this time, not if they expected to compete in the AFC North. Cincinnati needed to show it would not be bullied. Not by Baltimore. Not by Pittsburgh. Not by anybody who thinks Cincinnati is heavy on finesse and short on testosterone.

Coach Marvin Lewis preached toughness all preseason, putting actions to his words by signing four tough guys, including former Ohio State linebacker Anthony Schlegel, after the final roster cuts.

But tough talk means little if it doesn't translate into bloody fists on the field. In the NFL, it's not enough to be able to take a punch. You had better throw a few, too, or forget about making the playoffs.

Proof that Cincinnati could match the Ravens' machismo was found in a most unlikely player. When Graham was injured trying to make a tackle, the official word was that he almost certainly would not return. Minutes later he limped out to convert a 23-yard field goal.

"They were going to have to cut my leg off to keep me off the field," Graham said after the game.

When the kicker doesn't let an injury keep him out, it's hard for linebackers and linemen to remain on the bench.

"I think our defense answered every question tonight," Lewis said, adding that it was wonderful to hear the crowd crowing about the defense for a change.

That defense forced six turnovers, including a late interception that sealed the win. But it wasn't just the defense that stuck a finger in Baltimore's eye. Early on, receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh took several nasty hits but bounced up as if he had just stepped from a refreshing shower.

Housmandzadeh wasn't going to let Baltimore see him wince. In this league, in this sport, there is no place for weakness.

Last night, the Bengals got beat up and knocked down but got back up. That's all that matters.

Rob Oller is a sports reporter for The Dispatch.

roller@dispatch.com

After reading this, the Marine in me wants to shout OoohRaaah!

[GregCook]

We've seen the Bengals play hard and lose. We know that Blue Light Special. What we've not seen in years is that goal line stand, play after play, 8 times? Now I challenge anyone to find another night when the Bengals were that bad, that tough, that successful. I'm amazed that the Cincy natives aren't making more of the "Stand". It was special. Guarantee you Baltimore won't forget it for years.

[BengalszoneBilly]

We've seen the Bengals play hard and lose. We know that Blue Light Special. What we've not seen in years is that goal line stand, play after play, 8 times? Now I challenge anyone to find another night when the Bengals were that bad, that tough, that successful. I'm amazed that the Cincy natives aren't making more of the "Stand". It was special. Guarantee you Baltimore won't forget it for years.

Better than the same titled Steven King movie IMHO!

[HairOnFire]

I'm amazed that the Cincy natives aren't making more of the "Stand". It was special. Guarantee you Baltimore won't forget it for years.

Well, I called it epic. Ain't that enough?

Seriously though, I think Bengal fans appreciate what they witnessed, but are waiting to see if it's the start of something bigger or simply the latest tease. In addition, I think too many Bengal fans think the team got away with something when the official flagged Heath for offensive pass interference, negating a Raven TD that would have tied the game.

For the record, I'm not one of them.

And on that front, the head of NFL officiating was indeed on the NFL Network today and reviewed the play. His conclusion was mixed. He first hammered home the point that it's a judement call, then agreed that Heath had "warded off the defender", which he agreed was pass interference. However, he admitted that pass interference could have been called on Dexter Jackson for grabbing Heath's jersey, and called all of the contact from both players as nothing more than you have on a normal play. He then ended the rant the same way he started it by repeating that it was a judgement call and Heath had indeed interfered, but claimed that had he been the official he wouldn't have thrown a flag.

[HoosierCat]

Regarding the flag in the end zone...yeah, I think it was ticky-tack...at best. If I were a Ravens fan, I would be upset.

That said, two points:

1. They got a clear "make-up" call the next play and a fresh set of downs at the goal line. I wish the bengals would have got a "make-up" call in Tampa last year after that BS roughing call on Justin.

2. If your team is at a point where a bad call is the difference between a W and an L...your team likely didn't play very well to begin with. Again, if I'm a Ravens fan, while I'm upset with the refs, it's the 6 turnovers and the nonexistent offense that really p*ss me off. What was it Ray-Ray said after the game, that he can't go through this again, the O turning the ball over constantly? Yeah, I think it was. He knew where the ultimate fault for the loss lay.

[GregCook]

Personally the debate about the Heap call is less interesting than my dog's barks. Every team gets screwed by the refs. Besides, Baltimore had plenty of chances to score before and after Heap's play.

I hear we play Cleveland this weekend, any chance we can come out of it with no major injuries?

[HairOnFire]

Personally the debate about the Heap call is less interesting than my dog's barks. Every team gets screwed by the refs. Besides, Baltimore had plenty of chances to score before and after Heap's play.

You're preaching to the converted. However, a quick scan of these boards finds many a Bengal fan who seem to disagree. As for the explanation offered by the head of NFL officiating....he said more than I expected, and his opinions are noted.

That said, he DID say the only thing I was interested in hearing, that Heap had commited pass interference before making the catch. Everything else is just noise.

[ArmyBengal]

Again, one play shouldn't determine the outcome of an entire game. I'm also in the camp that it was interference. Was it a very close call ?? Yes, but then again, looking at where the ref was in relation to the players, he couldn't see what Jackson was doing, but could see Heaps hand on Jackson. I don't think anyone here is going to want to give that back and they SHOULDN'T !!! I'm happy with what the defense brought and look forward to going 2-0 and 2-0 in the division to start the season !!!

WHODEY !!!

[HairOnFire]

Last nuggets.

The reason the head of officiating said he wouldn't have thrown a flag is because he preferred refs not be in a position to determine the outcome of games. Which sounds perfectly reasonable until you realize that a ref would indeed be determining the outcome of the game if he didn't throw a flag when there's very little time remaining in the game and pass interference is committed by a player who catches a TD pass.

You don't officiate a game for just 59 minutes.

Finally, it should be noted that much of the review was conducted using a camera angle that I don't believe was seen during the telecast. That angle is from the LOS towards the endzone and clearly shows Heap "warding off the defender" with an arm that is nearly fully extended and a hand placed firmly on Dexter Jackson's shoulder....completely negating his ability to close on Heap or defend the ball. In short, there's no push off, but the infraction is blatant.

[ShulaSteakhouse]

Heap's fault there was that he extended his arm and appeared to push off in order to get to the ball and cut the defender out of the play. Even if it wasn't a "hard push," a ref has no way of deciding that in a split second - you have to know better than to extend your arm like that in the end zone going for a ball. Same thing happened in the OSU NC game with Miami and the Miami fans are still crying about it - fact is you can't even "appear" to be pushing off to get to a ball in the end zone, without risking a flag. The Refs did their job.

As for the defense, I noted in the game thread before the game, that the Bengals' had to match their intensity and not play soft (in a matter of words) or they'd be in trouble - they suprised me and the defense played one of the nastier games I've ever seen this general group play in 4 years.

Ray Lewis is a beast too - gotta love that guy's toughness - he was smacking people down with one arm - what a blow for them if he's out all year - he looked better last night than he has in years.

In any case, this is exactly how the Bengals' need to play in this division, and against the finesse teams like Indy and San Diego - hit 'em hard every time, get in their face, hurt people, fly to the ball and try and disrupt timing etc..., It's the only way this defense makes it through the season against top tier teams. I wouldn't get too high on a good showing against a very poor offensive team with a bad 0-line, but their attitude was encouraging.

[Jet23]

Personally the debate about the Heap call is less interesting than my dog's barks. Every team gets screwed by the refs. Besides, Baltimore had plenty of chances to score before and after Heap's play.

I hear we play Cleveland this weekend, any chance we can come out of it with no major injuries?

Yup. After years of being on the wrong side of such calls, I will take the win with a big fat smile on my face. It does kill me that a number of Cincy fans are damn near apologizing for the win. They beat the team with the best and toughest Defense in the NFL at their own game. I don't care if they had negative 100 yards of offense and benefited from 1K bad calls. I will take the W.

I was afraid that the Bengals would come away from this game banged up. It appears as if they came out of it in much better shape than the Ravens.

[cincy9275]

they can be pissed about the call all they want who cares, every game every season there are penaties that are questionable they happen all the time. when a ref makes a call that is it, no one can do anything about it except play on. the refs made the call up on the very next play that gave them a fresh set of downs and they still could not score. so they only have themself's to be pissed at.

[Tasher]

I seem to recall a very questionable interference call on a TD catch last year vs the Ravens in Cincy on Chad, too.

It is an ebb and flow. We got jobbed all last year on the calls and Marvin continually reiterated that we needed to NOT put ourselves in the position that we let calls like this decide the game. Well, maybe we got one and maybe we didn't. It would only have TIED the game and given us a minute and a half to go get a field goal. Wait, where have I seen that scenario before?

"Around the water cooler" all week (I live in the DC area) the only thing I have heard repeatedly is "Wow, I have not seen hitting that hard from start to finish in a game in a LONG time!" "What a great game!"

So for a change we got on the W side of the ledger.

'Bout time!

[HairOnFire]

"Around the water cooler" all week (I live in the DC area) the only thing I have heard repeatedly is "Wow, I have not seen hitting that hard from start to finish in a game in a LONG time!" "What a great game!"

They were talking about the game on ESPNRadio earlier today and remarked that the level of hitting in that game, from start to finish, matched that normally seen only in playoff games. One talking head even remarked how stunned he was watching the Bengals deliver more heavy blows than the Ravens.

[ArmyBengal]

Seriously, if you truly believe the call was so bad, I invite you to go back and watch the game again. The game was actually on over here and I was able to tape it. You can clearly see Heap with his hand on DJ's shoulder and, as brought up by Hair I think, while it may not have been a huge pushoff, it CLEARLY kept DJ from being able to make any attempt on the play. This is not some gift given to the Bengals and the reason we won the game. We won due to our (I've been waiting to say this for years) defense playing so well and getting to the QB. You want an example of a "gift" in that game ?? Go back and look at the call against Madieu to give the Ravens YET another chance (that they blew) !!! Now that was a gift !!!

Good game from the defense and obviously good enough from our offense going against their defense !!!

1-0 overall and 1-0 in the division... Anyone want to apologize for that ?? If so, Cleveland needs some more fans !!!

WHODEY !!!

[BengalszoneBilly]

" They were talking about the game on ESPNRadio earlier today and remarked that the level of hitting in that game, from start to finish, matched that normally seen only in playoff games. One talking head even remarked how stunned he was watching the Bengals deliver more heavy blows than the Ravens.

The one on Heap that laid him out like a dog turd laying in the backyard especially stands out in my mind.

[Tasher]

A couple of Indiana Jones' hits on kick returns were especially nice, and Landon's as well.

[Ickey44]

Am I imagining things, or did the play clock go to 0 before the snap on Rudi's fumble? I swear it did, and if so the Ravens got a gift on that play. Were it not for that non-call, we wouldn't even be talking about pass interference.