Final Thoughts on Steelers game?

[HoosierCat]

Did that just happen?

Yes.

Was I dreaming?

No.

Questions?

[vettespd20]

Geez I am still so pumped right now!! LOVE IT!!

[jonahdsage]

I've been saying this for four weeks now (mostly to my brother) but caldwell is TJ v 2.0. He's younger, faster, and stronger. He's been so clutch the last few weeks.

I love Chad's consistency, too. Still missing the '05 deep ball, but hell, if he's going to pull consistent 70 yard games and keep blocking in the run game and is whining about it (and we win), i Love it.

Officiating is absolutely killing me. Nauseating. Geathers gets abused every week by holding right tackles -- it's atrocious. And it never gets called.

Finally, screw the steelers man. What a huge win. I was talking with my pops after the game and the one word we kept talking about was TOUGHNESS. Mentally, physically, emotionally -- this team is the "toughest" we've had in . . . well . . . as long as I can remember. Two HUGE wins the last two weeks. Let other teams keep calling us the bungles and see what happens when we play them . . .

as far as luck being involved . . . i don't buy it. Maybe with that TD drop, but we drop passes too, ya know? We hung in there, our D held up strong in the 2nd half (and holding them to field goals in the 1st half) and we did what we had to do to win. Was that fake punt lucky? Not a chance. Did anything flukey happen at all in that game? Nope. We just put it to them.

Carson was SO clutch. I love the bengals.

now let's not sleep on cleveland . . .

[BengalszoneBilly]

Also, nice points put up by the D helped out.

In my eyes it paved the way for the win. Without JJ pulling off that pick 6, the win would have never been achievable.

[ShulaSteakhouse]

Very uncharacteristic win. We were waiting for the eventual screw-up that sealed the game for the Squealers. For once it didn't happen. Very fun to watch at the end. The defense bucked up when it had to, and the Bengals' got some fortunate breaks. Palmer drives them in for a go-ahead TD in the final minutes, for the 3rd week in a row.

I'm all for some bigger margin wins after these first 3 weeks, but that was a sweet one today considering the opponent and the monkey on their backs.

[Esiason#7]

First, I'd simply like to say, it's going to be a good week at work with my Commander and First Sergeant being Steeler fans.

Second, what a great game. THey really showed some heart where other Bengal teams would have basically packed it in after being down 13-0 early.

Lastly, I want to apologize to everyone...

You see, I was out with Mrs. ArmyBengal early in the day and didn't have my jersey on. I came home right at kickoff and was so amped up about the game, I simply sat down without thinking about putting on my jersey. I sat through the whole first half in disgust and jerseyless. At halftime, I realized the error in my ways and retrieved my orange Rey Maualuga jersey. The rest is history.

It won't happen again !!!

Thats so funny, because my Commander is a Steeler's fan as well and he's been giving me s**t all week! I wonder if he'll try to avoid me this week? My First Sergeant is a packer's fan so I already had a good week giving him a hard time....

[AGrizzlyBaer]

In the words of Alan Cutler, It's a great day to be a bengal's fan.

[membengal]

By the way, I see TE bitching scattered through this and the other thread, but Coats drew a big interference call on the 85 yard drive and then had a monstrous block on the edge on Benson's TD run to end that drive...

[kentjett]

First the Dislikes:

Slow, predictable start.

Terrible Brat playcalls.

Poor clock management.

Brad St. Unemployed.

Shayne "Shankapotomus" Graham missing from 52...badly.

No touches for Bernard Scott, and only a couple (though important) touches for Leonard.

Really bad officiating.

Likes:

Getting to win at home vs Pitt for the first time in 8 years. Massive monkey off the back.

Winning in a gutty, clutch, "have to make it" kind of way that says volumes about the character of this team. Way to finish by overcoming the defecit, the time of possession, the errors and breakdowns in scheme, they willed the win...at home...against THE nemesis.

Liked Benson running like nails.

Leonard making the most of his catch.

Caldwell making plays. O-line giving Palmer time.

D getting after it.

Rey coming back to show some freaking iron toughness.

Seeing Roland out there mashing some black and yellow.

Defensive attitude of not quitting. Like Yo-Gabba-Gabba says: "Keep trying, keep tying, don't give up, never give up." (Yes, I have a 7, 4 and 1 year old)

At the end of the day, it is a W and not an L. Moving to 1-0 in the division and 2-1 in the standings. Pitt is 1-2. Beautiful.

Hats off to this team for showing the backbone and nads to go and win the game.

This is a defining moment for a team that has quite a lot of talent and ability. Sky's the limit.

I think the time management was handled perfectly. The qb spike w/ 47 seconds was stupid but everything else was perfect. If ben had 1 minute left w/ 2 timeouts left, we would have ended up in overtime. I can see why Marvin wanted to keep his timeouts to leave the possibility of run or pass but w/ 2 timoeouts, 1 should have been called instead of chaulking it. If we ended up in OT, we more than likely would have lost.

With that being said, I feel great about this win. We sucked ass for 3 quarters and found way to win it by dominating the 4th. I haven't seen the Bengals win like that in a long time.

[skyline]

First the Dislikes:

Slow, predictable start.

Terrible Brat playcalls.

Poor clock management.

Brad St. Unemployed.

Shayne "Shankapotomus" Graham missing from 52...badly.

No touches for Bernard Scott, and only a couple (though important) touches for Leonard.

Really bad officiating.

Likes:

Getting to win at home vs Pitt for the first time in 8 years. Massive monkey off the back.

Winning in a gutty, clutch, "have to make it" kind of way that says volumes about the character of this team. Way to finish by overcoming the defecit, the time of possession, the errors and breakdowns in scheme, they willed the win...at home...against THE nemesis.

Liked Benson running like nails.

Leonard making the most of his catch.

Caldwell making plays. O-line giving Palmer time.

D getting after it.

Rey coming back to show some freaking iron toughness.

Seeing Roland out there mashing some black and yellow.

Defensive attitude of not quitting. Like Yo-Gabba-Gabba says: "Keep trying, keep tying, don't give up, never give up." (Yes, I have a 7, 4 and 1 year old)

At the end of the day, it is a W and not an L. Moving to 1-0 in the division and 2-1 in the standings. Pitt is 1-2. Beautiful.

Hats off to this team for showing the backbone and nads to go and win the game.

This is a defining moment for a team that has quite a lot of talent and ability. Sky's the limit.

I think the time management was handled perfectly. The qb spike w/ 47 seconds was stupid but everything else was perfect. If ben had 1 minute left w/ 2 timeouts left, we would have ended up in overtime. I can see why Marvin wanted to keep his timeouts to leave the possibility of run or pass but w/ 2 timoeouts, 1 should have been called instead of chaulking it. If we ended up in OT, we more than likely would have lost.

With that being said, I feel great about this win. We sucked ass for 3 quarters and found way to win it by dominating the 4th. I haven't seen the Bengals win like that in a long time.

The spike was bad, and I disliked the call to Chad on 3rd down. It was 3rd and 2...take two shots to pick up the two yards and you've got four more chances at it. After missing to Chad, 4th down became do or die...we managed to convert, but I would have liked that third down play back.

But hey...for once they actually converted on 4th down. And then did it again on 4th and 10! Never in a million years did I think they were going to do that to Pittsburgh of all teams.

[semiotter]

Final thoughts from old Semi. The "O" line is getting their act together

The defense really keeps getting better. The youngs studs and good veterans are a good mix.Good Drafts and great free agent pick-ups make this def. Looks really good

Carson get his legs back after sitting over a year.

Overall the team is playing better and better. Winning today was Great, beating the Steelers was the best ever. Seeing their sad faces made me feel great Hines (cheap shot) Ward looking in disbelief words can't describe

All the negative posts and topics about Carson well you can stick those posts up your Bungholes(joe prong).

Omg one lucky bad deflection and the team could be 3-0

Final thoughts, if the team can keep playing like this I really think they will only keep getting better. And happy days are here again.

[Stripes]

My throat is raw from roaring all game long, even from the nosebleeds. Awesome comeback win, the sort of things teams usually do to us.

[Kazkal]

've been saying this for four weeks now (mostly to my brother) but caldwell is TJ v 2.0. He's younger, faster, and stronger. He's been so clutch the last few weeks.

I'm a strait guy but I have say Damn when Caldwell was moving that tire \whistles

[GoBengals!]

This game was a nail bitter... I really enjoyed Big Baby Ben and Hines pouting on the sideline. The Steeler team and their fans are so arrogant, rude, and disrespectful I loved to see the Bengals win this one. I'll be savoring this win for a while (even though it is only week 3).

[wpeldios]

My throat is raw from roaring all game long, even from the nosebleeds. Awesome comeback win, the sort of things teams usually do to us.

I was losing my voice some too, but it was from yelling at my tv for 3.5 hrs. Was an esciting game.

[ArmyBengal]

More final thoughts ??

Rivers ended up as the game's leading tackler with eight, not to mention the last word.

"Didn't say anything to him," Rivers said. "Everyone is talking about 'Kill him,' and 'Revenge,' but this is the best way to do it. Don't say anything and get the W."

RESPECT !!!

[jjakq27]

Random thoughts.....

To beat them at home is monumental. They have owned us at PBS since Danny Farmer's catch in OT in 2001. Too many bad memories exorcised for at least one year. Carson's injury, Rivers injury, the last game loss in 2006 and Ben's streak in Ohio, dealing with Steeler fans locally and at the stadium on game day.....

This reminds me of the comeback in 2004 against the Ravens. Up until then the Ravens had pounded us for several years prior.

It's amazing how one play (Joseph's INT) can change the complexion of the game.

Could the Steelers have gotten complacent in the second half, figuring that we would eventually fold?

Felt like I was watching a re-run of many of those previous games during the first half yesterday. But for some reason I never got the usual feeling of resignation that it was over.

Andre Caldwell is a more than capable replacement for TJ. He's a winner. Looks like a slightly smaller version of Chad when he's on the field.

They kept running Benson because I think they must have seen something they could exploit. Paid off in his nice TD run.

To all the Steelers fans....take it like a man. I heard a few comments on the way out about how "it's only one game", "this was your Super Bowl" and " you got lucky". But beneath that I saw a bit of fear and apprehension in their faces. I've always said it's easy to be a Steelers fan. Just like it was easy to be a 49ers fan in the 80's. Very little investment on the part of the fan. That's why I give credit to everyone around here who hangs with the team through the bad games and seasons and the good.

I am not over the skis yet on this group. I think the offense has to become more consistent but they were playing a very good defense yesterday. I am very impressed with the defense and sense something different about this group. They've got some players and guys that won take losing lightly. They expect to win. If they beat the Ravens I will be out there on the 90m hill with you.

[skyline]

Felt like I was watching a re-run of many of those previous games during the first half yesterday. But for some reason I never got the usual feeling of resignation that it was over.

Same here.

The first half was ugly, and I was disappointed, but I never hit the panic button. Thankfully, the team didn't either.

[ArmyBengal]

Felt like I was watching a re-run of many of those previous games during the first half yesterday.

The first half was ugly.

I took responsibility for this, get off my back already !!!

[derekshank]

Felt like I was watching a re-run of many of those previous games during the first half yesterday. But for some reason I never got the usual feeling of resignation that it was over.

Same here.

The first half was ugly, and I was disappointed, but I never hit the panic button. Thankfully, the team didn't either.

Plenty of people were mashing that panic button though. Go read through the first half of the gameday thread.

Even though I wasn't posting... I'll admit, I didn't see much hope. I never said the game was over, and I had the feeling that because of the run defense they could make it close... but I didn't expect them to win. Not when they were down 13-0 and especially when they were down 20-9. I just didn't see it.

Unfortunately, I didn't truly believe until the clock said 0:00. I celebrated the TD... but after the Denver game, I wasn't ready to believe. I was holding my breath when they were running back the kickoff!

[skyline]

Felt like I was watching a re-run of many of those previous games during the first half yesterday. But for some reason I never got the usual feeling of resignation that it was over.

Same here.

The first half was ugly, and I was disappointed, but I never hit the panic button. Thankfully, the team didn't either.

Plenty of people were mashing that panic button though. Go read through the first half of the gameday thread.

Even though I wasn't posting... I'll admit, I didn't see much hope. I never said the game was over, and I had the feeling that because of the run defense they could make it close... but I didn't expect them to win. Not when they were down 13-0 and especially when they were down 20-9. I just didn't see it.

Unfortunately, I didn't truly believe until the clock said 0:00. I celebrated the TD... but after the Denver game, I wasn't ready to believe. I was holding my breath when they were running back the kickoff!

Yeah, I stayed away from the forums for exactly that reason.

And I'm with you...I didn't foresee the win, and had certainly lost hope at a few points. But, I expected them to stay tough and not completely tank like we've seen from them so many times in the past. I saw each bad play as just that...a bad play, and not the start of an unraveling ball of yarn.

[SteelerFan87]

Good game guys. The Bengals showed they have balls. They played physical. They wanted it more.

I can't even say s**t about the Bengals because my team was so dissappointing. We had no killer instinct. We had plenty of chances to win the game but nobody rose to the occasion to do it. Like I said, the Bengals wanted it more, and played like it.

[skyline]

Good game guys. The Bengals showed they have balls. They played physical. They wanted it more.

I can't even say s**t about the Bengals because my team was so dissappointing. We had no killer instinct. We had plenty of chances to win the game but nobody rose to the occasion to do it. Like I said, the Bengals wanted it more, and played like it.

Thanks for the props!

It's going to be an interesting season for sure. If you guys don't bounce back I'll be more than a little shocked.

See you in Pittsburgh!

[BengalByTheBay]

Good game guys. The Bengals showed they have balls. They played physical. They wanted it more.

I can't even say s**t about the Bengals because my team was so dissappointing. We had no killer instinct. We had plenty of chances to win the game but nobody rose to the occasion to do it. Like I said, the Bengals wanted it more, and played like it.

Thanks 87. It's been awhile since I saw you around, perhaps an indication of how slow the smack forum is these days. Nice to hear from you though and, while I hope your team drops off a cliff for the rest of the season, I have to think the game at Pitt will be significant.

Cheers.

[cincyhokie]

Watched the game at Fountain Square with my sister and fiance. Luckily we left my Steeler fan brother-in-law and his brother, who went to the game. I don't think that I could have put up with that many Steeler fans after watching the first 3 quarters.

The crowd at Fountain Square was pretty much in shock...everyone cheered but it was surreal. The Bengals just don't win games like that. Ever. The Steelers fans walking north up Elm Street from PBS just had this glazed look of shock on their faces. No eye contact. Nothing. After 8 years of seeing them gloat and wave those damn towels in our faces at PBS...yesterday may have been the sweetest day as a fan that I can remember.

BTW...from what I saw the fans handled themselves really well...no fights, no yelling. Just a roar of "who-deys!" and car horns coming up the hill from the stadium.