Bengals @ Titans Pregame Chatter

[Stripes]

This is definitely a game the Bengals could easily lose. The matchups seem to mostly favor them though, so it'll take turnovers, penalties, or other such sloppiness to put them too far behind to stay in it I think. I expect a close game in the 4th quarter either way.

[MK83]

The Bengals should focus their attention on Javon Ringer. He's making much more of an impact than CJ.

[HoosierCat]

Bascially, my Bengal-radar and intuition is all shot to hell.

I know exactly what you mean. Which, oddly enough, has led to much less stress for me this season. Win or lose, I'm just enjoying the change and the ride. Win more than lose, of course, but it's great to actually get to watch a team come together in Cincy.

[derekshank]

Quick note:

The Titans are 27th in rush defense (allowing 129.3 yards/game)... but they don't give up the big play (only 4 rushes of 20+ yards, only 1 rush of 40+ yards).

Despite a lack of explosive plays in the running game... teams just persistently run on them (Jacksonville and Houston ran the ball 47 times each against them). Tennessee ranks 29th in TOP (only Den, Ind, and Sea are worse) because teams are able to run down the clock with run heavy 5+ minute drives.

In my opinion, this stat works in Benson's favor. Tennessee gets worn out from a persistent rushing attack... and Benson is the type of runner who gets better as the game goes on. If the Bengals have a lead in the 4th quarter, Benson will be able to run out the clock.

[HairOnFire]

I think we're all wondering IF and when the other shoe is going to drop.

And as the song goes....the waiting IS the hardest part.

But maybe....just maybe...this team is different.

And not just because Andy isn't Carson and AJ isn't Chad.

No, it's WAY bigger than that.

After years and years and years of trying the Bengals have finally built the type of defense we all expected the day Marvin Lewis was hired.

fist pump/shouts of roadhouse/display of feathers

[BengalszoneBilly]

I think we're all wondering IF and when the other shoe is going to drop.

And as the song goes....the waiting IS the hardest part.

But maybe....just maybe...this team is different.

I'm starting to actually believe it is.

[HoosierCat]

Pac Man and Rey are both practicing today.

Just to update, Jones did practice, but Rey couldn't go and just worked on the side again.

My bet is all 3 are out Sunday.

[derekshank]

I think we're all wondering IF and when the other shoe is going to drop.

It's a good point. It's easy to assume that the Bengals are "due" for a loss. Afterall... the last two times the Bengals won 5 straight was in '81 and '88. A long winning streak is simply not the kind of thing the Bengals do.

But the only similarity between this team and the ones that came before are the colors they wear.

I was telling my wife yesterday that this might be my favorite Bengals team. Unlike previous Bengal teams... this isn't merely a collection of individuals. This group is actually a team.

People keep saying that the young guys on this team keep winning because no one told them they can't. That seems like nonsense at first, but there is some truth there. There aren't any spoiled and jaded veterans spewing venom onto the locker-room floor... turning idealism into disillusionment.

Nope. The malcontents are gone. Cincinnati finally has a professional football team.

[volcom69]

Pac Man and Rey are both practicing today.

Just to update, Jones did practice, but Rey couldn't go and just worked on the side again.

My bet is all 3 are out Sunday.

Yep i bet they all dont play as they are all doubtful.

Like i have been saying the Titans are a tough physical team, so if the bengals want to win they better play physcial!

I would love to see them run more then they pass in this game, the second road game in a row is not going to be easy for them.

Hope the defense comes out ready for a dog fight and does not let there running game get going. Im hoping the pass defense presser there recievers some also. I think Hasselback can be a tough QB, so heres hoping the defense shuts them down.

[James_Brooks21]

Hey everybody this is not about the Titans game but just some good honest insight into the locker room last year and now. Plus I always appreciate when a player gives a honest answer about former or current teammates. Love what he says about Palmer, because IMO and it sounds like his a lot of Bengals fans were scared of change, which they had a right to be seeing our pedigree of late but when someone doesn't want you let them go. What's good now is that everybody is onboard now that the change was the best thing for the team. .

/>http://eye-on-football.blogs.cbssports.com/mcc/blogs/entry/22475988/33103357

Posted by Josh Katzowitz

Chris Crocker has played on good Bengals teams and bad Bengals teams. Mostly bad. But now that Cincinnati is 5-2, Crocker is receiving a bit more recognition for being a key component on a Bengals squad that has one of the league’s best defenses. After starting only six games during his first years in Cleveland, he’s started 83 of the last 89 contests he’s played, and he’s had himself a nice career. Seven games into this season, he’s already surpassed his career high with 2.5 sacks on the year.

He’s also one of the better quotes in the Bengals locker room, always willing to speak about whatever’s on his mind with nary a nod to the idea of political correctness. That’s not to say he’s in the same league as former teammates Chad Ochocinco or Terrell Owens. Those guys talked because they liked to hear themselves speak. When Crocker speaks, he usually has something interesting to say.

Knowing that, we caught up with Crocker earlier this week where we talked about life in the Bengals organization this year, how the team moved past the Carson Palmer controversy and why Owens can’t get a job.

1. CBSSports.com: I was around that locker room for six years, and I know what that organization is like and what the mood in the locker room has been when the team’s been bad. What’s different this year?

Chris Crocker: I can talk specifically on defense where the majority of the guys are the same guys who have been here. Offensively, we’ve changed a lot of guys. We already had really good guys the locker room. It’s just been what the perception has been. We don’t have a Chad (Ochocinco) anymore that’s always in the media. All of our guys are low-key. We don’t have the guys who are in the limelight. The perception has changed. A lot of the guys we had before were getting into trouble with DUIs and suspensions. We’ve always had a good group of guys. We just don’t have any more Hollywood.

2. CBS: I don’t think I was alone in the national media in picking the Bengals to struggle, to go maybe 4-12 or 3-13. That obviously wasn’t right, but if you looked at what was happening, Carson Palmer was maybe going to go, the top two receivers from last year would leave, and we didn’t know why Marvin Lewis came back. Why are you guys winning?

Crocker: Offensively, we haven’t been very good since I’ve been here. I’m not saying that to kick my teammates in the butt. The truth of the matter is we haven’t been great. The defense, we felt like we were the strength of the team. No matter what, we felt like we had to carry our team. It just so happened that we stumbled on a quarterback that could manage the game, we’re very talented at the wide receiver spot, and Cedric (Benson) re-signed. Everything really jelled on the offensive side of the ball. We knew we were going to play stingy defense. But the (offensive) formula has worked for us. There were a lot of questions -- who’s going to be the quarterback, the running back, the receivers, and on defense we had questions too. But we felt like the nucleus was the same. Outside of these walls, nobody saw us as good. But every year, nobody sees us as good, so why should it be any different?

3. CBS: But losing Johnathan Joseph to the Texans was a major thing, right? I mean, Joseph and Leon Hall were considered to be one of the better young cornerback tandems in the league.

Crocker: Going into the season, it was a big blow. Me and Leon and John have all been together. We had formed something that was really special. He leaves to go elsewhere, which is fine. He was entitled to do that. But what we were going to do? Nate Clements was a free agent, and he fit right in. He’s been a great player in this league for a while. For him coming in, it was just a matter of time. How long would it take him to learn the system and get on the same page? It’s been really good. You couldn’t have put a better guy in there.

CBS: Why did it fit Clements so well?

Crocker: First of all, experience supersedes everything. He’s a very smart guy. He really wanted to come in here and really get on the same page with everybody. He wasn’t coming here with the attitude that he’s been there and done that. He came in with the attitude that he could learn. It’s hard when you’re an old guy, you get stuck in your ways. But he was completely opposite of that. He wanted to be part of something special. But with us, it’s week to week. If we don’t play well the next week, then we’re a piece of crap. Especially in the media. We want to go out there and play well.

CBS: Yeah, but us in the media can also say, “Well, the Bengals really haven’t faced any great quarterbacks. They haven’t really played anybody yet. Their schedule is weak. They haven’t played Baltimore or Pittsburgh yet."

Crocker: When people say that, you know that you don’t ever apologize for winning. Those other guys in the division, they’re playing the same teams we are. You don’t apologize for winning in this league. We’ll see those guys down the road and see where we stand then.

4. CBS: Regarding Carson Palmer, what was the locker room attitude about him? He had been such a good member of the team, but then he bailed. Did Carson abandon you guys, or did he have a good point?

Crocker: In Cincinnati in general, he had been the quarterback for so long, maybe the fans and the organization were scared of change. Sometimes change is good. In this case, it works out for us. If he didn’t want to be here, that’s fine. It’s all good and dandy. We knew our offense wasn’t the 1999 St. Louis Rams. Let’s be real. We weren’t playing John Elway. I like Carson, but let’s look at what we were.

5. CBS: What about Terrell Owens? You played with him last year, saw him in practice. Does he still have what it takes? Why doesn’t he have a job?

Crocker: I’ll say this. When we talk about how perception is reality, the perception around the league is that he’s a bad locker room guy and a bad teammate. Organizations don’t want to bring that dynamic in the locker room, especially with him 37 or 38 years old. I just don’t think people are willing to do it. I’m not saying he’s a bad teammate, but he was called one when he was in San Fran, in Philly, in Dallas. It’s like a circus. Teams just don’t want to go that route. You bring him in, and you bring in all the stuff that goes with it. He seems healthy, he looks healthy. I’m not a GM, but it’s something you worry about.

CBS: Was it a circus last year with Owens and Ochocinco?

Crocker: I’ll go off what he said. He talks so bad about organizations that nobody wants to deal with that. You bring him in here, and it’s all good. But when it goes bad, he talks bad about the organization. My only rule is this: you might have gripes and you might not be happy, but you don’t bite the hand that feeds you. I think that’s how organizations feel about him.

[cHaD711Johnson]

I think Pac Man plays Sunday. Doubtful on Rey and Gresh, but I think Pac Man plays. Listened to him on the Bengals Pep Rally and you can tell he's really matured. He says he hopes to stay here long-term too which I would definitely like to see as long as he stays healthy.

[COB]

/>http://eye-on-football.blogs.cbssports.com/mcc/blogs/entry/22475988/33103357

Posted by Josh Katzowitz

If he didn’t want to be here, that’s fine. It’s all good and dandy. We knew our offense wasn’t the 1999 St. Louis Rams. Let’s be real. We weren’t playing John Elway. I like Carson, but let’s look at what we were.

LMFAO. Chris Crocker is the 'effin man.

[HairOnFire]

"We just don’t have any more Hollywood." --- Chris Crocker

There it is.