Goosebumbs and Pepto Bismal

[BengalBobNC]

I've got goosebumbs and a craving for Pepto Bismal.

The reason I've got goosebumbs: Palmer looked great! That was his first NFL start?!?! Even on the interception he would've hit Chad in the numbers. The Jet made a great play on the ball and held on when he was hit by his own man. Perhaps the coverage was a little too close, but that is the learning curve for essentially a rookie QB. He looked great all day! The receivers looked great! Chad made two great catches...the TD catch and that one for a first down where he was running an out and dove back towards the middle of the field and snagged that pass! Sweet!

The reason I am craving Pepto Bismal: The defense looked H-O-R-R-I-B-L-E!!! We are facing a schedule full of great RBs. I hope they fix the non-existent run defense real soon. Not to mention the pass defense. Not to mention the complete lack of getting any pressure on the QB. We've got some guys hurt or dinged up and I know that was a factor.

However: In Marvin Lewis I trust. It will be fixed, it was just the first game. Yes, if we had a defense, I know we would've won that game. Even with Rudi's very uncharacteristic fumble. He didn't fumble at all last year. I would also like to see the O-line open up better running lanes for Rudi. But they still did a good job. Special teams played great. TJ did a great job I thought!

But Palmer's presence was unbelievable!

I've got huge goosebumps!

BengalBob

[BengalBobNC]

One more thing: When is a fumble NOT a fumble?

When Pennington fumbles the ball, the Bengals recover, but the refs say they blew the whistle too soon.

I am so sick of whistle happy referee's. It happens to all teams. Inadvertent whistles. They can be game breakers.

I thought the refs did a barely adequate job. Lots of missed calls besides the obvious fumble. A Bengal player was nailed in the back on a kickoff, no call. A Bengal coach was freaking out on that one pointing to the play. Another no call was on the jets last possession, the up back moved a half second early, no call. That would've made it 3rd and 8 instead of 3rd and 3. They got the first down on that play and the game was in hand. (But, 3rd and 8 would've been a Curtis Martin 14 yard run anyway so it is a moot point.)

I'm sure the Jets fans can point out a few no calls against us as well.

BengalBob

[Tampa Bengal]

Your Right the refs were horrible. I couldn't believe the Pennigton fumble. That would have changed the game. Over all I think the team is on the right track. Improvement on the Defense is really needed. I think once the starters come back the game should improve.

Can it be? A real starting QB in Cincinnati. I was shocked to see Palmer light it up. The interception hurt but I was expecting things like that to happen this year. Over all I can hold my head up after this loss. The Bengals didn't give up and had a chance to win it. They are following up on what they started building last year and you can't be real unhappy with that.