Hobson's Q&A

[RedsFan75]

Quote from a Hobson's Q&A article.

Hey, this wasn’t one of those nothing wins in December against a team out of contention or a division winner looking ahead to the playoffs. This is an honest-to-goodness early September win against a Dolphins team that hasn’t been 0-2 since 1988.

We agree with you wholeheartedly on Palmer. Let’s face it, the kid plays like he’s 34 instead of 24, and we think that is, in part, because Lewis decided not to play him last year and because The Man of Troy grew up in the fire at USC and is as used to the heat as a log in a bonfire.

And, we think, in a strange way Palmer has lent some veteran calmness to a team that, until now, has always been trying to get over that excrutiating mental block at crucial moments in big games. Palmer expects it. He has done it, and that is why Sunday night’s win is so huge.

Some people were musing that it might have been better to win this way rather than 13-3. It all melted for about two minutes, when Miami scored 10 points to tie it with 1:53 left. In the old days, they would have heaved a big here-go-again sigh. It didn’t happen. Not in September. Not against a perennial playoff contender.

Palmer and Lewis are a big part of it. They are used to those plays being made, and not the other way around.

So what say ye! How's the feeling on these statements?

I like the mention of the maturity level, and the last line, that Lewis and Plamer are used to these plays being made.

[TippCityRick]

If the Bengals are gonna make the playoffs (a big if, but we're in a weak division), then the whole team is gonna have to get used to having the big play being made. This team's defense, especially the Dline, is weak, so there will be a lot of close games. Many crunch time plays will need to be made for this team to succeed on the level they expect.

[ShulaSteakhouse]

Perennial playoff contendor - pfft - Miami is terrible, their offense is so bad no great defense, despite missing 4 starters Sunday night, is going to overcome all of that.

The Bengals and Hobson need to quit making too much out of that ugly win and keep trying to improve because that, despite the Fins defense, is not going to win games normally if the offense sputters like it did.

The Ravens are better on both sides of the ball and while beatable, the Bengals offense better show up and find a way to get the ball around to some different people other than Palmer eye-balling CJ every down or Warrick on 3rd down and then having P-dub make some miraculous play 2-3 times a game just to get them out of trouble.

BTW - has anyone heard or seen the much vaunted Kelly Washington this year? He needs to step up and has not done so, and of course Rudi needs to get his rear in gear and start picking this team up with some big runs...unfortunately I do not like our 0-line's chances of stopping Ray Lewis this week.

If I'm the Bengals I blitz the hell out of Boller every single down and cross my fingers on 3rd and long. And of course Palmer needs time to throw if they have any chance this week - I can't sit here and say the Bengals are the better team at this point because they simply are not.

[denverbengal]

Quote from a Hobson's Q&A article.

It all melted for about two minutes, when Miami scored 10 points to tie it with 1:53 left. In the old days, they would have heaved a big here-go-again sigh. It didn’t happen.

As it was all "melting," I kept saying to my girlfriend, "they're trying to lose...they're trying to lose," until she couldn't take it anymore and bitch-slapped me so I'd shut the hell up. As the Bengals were taking their final possession to attempt to win the game, I honestly thought they'd get stopped and either Miami would win on a last second field goal, or the game would go into overtime, where the fins would win, and we would once again have snatched defeat out of the jaws of victory. Only this time IT DIDN'T HAPPEN. Yes, Miami isn't the team they once were, but it doesn't really matter who we were playing at that point. Our old tendency would have been to throw in the towel...we gave our best effort, they came back...game over, case closed (apologies for the bax line). This time, IT DIDN'T HAPPEN. Yes the offense played like crap virtually the entire game, but when it mattered most, CP & Co. played like pros, forgetting about the dismal performance of the previous 3 3/4 of the game, and got it done. That's the mark of a team with character...a team that doesn't quit...a team that doesn't throw in the towel.

While I don't always agree with Hobson's candy-coated praise of this team, the way they won this game speaks volumes of what kind of team they are becoming and what kind of QB Carson is. I'm not saying we're on our way to the superbowl or even the playoffs this year, but an ugly win like that is just what the Dr ordered. Every team in the league will at one point face adversity. It's how that adversity is overcome that separates the winners from the losers.

Remember this time last year when we were bitching and moaning about our loss to an Oakland team that was far inferior? We could very easily be doing the same thing today, but we're not. The Bengals proved that they can overcome adversity...even if it was against a team they should have beaten fairly easily. Then again, easy wins are hard to come by in the NFL.