jjakq27 Posted January 4, 2005 Report Share Posted January 4, 2005 http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/art...SPT02/501040326Tuesday, January 4, 2005 The Big Storylines By Mark CurnutteEnquirer staff writerThese are the top storylines of the 2004 Bengals season:1 Carson Palmer emerges as a big-time NFL quarterback and the most promising in Cincinnati since Boomer Esiason's arrival in 1984. Before Palmer sprained his left knee Dec. 12 at New England,he was 69-for-89 passing for 835 yards, nine touchdowns and five interceptions over his previous three starts.2 One embarrassing streak came to an end - 42 consecutive road losses to teams with winning records - but two more meaningful ones grew one more year to 14. The Bengals have not had a winning record or been in the playoffs since 1990.3 The Bengals made the most of their return to "Monday Night Football" after a 12-year absence. They impressed a national audience with their 23-10 victory against Denver. Wide receiver Chad Johnson got the better of star cornerback Champ Bailey before a fired-up franchise-record crowd of 65,806. The Bengals won a month earlier on a Sunday night ESPN game against Miami.4 Coach Marvin Lewis' Bengals, despite another season without a playoff berth, again gave fans a lot to cheer about. And the fans responded by selling out an eight-game Bengals home schedule for the first time since 1992 and setting a franchise home attendance record of 524,248. Are the days of wondering whether the team's home games will be live on TV gone for good?5 The kids were all right on defense. The performances of rookie defensive backs Madieu Williams and Keiwan Ratliff, linebackers Landon Johnson and Caleb Miller and end Robert Geathers gave Bengals fans a reason to believe that the defense ultimately will get better. Young players were forced into the lineup because 18 Bengals went on season-ending injury lists. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjakq27 Posted January 4, 2005 Author Report Share Posted January 4, 2005 A few random thoughts about the '04 season:The hurricane in TampaPalmer given the job and playing wellLosing two close games to the SteelersThe come-from-behind win at BaltimoreThe Shootout vs. Cleveland 58-48Playing well and winning on Sunday and Monday night gamesThe injuriesThe play of the rookiesChad's catch in NY vs the JetsRudi breaking Corey's yardage markTJ's catch vs. the NY GiantsThe Warren Sapp and Darryl Gardner saga'sShayne Graham Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
San Antonio Bengal Posted January 4, 2005 Report Share Posted January 4, 2005 4 - 0 vs. NFC East2 - 0 on night games2 - 4 vs. playoff teams (with two of the loses coming against Pittsburgh) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R-U-D-I Posted January 4, 2005 Report Share Posted January 4, 2005 CP walking up and down the field at will vs the mighty Patriots Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
San Antonio Bengal Posted January 4, 2005 Report Share Posted January 4, 2005 Jerry Fontenot taking the place of Braham on DAYS notice before the Miami game and learning enough of the offense to help Carson get his first W. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoosierCat Posted January 4, 2005 Report Share Posted January 4, 2005 My top 3 moments from the 04 season:1. December 5 in Baltimore. Nearly 70,000 purple-clad Baltimore fans watch in disbelief as Shayne Graham's chip-shot FG sails through the uprights, capping the biggest fourth-quarter comeback ever allowed by the Billick-led Ravens. But their shock is small compared to the slack-jawed stupification of legions of Bengals fans, who had written the game off as yet another in a long string of disasters in M&T Bank Stadium after a goofy fumble runback made it 20-3 Ravens late in the third. How were they to know that Carson Palmer, mild-mannered signal-caller for a great metropolitan football team, was about to transform into SuperQuarterBack, strange visitor from another dimension where the Bengals won two Super Bowls against the Niners, haven't had a losing record in 15 years, and Mike Brown is considered a football genius of greater stature than his father Paul? 24 points later, the Bengals had their first win on the road against a team with a winning record since Gawd was a little boy, and throughout Bengaldom, Kool-Ade flowed like beer at Oktoberfest.2. September 19, Paul Brown Stadium, and another Shayne Graham kick sails through the uprights to give the Bengals a nationally televised Sunday night victory aginst stumbling Miami. Perhaps Bengals fans ought not to have been so surprised by the appearance of SuperQuarterBack in Baltimore, because the Striped Wonder made a late, brief appearance to set up that kick, too. Knotted at 13 with less than 2 minutes to play, Carson Palmer took the ball and drove the Bengals 60 yards against one of the league's toughest defenses to win the game. He went 7 for 8 for 54 yards on the drive -- after throwing for less than 100 in the previous 58 minutes -- and recorded both his first win as an NFL QB, and the Bengals' first win of the 2004 season.3. October 25, PBS. For the first time in 12 years, Monday Night Football returns to Cincinnati. The Bengals are 1-4, coming off an ugly beating in Cleveland while the 5-1 Broncos are galloping toward the playoffs. Are you ready for some football? Surprisingly, the Bengals were...but despite Chad making a chump of Champ, Cincy can't punch it in in the red zone and are up only 13-10 late in the third when Rudi Johnson caps an 80-yard drive with a 36-yard scamper for a touchdown. It would be his longest run for a TD of the season, and his second-longest overall, and opened the door for a 23-10 win, the Bengals' first on a Monday night in 14 years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bengals200485 Posted January 4, 2005 Report Share Posted January 4, 2005 We are also 2 - 0 with the orange jerseys on!!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TubThumper Posted January 5, 2005 Report Share Posted January 5, 2005 1) Shocking the city of Baltimore with 4th quarter heroics.2) Seeing the young "who the hell is that guy?" players bring some pop and swagger to the defense.3) The fourth-and-forgetaboudit catch in the Giants game.4) Routing the Philly scrubs.5) Carson (I-told-you-this-boy-is-bad) Palmer.6) The change in mindset of the team. Marvin Lewis bringing it down front that the issue is that this team can beat the elite teams in the league and has no business settling for medicrity after the second Pittsburg game. The team exuding the confidence that Marvin is right about that even when they screw up, and their talking not about backing into the playoffs, but going to Super Bowls.7) Willie Anderson's public comments about teams spending their personal time making it their business to stop the Bengals and the Bengals' need to do the same - veterans have to be adjunct coaches to develop the championship edge.8) The improvement of the coverage teams, especially with the kickoff coverage team being challenged by short kicks.9) Mike Brown staying the hell out of the way - until his input is needed (the Dillon deal).10) Chad Johnson convincing me more than ever that his reputation is deserved. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jditty47 Posted January 5, 2005 Report Share Posted January 5, 2005 dude. chad is one of the best, if not the best pure wideout in the game. well...id say holt, harrison, and him are the best 3. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bengalboomer7 Posted January 5, 2005 Report Share Posted January 5, 2005 7-11 baby, nuff said Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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