This is going to be a fun year!

[walzav29]

I was expecting the worse, but they finally look like a well coached team with a plan. The D will get better and better, and it is the greatest feeling to actually have a great QB. Marv is the man! Way to go Bengals. I wont start getting too riled up until they are 3-0.

[Bwestbrook36]

yeah your right a few more big wins and it will start being alot of fun

:player: go bengals :player:

[Stripes]

I'm excited already, and if they can pull off a win over Minnesota to open their season at home, then I will foolishly begin to rant about the possibilities. It has been a long time since we've all been able to feel this way, (I'm sure you're all well aware of that) and I'm enjoying every bit of it.

[Benzoo]

That was one FAST offensive game they played yesterday. Carson was on time, Rudi hit the holes quickly, and they made adjustments at the line in an almost seemless manner.

They looked almost as good as the Boomer led offenses that I grew up watching.

A 1-0 start on the road against a division opponent is the best way to start an NFL season, Cleveland or not.

They've put themselves in a position to do some special things, but they need to keep that chip on their collective shoulders. They've done nothing to erase a decade and a half of futility.

If they lose sight of that fact, they'll take two steps back. They need to play angry.

[comstock]

Yeah, at 33 I too grew up watching the Boomer years. Some of those drives yesterday were definitely reminiscent.....

I don't see how we can't have a better year than last year's 8-8 with the additions we've made, and we aren't starting off 0-4 this time.

[Bengal Joe]

I was 7 years old in 1990 and 5 the last time they went to the super bowl. I'm now a senior in college and it's been a long time coming to see a team that can actually be a winner.

[walzav29]

Just imagine this team once the defense starts to gell! There were some big mistakes, but they didn't matter. This defense will be top 10 by the end of the year. Rudi is a bit underrated. The difference with him in and out of the game were huge.

[Benzoo]

Like I said in my earlier post, the thing that I see that excites me the most about this team offensively is their collective decisiveness, and it all starts behind center.

Not knocking Kitna because he's a tremendous leader, but Carson's got that "it" quality that all successful quarterbacks need, and that's something we haven't seen since Boomer's swan song.

I remember those Bengals teams of the eighties....Huddling four yards from the ball, ready to pounce on any weakness shown by the defensive package, balls being thrown on time, fast slashing recievers and workmanlike running backs. This offense is nearly ready for prime time, and by mid season, defenses that made past Bengals teams quake will be returning the favor and then some (I'm talking to you Baltimore, and Pittsburgh).

The defense? Well, they're on the path to emergence, but we won't see that right away, and maybe not this season at all, but you've got to love Odell Thurman and he's only going to get better. All they've got to do as a unit is hold teams to field goals (like they did on Cleveland's first scoring drive), and make big plays when needed. They're gonna get smacked around, but if they just hold on, the offense will do enough to make up for it.

I think we've seen the last of 8-8.

9-7? Hardly.

We're witnessing the beginning of what I believe to be a 10-6 season and a playoff birth.

Fun?

Oh yeah.