Skip Bayless Bengal's article

[AMC]

Here you go...

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story...=bayless/051208

[Stripes]

Better judgment: "Be a man. Predict the Bengals will be the first and last team to beat this year's Colts, on Jan. 22."

Inner wimp: "I have a headache. I'll finish this column later."

I'll hold ya to this claim, Skip!

Normally, Bayless annoys me and makes me angry... But I loved this article. Maybe I am a homer, but he seemed to point to all ESPN viewers and show them exactly what we think is possible this year.

Who Dey!

[bengalindian]

Talk about jumping on the bandwagon. I used to hate Skip, but now I just understand that everyone will eventually come around. It's your turn now, Who?.

[buck3y3d]

Talk about jumping on the bandwagon. I used to hate Skip, but now I just understand that everyone will eventually come around. It's your turn now, Who?.

He wrote a nice article about the Bengals before the season too.

[ShulaSteakhouse]

That's a good one.

[kingwilly]

That was a fun read. Bayless represents what most fans will soon come to realize...the bengals are for real, will be real dangerous come the playoffs and this will carry on for many, many years to come.

It takes a while for the hype to get some traction and be validated. I'd say right about now the Bengals have gone from the "Hype" stage and settled firmly into the "Validated" stage. The final stage "Terrifying" will come based on thier performance over the final weeks of the season and into the postseason.

[WhoDey42]

Skip usually annoys the hell outta me too. I watch 1st and 10 everyday, mostly just to laugh at Woody Paige haha. I was surprised when Skip said the Bengals are the team with the best chance to knock off the Colts. Of course, Woody said the team with the best chance is the Broncos (With Jake "I should have been a" Plummer).

[lando griffin]

***damn, I usually hate skip too, but that wasn't just a jumping on the bandwagon article, he actually had been thinking about this for a little bit. Damn, I love good articles about the bengals that are extra long...

[bengalboomer7]

The guy is a weasel, but that was a nice read. And I usually try not to rip on analysts, commentators, etc

But that's probably his M.O, to be annoying

[Columbusbengal]

It takes a while for the hype to get some traction and be validated. I'd say right about now the Bengals have gone from the "Hype" stage and settled firmly into the "Validated" stage. The final stage "Terrifying" will come based on thier performance over the final weeks of the season and into the postseason.

The biggest difference between this year's Bengals and the ones who played in the two Super Bowls is that the media coverage of the NFL is so much more extensive now. I remember the first Super Bowl when Sports Illustrated and the Cincy Enquirer and Cincy Post were the only places to read anything about the Bengals. I think ESPN was around but it covered a lot of Australian Rules Football and cycling, skiing, swimming, etc. Fox Sports didn't exist. There weren' nearly as many sports talkshows. The Bengals snuck up on the whole country because they weren't good the year before and weren't discussed anywhere nationally. Things are so different this year - the Bengals are talked about more than any other team (except MAYBE the Colts) and are becoming the media darlings. I love it! It makes it so much more fun to have so many people discussing your team! I love bandwagon fans because they validate a team's success! Go Bengals! Keep on gathering attention!

[membengal]

Wow, great read. Thanks for the heads up on that.

[Tasher]

Does anybody have insider access to ESPN to get the original Bayless excerpt that he wrote about the Bengals? I would be interested to reread that...

[TecmoFever]

Sounds like Skip's been drinking the Kool-Aid. I sometimes feel a need to pinch myself when I read articles like that.

[Ripper]

I usually cannot stand Bayless or Paige or Cold Pizza for that matter but it was an entertaining article. Worst thing is when he subs for Jim Rome. Wanna cry when he is on there !

[HairOnFire]

Forget Skip's inner struggle with his own wimpish nature. Here's where the meat begins to bounce.

As an AFC defensive coach who has game planned against this year's Colts and Bengals told me Wednesday: "The Colts aren't afraid of anyone but the Bengals."

Yeah, I think we all agree that this team may indeed be a year away. Then again, maybe not. While every team who makes the playoffs will be capable of beating the Bengals, and most playoff teams the Bengals face will likely be favored to beat them, the Bengals have proven themselves capable of dictating how most games are played. And this is true because they have nearly unmatched offensive firepower, are as offensively balanced as any team in the NFL, and they feature a defense built around forcing turnovers. Over the regular season they've proven they can now beat most teams, which makes them instant contenders, but more importantly....they've begun to show that on any given week they can beat any team they face regardless of where the game is played.

Here's the rub. This team could be Cinderella THIS season. They could actually win a championship while still being..."a player or two away."

[The_Next_Big_Thing]

I have to say, not only was the content fun to read, the style was enjoyable.