NFL Week 5: Elway hurts Ohio. Again.

[Admiral Yi]

Chargers got ripped off on those ticky tack calls.

[Valmy]

Better a class act like Brees than a scumbag like Brady.

Johnny U's record was doomed.  The NFL is now a passing league, and so a record like that is bound to go down after a while.  Even if the record falls, you can't take away the fact that Unitas' achievement is more impressive.  Imagine throwing all those touchdowns in an era where the best defence against a receiver is to twist his head off before he catches the ball.

Yeah there is no way Brees' record compares to Johnny U's.  It is like Don Hutson's 99 Touchdown receptions.  Sure it has been broken since but it will live forever as a truly mindblowing achievement.

[derspiess]

Question for the old timers:  How long do you think it takes to cultivate a loyal, intelligent (or at least "football-smart") home field crowd?  Reason I ask is that there were a couple things I noticed yesterday at the Bengals game that stuck in my head and bother me quite a bit.  It's hardly the first time for either thing, but both were still disappointing given that it was a sellout crowd that came to see their 3-1 team.

First was when the Bengals were down 17-13 in the 4th quarter with about 10:00 to go in the game.  They had an offensive drive stall about mid-field so they had to punt.  Huber (who has been excellent with inside-10 punts this year) pinned the Dolphins back on to their 4 yard line.  So the crowd dutifully made a lot of noise on 1st, 2nd and 3rd down but then the Dolphins converted and moved the ball to their 20.  Crowd went dead silent from that point and barely made any noise for the rest of the game, despite their team being down less than a TD.  That would not have happened in other places I've been, such as Baltimore, Philly, New York, Pittsburgh or 1980s Cincinnati for that matter.

As a side note to above, Bengals fans still don't have it figured out that you shut the hell up when your offense is lined up, even if (especially if) they just made a big play to get in the red zone.  As much as I hate to imitate the Steelers, PBS needs to do what they do at Heinz Field and put a reminder up on the score board to be quiet while the Steelers offense is lined up.

Anyway, the second thing that bugged me:  Bengals are able to make a midfield defensive stop with 1:53 to go in the game.  Punt results in a touchback, and then there's a TV timeout.  I stand up to stretch my legs and notice than a few upper deck fans leaving.  Bengals trailed by 4 points and still have a shot to win the game with one of the best 4th quarter QBs in the NFL.  But apparently large parts of the crowd are more concerned with beating traffic than seeing what happens.  Fans here have no heart.

I know a lot of it is due to scars from the dark era of the 90s and early 00s, and then inconsistent yearly performance after that point.  I'd like to think that if the Bengals were to put together a consistently decent team over the years (as much as can be allowed by the current parity in the league) the fans would gain some intelligence and loyalty.  I just wonder how long that would take.

[Ed Anger]

Dude, it's the bungles. Why bother building up any sort of loyalty to a Mike Brown owned team?

[derspiess]

Dude, it's the bungles. Why bother building up any sort of loyalty to a Mike Brown owned team?

If you hate Mike Brown, just don't go to the game.  I don't get the mentality of spending $70 on a ticket plus whatever they charge for beer/food now and not trying to make the most out of it.

[MadBurgerMaker]

I swear to god the Texans message board I go to is just awful but I can't stop checking it out ~once a week.  Every single thread has something that just bothers me though. 

For example, separated by a few posts in the same thread, different posters:

"OD, Casey, Graham & Kevin could play huge rolls."

"Right now it's working but in the long hall?"

What the fuck?  The long hall?  Huge rolls?  Really?  I get that stupid typos/brain farts happen, and to be fair not everyone there is doing that, but I can't remember the last time I saw a thread where someone wasn't fucking something like that up at least once.    There, they're, their is also a constantly messed up thing over there too.  Things like that.

[derspiess]

I swear to god the Texans message board I go to is just awful but I can't stop checking it out ~once a week.  Every single thread has something that just bothers me though. 

For example, separated by a few posts in the same thread, different posters:

"OD, Casey, Graham & Kevin could play huge rolls."

"Right now it's working but in the long hall?"

What the fuck?  The long hall?  Huge rolls?  Really?  I get that stupid typos/brain farts happen, but it's so consistent there....well I guess it could just be permanent brain farts.    There, they're, their is also a constantly messed up thing over there too.  Things like that.

Bengals message board is worse.  I usually have to re-read something in order to see past the typos.  Hardcore NFL fans definitely aren't English majors.

[MadBurgerMaker]

I should also mention "should of."  That one is one there a lot, and I feel like my face is melting off every time I see it.

Bengals message board is worse.  I usually have to re-read something in order to see past the typos.  Hardcore NFL fans definitely aren't English majors.

It's good to know Texans fans don't have the market cornered on NFL message board dumbassery. 

[Syt]

I could care less.

[MadBurgerMaker]

I could care less.

  Something something something towing the line. 

E:  Goddammit, I just lost a whole post because my nook freaked the fuck out and registered like 25 "keystrokes" all at once, including one that happened to be the "back" arrow (it was the keyboard down icon when I pushed it).  Anyway, that thread was about Cromartie saying he's going to have no trouble covering A. Johnson, etc.  Apparently the Jets big plan is to load the box, put the DBs one on one with the WRs and give them a single safety for help.  I guess it could work, but god help them if a WR gets by a DB (happens all the time) and that one safety is a step slow or something (also happens all the time). 

[CountDeMoney]

I know a lot of it is due to scars from the dark era of the 90s and early 00s, and then inconsistent yearly performance after that point.  I'd like to think that if the Bengals were to put together a consistently decent team over the years (as much as can be allowed by the current parity in the league) the fans would gain some intelligence and loyalty.  I just wonder how long that would take.

I think it can be summed up pretty easily:
Cincinnati Bengals: est. 1968.
Cincinnati Reds: est. 1881.

I just happen to think that there are baseball towns, and football towns.

The Bengals are still too "new";  granted, they've been to the Super Bowl a couple times and have had very competitive seasons from time to time, but they are barely older than you and I, with absolutely no heritage for winning compared to other, much older franchises, and especially compared to the baseball team they share with the city.  Cincinnati simply strikes me as a "baseball first" town, and the fan base for the Bengals reflect that.  Don't pay too much attention to them, don't really know to keep quiet when they have the ball, and don't really care.  It's not a franchise that's worshiped like the Reds.

Same goes for St. Louis:  the old football Cardinals had some competitive teams, but they couldn't hold a candle to popularity the baseball Cardinals.  Even with the talent surrounding Don Coryell's teams, or the premature ending of Neil Lomax's career, or the double HOF side of the line in Dierdorf and Dobler, they can't touch the craziness that the baseball Cards can whip up, even at their worst.  And today's Rams, even with the Super Bowl runs, are just something to watch between baseball seasons.  Hell, the Blues have a more loyal following than the Rams.

Baltimore is the other way around:  even with the rich history of the Orioles, regardless of how well they do, they will always be overshadowed by those horseshoes.  Palmer, the Robinsons, and Ripken will always take a back seat to Unitas, Berry and Moore.  That's just the way it is here, and the Ravens reflect that, too.  I was listening to sports talk radio on Opening Day--new team, new manager, new GM--and the first half-dozen callers in the morning all wanted to talk about the Ravens and the draft.  Even without the Colts and well before the Ravens, there was an emotional detachment with the O's for many years, mainly from the legacy of Edward Bennett Williams, who insisted on sharing the team with Washington, DC and his fellow Washington lawyer buddies.  This town never forgave him for taking "Baltimore" off the away jerseys, scaring people into thinking he'd move them to Washington, and it carried in Peter Asbestos' ownership reign of meddling, bad spending and letting his sons make roster decisions like it was their own personal rotisserie team.  Baltimore has been, is, and always will be a football first town;  from the Colts, to their theft, to this city's complete and total borderline-irrational defensiveness over the Ravens, the team the league never, ever wanted us to have.  ROOT FOR THE EAGLES OR REDSKINS AND BUILD A MUSEUM INSTEAD, he said.  Fucker.

I just think some towns' fans just don't have enough passion for two franchises at once, particularly a town with two lopsided franchises like Cincy, where one has been a bedrock of a sport for well over a century, and the other is an expansion team younger than color television.

Anyway, that's my theory about Cincy fans.

[CountDeMoney]

I should also mention "should of."  That one is one there a lot, and I feel like my face is melting off every time I see it.

Bengals message board is worse.  I usually have to re-read something in order to see past the typos.  Hardcore NFL fans definitely aren't English majors.

It's good to know Texans fans don't have the market cornered on NFL message board dumbassery.

Oh, not at all.  We still have people bitching about Billick.

[derspiess]

I should also mention "should of."  That one is one there a lot, and I feel like my face is melting off every time I see it.

Bengals message board is worse.  I usually have to re-read something in order to see past the typos.  Hardcore NFL fans definitely aren't English majors.

It's good to know Texans fans don't have the market cornered on NFL message board dumbassery. 

Wouldn't be surprised if someone actually tried to correct you on the Bengals forum for saying "should have" or "should've"

[derspiess]

I think it can be summed up pretty easily:
Cincinnati Bengals: est. 1968.
Cincinnati Reds: est. 1881.

You are correct.  Throw in college basketball right behind the Reds, and football is #3 in this town.  Still-- I don't remember Bengals fans being this way during the 80s.  And I think a little fan education thrown into the stadium experience (which is pretty miserable compared to most other stadiums I've visited) would go a long way.

[MadBurgerMaker]

You know, I've been wanting to see

Hey TD Texans

Anyway, I've been wanting to see Forsett play more in games this season, but it sucks that Tate has to be out for it to really happen.