All Good In St. Lou, Bengals Cuts Made Sense, But What Happened In Fresno?

That performance by U.C.'s offensive line was not good.  I'm being kind here, I know.  When the Bearcats had problems running the ball and Collaros was running around trying to avoid becoming a character in the next Ichabod Crane story, I had a sick feeling.  I had a feeling that 14-0 lead might be fool's gold.  It was just too bad to see the Bearcats blink, blink again, then fold like a lawn chair in the face of adversity.  It's only game one, so that is good news.  I didn't expect UC to go undefeated again.  The bad news is the performance of the offense line.  Oh, I already mentioned that.  So let's say injuries are the bad news.  I hope none are serious, but the Bearcats lost a few fillings in that game.

The Bengals actually made some cuts that made sense.  I was surprised about Chase Coffman, but if it ain't workin', it ain't working.  If he clears waivers and comes back on the practice squad, fine. If not, the Bengals have Jermaine Gresham.  The only thing that bothered me in the least is thinking Daniel Coats will be the tight end/fullback.  The Bengals went down that road last year and it wasn't pretty.  But Coats is a prince of a human being and we're hoping this time it works like a charm.  Plus, when healthy, Nugent rocks like Ted!  Love that guy as the kicker!

By the way, if the Bengals are really serious about winning this year, why shouldn't they go for T.J. Houshmandzadeh?  The guess here is that T.J. will want better money than he'll get in Cincinnati.  But really, if the Bengals think they are close, they should bring him back to make a living in the slot.  One year, go for it!  There is a camp out there that thinks T.J. was a bit of a thorn, but I didn't see it.  Yes, I'm excited about Jordan Shipley's potential, but will T.J. help the Bengals this season or hurt them?  I think he helps.


The Redlegs.  Up 8 games with 27 to go.  Ok, I'll jinx it.  It's going to be tough to blow that kind of lead.  Especially with the Reds looking at 12 games against Houston and Milwaukee in the last 15 on the schedule.  They are now 14-3 against the Astros and Brewers this season.  In other words, THEY OWN THEM.  I felt the Cardinals had to sweep to have a decent chance.  Guess what?  The Cardinals didn't sweep.

It's out of control seeing Aroldis Chapman doing his thing.  Facing Albert Pujols in the 8th inning with a runner on first Saturday was great.  Even better, Albert getting a splinter of his bat on the ball,  just enough to get it to Rolen to start an inning-ending double play.  I was at the game Wednesday night when Chapman came in to pitch.  I'm not sure I've seen more electricity in a 42,000 seat stadium with only 16,000 in attendance.  The Reds have to wonder if he might be a better reliever in the long run.  However, if he consistently throws strikes, then his pitch count should be manageable.  The Redlegs should give him a shot as a starter next year.  Would you make Secretariat run Quarter Horse races? (I know, Secretariat was a thoroughbred and wouldn't be eligible, but you get the drift, wise guy.)