Season Quickly Slipping Away

The Bengals are just about out of time.  That first half in Atlanta was flat-out brutal.  But after the comeback in the third quarter, I was scratching my head on the decision to go for 2 points after the Shipley TD.  Sure, the 2 points would have pulled the Bengals within 3, but it was too early to start playing that game.  In the end, it didn't matter.  What sunk the Bengals were the mistakes in the first half, and the fumble by Benson in the fourth quarter.  Plus, the inability to make a defensive stop when needed bit the Bengals once again.  A 2 and 4 record with the slate of games coming their way doesn't bode well.  So will there be an ugly meltdown?  Maybe the question is when does the ugly meltdown happen?

The fumble call in the Pittsburgh game was crazy.  Is there a rule that says if you can't figure out who recovered the ball, you give it back to the offensive team at the line of scrimmage?  I've been watching football for a long time.  Every time they separate a pile and a guy hands the ref the ball, that team is deemed to have recovered the fumble.  A Dolphin handed the ball to an official.  So what gives?  This needs to be addressed.

I don't know how U.C. went from playing solid football to having a defensive meltdown against South Florida.  Yes, the Bearcats are very young on defense.  But I don't like the penalties this team is accruing.  The Bearcats lead the Big East in penalty yards.  They are also dead last in total defense and pass defense.  Not good.  The game against Syracuse will be a crap-shoot.  Also, as of Sunday night the status of quarterback Zach Collaros is up in the air.

You have to love fans who don't take themselves too seriously.  At the Hamilton high school game the other night, some Big Blue fans, student we presume, hung this banner.  The "L" makes it beautiful!