Four Downs with Dang & Doc
by Brian Davis and Paul Hopkins
16/10/2009
This week Dang and Doc look at the resurgent Cincinnati Bengals and ask whether it can last? As the bye weeks are now a coming, who needs this weekend off more than the others? In college football, Dez Bryant’s been suspended, possibly over just having lunch, and with the season now in full swing, who has impressed the guys enough to make it to the National Championship?
 Despite their 4-1 start the Cincinnati Bengals are not a legitimate threat in the AFC.
DOC – FICTION ! – I don’t see why not? Presently they are sat atop a division which has the reigning Champions and the Baltimore Ravens in. The AFC East looks competitive but you have a feeling they all have a soft centre to them, which the Bengals certainly don’t have right now. The West has Denver and seemingly Denver alone who the Bengals have shown they can push close. The South has the Colts who nobody looks like stopping at the moment, and that’s it. The Bengals know how to win close games, and in this league if you can do that, hold your nerve and clinch you have a chance against anyone. Nobody looks able to blow the Bengals out anymore so they know if they keep it close, as they’ve shown, they can gut out a win. Whilst I still remain a little uncertain on Carson Palmer, he can manage games and can make plays when he needs to. I remain a fan of Mike Zimmer from his days in Dallas – still don’t understand why we shelved him. He’s gathered some talented young players and seems to have marshalled them into a tough defence. They’re not the most gifted you’ll find but they look to have finally gelled as a team as we saw with the way they rallied round Zimmer on his darkest days last week following the passing of his wife. And then we have Henry and Ocho Cinco… who both look to have knuckled down, and when they do so they are a strong tandem. Throw in Andre Caldwell now in his second year and the passing offence can move down the field. Cedric Benson looks to be returning to why he was taken #4 overall. Is it too far a stretch to think that right now the Bengals might be, behind the Colts, the second best team in the AFC? …Yeah thought so!
DANG – FICTION ! -
I, like many others, had them and the Broncos down for about 9 wins between them for the whole of 2009! They weren’t meant to get them all by week 5!
I’m not sure if they’ll make the playoffs and it’s probably a little early to say that they are “for real” right now, but they sure ain’t the team we and many others wrote off 5-6 weeks ago.
Any team who has victories in Green Bay, Baltimore and at home to the Champions is doing something right though.
They’ve also had a fair bit of help along the way;
The Packers O line seemingly let Antwan Odom through for 5 sacks, FIVE!
Ray Lewis made a completely boneheaded helmet to helmet hit on Chad Ochocinco when he didn’t need to that gave the Bengals another First Down and an extra 15 yards.
They were a Carson Palmer scramble away from punting the ball away again in overtime against the Browns, whilst also losing on a fluke play against the Broncos.
If they’re not a legitimate threat this year then at least they’re a real entertaining team to sit and watch on a Sunday evening.
 With the Colts, 49ers, Cowboys and Dolphins on a bye week, which was most needy of a week off?
DOC – COWBOYS – Because I will never miss the opportunity to point to the sheer dysfunctionality of the Dallas Cowboys that goes under the radar whilst the mainstream media (as they do) manifest it into one single problem – the QB. The teams the Boys have defeated are a combined 1-13, and that 1 was Carolina over Washington. It’s pitiful. Yes, they probably should have put to bed the two (undefeated) teams they lost to but this team cannot finish and the brilliance of Romo and Austin (and Ratliff) on Sunday continued to paper over the extensive cracks that exist. It allows Jones to pretend all is well when even he admitted they were dire on Sunday. Wade is so obviously a dead man walking he’s beyond the rigor mortis stage, Garrett continues to bask in his own self-glory and self-importance, preserving himself and nobody else, and it’s no surprise the team underperforms in the light of no firm direction, no task master and no real coaching – or so it appears. When a team has four defensive offside’s (from four different players) on one drive it’s a non too subtle hint that they’re ill-disciplined and not mentally focused enough. And that’s the problem with this team in a nut shell. Considering what they have coming up this team needs a break more than any. Not that it’ll make much difference mind you. The Dolphins and the Colts will arguably be more annoyed at having a bye week this week. The Colts are just marching up and down the field with ease on anyone and everyone, and probably could with me and you lining up at WR; such is the stratosphere Manning is on this year. And when you’re that hot you just hope a bye week doesn’t derail you. The Fins have woken up! Whilst another week will no doubt assist Chad Henne, particularly coming off a MNF game, I think the Dolphins would have preferred to remain in their groove and continue playing.
DANG – The COLTS. Yes, The Colts and here’s why; Peyton Manning had a niggling knee injury this week just gone, with somebody that important to your team, the bye week has fallen perfectly, he now has time to get it looked at, assessed, rest it up for a week and more importantly, not be risked in any game this weekend as the Colts sit a week and obviously remain undefeated.
Could the Colts continue to dominate in the way they have with Jim Sorgi under Center? It’s doubtful.
Could, if they had to, get by with a seasoned old vet like Garcia signed through Free Agency? Quite possibly, but not enough to make any impact on the playoffs, Manning is key to the team’s success.
The one team that won’t benefit will be the Dolphins who on the back of a win against one of your divisional rivals, with only 6 seconds to go is enough to give you plenty of momentum into the next game the following week, only you are on a bye week.
The 49ers should definitely benefit. They looked totally lost and like a Mike Nolan coached team last week, a stark reminder of what they were going through very recently and that all is still not yet quite right there and the dark days are still not fully banished.
As for The Cowboys, well, I never really expected them to be competing with the top two teams in the division this season anyway and they have many holes to fix, but I don’t believe they become fixable in a bye week, that’s more of a long term coaching problem.
 Dez Bryant’s indefinite suspension from the NCAA is another example of an over-reaction from the college football supremo’s.
DOC – FACT ! – It’s a white lie about having dinner. No more, he’s not taken any money; he’s just had a bit of early advice. Maybe he was pointed in the direction of Eugene Parker, but we don’t know that and we have no proof of it, so how can they suspend him? Considering the NCAA buried the money Reggie Bush so obviously took in his final year from agents, in order to avoid having to take action over Heisman trophies and National Championships to do this to Bryant is pathetic and further proof it’s not what you’ve done it’s who you are with them. On an aside, Deion Sanders seems to be evolving into the David Koresh of the NFL. Well ok, that’s a bit harsh but he seems to getting involved (no doubt trying to help) with people that eventually messes them around. First it was Michael Crabtree and his holdout, his (supposed) interest from the Jets and now it’s having dinner with Bryant. Deion, if you want to mentor these young men then that is great but please do not combine it as inside knowledge to supplement your broadcasting career. You don’t need to and you are hurting them in the long-term. The links with Eugene Parker are too strong for you to do both. If you want to help then wait till they have completed college and go through the right channels. We all know acquiring player’s fresh out of college is a mucky business, and as highlighted by what Reggie Bush patently got up to there’s a lot that goes on as it’s a multi-million dollar business. But to get back on point, the indefinite suspension for Bryant seems harsh. He just looks like another naïve young man caught up in the riches and the idea of the NFL before he is there. But an indefinite suspension? Too harsh. Tell us what he’s done and punish him appropriately or let him play.
DANG – FACT ! - Can I put on record that Deion Sanders is a nuisance, that’s a very polite version of my current opinion of him. He’s getting way too involved in young men’s careers and his trail of thought is not what an easily influenced young man needs to be hearing. Did you hear Sanders’ weak-ass excuses in his video last week, washing his dirty hands of any wrong doing, pathetic.
Bryant was a fool for lying, but he was even more fool getting involved with Deion and the NCAA has over-reacted with an “indefinite ban” They stamped their authority earlier this year with the Blount incident, that should be enough to deter any player having any wrong doing for the rest of the year.
His coach, friends, advisors, anybody with an ounce of common sense needs him as far removed from Eugene Parker and Deion immediately.
Bryant has what it takes to be a top 10 pick next year, he’s an elite talent, I don’t want him going the way of Crabtree with help from these two prats.
And If Deion thinks he’s being noble and doing the right thing for these young players then my name is Mickey Mouse. All he appears to be doing is trying to come across as ITK on Total Access.
As a side note, I really liked Tim Cowlishaw’s recent comment with regard to our friend.
For most of Deion Sanders' 14 years in the National Football League it was a good idea for wide receivers to stay away from him.
Apparently, it still is.
 If the National Championship game was played this weekend, it would be between:
DOC – ALABAMA v FLORIDA – It’s the only logical answer as far as I’m concerned. And it’s probably no coincidence that they’ve also got the best two defences, as was highlighted this past weekend on the road in the SEC. Alabama’s defence crucified Jevon Snead from start to finish, you almost felt sorry for him. And in Baton Rouge, probably one of (if not the most) hardest place to go in the NCAA, it was the Florida defence not the inspirational Tim Tebow who took the Gators to victory. It was good to see that defence get the credit it probably doesn’t get all that often with the attention and praise (rightly) lavished on their talisman. Both teams are undefeated and have an air about them that leads you to suspect that they both could be until the SEC Championship, where one will lose. This will let through the door - The Longhorns of Texas. Who have yet to really start their season, and once the clock hits noon in Dallas on Saturday, they’re in a fight that I anticipate will lead them back into the top two. Particularly, as I’ve said before I think they’re the most likely of the three to go undefeated throughout the year such is the drawn out gruelling gauntlet that SEC teams face. But right now, its ‘Bama v Florida. And if you made me choose, I’d shock the world (maybe) and go Alabama.
DANG – Top 2 of course, can you say re-match? I thought you were going to homer up Doc and say Texas, but for me, Alabama have a legitimate shot of being #1 overall if they carry on the way they’re playing, if not already.
I love the Defense, they’re second rated nationally, there are no real weaknesses that I can see, vary between a 3-4 and a 4-3 they keep offenses on their toes with various packages.
Bama are the only team not showing weakness at this moment in time. The Longhorns are banged up with a quite a few injuries and go into the Red River game this week facing the Sooners who have Sam Bradford back fit and they’ll be pumped for revenge for last year.
The kerfuffle surrounding Tebow’s fitness or not for last weekend suggest that a lot of people don’t think that Florida can get it done without him, despite the #1 rated defense, but I like the idea of a SEC Championship defensive battle in a game decided by a Field Goal or less followed by a similar game come January.
I initially went with Oklahoma at the start of the season, but they’re going to really have to tear it up to make it now. I think they’ll fall short.
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