It has been well over a month since I made my last post and I have so much to talk about it is hard to group all my thoughts here, so I will focus on football.
The first thing that needs attention is my beloved Bengals. I was slightly disappointed over the loss to the Steelers in wildcard weekend yes, but I saw it coming. The Steelers are a good team and they are built for the playoffs. There is a few things to consider here; 1) The Steelers have been to the playoffs more recently than the Bengals. It is more than a guess that a lot of the Bengals player’s performances were affected by the post season play, simply because they have not experienced that yet. 2) When teams get home field advantage in wildcard weekend or in divisionals, they can get over confident. No doubt the Bengals fell to this. This point was only made crystal clear by having all home teams except the Broncos & Seahawks losing. 3) Bengals fans alike should not get discouraged with an early exit out of the playoffs. They made the playoffs for the first time in almost 15 years! Personally I was hoping for a 9-7 season, we got a 11-5 season. We should only be anxious for next year.
I actually was more disappointed over the hit to Carson Palmer. I do not believe it was intentional, simply because it is football. You’re putting your health and career on the line each game and practice you play. However I would say that traditionally between Cincinnati and Pittsburgh there has been a good rivalry going on for years. This year I believe fuel was added to that rivalry which has turned up emotions on both sides. I feel though that Carson will be back and be back stronger, and I feel that the Bengals will mature into a much more dangerous team in the near future.
Enough said over football.