OT

So it's official, RGIII and Luck are good. Maybe even great. They both look like they have been playing in this league for years. They are making smart decisions, their throws are precise, and they are leaders of their new teams. I guess the new era is upon us. They played each other tonight, and as quarterbacking goes, they were basically a draw. Luck was 14-23 with 151 yards and a TD. RGIII was 11-17 with 74 yards and a TD. The Redskins and Griffin came out on top, which means nothing in the preseason. Watching these two guys doing this good, this early makes me really nervous. Now is the time where the great teams of this past decade (Steelers, Ravens, Patriots, etc.) are getting old or are re-building really sore areas. Now is the time that new great teams are born to knock those teams off of their pedestals. Are we, as Bengals, missing the train again? I look at these teams, neither of which was great last year, with fresh rookie quarterbacks. They are looking 100 times better than us. Preseason or not, this is scary. Sure we are holding plays close to our chests for the regular season and sure we have injuries. So are they and so do they. The difference is, from day one they have put that aside and still scored touchdowns and put up decent numbers. What are we doing right now? Sure we are pulling off some wins, but it isn't pretty. Our offense isn't all there. Andy in his second year is still making sometimes poor decisions, the line can't keep people off of him (good luck in this division), and our running game is shitty at best right now. You know who else's running game sucks? The Colts. You know who else loses preseason games? The Colts. You know what team still manages to put up points and great plays by the first team filled with rookies? The Colts. You know what team can barely score a TD with their starters and has very few beautiful plays? The Bengals. So, we are either really holding back, our injuries are really too much, or we just aren't up to par to get this thing done against the whole NFL. Let's hope we are just really holding back. Don't get me wrong, we have a lot of positives here in Cincy, just no explosion or consistent play making like these two new rookies. Will we ever get there? 

On a positive note for Bengals fans...That Quitter, now in Oakland is still stinking up the air on the other side of the country. When I first moved here, I kept hearing people talk about how good Carson Palmer was and the rest of the team just wasn't helping him out. I heard of all of his great moments and all of his potential. I saw the games too, the NFL is a national televised sport and I was not on board. I heard, "He just doesn't have any weapons, Ocho is too busy with TV, these guys just can't get open or hold on to the ball". Blah, blah, blah. Let's face it, he was a bust, is a bust, and always will be a bust! When he came out last year and said he was demanding a trade or not coming back, any credibility he did have was gone. He became a Quitter of the worst kind. Fans of the NFL and players in the NFL are competitive. What kind of competitor quits, right? Anyway, good news was, eventually he was traded for some draft picks, which will hopefully turn out to be fruitful. Bad news is, Oakland needed help at the position and obviously thought like many other Bengal fans, "He was dealt a bad hand, he can be great". Ha! Last year he was very mediocre. This year in preseason he just sucks, like usual. So is it his weapons in Oakland? Could two separate teams not be doing him justice? Nope, he sucks. One more time...Carson Palmer sucks! So now we in Bengal Nation can get the last laugh. Here's mine...hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaHA! I give him to game 5 to lose that starter spot. Our very own, Outlaw Buckeye Terrell Pryor is breathing down his neck and he is actually looking good. I think that may also be a little bit of karma, since Carson used to bash the Buckeyes and their fans. Maybe if you had actually be a quarterback and done something with the Bengals, people wouldn't have clung to the Bucks. Now you are up to your old tricks, in a new state and atmosphere. My thank you card is in the mail Oakland!