Tuesday, December 05, 2000
Spare me talk about 'progress'
Why must every Bengals win come with pronouncements of progress? How many times has a win arrived wrapped in assurances that, from now on, things will be different?
Is it because Bengals wins are so extraordinary, each must stand for something? Are Bengals wins like monuments now? Should we dedicate them?
Did you see the paper Monday? Watch the TV? The feel-good flowed like wine at a bacchanal. The Bengals beat a bad Arizona team. Man, they're on their way now.
If any team in the NFL is built to inspire cynicism, it's this one. Haven't the last 10 years taught us anything? Yet we treat each Bengals win like the dawn of a dynasty.
The team wins and we think things will change, despite all evidence to the contrary. God love us.
Expectations low
The Bengals front office takes this sort of loyalty and big-heartedness all the way to the bank. Mike Brown doesn't just rely on your forgiveness. He requires it.
The bar of expectations is so low here, you couldn't ram a conga line of carpenter ants beneath it. Until the Bengals upset Denver, everyone pointed to the Miami game as a sign of progress. The Bengals lost that one by 15, at home. The bar is so low that when the team discovers a quarterback who can actually complete a forward pass, he is given the starting job and assurances he will compete to be No. 1 again next year.
This week's hope is that Dick LeBeau is going to turn this team around. LeBeau is such a pleasant guy, it's easy to underestimate what a hard-nosed presence he is. He is a welcome change from dour Bruce Coslet. And LeBeau's emphasis on stubbornly running the ball has given the team and its fans a toehold at the edge of the familiar abyss.
But please. Dick LeBeau could be Bill Parcells imitating Bill Walsh disguised as Vince Lombardi and he would not turn the Bengals around. As long as the Brown family runs the team the way they're running it now, Dick will be Le-Blown away, just like his predecessors.
It's too bad for the good players who work here, who choose to stay here, who have to believe there is hope because, really, what's their alternative? Takeo Spikes earned hero status after Sunday's game. When I suggested he might celebrate the victory, Spikes said, “What for? This was a game we were supposed to win.”
Too bad for Spikes, the team's conscience. But there is only one point with the Bengals, and it is this: It does not matter who throws the ball. It doesn't matter who catches it or knocks it down. It doesn't matter who coaches. All that matters is the way the team is run. The rest is talk shows and newspaper columns.
Mike needs "tough love'
It's time not to be fooled. It's time to see the Bengals for what they are. Ten years of spirit-numbing failure have earned them that right. Think of it as tough love.
When Philadelphia drafted QB Donovan McNabb in the first round two Aprils ago, Eagles fans at the draft booed. Biggest day of McNabb's life, they spit on it. But look where McNabb is now. He's playing winning football. The Eagles are going to the playoffs. We need some Philadelphia in us.
Football is like anything else: You get what you expect. If you put up with that, you get what you deserve. And really: Do you deserve the Bengals?
Paul Daugherty welcomes your comments at (513) 768-8454.
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DAUGHERTY: Spare me talk about 'progress'
