How Did Bengals Fair In The NFL Schedule Release

The Bengals schedule was released a couple nights and the first six weeks of the schedule will be a test to see how good this team really is. 

Week 1 @New York Jets

Week 2 @Pittsburgh Steelers

Week 3 Denver Broncos

Week 4 Miami Dolphins

Week 5 @Dallas Cowboys

Week 6 @New England Patriots

The Bengals are going to be tested early.  The first game they travel to New York to take on the Jets who missed the playoffs by one game last year.  Because the Jets will start Geno Smith I like the Bengals chances, but winning on the road is never easy.  Next they head to Hienz Field for a rematch against the Steelers for the first time since the stinging playoff loss.  The Bengals will not have Vontaze Burfict for this game (sigh).  This game will be extremely tough. 

After that they get the defending Super Bowl champions.  No Manning or Oswieller for and Denver and this game is at Paul Brown Stadium.  Week 4 brings the Miami Dolphins and another home game which shouldn’t be too much of problem.  The next two weeks the Bengals get New England and Dallas, which just be another challenge.  We will see how much Tom Brady’s line has improved. 

Prime Time Games:

For years now the Bengals have just been flat out horrible in night games.  We will see how they fair this year in primetime.  To be honest, if these weren't primetime games three of these games would be W's.

Vs. Miami Dolphins Thursday Night Football (Sept 29.) 

@New York Giants Monday Night Football (Nov 14.)

Vs. Pittsburgh Sunday Night Football (Dec 18)

@Houston Sunday Night Football (Christmas Eve)

Other Notable Games

Week 7 Cleveland Browns:  The Bengals will get their first taste of former OC an now Browns head coach Hue Jackson. 

Week 8 Washington Redskins: This game will be played in London, England.  Kickoff is set for 9:30 A.M.

Week 17 Baltimore Ravens:  This is the 5^th time in 6 years the Bengals will play Baltimore to end the season.  I have a weird feeling that this game will be very important. 

All in all, the Bengals strength of schedule is 27th in the league.

Prediction:

I say the Bengals will sit around the 10-6 or 9-7 mark this year.  I think they will get to their 6^th straight playoff appearance and maybe another date with the Steelers in the Wildcard round. 

The Curse of Bo Jackson

As I was watching the Reds bullpen collapse against the Cubs last night, it began to make me think about the recent struggles Cincinnati has experienced in the postseason.  Whenever this comes up, people seem to joke around about the curse of Bo Jackson.  So I decided to do some research and figure out what exactly is "The Curse of Bo."

For those of you that live in a hole, Bo Jackson was the best multi sport athlete to ever live.  His strength was unbelievable and very few pitchers could pitch to him and nobody could tackle him.  Jackson was also known as "the best video game player ever."  If you played as the Raiders and you had Bo, no way in hell you were loosing. 

Well, it was January 1991.  The Bengals and Raiders were facing off in the AFC Divisional Round game.  Bo Jackson was tossed the ball right, the MLB and NFL All Star grabbed and broke a couple tackles and he was gone.  Nobody ever caught Bo, but this time they did. Kevin Walker dove for Jackson's legs and held on for dear life and eventually brought him down after a 34 yard gain. 

Bo Jackson tried to walk off and he did, but he was never the same.  Jackson said in a 30 for 30 about him called "You Don't Know Bo" that "he felt a pop; got up and popped his hip right back into place."  The Raiders team doctor thought that was impossible, but later on they found out that Bo needed a new hip and he did indeed pop it right back into his socket.  Bo would never be the same, or would Cincinnati sports.

Bo's MLB career would last just two more years until he was forced to retire and football did not last much longer.  Cincinnati fans have looked for a reason for many years of how or why the Sports Gods seem to hate on them in the postseason. 

The struggle is certainly there.  The Bengals have been to the playoffs 8 times since the injury and are 0-8. 

In 2005, it looked like the Bengals may finally break through and win a playoff game, but QB Carson Palmer tore his ACL on just the 2nd play from scrimmage.  In 2009 Cincinnati missed a lot of field goals as the game slipped away and they were upset by the Jets.  In 2011 and 2012 the Bengals were humiliated by the Houston Texans in the wildcard round. In 2013, The 3 seeded Cincinnti Bengals were playing a horrible San Diego team (who didn't deserve to be in the playoffs).  The Bengals entered as big time favorites at home......and lost by 18 points in a complete no show.  In 2014 the Bengals were once again demolished in the Wildcard round by 16 points to the Colts and who could forget this year, which may have been the most painful one of all against the Steelers in which the Bengals completely fell apart and lost to the Steelers 16-15. 

The Cincinnati Reds have not been much better.  In 2010 the reds had returned to the playoffs for the first time in a while.  After a fantastic regular season; the Reds drew the heavily favored Phillies in the first round.  The 1st game was indeed a struggle for the Reds: they were actually no hit by Roy Halliday.  At that moment the series may have not been over physically, but it was over mentally.  In game 2 the Reds had the game in their hand before they let a late lead slip away.  Cincinnati was blown out in game three and was swept in the series. 

In 2012 there was more hope than ever before.  Nobody actually believed the Reds would make a postseason run in 2010, but this year the city was buzzing.  The NL Central champs would take on the San Francisco Giants in round 1.  The Reds traveled out to San Fran for the first two games of the series, and they came away with wins in both.  The city thought the series was over, the fans thought the series was over, the Reds thought the series was over, and even the Giants thought the series was over.  All the Reds had to do was one of three games...and they were all at home. Once again the hopes and dreams were crushed and we, the fans, took another kick to the balls.  The Giants won all three games in Great American Ballpark against the Reds.  San Francisco would go on to win the world series that year. 

In 2013 the Reds just squeaked into the playoffs as the final wildcard team.  They were blown out against Pittsburgh in a one game, winner take all playoff game.  The Reds have won just one series (1995) since the Bo Jackson injury.

By the way, did you see the way Xavier and Cincinnati were eliminated in the NCAA Tournament this year?  Cincinnati seemingly tied that game on a buzzer beater dunk that was eventually waved off.  Xavier was upset by Wisconsin on a fade away three at the buzzer. 

All in all, the Cincinnati Bengals have not won a playoff game since 1991 (the game before the Bo Jackson injury).  The Reds won the world series in 1990, but have just one playoff series win since the injury.  The University of Cincinnati has been to one final four. Xavier have not been to the Final Four since the injury either. 

This quote appears on Bo Jackson's wiki page. "Some Bengals fans theorize that this injury to one of the greatest athletes ever placed a curse on the Bengals franchise (sometimes called "the curse of Bo Jackson")

So it's up the you to decide if Bo Jackson has cursed the city, but only Bo Knows the truth.

Opening Day Series Preview: Reds vs Phillies

The Reds and Phillies will square off on Monday at 4:10 in Cincinnati, and let's face it there are not too many things bigger than Opening Day in the city of Cincinnati.  The bad news? It's not looking to promising for the Reds this year.  Cincinnati lost 98 games with the likes of Johnny Cueto, Todd Frazier, Mike Leake, and Aroldis Chapman last year.  The good news?  The only team worse than the Reds this year just might be the Phillies.

 

If the Reds want to do the unthinkable and put together a pretty good season than a good start is vital.  This is a great opportunity to pick up a series win. Check out this hype video to get ready for Opening Day

Game 1: Raisel Iglesias vs. Jeremy Hellickson
Raisel Iglesias got the nod from manger Bryan Price to start Opening Day for the Reds a couple days ago. Iglesias made an appearance in 18 games for the Reds last year going 3-7 with a 4.15 ERA.  Iglesias showed vast improvement towards the end of last year so I think he should be able to give the Reds 6 good innings in this one. 

Starting for the Phillies will be Jeremy Hellickson who was an Arizona Diamondback last year. Hellickson had a down year last year compared to his first three years with a 9-12 record and a 4.62 ERA. Hellickson nor Iglesias have faced the Reds or Phillies before.

Reds fans can only hope that Joey Votto returns to his old form from last year and hits a couple dingers.  Hitting should not be the problem for this team, it's pitching.  The Bullpen will definitely be an issue and I do not have ANY confidence whatsoever in JJ Hoover as the closer. Honestly this will probably be the only sellout of the year and nothing is bigger than Opening Day in Cincinnati. With that being said, I'll go with the Reds in the first game 6-5 because I'm biased.

In 2013 thousands of Reds fans fled to Holy Grail On The Banks two hours before Opening Day to get a spot to watch the game.

Game 2: Brandon Finnegan vs Aaron Nola
Finnegan was acquired by the Reds from the Royals last year in the Johnny Cueto deal.  Every game Finnegan entered last year it was out of the bullpen so this will be his 1st start.  Finnegan has had VERY rough spring training and I mean rough.  His ERA currently stands at 10.29.

I think Finnegan will need some time before he gets a couple good outings in as a starter.  I belive the Phillies will jump on him and the bullpen in this one.  Aaron Nola should be able to hold down a big lead. Phillies 7 Reds 4

Game 3: Cincinnati has not named a starter vs. Charlie Morton
The rubber match...The Reds have yet to name a starter for this game as of Friday.  Charlie Morton for the Phillies played for the Pirates last year so he is a little familiar with the Reds.  Morton started one game against the Reds last year, in which he threw 7 innings of shutout baseball.  The Pirates won the game 3-0. 

Because of my Cincinnati bias, I'll take the Reds 4-3 in this one.

ESPN previewed the 30 teams in the MLB.  Cincinnati was ranked 28th and the Phillies dead last at 30th.  A good opportunity for both to try to pick up an early series win.

In all honesty, this will be a BAD season for the Reds.  No matter how much hope we have this team is not going to compete for a spot in the playoffs.  The Reds are in a mini rebuild so its something that has got to happen.  A productive season for Cincinnati would be anything in or around 70 wins.