Campy's Bengals Page
2001 Year in Review
"Where do we go from here?"
By Guest Football Columnist Joe Dooley
All right Football fans, it’s time to take a look back and make some observations about our 2001 Cincinnati Bengals, the perennial underdogs of the NFL. Despite the blind Bengals optimism of the past, there really are two sides to this coin. Let’s take a quick look at an example of each.
The first side of the coin is a young team with some impact guys who are beginning to merge as top flight players at their position. Guys like Takeo Spikes and Brian Simmons. These two players really emerged and helped improve our defense. We finally have a first round pick who is an immediate impact player. From his first snap against the Baltimore Ravens, Justin Smith has been one of the best pass rushers in the AFC. You still won’t hear the guys on HBO or CBS mention that, but it's true. It seems more so now than in the past that this team is truly “a few players away” from being one that could win a division and make the playoffs. Remember what Mike Brown said about being a few players away? It may finally be true.
Which brings me to the other side of the coin. This is still an organization who not only accepts mediocrity, but embraces it. I like Dick Lebeau and I do see this 6-10 season as an improvement, but despite this fact, it is still a 6-10 season. I guess Mikey boy realizes that Lebeau is one of the few qualified coaches in the league who would probably work for him. Teams like Tampa Bay fire their coach who has led them to the playoffs the last several years, while we keep our coach even though the team finished four games under .500. While most teams strive to win, the Bengals strive to compete. Guys like Dennis Green, Jim Mora, and Tony Dungy get canned despite many playoff campaigns, while this organization gives chance after chance to guys like Dave Shula and Bruce Coslett. Pittsburgh just fired their special-teams coach after the loss to New England in the AFC Championship Game, yet somehow Al Roberts is still coaching special teams for the Bengals. It is one of the great mysteries of life.
I still look forward to seeing this group of exciting young players strive to provide Cincinnati with their first winning team since the days of Sam (I am) Wyche. They did provide more exciting wins this year than any of the last three. It was great to get the Tennessee and Baltimore monkeys off our backs finally. Next week, we’ll watch the New England Patriots represent the AFC in the Superbowl. Remember how the Bengals out muscled this team in the first week of the season, I mean they physically beat up on the Pats. 2002 could be a real exciting season. Until next year………….Thank you, and GO BENGALS!!!
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Thanks again, and GO BENGALS!!!