Cincinnati Bengals
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Template:NFL team The Cincinnati Bengals are a National Football League team based in Cincinnati, Ohio.
- Founded: 1966, as an American Football League expansion franchise. Played 1st game in 1968. Joined the NFL in 1970.
- Home field: Paul Brown Stadium (2000-present)
- Previous home fields:
- Nippert Stadium (1968-1969)
- Riverfront Stadium/Cinergy Field (1970-1999)
- Uniform colors: Black, orange and white
- Helmet design: Orange background with black tiger stripes
- Mascot: Who Dey
- League Championships won: none
- Conference Championships won: 1981, 1988
- Super Bowl appearances: XVI (lost), XXIII (lost)
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Franchise history
In 1968 the Bengals played their first games as an expansion team. The first coach and majority owner, was Paul Brown. Paul Brown was instrumental in bringing professional football to Cincinnati although some view his desire to create another Ohio-based football team was out of spite.
Paul Brown was considered to be the greatest coach of the Cleveland Browns, having lead them to many championship titles using innovative approaches to training, game plans, and other revolutionary approaches that earned him his enshrinement in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The Cleveland team's owner, Art Modell, and Paul Brown had some interpersonal conflicts.
After the falling out Brown pushed to have an expansion team brought to Ohio with Cincinnati being a suitable location. The similarities between the clubs were suspicious. Cleveland's team colors are orange, brown, and white, and their helmets were a solid orange with a white dorsal stripe over the crest. The Bengal's team colors were orange, black, and white, and their helmets were the same shade of orange with a similar stripe, with the only variation being the word "Bengals" in block letters on either side of the helmet. The uniforms were changed to the tiger-striped helmets in 1981.
This sparked a bitter intrastate rivalry between the two pitting Brown versus Modell. After Cleveland moved to the AFC Central (now North) in 1971, the Browns and Bengals played each other at least two times a year, sometimes up to four times when they met in the preseason and also playoffs.
Games of Note
1981 Season, AFC championship game versus the San Diego Chargers. This game is the coldest temperature (after wind chill is factored) ever recorded for an NFL game. The ambient temperature with the wind combined for almost -50 degrees fahrenheit. The Bengals won 27-7 to proceed to Super Bowl XVI. The Bengal's offensive linemen were on the field with the standard sleeveless jerseys in an effort to intimidate the Charger team more accustomed to the warmer California weather.
1982 Super Bowl XVI versus the San Fransisco 49ers. Despite being one of the closest contested games versus the 49er dynasty, it was still a loss 26-21.
1989 Super Bowl XXIII versus the San Fransisco 49ers. The Bengals had the #1 offense in the 1988 season and were an amazing turnaround story after having a 4-12 record the year before. However, the San Fransisco dynasty rolled on, barely squeaking out a victory 20-16 leaving 34 seconds on the clock after Joe Montana orchestrated an impressive drive.
2003 Regular season game versus the Kansas City Chiefs. The Chiefs were the only remaining undefeated team at 9-0. The Bengals were historically the losingest football team between 1990 and 2002 and at the time had a record of only 4-5 under a rookie head coach. Chad Johnson, their 2nd-year wide receiver, made a pre-game guarantee that the Bengals would win. This created a media buzz but also engendered general disdain from the Chiefs. They went on to beat the Chiefs 24-19 and then proceeded to even out their season ending at 8-8, narrowly missing the playoffs.
2004 On October 25, with much fanfare from Cincinnati residents, Monday Night Football returned to Cincinnati after a fifteen-year absence. In their first MNF appearance in twelve years, the Bengals (1-4) were paired against the Denver Broncos (5-1), whose defense, at the time, was ranked the number one defense in the NFL. Considered a long shot, the Bengals defeated the Broncos 23-10. The previous time the Bengals hosted Monday Night Football on September 25, 1989, they defeated the Cleveland Browns by a score of 21-14 at Riverfront Stadium. The previous time they appeared on Monday Night Football, on October 19, 1992, the Bengals lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers, 20-0.
2004 On December 5, was the first time since 1990 the Bengals won a game on the road when facing a team with a winning record (An NFL record 42 games straight). They beat the Baltimore Ravens 27-26.
Team Achievements
During the 13 year span that the San Francisco 49ers dominated the NFL, in their 5 different Super Bowl appearances, only the Bengals provided noteworthy competition during the title game with an average loss of only 4.5 points, where as most other teams facing the 49ers lost by an average of 30 points.
The 1970 Bengals were at the time, the quickest expansion team in NFL history to make the playoffs. The Bengals were winners of the AFC Central division with an 8-6 record, in just their 3rd year in the league. This achievement is most notable because at the time easy movement of talent between teams via free agency did not exist. The expansion Bengals were built through the NFL Draft and by picking up cast off players from other teams.
In 2003 and 2004, the Bengals had 8-8 records under Marvin Lewis, in his first two seasons with the team. This achievement is normally unimpressive when compared to the rest of the league, but after over a decade of exceptionally poor performance, back-to-back non-losing seasons was encouraging for Bengals' fans. The previous time the Bengals had had consecutive non-losing seasons was in 1989 and 1990.
Contributions to NFL Culture
The most commonly recognized contribution comes from the "Ickey Shuffle", a celebratory dance created by Bengals running back Ickey Woods in his rookie season of 1988 during the Bengals' Super Bowl run. It has been suggested that this dance, done after Woods would score a touchdown, was the catalyst for the NFL instituting penalties against excessive celebratory performances, and before the 1989 season was over it was relegated to the sidelines.
No Huddle Offense
A No-Huddle Offense was commonly used by all teams when time in the game was running low. However, Sam Wyche, the current head coach of the Bengals in 1988, made the high-paced offense the standard modality for the ball club regardless of time remaining. By quickly setting up for the next play (often within 5-10 seconds after the last play despite being afforded 45 seconds) this hindered the other teams' defense from substituting situational players, regrouping for tactics, and, some suggest, increased the defenses' rate of fatigue (This is attributed to the belief that the offense dictates when a play starts so they tend to be more mentally relaxed and prepared for the start of a play where the defense must remain on a different level of alert before the play starts). In response to this tactic the NFL instituted several rules related to this tactic:
- * Allowing the defense ample time for substitutions
- * If a player's injury causes the play-clock to stop, the player must sit out at least one play
- * Charging a time-out to a team when a player is injured within a certain time periods of the game
The tactic was used by the franchise from the late 80s while Sam Wyche was the coach. The main rivals for AFC supremacy were the Buffalo Bills, coached by Marv Levy. Most of the high-profile games (the various games for AFC Conference titles and regular season games) between the two lead to these changes in NFL rules.
West Coast Offense/Paul Brown's Offense
The West Coast Offense, which is commonly employed by many teams (most notably, it was used by San Fransisco during their dynasty, & the Buffalo during their domination of the AFC) is the popular name for the high-percentage passing scheme designed by Paul Brown and Bill Walsh. This play scheme was used by Ken Anderson during the Bengal's initial Super Bowl run.
Players of note
Pro Football Hall of Famers
- Anthony Muñoz, Mutliple Pro-Bowl offensive lineman (tackle)
- Paul Brown, Innovative head coach and owner. Mostly enshrined due to career with the Cleveland Browns.
players
- Chad Johnson Pro Bowl Wide Receiver, gained notoriety for guaranteeing a win over the previously undefeated Kansas City Chiefs in the 2003 season. Previously known as "Keyshawn Johnson's cousin", but now recognized as a star in his own right.
- Rudi Johnson Featured running back, took over position from long-time featured back, Corey Dillon.
- Jon Kitna Quarterback, graciously conceded the 2004 starting quarterback position to Carson Palmer after Kitna had a career year in 2003.
- Carson Palmer Quarterback, spent his rookie year of 2003 studying on the sidelines while Jon Kitna led the team.
- Peter Warrick Wide Receiver who has matured into a solid 2nd receiver after a shaky start to his career.
- Marvin Lewis First black head coach for Cincinnati. Extremely popular in the city of Cincinnati.
- T.J. Houshmandzadeh Emerged in 2004 as another receiving threat opposite Johnson and was recently resigned for 4 years.
- Tory James Top defensive back for Bengals led the NFL in interceptions in 2004 and made his first Pro Bowl.
- Willie Anderson Regarded as the heart and soul of the Bengals and the anchor for the offensive line for years. Has been with the Bengals through all the hardships and in 2004 was selected to his 2nd consecutive Pro Bowl.
- Madieu Williams Rookie defensive back was utterly unheralded prior to the 2004 season, but had an impressive first professional campaign and is seen as a star of the future by many.
Retired numbers
- 54 Bob Johnson Offensive lineman, 1st ever draft pick of the Bengals.
Not to be forgotten
- Ken Anderson Quarterback, particularly noted for his high-effeciency in passing holding a handful of NFL records
- Jim Breech Kicker
- Greg Cook Quarterback
- Boomer Esiason Quarterback, noted for his play-action abilities, being left-handed, and charisma.
- Sherrill Headrick
- Bobby Hunt
- Carl Pickens
- Paul Robinson Running back, Rookie of the year, 1968 (expansion year)
- Roger Baggett Linebacker, spent two years ('79-'81) as a heavy hitting "walk-on" linebacker from Chicago.
- John Stofa
- Bob Trumpy
- Ernie Wright
- Dave Shula Head coach from 1992 - midseason of 1996, went 19-71 in 4½ seasons with the worst winning percentage of 26.7%. He is often cited as the coach that ushered in 14 years straight of non-winning seasons.
- Corey Dillon Controversial but highly talented running back, left the Bengals prior to the 2004 campaign and won the Superbowl with the New England Patriots.
- Takeo Spikes
External link
- Cincinnati Bengals official web site (http://www.bengals.com/)