Today, the NFL decided to reward the Bengals the day after punishing one of them. For the first time ever in one season there are two Monday night home games on the schedule and potentially two more prime time games later in the season. The Bengals are scheduled to square off with the Ravens in the first game of a Monday night double-header on ESPN on September 10. Three weeks later, Carson Palmer will get another shot at Tom Brady and the New England Patriots under the Monday night lights. Perhaps the Bengals still remember the 38-13 thrashing the Patriots dealt the Bengals in '06? Hopefully some revenge will be exacted.
When the Bengals arrive for the annual Heinz Field War in Pittsburgh against the rival Steelers, John Madden and Al Michaels might be on hand to call the game because it is tentatively scheduled as a Sunday night "Flex Game" on December 2nd. It means that NBC will decide later in the season that if the game has serious playoff implications, the start time will remain at 8:15. Should it not be, the game will be rescheduled for that afternoon on CBS.
Rounding out the prime time appearances is a Saturday night appearance on December 15th against the San Fransisco 49ers. Rich Eisen and the gang will be on hand to breakdown the game on the NFL Network. The Niners have had an excellent offseason by adding key members to their defense, namely Nate Clements. This game should turn out to be very entertaining as the Bengals meet Frank Gore and Alex Smith for the first time.
Four prime time appearances for an 8-8 team? Wait, I see a trend developing. A lot of teams with average or poor records in 2006 were granted four or more prime time games. Pittsburgh (8-8) and San Fransisco (7-9) each have four prime time games. The Giants (8-8) and Broncos (9-7) have five and the Cowboys (9-7) are handed an unbelievable six appearances.
Chad Johnson has been lobbying for more prime time games for a few seasons now and today he finally got his wish. "We've always said we wanted more prime time and now we've got it," he said. "Now we've got to go show then that we deserve it... I can't wait to come up with something for Baltimore. As long as I'm trash talking I don't care (when the game is), but, of course, it's cool playing at night. It's fun."
Personally, I am thrilled to see the league finally grant the Bengals a lengthy amount of time in the national spotlight. National sports network, like ESPN and NFL Network, rarely dedicate any air time on the Bengals and these games will change that. ESPN is notorious for being biased in its programming, preferring to primarily cover teams with large fan bases like Dallas and New England, and it will be refreshing to see two Monday nights in the fall dedicated to the men in stripes.
However, it has been announced that one man will not be donning stripes until mid-way through the season. Chris Henry has been suspended by Roger Goodell for the first eight regular season games for his off-the-field run ins with the law. He can still participate in training camp and the pre-season, but he cannot be on the Bengals property to work out or practice until he has been reinstated. However, if Henry has any more arrests or citations, he will not be eligible for reinstation after the eighth game.
This is an excellent move by Goodell and I applaud the length and the restrictions placed on Henry. Goodell wanted to send a message to every NFL player and that he did. This suspension as well as Adam "Pacman" Jones' suspension dares anyone to break the new rules, because they will get the book thrown at them. Dolphins linebacker Joey Porter's reaction on ESPN today was that he can't afford to get in trouble and he doesn't want to go to the "Principal's office." He probably should have thought of that before he sucker-punched Levi Jones in the eye.
I think that other player's reaction to the new rules will be similar to Porter's and Goodell's message will serve as a slap in the face for a lot of them, but I don't know if this will be the last suspension for Henry. Even though Goodell specifically told him that he can't get away with childish arrests any more, his career is on the line, and he has to step up I still see reason to believe that he has not changed at all. After meeting with the commissioner last Tuesday, he was interviewed by NFL Network's Rich Eisen via telephone. When Eisen asked what he would say to the Cincinnati fans "scratching their heads" over his string of arrests. He responded, "The fans who you say are 'scratching their heads' really aren’t true fans."
NOT TRUE FANS? ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Seriously, this kid needs to get it into his head that he cannot walk on water. Remarks like this lead me to believe that he is still a spoiled child in a man's body and that maybe he will never change. I am a "true fan" through and through, but I will never support someone who gets in trouble more often than Raiders win games. I imagine that every other "true fan" feels the same way. We are Bengals fans before we are Chris Henry fans and maybe he should be thinking about that while he is sitting at home for eight Sundays.
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