Does the NFL Disrespect the Bengals?

[oldschooler]

The consensus is pretty much the same. Outside of Cincinnati, many fans who claim to love football don’t like the Bengals. Many reasons abound that range from amazing to just silly. There are those who dislike the Bengals because they have stripes on their helmets. Some hate on the team because they play in Cincinnati. 

Then, there are those who hate the team just because. But, has that made the NFL disrespect the Bengals, as well?

It would be easy to dismiss the animosity as just a fluke. Every team tends to go through phases of unpopularity. Not so with the Bengals. Even bandwagon Bengals fans have been known to throw the team under the bus. It comes with the territory of being a fan that roots for the team. As revealed by Deasdspin, there are tons of Cincinnati fans that don’t even know why they root for Bengals anything.

The latest trend seems to be calling WILL linebacker Vontaze Burfict the dirtiest player in football. Burfict is not a saint. His troubled past at Arizona State will prove that to anyone going on a witch hunt. Yet, if the media hype wasn’t slanted towards him being the foulest linebacker in the league, he would be heralded as one of the toughest to play the position. Football has become soft. The rules change yearly.


[Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images]

The Bengals’ new linebackers coach would agree. He understands how the media can be one-sided. Jim Haslett can’t wait to work with Burfict. He let that be known, via ESPN.
 

“He’ll grow out of some of those things. Again, not knowing him, it’s hard for me to say, but I know how things get blown up. I hope I can do whatever I can to help him out and maybe even make him better.”
 

This is not an apologist agenda for Burfict. He’ll be fine. Still, the relationship between the league and the Bengals is truly interesting. The NFL seems to be falling in line with the media. Could that be the other way? The AFC Wild Card game was an atrocious exhibit of officiating and has been deemed one of the ugliest playoff games ever played.

NFL officials made many mistakes during that game. There were calls that affected the play for both teams. Yet, the majority of the bad calls went against the home team Bengals. Usually, the hosting team is the recipient of a little “home cooking” from the crew calling the game. But, the NFL was blatantly overt on January 9. From the officiating point of view, the Stealers seemed like the home team.

[Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images]

The first instance of disrespect was the Martavis Bryant touchdown catch. Dean Blandino, VP of the league’s officiating, said he wouldn’t have called it a catch. His statement from CBS Sports is right to the point.
 

“I don’t think this is a catch. If I just had a blank slate and I could say, do you think it’s a catch or not a catch? I would’ve said no catch.”
 

Blandino also tried to explain the lack of a flag on the Ryan Shazier hit that took Giovani Bernard out of the game. He claims it wasn’t called because the player had established himself as a runner. A strange thing happened on the way to the post-game quotes.

“If he has established himself as a runner – control, both feet, ability to ward off, attempt to avoid contact, that time element – if that time element has been met, then he can be contacted in the head,” Blandino said.

Aren’t there a slew of concussion lawsuits being filed against the NFL? Suddenly it’s okay to be “contacted” in the head at full speed? Does that really mean it’s okay to spear a player if he’s in a Bengals uniform? By simple deduction, it must be so. Bengals’ safety Shawn Williams was immediately flagged for a legal hit on Markus Wheaton. No one talks about that tackle, since it may lead to more concerns over biased officiating.

The NFL also admitted that Stealers coach Joey Porter should have been flagged for being on the field. The admission came from handing down a $10,000 fine. Thus, another missed call against the Bengals. Apologies are being given when it’s too late. It almost seems like they’re rubbing it in.

Maybe it’s just in the minds of those who cheer for the Orange and Black. But, it’s hard to ignore. The NFL seems to be doing a lot of backpedaling, when it comes to the Bengals.

 

Read more at http://www.inquisitr.com/2729715/doe...5mBBUEgEioF.99

[|Elflocko|]

This. So much this... 

[A Rock]

Yep

[|Lucid|]

Holy shit. Too bad it was written in some rag no one has ever heard of.

Too much truth.

[thezerawkid]

I wish Twitter's character count wasn't as limited, someone could put together a line-by-line list of the bigger blown calls that ultimately contributed to our demise. If a bunch of people started blowing up Twitter, it would at least prompt more public attention and perhaps further conversation.

Twitter really has become the most optimal way to take a large entity to task, and do it in a fashion that actually garners attention.

[scharm]

Bengals aren't totally respected in their own small market.   In fact there is a bunch bad will existing in the market.   In turn, There's no down side to anybody if you are unfair to the Bengals.  

The team needs to lead the charge on growing the fan base.  But they don't.  

When an elected county official claims the sports team needs to apologize after an ugly game but a game that brought millions of revenue to his county following a summer of violence that got national attention and Nobody calls him out on it shows a level of acceptance to that message. 

The Bengals aren't beloved and a lot of that is the fault of the team.  Therefore you aren't going to get local sports guys mixing it up to fight the national perception.

 

For example UC had Hugs Thugs.   There was always multiple local sports media willing to fight that image.    Even last year after UC lost to UK and it got heated in the game afterward there were a bunch of UC supporters protecting the player.

The Bengals?  Nah we get some piece about how they are our kids and we need to hold them accountable. 

[big_dish]

The thing that makes that game the hardest to get over in a long time is just how blatantly biased the officiating was. Most games when people complain about officiating it's sort of a conspiracy theory type thought- but this one... This was intentional, blatant bias and those officials should have been fired before the day was over if the NFL had any interest in being a respectable, honest entity. But they don't. The NFL doesn't care. They are the North Korea of sports leagues. They do what they want, they shrug off controversy without changing and are exceptionally blatant in their actions.

to retain any shred of credibility, the MUST make anything and everything reviewable. Keep the current limit of red flags a coach can throw and the current setup, but every play MUST be reviewable. It sucks that the officiating is so untrustworthy to do something like that, but as far as I'm concerned that's the only way to keep these bastards honest and accountable.

[fluhartz]

Holy shit. Too bad it was written in some rag no one has ever heard of.

Too much truth.

 

yep.

 

this article does nothing but piss me off all over again...

[|Tigers Johnson|]

The thing that makes that game the hardest to get over in a long time is just how blatantly biased the officiating was. Most games when people complain about officiating it's sort of a conspiracy theory type thought- but this one... This was intentional, blatant bias and those officials should have been fired before the day was over if the NFL had any interest in being a respectable, honest entity. But they don't. The NFL doesn't care. They are the North Korea of sports leagues. They do what they want, they shrug off controversy without changing and are exceptionally blatant in their actions.

to retain any shred of credibility, the MUST make anything and everything reviewable. Keep the current limit of red flags a coach can throw and the current setup, but every play MUST be reviewable. It sucks that the officiating is so untrustworthy to do something like that, but as far as I'm concerned that's the only way to keep these bastards honest and accountable.

Personal fouls at the least need to be reviewable... And not by the refs on the field...

 

immediate booth th review like college.

[|schotzee|]

 

 

yep.

 

this article does nothing but piss me off all over again...

Yea. Thanks a lot old.

[fluhartz]

Yea. Thanks a lot old.

LOL... Right.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[T-Dub]

Bengals aren't totally respected in their own small market.   In fact there is a bunch bad will existing in the market.   In turn, There's no down side to anybody if you are unfair to the Bengals.  

The team needs to lead the charge on growing the fan base.  But they don't.  

When an elected county official claims the sports team needs to apologize after an ugly game but a game that brought millions of revenue to his county following a summer of violence that got national attention and Nobody calls him out on it shows a level of acceptance to that message. 

The Bengals aren't beloved and a lot of that is the fault of the team.  Therefore you aren't going to get local sports guys mixing it up to fight the national perception.

 

For example UC had Hugs Thugs.   There was always multiple local sports media willing to fight that image.    Even last year after UC lost to UK and it got heated in the game afterward there were a bunch of UC supporters protecting the player.

The Bengals?  Nah we get some piece about how they are our kids and we need to hold them accountable. 

 

A lot of truth here, but what do you suggest the team do differently?

One thing I would do is make a big event out of retiring some jersey numbers.  We know the Hall of Popularity isn't likely to recognize them, yet for someone so concerned with his dad's legacy MB lets it seem like the franchise has no history.  All we really get is "the team that the 49ers beat in 2 SB's".  Of course it doesn't help when some of the more recognizable former players make a name for themselves by throwing the franchise under the bus every chance they get.

[t5 Hill Runs Wild]

yes , marvin lewis is the num. 1 reason why .

[T-Dub]

yes , marvin lewis is the num. 1 reason why .

Marvin Lewis is the reason the NFL shits on the franchise?  Care to explain that?

[VonBlade]

All the this.

[Le Tigre]

We could embrace the acrimony.

Saw a 30-30 on the Detroit Pistons Bad Boy era. They won two Championships. 

I can live with that.

[Jason]

Sure feels like it.

[saphead]

We could embrace the acrimony.

Saw a 30-30 on the Detroit Pistons Bad Boy era. They won two Championships. 

I can live with that.

That was a really good 30-30. I remember a quote "They may be low down dirty dogs but they're OUR low down dirty dogs" or something to that effect. 

[|kennethmw|]

 

Marvin Lewis is the reason the NFL shits on the franchise?  Care to explain that?

He can't.  Most stupidity can't be.

 

[ccartman2]

Feels WWE to me.  Bengals are the big bad villain, but most lose against the Hero's Stealers, Pats, etc.  No way should have the Stealers been giving a pass for the last two match-ups.  But, we are the Bengals, with the "dirtiest players in the league".  This is why I'm certain at least 1 of our two match ups against the Stealers will be primetime.  The NFL loves it, and the media hacks follow along.