Cincinnati Bengals

The Cincinnati Bengals are a National Football League team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. The Bengals began play in the American Football League as a 1968 expansion team, and joined the NFL as part of the AFL-NFL Merger.

Franchise history

In 1967 a Cincinnati-based ownership group led by Paul Brown was granted a franchise in the American Football League. He named the team the Bengals in order "to give it a link with past professional football in Cincinnati." http://www.cincinnatibengals.com/team/history.asp Another Bengals team existed in the city from 1937 to 1941, and played in various incarnations of older American Football Leagues.

Related Topics:
1967 - Paul Brown - American Football League - 1937 - 1941

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Brown had become something of a coaching legend in football by 1967. As head coach of the Cleveland Browns from 1946 to 1962, Brown led his team to a .759 winning percentage and seven league championships. He became known as an innovator for his approach to training, game plans and other aspects of football. In a controversial move, Brown was fired by new Browns owner Art Modell following the 1962 season.

Related Topics:
Cleveland Browns - 1946 - 1962 - Art Modell

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

By 1965, Brown had made known his desire to become involved with professional football again. Working with son Mike, he met with Ohio governor James Rhodes and agreed that the state could handle a second football team. In 1966 the Cincinnati city council approved the construction of Riverfront Stadium, and the next year Brown's group had their franchise.

Related Topics:
1965 - Mike - Ohio - James Rhodes - 1966 - Riverfront Stadium

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The similarities between the Bengals and Brown's old team were striking. Cleveland's team colors were orange, brown and white, and their helmets were solid orange with a white dorsal stripe over the crest. The Bengals' 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 Bengals played their first regular season game on September 6, 1968, losing 29-13 to the San Diego Chargers. The team's first win came in the first home game on September 15, a 24-10 decision over the Denver Broncos. The team finished its first season with a 3-11 record, although one bright spot was running back Paul Robinson. Robinson rushed for 1,023 yards and was named the AFL Rookie of the Year.

Related Topics:
September 6 - 1968 - San Diego Chargers - September 15 - Denver Broncos - Paul Robinson

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

With the completion of the AFL-NFL merger in 1970, the Bengals were placed in the AFC Central, the same division as the Browns. An instant rivalry was born, fueled initially by Paul Brown's rivalry with Modell.

Related Topics:
AFL-NFL merger - 1970 - AFC Central

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Games of note

• January 10, 1982 - The Bengals defeated the San Diego Chargers in the AFC Championship Game, 27-7, the coldest game ever played in NFL history. The wind chill factor brought the game-time temperature down to −50 degrees Fahrenheit (−45 °C). The Bengals' offensive linemen were on the field with their standard sleeveless jerseys in an effort to intimidate a Charger team more accustomed to the warmer California weather.
• January 24, 1982 - Cincinnati appeared in Super Bowl XVI versus the San Fransisco 49ers. It was the first Super Bowl since Super Bowl IV to feature two teams who had never appeared in one. The 49ers won, 26-21, the third-smallest margin of victory to date in a Super Bowl.
• January 22, 1989 - The Bengals earned a rematch with the 49ers in Super Bowl XXIII, but lost 20-16. The Bengals boasted the highest-scoring offense in 1988, and rebounded from a 4-12 record in 1987. Bengals nose tackle Tim Krumrie broke his leg in three places while tackling Roger Craig, one of the more gruesome moments in Super Bowl history. A memorable drive late in the game, capped by a touchdown pass from Joe Montana to John Taylor, put the 49ers ahead for good.
• Versus the Houston Oilers 1989 - Head coach Sam Wyche was known as an emotional, quotable, and outspoken, leader. He had a rivalry with the head coach of the Houston Oilers, Jerry Glanville. He ran up the score in a game versus them at Houston's stadium after a 45-0 lead he went for it on 4th down, kicked two onside kicks (which the Bengals recovered), and it was reported that Sam's only regret was that the Bengals missed an extra point which would have given them a team record of 62 points. The final score was 61-7.
• November 16, 2003 - By week 11 of the 2003 regular season the Kansas City Chiefs were the only remaining undefeated team in the league, at 9-0. The Bengals were the losingest NFL team between 1990 and 2002, and at the time had a record of only 4-5 under rookie head coach Marvin Lewis. Chad Johnson, Cincinnati's 2nd-year wide receiver, made headlines with a pre-game guarantee that the Bengals would win the game http://cbs.sportsline.com/nfl/story/6820988. The Bengals went on to beat the Chiefs, 24-19. The team missed the playoffs by two games but finished the season at 8-8, their first non-losing campaign since 1996.
• October 25, 2004 - 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 matched against the Denver Broncos (5-1), whose defense was ranked number one in the NFL. Considered a long shot, the Bengals defeated the Broncos, 23-10.
• December 5, 2004 - In another hopeful sign for fans that the Bengals were truly shedding their losing ways, they beat the Baltimore Ravens, 27-26. More importantly than the divisional win was the fact that it marked the first time since 1990 the Bengals had won a game on the road when facing a team with a winning record (an NFL record 42 straight losses).
• September 24, 2005 - Forcing five interceptions the previous week against the Vikings and five more this game against the Bears, the Bengals accomplished a feat that had not been done in 34 years. The last team to have back-to-back games with 5 or more interceptions was the 1971 Browns.

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.

Related Topics:
San Francisco 49ers - NFL - Super Bowl

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

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 third 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.

Related Topics:
1970 - AFC - NFL Draft

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

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.

Related Topics:
2003 - 2004 - 1989 - 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.

Related Topics:
Ickey Woods - 1988 - 1989

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"Who Dey"

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Although the New Orleans Saints take credit for introducing this chant, Bengals fans were the first to use it heavily during their glory years in the 1980s. The chant went like this:

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Who dey, who dey, who dey think gonna beat dem Bengals?

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Who dey, who dey, who dey think gonna beat dem Bengals?

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Who dey, who dey, who dey think gonna beat dem Bengals? NOOOOOO-BODY! NOOOOOOO-BODY!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Many Bengals fans scoff at the notion that the Saints created the chant, claiming "Who-Dey" is a play on the name of a popular local brewery called Hudepohl, which is often shortened to "Hudey."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The chant was later adopted by other teams (replacing "Bengals" with, say, "Steelers") and still is used to this day. The Bengals mascot is named Who Dey in honor of the chant.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

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 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:

Related Topics:
No-Huddle Offense - Sam Wyche

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

: * 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 led to these changes in NFL rules.

Related Topics:
Buffalo Bills - Marv Levy

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

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 Francisco during their dynasty, and the Buffalo Bills 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 Bengals' initial Super Bowl run.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Season-by-season