Unabated Sports

It's not the time the defense was shredded by Donovan McNabb, Terrell Owens, and the Philadelphia Eagles offense. Not the time a Patriots unit comprised mostly of back-ups handled the Bengals in Cincinnati. Not the time where the team started out slow against a questionable Washington Redskins squad. It's the one last night. That's right, I am concerned about the game where the offense finally lived up to pre-season expectations.

While listening to the interviews from the locker room following the game, I heard a lot of pride on this team. I'm worried they might give this exhibition game too much credence. I'm worried that instead of beating up on another team's back-ups, they might look at this as "Hey, we beat the Indianapolis Colts. We didn't just beat them, we demolished them."

At least after the losses, the team was humbled and Marvin Lewis felt he had his players' attention. Now, I'm concerned that confidence will swell into arrogance and not give the Cleveland game the attention it deserves. Yes, the Browns will probably struggle this year. But they'll probably be better than last year's team who scored 82 points against the Bengals, so they cannot be overlooked.

Be sure to vote in our poll down there on the left-hand side. How many games do you think the Bengals will win this year?