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We played terrible. Do I really need to say more than that?

Our defense, once again, had trouble stopping the run. Willie Parker amassed 133 yards on 31 carries for an average of 4.3 yards per rush. If someone manages to get over three yards per carry that isn’t particularly good. Over four? Inexcusable.

I’m not encouraged by the way our defense has played, and I’m even less encouraged that they’re going to get better. With Pollack out for the year with a broken neck, and now Thurman out just as long with a broken brain, those are two missing puzzle pieces we needed.

I was very happy with the way Pollack was starting to come along towards the end of last ear. I’m afraid his injury will set him back. We’ll see in 2007 it would seem.

Thurman on the other hand…what is there to say? Stupidity rules the year for him. I’ll be shocked if he is back with the team next year.

Luckily for us on Sunday however, we didn’t need either of their services. We could have used them, but we were able to overcome them. We owe a debt of gratitude to a certain Steelers quarterback, one B. Roethlisberger.

What happens when your caretaker quarterback can’t take care of the ball? More often than not, you lose. Do I really need to go over the win/loss records of teams that come out on the short end of the turnover battle in a game?

And yes, all you Steelers fans who are already typing furiously comments to this post, Roethlisberger is a caretaker quarterback. His primary role is to not screw it up for the rest of the team. The run still dominates the Steelers offense, and a gifted passing talent isn’t needed, or possibly even wanted, at QB. A high-scoring, wide open offense is not the Pittsburgh way.

Yes, he does have an damned impressive record as the starter. Not to mention the fact that he can put a Super Bowl ring on his finger, despite his incredibly poor performance on Super Sunday. That does not change what his role is for the Steelers.

His mistakes, more than any other player, lead to the Bengals victory on Sunday. Once again our defense was able to create the mistakes we needed to win. I am happy that we won, but troubled by how we did it. I don’t like winning by turnovers.

As we all know, when a has a negative turnover ratio way more often than not they lose the game. There should be no argument when I say then, that good teams do not turn the ball over. If you want to beat a good team, sooner or later you’re going to have to stop relying on the strip or the pick, and just flat out prevent them from doing what they want to do with the football.

We haven’t beaten a good team yet. The Steelers may be a good team by the time we see them again New Years Eve. Right now however, with a 1-2 record and having played very, very poorly the past two weeks, no one can seriously argue Pittsburgh is one of the elite teams in the NFL. Not at this point in the season.

So I’m left to wonder how we’re going to do against the better teams in the NFL. At this point, after how the Patriots have played so far in 2006, I don’t think you can make the case they are among the elite of the league. I know all of the football pundits love to slurp The Golden Boy, but I’ve left my handkerchief in my other coat.

Looking at our schedule, we may not face a quality team until Baltimore on November 5. New England was the first team we faced with a winning record, and until we face the Falcons on October 29, none of the clubs on our schedule can boast the same. That’s not encouraging when you’re trying to gauge your team.

I think we can beat the Falcons, so we could very well be 8-0 when we go to Baltimore. If they are as for real as their 3-0 record suggests, we could be in for a contest.

The waiting truly is the hardest part.

Sometimes writing for this site can be a little difficult. I don’t live in the same time zone as most Bengals fans and I don’t have cable and its myriad of sports game packages. So last Sunday, instead of watching Cinci vs. KC, I was stuck watching the horribly inept Rams barely beat out the equally awful Broncos, even though I’m not even in the market - or state - for either team. That “game” was depressing for a number of reasons, primarily because Marc Bulger is my fantasy quarterback. Yes, the Rams offense looked like they would be better off playing against my old high school than they would against any team in the NFL, even the Texans. Yes, I am screwed.

Anyway, sometimes it’s impossible for me to watch Bengals games and on weeks such as these I have to turn to alternative means of getting my fix. Late-night SportsCenter replays, detailed articles the next day from the Enquirer, and even the occasional radio feed from a home game.

Recently I’ve started watching clips on YouTube, because other Bengals fans will sometimes post amazing plays. That’s where I found this clip from last week’s game of Trent Green getting knocked senseless by a stumbling Robert Geathers.

I’m not sure what to say about it, other than it exhibits a complete and total lack of class. I know, football is a rough sport and it’s amazing that more players aren’t injured every week. However, making fun of a seriously injured player just because you don’t like their team is beyond tasteless. When Carson Palmer tore his ACL after that hit from Kimo, the vast majority of Steelers fans were pretty damn gracious about the whole affair, be it from guilt or basic human decency. Regardless, no one made fun of Palmer for what was pretty much a freak occurance that was beyond his control. These things happen.

In that vein, Trent Green, I hope I speak for every Bengals fan when I extend my heartfelt apologies for the accident. I hope your recovery is speedy and that we’ll be seeing you soon back on the field where you belong.