Don't let what you want in the future destroy the pleasure of the moment. I don't know what philosopher said that -- oh wait a minute, it was me.
The Bengals are now 5-0, a not expected 5-0. And yet I hear a lot, "let's see if they can win a playoff game." Really? You really want to worry about January now? Destinations are good to have. But as Lewis Carroll once said "If you don't know where you are going, any road will get you there." It's all about the ride. And the ride right now is pretty sweet.
Maybe like you, I left the Bengals for dead along about 3 p.m. Sunday afternoon. After Bobby Wagner scooped up Rex Burkhead's fumble (and listen, Hue, how about putting Burkhead in a game and NOT using him for a couple of plays??? Anymore, when the guy shows up on the field, everybody in the free world knows he's getting the ball.) and took it to the house, I figured the party was over and the wheels were coming off the Bengals bandwagon.
Oh me of little faith.
Andy Dalton looks night and dayfrom what he did last season. Hue Jackson, disingenuously, says Dalton found new inspiration this season after getting booed at the 2015 All Star Game celebrity softball game. Well, OK. I think it's more like he's got his comfort blanket back (Tyler Eifert) and Marvin Jones back (now not all double teams, all the time on A.J. Green) and his line is blocking lights out for him. I think that trumps any boos that might've damaged his psyche.
I don't know how good this team will be. And they don't. The NFL isn't so much a league of season, as it is 16 individual events inside a season. And the key for any team to succeed is health. The Steelers lost Ben Roethlisbergerfor awhile and they're struggling without him. If the Bengals lose Dalton or Green for any amount of time, they'll struggle too. But right now, the Bengals are healthy and they're winning. And we haven't seen that combination around here in a long time. Enjoy the ride, and worry about where you're going when you get there.
Random thoughts from week five of the National Football League.
Imagine the Bengals without Andy Dalton and AJ Green for awhile. Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you the 2015 Dallas Cowboys, who lost badly in New England without Tony Romo and Dez Bryant.
The Ravens are in trouble. Any team that gives up 457 passing yards to Josh McCown can't be considered a serious contender for anything except a quiet January.
The Falcons got lucky. The "Pick Six" that Robert Alford came up with when the Redskins Kirk Cousin gave the game away in over time is the kind of thing that happens to a team when it's playing well.
The Bengals next opponent isn't all that great. But the Bills are playing better. And since the game is in Buffalo Sunday, I wouldn't necessarily call it a slam dunk deal for the Bengals.
And can't let this pass without wishing a happy 69th birthday to one of the greatest songwriters and singers in recorded music. The great Daryl Hall turned 69 on Sunday. And with John Oates, Hall delivered some great music, including this number one hit:
Daryl Hall and John Oates met while they were both undergraduates at Temple. In fact, both were at a frat party when gunfire broke out and, upon leaving the party, they struck up a conversation about how each liked the same music.
So they not only starting collaborating, they actually became roommates. Their mailbox said "Hall and Oates" on it. So they took that as the name of their act. Hall and Oates went onto sell more recorded music, albums, singles, CD's and downloads, than any duo in the history of music. And in 2014 Hall and Oates were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
69 years ago Sunday, in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, Daryl Franklin Hohl came upon this earth. But you know him as Darryl Hall.
Chargers beat the Steelers tonight.
