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Here we go folks! There is no love lost when the Bengals take on the Steelers. Every time I talk about the Steelers I get worked up so you will have to pardon me in advance. However you slice it the Steelers are, without a doubt, the Cincinnati Bengals most hated rival. Especially since the Super Bowl win in 2006. You can talk all you want about the Browns and the Ravens, but MAN OH MAN I'll bet you any Bengals fan you ask dislikes the Steelers just as much as either. What is up with the Browns mascot being a damn dog, by the way? Should be a heaping pile of stool in my opinion. Anyway, the gorgeous English actress Sienna Miller said it best when she called out Pittsburgh last year and called it "Shittsburgh." It is possibly the worst city in all of this great land. I mean, the Abercrombie headquarters is located in Shittsburgh after all. How much more toolbag can you possibly get than that?

{mosimage} This could be just the game that the Bengals need to turn their season around. A heated rivalry like this will always bring out the best in a team and the Bengals had better be on their "A" game. As always, it all starts up front with Carson Palmer and the Bengals offensive line. Palmer is 3^rd in the NFL in passing yards with 1,717 yards and a 62.9% completion percentage, but he has been un-Palmer-like in throwing 9 interceptions in just 6 games. Having big Rudi Johnson injured doesn't help as Palmer is forcing balls a little bit of late. The offensive line has been surprisingly good in allowing just 10 sacks in 6 games. Not great, but considering they allowed 36 sacks last season it is an improvement. If Palmer can get time in the pocket this weekend and Kenny Watson can run like he did last week, I definitely think the Bengals have a shot. Even though Chris Henry isn't playing, just having him back in practice has been a major confidence boost and the Bengals just may be getting their mojo back, if you will. We know that Chad Johnson and T.J. Houshmanzadeh will produce. Houshmanzadeh is actually tied for 2^nd with Plaxico Burress with 8 TD catches this season. He is an incredible red zone presence. As for the Steelers, Ben Roethlisberger will try to do just as he usually does. He will limit the amount of passes he throws and be efficient enough while letting Willie Parker carry the load. Roethlisberger better thank his lucky stars that he has a championship in his back pocket thanks to Kimo von Oelhoffen for tearing apart Carson Palmer's knee. Without that championship Roethlisberger would be nothing, in my opinion.

Ok so here's the problem. The Bengals have been completely and utterly atrocious on defense this season. We all knew that their run defense was bad, but now the defensive backs are acting as if they're napping during plays too. Marvin Lewis might as well just use his entire draft class of 08' on defense to save his ass. In their defense, the Bengals corners are very young and still mightily inexperienced. There is most definitely room for improvement, so it can't get any worse, can it? Jonathan Joseph, the young corner from South Carolina, did show positive signs last week when he returned an interception for a touchdown against the Jets. Leon Hall needs to show that he is worth the 1^st pick by the Bengals in last year's draft and really step up in this game. Hall does lead the Bengals with 7 pass deflections, an area in which he has always excelled in. The Bengals are 29^th in the nation in total defense allowing over 384 yards per game (at least the Browns are dead last). They are also 27^th in run defense (allowing 135.5 ypg) and 28^th in pass defense (allowing 249.2 ypg). Cincinnati must must must step it up on defense in this game and do what they do best and force interceptions from Roethlisberger. On the flip side, the Steelers rank at the very top of the NFL in total defense, allowing just 250.3 yards per game and they're 3^rd in both passing and rushing defense. The most dangerous part of the Steelers defense is their secondary. The Steelers defensive backs are tough and like to tackle. Steelers defensive backs have combined for 141 tackles this season and have intercepted 5 passes. Their corners, Ike Taylor and Deshea Townsend are particularly good combining for 3 INT's and a forced fumble already. They will have their hands full with the best receiving duo in the nation, however. I look for the Steelers linebacker to try and pressure Palmer from the outside and force him to throw a few more INT's while the Steeler secondary stays back and tries to keep pace with C.J. and T.J.

I realize that I just spit out an awful lot of stats, but when it comes down to it this is as bitter a rivalry as there is in the NFL and you can basically throw all of the stats right out the window. The Bengals hate the gold and black as much as anybody in the NFL and vice versa. The stats might be overwhelmingly in Shittburgh's favor, but the two teams have split the last 4 games so the Bengals know that they are capable of coming out on the proper end of a nasty battle. This will be a huge pickup game for the Bengals and they will absolutely be ready to go. This isn't a dog fight, this is much bigger than that. This is a bunch of knuckleheads coming into your backyard after boning your girlfriend, taking a leak on the side of your house, and then trying to stick their ugly ass gold and black flag in your soil. This is the closest to pure hatred that you will ever come. This is the Cincinnati Bengals versus the Shittsburgh Steelers. Now let's play some football!

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wpeery said:

	Hahah... hilarious article Brian... this article is the epitome of "smack-talk". I'm sure Jason will have some fightin' words for ya!
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October 27, 2007
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Personal Foul said:

Man....where do I start? T.J and C.J. best receiving duo in the nation?? That's the most retarded thing I've ever heard. C.J. is annually made Ike Taylor's bitch -- better look to phoenix for the best duo in the nation my friend. On top of that, you sound like a Browns fan saying how hated the rivalry is...trust me Steeler fans love the Bengals. How can you not love a team that you own year in and year out on the field and in the stands?? And anyone who actually claims to know a lot about football would know that Kimo Von Oelhoffen would not take out Palmer on purpose. Besides, Palmer's backup came in and played better than he did that day anyway. And it's American Eagle that is headquartered in Pittsburgh Douchebag, not Abercrombie!

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October 29, 2007
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Personal Foul said:

	Oh yeah, and Pittsburgh was just voted "Most Livable City in America".
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October 29, 2007
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hook14 said:

Damn, looks like the fightin words just went below the belt huh personal foul? Alright man, that's cool, I just wish you would've actually given me some facts to back your dumb shit up. First off dude, if you wanna criticize my writing or Cincinnati or the Bengals, that's all good, but personal?? Man fuck you bro. Don't criticize my football knowledge and writing, especially with those lame-ass arguments....I just wish you could've made this harder for me. Jason - 1, Brian - 0: I'll give you that shit about American Eagle because I thought it was Abercrombie....same thing if you really think about it. Give me some stats on just how well good old Ike has done if your gonna tell me he's making Chad Johnson his bitch so much. Do the Steelers really own the Bengals year in and year out? I seem to remember mentioning in the article how the series was tied at 2 apiece in the last 4 meetings (now 3-2 to Shittsburgh). The Steelers have owned them as of the last few meetings, but that's only the last few meetings. Other than that, it's fairly even over the last few years. How do they own them in the stands? What does that even mean? Because they have some yellow towels? I'm really not sure what you even mean dude. About Kimo von Oelhoffen....I actually never said in the article (did you even READ the article, by the way?) that it was intentional, I simply said that Roethlisberger can thank him for that hit because I believe the Bengals would've won that game had Palmer not gotten injured. It wasn't a dirty play, and Kimo would never do that, I completely agree....I mean the guy did used to play for the Bengals (did you know that or is that too much info for you to take in right now, sorry if I'm going too fast.). And did Palmer's backup come in and play better than him in that game....did he really?? From what I can remember IT WAS THE SECOND PLAY FROM SCRIMMAGE YOU FUCKING IDIOT. Oh, and didn't it go for like a 40-yard completion or something. Yeah, that's what I thought. So, again, that argument doesn't make any sense when you have 2 plays to judge a guy off of. Perenially the third best QB in the NFL behind only Tom Brady and Peyton Manning, by the way. Finally, who in the world brings a gay-ass comment like your last one into a football conversation?? Where'd you get that statistic from anyway? Martha Stewart's Home Living Magazine or some shit? That was your best point in the entire comment, wow. Good for Shittsburgh though, seriously man. I really just wish that you would think out your uneducated comments before you try to start telling me that my football knowledge sucks. If mine sucks, then yours is truly on a planet of it's own, way past Suck. I wish I could give you any credit at all for this comment, but it doesn't really warrant any. It was really just a pent-up rage of bullshit with no backup that came from your stupid ass. Dude, settle down, the Steelers won! Yay! Fuck you, you little bloody rag bitch. For anyone who reads this lack of knowledge-ass crap.....As of 10/28 Chad Johnson and T.J. Houshmanzadeh have combined for 1228 yards and 11 TD's while Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin for the Cardinals have combined for just 957 yards and 6 TD's (Larry Fitzgerald has an astounding 1 touchdown, by the way). I do like the Cardinal receiving duo, but apparently I'm a retard for making the argument that the Bengals receiving duo is the best in the nation, despite the Bengals 2-5 record. Someone else seems to think that this duo in Phoenix is better. You be the judge. Final Score: Brian - a shitload, Jason - 1.

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October 29, 2007
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Lloyds Apple said:

Holy hell Hook, that's some violent shiz. The loss to Pittsburgh hurts but defense is the problem for the Bungals, not their WR's. It hurts to be a Bengals fan once again. When Palmer got hurt on the second play of the playoff game he had only thrown 1 pass, a completion for like 50 yards or something. That play was a dagger in the heart of all Cincy fans. I wish it never happened because the game would have been a toss up. I really have to question Marvin Lewis. Sure, he brought hope back to a city that had none but I figured by now the Bengals could play defense. It's incredibly irritating. PF- I do like your Pitt tie in with Fitzgerald. But that statement in a little extreme. The Bengals suck on D and nothing will change until that improves. Hopefully they stop wasting picks on thugs.

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October 30, 2007
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wpeery said:

	yeah that injury to Palmer will forever go down as one that doused a little extra gasoline on a rivalry that was already heated...
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October 30, 2007
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JEH45 said:

WPeery: You called the smack talk/fighting words thing right. My editorial comment is that I find it different participating in a forum wherein the other participants do not share my loyalties or prejudices. This by the way is one of the things that sold me on Deathrattle to begin with. Speaking of Deathrattle- feel like a proud papa today seeing the first deathrattle interview with a Pro athlete. I hope the rest of the guys feel good about that also as should Lloyds and Christina. Just another step. Tee shirts next?

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October 30, 2007
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Lloyds Apple said:

	nobody thinks you are funny 45.
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October 30, 2007
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wpeery said:

	lol everybody is just goin at everybody.. strap on the gloves and get in the ring!
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October 30, 2007
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Personal Foul said:

Damn, I thought the 20 or so attacks on my city warranted me leaving a little rebuttal with a douchebag thrown in, but I guess I shoulda packed a lunch. You're right on a lot of those comments, I didn't do much homework on that one. I was mainly referencing that the Steelers have won in Cincy 7 years in a row and there are usually a lot of Steeler fans there when they come to town. Also, i said that many people blame Von Oelhoffen, I didn't say you believed it, just that anyone who does, doesn't know what kinda guy he is. I'm still not ready to place CJ and TJ at number 1 though, based on Palmer being their QB. Lloyds... I was expecting to get a little rise out of you man! Less the "shittsburgh" comments, it was a good research Brian - now I know how Wade felt against Madden the USC fan.

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October 31, 2007
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