Cincinnati Bengals

The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional football franchise based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are currently members of the North Division of the American Football Conference (AFC) of the National Football League (NFL).

The Bengals were founded in 1966 as the tenth and final member of the American Football League (AFL) by Cleveland Browns co-founder and head coach Paul Brown. Brown was the Bengals' head coach from their inception to 1975. When the AFL and the NFL formally merged after the 1969 season, the Bengals were assigned to the AFC. After Brown's death in 1991, the team was inherited by his son, Mike Brown. Recently, Brown purchased shares of the team owned by the estate of co-founder Austin Knowlton. He is now the majority owner of the Bengals franchise.^[1]

Their home stadium is Paul Brown Stadium in downtown Cincinnati. Their primary colors are orange and black.

The Bengals have won seven division championships and two AFC championships. They have been to two Super Bowls, losing each to the San Francisco 49ers.

Franchise history

The franchise takes its name from an earlier Cincinnati Bengals team, which played from 1937–1941. It also was a nod to Paul Brown's Massillon, Ohio roots where he coached the high school team known as the Tigers.

In 1967 an ownership group led by Paul Brown was granted a franchise in the American Football League. Brown named the team the Bengals in order "to give it a link with past professional football in Cincinnati." ^[2] Another Bengals team had existed in the city and played in three previous American Football Leagues^[3] from 1937 to 1942. The city's world-renowned zoo was also home to a rare white Bengal Tiger. However, possibly as an insult to Art Modell, or possibly as an homage to his own start as a head coach to the Massillon Tigers, Paul Brown chose the exact shade of orange used by his former team. He added black as the secondary color. Brown chose a very simple logo: the word "BENGALS" in black lettering. One of the potential helmet designs Brown rejected was a striped motif that was similar to the helmets adopted by the team in 1981 and which is still in use to this day; however, that design featured yellow stripes on a turquoise helmet which were more uniform in width.

Brown was not a supporter of the rival American Football League, stating that "I didn't pay ten million dollars to be in the AFL." ^[4] He only acquiesced to joining the AFL when he was guaranteed that the team would become an NFL franchise after the impending merger of the two leagues.

There was also a complication: Major League Baseball's Cincinnati Reds were in need of a facility to replace the antiquated, obsolete Crosley Field, which they had used since 1912. Parking nightmares had plagued the city as far back as the 1950s, the little park lacked modern amenities, and New York City, which in 1957 had lost both its National League teams (the Dodgers and the Giants) to Los Angeles and San Francisco, respectively, was actively courting Reds owner Powel Crosley. However, Crosley was adamant that the Reds remain in Cincinnati and tolerated worsening problems with the Crosley Field location, which were exacerbated by the Millcreek Expressway (I-75) project that ran alongside the park.

With assistance from Ohio governor James A. Rhodes, Hamilton County and the Cincinnati city council agreed to build a single multi-purpose facility on the dilapidated riverfront section of the city. The new facility had to be ready by the opening of the 1970 NFL season and was officially named Riverfront Stadium.

With the completion of the merger in 1970, the Cleveland Browns were moved to the AFL-based American Football Conference and placed in the AFC Central, the same division as the Bengals. An instant rivalry was born, fueled initially by Paul Brown's rivalry with Art Modell. The teams have since met on Monday Night Football twice, the Bengals winning each time.

For their first two seasons, the Bengals played at Nippert Stadium which is the current home of the University of Cincinnati Bearcats. The team held training camp at Wilmington College in Wilmington, Ohio, through the 1996 preseason.^[5] The team finished its first season with a 3–11 record. One bright spot was running back Paul Robinson, who rushed for 1,023 yards and was named the AFL Rookie of the Year.

Founder Paul Brown coached the team for its first eight seasons. One of Brown’s college draft strategies was to draft players with above-average intelligence. Punter/wide receiver Pat McInally attended Harvard University and linebacker Reggie Williams attended Dartmouth College and served on Cincinnati city council while on the Bengals’ roster. Because of this policy, many former players were highly articulate and went on to have successful careers in commentary and broadcasting as well as the arts. In addition, Brown had a knack for locating and recognizing pro football talent in unusual places.

In 1970 the Bengals moved to play at Riverfront Stadium, a home they shared with the Cincinnati Reds until the team moved to Paul Brown Stadium in 2000. The team reached the playoffs three times during that decade, but could not win any of those postseason games. In 1975, the team posted an 11–3 record, giving them what is to this day the highest winning percentage (.786) in franchise history. But it only earned them a wild card spot in the playoffs, behind the 12–2 Pittsburgh Steelers, who went on to win the Super Bowl. The Bengals lost to the Oakland Raiders 31–28 in the divisional playoffs.

The Bengals reached the Super Bowl twice during the 1980s, but lost both times to the San Francisco 49ers. Then, after the team appeared in the playoffs in 1990, Paul Brown died. He had already transferred control to his son, Mike Brown, but was reported to still influence the daily operations of the team. The Bengals' fortunes changed for the worse as the team posted 14 consecutive non-winning seasons. They began to emerge from that dismal period into a new era of increased consistency, however, after the hiring of Marvin Lewis as head coach in 2003. Carson Palmer, the future star quarterback, was drafted in 2003, but did not play a snap that whole season, as Jon Kitna had a comeback year (voted NFL Comeback Player of the Year). Despite Kitna's success, Palmer was promoted to starting quarterback the following season. Under Palmer, the team advanced to the playoffs for the first time since 1990 in the 2005 season, which also was the first time the team had a winning percentage above .500 since 1990.

The Bengals returned to the playoffs again in 2009 in a season that included the franchise's first ever division sweep. This was especially impressive since two of the teams swept by the Bengals (the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Baltimore Ravens) had both made it to the AFC Championship Game the previous season. Marvin Lewis was rewarded for the accomplishment with the NFL Coach of the Year Award.

Meanwhile, Paul Brown Stadium was built for the 2000 season using private and public money. In a tribute, Mike Brown named the stadium after his father during a time when it was a trend in the NFL to accept corporate offers to have the stadium renamed for a corporation.

In the 2010 season, the Bengals posted a 4-12 record.

Logos and uniforms

When the team debuted in 1968, the Bengals' uniforms were modeled after the Cleveland Browns. When Paul Brown was fired by Art Modell, Brown still owned the equipment used by Cleveland. So after the firing, Paul Brown packed up all his equipment, which he then used for his new team in Cincinnati. The Cleveland Browns' team colors were brown, orange and white, then they changed to white, black and orange, 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 a similar shade of orange, with the only variations being the word "Bengals" in block letters on either side of the helmet and no stripe on the helmet. The Cincinnati Bengals were unique in the NFL as they did not have uniform numbers on the players sleeves until the 1980 season.

The team did not discard their Cleveland-like uniforms until 1981. During that year, a then-unique uniform design was introduced. Although the team kept black jerseys, white jerseys, and white pants, they were now trimmed with orange and black tiger stripes. The team also introduced orange helmets with black tiger stripes.

In 1997, the Bengals designed a logo consisting of a leaping tiger, and it was added to the uniform sleeves. Another alternate logo consisted of a Bengal's head facing to the left. However, the orange helmet with black tiger stripes continued to be the team's primary trademark.

In 2004, a new tiger stripe pattern and more accents were added to the uniforms. The black jerseys now featured orange sleeves, while the white jerseys began to use black sleeves and orange shoulders. A new logo consisting of an orange "B" covered with black tiger stripes was introduced. The team also started rotating black pants and debuted an alternate orange jersey.

The Bengals have worn their black uniforms at home throughout their history, except during the 1970 season when the Bengals wore white at home for the entire season, and most of the 1971 season. In 2001, 2002, 2005 and onward,s the Bengals wore white at home for preseason games as well as September home games due to the heat.

Contributions to NFL culture

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, along with offensive coordinator Bruce Coslet, 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 team's defense from substituting situational players, regrouping for tactics, and, some suggest, increased the defense's 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 higher level of alert before the play starts). In response the NFL instituted several rules related to this tactic:

• Allowing the defense ample time for substitutions (if offensive substitutions are made);
• If a player's injury causes the play-clock to stop, the player must sit out at least one play; and
• Charging a time-out to a team when a player is injured within a certain time period of the game.

The hurry-up tactic was used by the franchise during the late 1980s while Sam Wyche was the coach. A rival for AFC supremacy during this time was the Buffalo Bills, coached by Marv Levy, who also used a version of the no-huddle offense starting with the 1989 season. The Bengals had beaten the Bills three times in 1988 (pre-season, regular season, and the AFC Championship Game. Marv Levy threatened to fake injuries if the Bengals used the "no-huddle" in the AFC Championship. Coach Wyche was notified that the Commissioner had ordered the "no-huddle" illegal for the game. The official notified Wyche and the Bengals' team just two hours before the game kickoff. Wyche asked to talk directly to the Commissioner and word immediately came back that the "no-huddle" would not be penalized. Coach Levy didn't fake injuries in the game, but installed his version the next year, 1989. The Bengals first used the "no-huddle" in 1984. Most of the high-profile games (the various games for AFC titles and regular season games) between the two led to these changes in NFL rules. Wyche also first used the timeout periods as an opportunity to bring his entire team to the sideline to talk to all eleven players, plus substitutes, at one time. This also allowed trainers time to treat a cut or bruise and equipment managers time to repair an equipment defect.

West Coast Offense/Paul Brown's Offense & the Zone Blitz

The West Coast Offense, is the popular name for the high-percentage passing scheme designed by former Bengals assistant Bill Walsh. Walsh formulated what has become popularly known as the West Coast Offense during his tenure as assistant coach for the Cincinnati Bengals from 1968 to 1975, while working under the tutelage of Paul Brown. Bengals quarterback Virgil Carter would be the first player to successfully implement Walsh's system, leading the NFL in pass completion percentage in 1971. Ken Anderson later replaced Carter as Cincinnati's starting QB, and was even more successful. In his 16-year career in the NFL, Anderson made four trips to the Pro Bowl, won four passing titles, was named NFL MVP in 1981, and set the record for completion percentage in a single season in 1982 (70.66%).

Ironically, the defense created to combat the West Coast Offense also came from Cincinnati. Then-Bengals defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau (who would later be the team's head coach from 2000–2002) created the zone blitz in the 1980s in response to the West Coast Offense. Though the Bengals ran it with some success, like the West Coast Offense the scheme became more successful elsewhere, in this case with the rival Pittsburgh Steelers, where LeBeau has served two stints as defensive coordinator. LeBeau has led both Bengals Super Bowl appearances and three Super Bowl appearances with Pittsburgh using the zone blitz.

Season-by-season records

Players of note

Current roster

Pro Football Hall of Famers

• Anthony Muñoz, OL
• Charlie Joiner, WR†

† Spent four of his nineteen NFL seasons with the Bengals.

Retired numbers

• 54 Bob Johnson, OL

Bengals Hall of Fame

The inaugural class for the Bengals Hall of Fame, hosted on the Bengals official website, was announced in 2011. The inaugural class had five members.^[6]

NFL Most Valuable Player

• Ken Anderson, 1981
• Boomer Esiason, 1988

AFL/NFL Rookie of the Year

• Paul Robinson, 1968
• Greg Cook, 1969
• Eddie Brown, 1985
• Carl Pickens, 1992

Coach of the Year

• Sam Wyche (1988)
• Marvin Lewis (2009)

Coaches of note

Head coaches

• Paul Brown (1968–1975)
• Bill "Tiger" Johnson (1976–1978)
• Homer Rice (1978–1979)
• Forrest Gregg (1980–1983)
• Sam Wyche (1984–1991)
• Dave Shula (1992–1996)
• Bruce Coslet (1996–2000)
• Dick LeBeau (2000–2002)
• Marvin Lewis (2003–present)

Current staff

Radio and television

The Bengals flagship radio stations are WCKY, "ESPN 1530" and WEBN-FM, with WLW AM 700 joining in following the end of the Reds' season through 2013. It was announced on May 4 by the Bengals, that beginning with the 2011 season that Dan Hoard was hired to replace Brad Johansen^[7] as the main play-by-play man. The radio broadcast crew now consists of Hoard and former Bengals offensive lineman Dave Lapham, who started in 1985.

Most preseason and regular season games, are telecast on WKRC-TV, Local 12, the CBS affiliate. The Current TV announcers for preseason games are Brad Johansen play-by play, Anthony Munoz color commentary and Mike Valpredo sideline reporter.^[8] With the addition of Dan Hoard to the radio broadcast crew, Brad Johansen replaced Dan Hoard as the new TV play-by-play for preseason games.^[9] Games that feature an NFC opponent played at Paul Brown Stadium are televised on WXIX, Fox 19.

Phil Samp was the Bengals original play-by-play announcer from 1968-1990. Ken Broo (1991–1995), Paul Keels (1996) and Pete Arbogast (1997–2000) and Brad Johansen (2001–2010) have also done radio play-by-play for the Bengals.

Radio Affiliates

http://www.bengals.com/multimedia/on-the-air.html List of Radio Affiliates

Ohio

Kentucky

Indiana

West Virginia

Chant

"Who Dey" is the name of a chant of support by fans of the Cincinnati Bengals, in use for over 30 years. The entire chant is: "Who dey! Who dey! Who dey think gonna beat dem Bengals?" The answer screamed in unison, "Nobody!" Sometimes fans will instead shout "Who Dey" to represent the entire cheer. "Who Dey" is also the name of the team’s mascot, a Bengal tiger.^[10]

The Who Dey chant's first known use was by fans of the 1980 Cincinnati Bengals. While the origin of the chant is unsettled, one possible source for the chant is a 1980 commercial for Red Frazier Ford of Cincinnati, which used this tagline: “Who’s going to give you a better deal than Red Frazier?...Nobody!” Cincinnati fans who had seen the commercial many times may have just copied it when cheering.^[11]

The chant bears some similarities to the phrase "Who Dat?," which was officially adopted by the New Orleans Saints in 1983 but had been used by Louisiana's high school team fans for some time. The saying “Who Dat?" originated in minstrel shows and vaudeville acts in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, then it was taken up by New Orleans Jazz and various Big band folks in the 1920s and 1930s. In the late 1960s, local Louisiana High Schools, St. Augustine High School in New Orleans and Patterson High School are reported to have been using the cheer and Gulf Coast fans of Alcorn State University and Louisiana State University picked up the cheer in the 1970s.^[12] Southern University in New Orleans claims to have originated the cheer in the late 1960s in their version: "Who dat talkin' 'bout beatin' dem Jags."^[13] There is a long-standing debate between the Saints and Bengals fan bases over which one originated the chant from their culture.

References

External links

• Cincinnati Bengals
• Sports E-Cyclopedia.com
• Paul Brown Information on Growlzone.com