The Sports Monitor

Ugly. There's no other way to describe Sunday's dismantling of the Steelers by the Patriots. Whatever Tom Brady wanted to do, he did. Whatever the Patriots defense wanted to do, it did. The final score really did not indicate how bad it was. Hines Ward's streak of consecutive games with at least a catch came to a painful end. Yeah, nothing went right. The Patriots' defense was supposed to be vulnerable. Their offense wasn't supposed to be as lethal. Heck, the Browns beat this team. And the Browns beat the Saints, too. What's that mean for the Steelers going forward? Their line looks bad -- real bad. The defense can't stop the pass. It's one thing for Drew Brees and all of his weapons to shred them. But Tom Brady doesn't have the talent at receiver that Brees does. Yet, Brady looked magnificent Sunday night. Even Carson Palmer looked good against the Steelers last week. There's no doubt injuries have taken a huge toll. Bu...

The Cincinnati Bengals have been a joke the past decade or two. We're talking Pittsburgh Pirates of the NFL kind of joke. So it's not that surprising that many people want to overlook them this Sunday. After all, the Steelers own the Bengals, especially in Cincinnati where the Black 'n Gold have won eight straight. But this team is different than last year's 4-11-1 squad. For one, Carson Palmer is healthy. I'm sure you remember Palmer, he's the one that led the Bengals to a division title the year the Steelers won the Super Bowl. The Bengals also have a running game with Cedric Benson, who's coming off a 141-yard game against the Packers. It was Benson's third 100-yard game out of his last four. The Bengals have a pass rush, too, which should give the Steelers' offensive line fits. Cincinnati should be 2-0, if it weren't for the miracle finish by the Broncos two weeks ago. And I'm sure the Bengals will be fired up to give the defending champs...