Carson Palmer, Cincinnati Bengals / Image: Zuma Press

After the game, quarterback Carson Palmer credited his team’s work in the trenches:

“We kept grinding, and at the end of the day, I think the offensive line won that battle up front and pushed them around and gave us a chance to finish off that last drive with a field goal. We had a couple of nice first downs on some runs, and kept battling. And if you’re winning with field goals, you win. If you’re winning with touchdowns, you win. We’ll take a win any way we can get it.”

Check out these facts. It was the first time since 1998 the Bengals have season-swept the Steelers. And they essentially opened a two-game lead on Pittsburgh because they own the tiebreaker, should it come down to that. Plus, for the first time in the team’s history, the Bengals are 5-0 in the AFC North. Who dey! Who dey! Who dey think gonna beat dem Bengals? In the AFC North, nobody.

Sources: Bengals.com, NFL.com

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Bengals Take Control of AFC North

Cincinnati Bengals / Image: Zuma Press

A lot of teams would consider this type of coverage more of a distraction than anything else, but Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis isn’t one of them:

“I think our football team is beyond that point. I think we’ve got a mature group of guys that are fighting for jobs. They won’t notice the cameras. We know there will be special things that guys will be a part of; I think that way we’re mature enough. Steve (Sabol, NFL Films) has approached me before and we didn’t come to the same conclusion. This time I did because I think we’re in a different step in the team’s maturity and where we are. I think it’s great for our fans. I felt like we could handle this.”

I love this show. It’s easily my favorite reality series and it typically offers a very unique look inside an NFL organization. As a fan of the league, you’ve got to love that. You get to know a handful of the players quite well and it’s usually very compelling from week-to-week. Hard Knocks launched with the Baltimore Ravens in 2001 (still the best season to-date), followed by the Dallas Cowboys in 2002. After an unexplained five-year layoff, the series resumed in 2007 with the Kansas City Chiefs (blah) and the 2008 edition, which received a Sports Emmy Award for Outstanding Post Produced Audio/Sound, featured the Cowboys for the second time.

I have to think the Bengals were way down on the list of teams HBO and NFL Films wanted to see on the Hard Knocks series. I mean, the Bengals are coming off a 4-11-1 season and I have little reason to believe they will be much better in 2009. I’m so discouraged by the choice, I wonder if we’ll see another season of Hard Knocks after this one? The reason is I’m not sure there will be any teams willing to allow this kind of insider coverage anymore. I hope I’m wrong, but by choosing the Cincinnati Bengals as their featured team, I think NFL Films is sending a bleak message: We couldn’t get anyone else to do it!

Nevertheless, I’ll be watching. Receiver Chad Johnson Ochocinco will keep things interesting and should be worth the price of admission alone. And it will be intriguing to see Dhani Jones back in his natural environment after observing him in his “world traveler” role on The Travel Channel’s Dhani Tackles the Globe. But the Bengals aren’t even close to having the cast of characters the Dallas Cowboys showcased last year. Not that the show needs that, but I’m wondering how entertaining the Cincinnati Bengals will be.

Source: Bengals.com

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Bengals Land HBO ‘Hard Knocks’ Series

National Football League Blogcast, NFL Blogcast

Hard Knocks: Training Camp With the Dallas Cowboys debuts tonight on HBO. The first sports-based reality series — and one of the fastest-turnaround reality series — kicks off its fourth season at 10 p.m. ET. Subsequent hour-long episodes air each Wednesday at the same time, culminating in the September 3 season finale, with regular encore plays on Thursdays. HBO playdates for episode one: August 7 (3:30 p.m., midnight), August 8 (11:00 p.m.), August 9 (10:00 a.m., 11:40 p.m.), August 10 (11:30 a.m., 11:15 p.m.) and August 11 (10:30 a.m.). HBO2 playdates for episode one: August 8 (8:00 p.m.), August 15 (7:00 p.m.) and August 23 (11:30 a.m.).

The five-episode cinema verité series will focus on the daily lives and routines of players and coaches as the Dallas Cowboys prep for the 2008 NFL season. A 24-person NFL Films crew will live at the Cowboys’ training camp, shooting more than 700 hours of video over the course of the series. Camera and sound crews will be given unencumbered access to the players and coaches meeting rooms, training rooms, dormitories and practice fields. The Cowboys are training in Oxnard, Cal., right now and will return to Dallas in mid-August.

Source: HBO

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HBO’s ‘Hard Knocks’ Debuts Tonight

Blogcasting the National Football League, Blogcasting the NFL

The Dallas Cowboys‘ 2008 training camp in Oxnard, CA, will once again be featured as part of the HBO series Hard Knocks. With its reality TV appeal and rare insider access, Hard Knocks has easily been one of my all-time favorite television programs. It has not been a regular series, but NFL Films’ previous work with the Baltimore Ravens (2001) and Cowboys (2002) was brilliant. Sadly, last season’s return (they had mysteriously taken four years off) with the Kansas City Chiefs was forgettable.

Some people can’t miss an episode of Lost. Others wait all week for another dose of American Idol. For my money — and I am paying because it’s on HBO — it just doesn’t get any better than Hard Knocks. And even though I’m not a Cowboys fan, with the likes of celebrity NFLers like Tony Romo, Terrell Owens and Pacman Jones in camp, it’s sure to be an interesting journey. It will also give owner Jerry Jones an opportunity to present his warm, fuzzy side to a national viewing audience for five episodes beginning August 6. Who among you can resist?

Source: cbs11tv.com, Photo: Newscom

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Cowboys to Star in HBO Series ‘Hard Knocks’

Some people can’t miss an episode of Survivor. Others wait all week for another dose of Amazing Race. For my money, it just doesn’t get any better than HBO’s NFL reality series Hard Knocks. After a four-year hiatus, the series finally continues with Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Kansas City Chiefs. The previous installments featured the Baltimore Ravens (2001) and Dallas Cowboys (2002) and they were some of the best “insider” television shows covering the NFL I have ever seen. I would literally cancel any plans to see this show. The HBO cameras, in association with NFL Films, will be given exclusive access to meetings and practice for the Chiefs’ five-week training camp in River Falls, WI. The series starts August 8. I’m counting the days.

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HBO to Feature Kansas City Chiefs on Season 3 of ‘Hard Knocks’