Thus another Bengals season comes to a close.  They got to play one more game than usual this season by virtue of making the playoffs.  The Bengals were the proverbial blind squirrel this year, and they found their nut thanks to a better than average defense, a solid running game, an off year by the Steelers, and some lucky bounces.  I'm not going to do a retrospective for the entire season, there are better sources for that.  I just wanted to post some thoughts after simmering down after watching the team play like crap doing their playoff loss to the Jets.

• Shayne Graham needs to go.  It would be folly to blame the loss on him, even though he did miss two short field goals and most likely killed momentum.  He simply can't make clutch kicks, and his kickoffs have never been that great.
• Bratkowski needs to be fired.  Dude has been with the team too long, and his play-calling is unimaginative and predictable.  Perhaps he still has some coaching skills, but I think a change of scenery would be good for both parties.
• The offense needs some draft help.  The offensive line performed fairly well this year, considering that there were several new starters over last year, but they did a lot better at run-blocking than pass-blocking.  I'm sure that's a large reason for the emphasis on the run this year.  Wide receiver is a definite need.  I wouldn't have said this a few years ago, but Ochocinco was the only reliable receiver this year.  He still has a few good years left in him, but he needs help on the other side. 
• Cedric Benson is a beast!  Chicago's loss is our gain.  Dude plays with passion, runs hard and seems to be a great "team-first" player.  That may not have been the case in Chicago, but it is now.
• The defense had a good year, but isn't quite elite.  This unit did suffer some pretty bad injuries this year, but the backups did play fairly well.  However, once you start needing to rely on backups of backups, it's going to show.  Safety is definitely a need in the draft.  The starters were decent, but there is no depth - Tom Nelson is simply not good.  The Bengals need to retain Zimmer!

Overall, despite making the playoffs, the season was a failure.  Sure, winning the division is nice, and before 2005 merely making the playoffs would have been a miracle.  But, over 1 /3 of the teams in the league make the playoffs!  Big deal!  Accepting a "one and done" season as successful is the loser's mentality that allows Mike Brown to keep operating the way he has been.  The team is no longer the dregs of the NFL, but they certainly can't be counted on to make a serious run at a championship.  Yes, this season was far better than I had anticipated.  But they had a good shot at winning their first playoff game since 1990, and they failed.  As for the future... I wouldn't hold my breath.  Mike Brown has never made a public pronouncement that he wants to win a championship.  He is satisfied with "competence", which is where the team is now.  The next few months through the draft will be very telling.