We are dealing with team management that would rather reinsert a criminal into the locker room who no one talks to (Henry) than keep around a seasoned vet who is (was) a team leader (Anderson). 

We are dealing with team management who has let the best offensive lineman that this team has seen in at least 15 years slip away (Eric Steinbach). 

We are dealing with team management who has continually shown that they don't have any clue on how to win in this league (Mike 'Turdbox' Brown).  Speaking of which, here's an interesting stat.  The Bengals record before Mike Brown took over the team was hovering right around .500.  To be more specific, the Bengals record was 174-181 before Mikey took over as president, a winning percentage of 49%.  The Bengals record AFTER Mikey took over?  94-162.  A winning percentage of 36.7%.  This is what happens when someone who doesn't know anything about football tries to manage a professional team.

We are also dealing with management who doesn't know how to draft properly. 

For an example, take a look at the Indianapolis Colts and what they've managed to do with thier first round picks from 1994 to 2002 as compared to the Bengals:

1994 - Marshall Faulk (future Hall of Famer)                             1994 - Dan Wilkinson (relative bust)
1995 - Ellis Johnson (avg. 5.1 sacks over 10 years)                  1995 - Ki-Jana Carter (bust)
1996 - Marvin Harrison (future HOF)                                        1996 - Willie Anderson (4x Pro Bowler)
1997 - Tarik Glenn (3x Pro Bowler, played 10 years)                1997 - Reinard Wilson (bust)
1998 - Peyton Manning (future HOF)                                        1998 - Takeo Spikes (2x Pro Bowler...after he left the Bengals)
1999 - Edgerrin James (4x PB, Off. NFL lead rusher 2x)            1999 - Akili Smith (Oh....my....god....)
2000 - Rob Morris (relative bust, played 7 seasons, though       2000 - Peter Warrick (Bust...never caught more than 817 yards in a season)
2001 - Reggie Wayne (one of top 3 WRs in NFL, 2x Pro Bowler) 2001 - Justin Smith (Lead team in sacks 3 of first 5 years with team, now with SF)
2002 - Dwight Freeney(3x PB, NFL sack leader 2004 w/ 16)       2002 - Levi Jones (No notable acheivements)

The difference is staggering.  The Colts have also added players like Bob Sanders, Joseph Addai, Dallas Clark and Anthony Gonzalez in recent years with first round picks, not to mention guys like Ryan Diem, Mike Peterson, Cato June and Antoine Bethea through the draft.  It's really no wonder why the Bengals continue to fail where other teams succeed. 

Does the beginning to this season even really surprise anyone, though?  We are talking about the Bungles here.  They looked awful in the preseason against teams that were giving 75% and the o-line let Carson get his face crushed.  I think Marvin Lewis is a pretty good coach.  Let's face it, he's the best coach we've had since Sam Wyche, bar none.  If we get rid of Marvin, we could EASILY end up with another Dave "Steakhouse" Shula or Bruce "The Spitting Cobra" Coslet.  Marvin is one of only two Bengals head coaches (Forrest Gregg) to have a winning record at this time.  Of course, that's likely to change after this season.

NFL bengals, mike brown, marvin lewis