FanHouse BobBratkowski

FanHouse colleague Ryan Wilson stated that the Bengals are giving up on the season by shutting down quarterback Carson Palmer for the season. I think that is a great idea.

The Cincinnati Bengals are 0-7 and still have the Steelers, Eagles, Redskins, Ravens, Colts and Jaguars remaining on the schedule. Needless to say, this season looks like it has already been lost. Heck, fans are hoping they go 0-16 just to prove a point to owner Mike Brown.

There is no need for Palmer to try to play at any point this season. Lose the battle and win the war. Get your elbow fixed and ready to roll for the 2009 season. In sports, there is no honor in being stupid. Take the time to research the surgery, get the proper advice and information, and then do what you have to do to be ready for '09.

As for the Bengals organization, you'd be best served to use the rest of this season as a big job audition. Just like the consultants did in Office Space, have everyone re-apply for their job and weed out the weak.

Bengals fans hate a lot of people right now and pretty much everyone associated with the organization in on that list. The guy with the most heat after owner Mike Brown may surprise you: Offensive coordinator Bob Bratkowski.

Fans see the offense as unimaginative, predictable and have long questioned the play calling. He came to Cincy in 2001 and has lasted through coaching changes. Just a few years ago, Bratkowski helmed one of the NFL's best offenses.

Fans have wanted his head over the past couple of seasons and that has affected how he feels about the job:

"Oh, it's no fun at all," Bratkowski said. "But it's my job and, just like everybody else, we keep going forward. You have to have a short memory, and you have to go forward. That's what we do. You have very little time to sit around and feel sorry for yourself or pout because the next (game) comes up real fast."

Now when a coach anyone says "it's my job", they usually wish they were somewhere else. Offensive coordinators rarely says stuff like that because it isn't like they are right in the media's crossfires. They spend the week in film rooms, meetings and practice and don't have time to see outside the forest.

Maybe this has something to do with why NFL coaches don't hate Chad Johnson as much as Terrell Owens: Johnson means well, and when pressed, he usually caves to his employer's demands. That's not necessarily a bad thing, particularly when there's no indication that the people who pay his salary aren't treating him unfairly.

By now, the story is familiar to most of us: Johnson used the offseason to try to get out of Cincinnati, the Bengals -- specifically, head coach Marvin Lewis -- told him it wasn't happening, no matter how much bellyaching he did, and when the team threatened to fine Johnson for missing mandatory workouts, he magically changed his attitude.

And now, some six months after he started the "Anywhere but Cincy in '08" campaign, Mr. Ocho Cinco comes bearing an olive branch.

Disgruntled Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Chad Johnson participated, for the first time this off-season, in a full team practice.

Maybe that means Johnson is starting to accept the fact that he signed a contract with the Bengals and he's going to have to abide by it. Or maybe it means nothing at all. After all, the only thing Johnson would say to reporters afterward is "Vote for Obama."

Ordinarily I'd say picking up the endorsement of a high-profile athlete in what might be the most important swing state would have to be a major coup for Barack Obama. But considering how many Cincinnati fans Johnson has alienated recently, John McCain might be pleased to hear this news.

So how did Johnson look on the field? "He's rusty," offensive coordinator Bob Bratkowski said of Johnson. "I told him he looked rusty. Nobody likes to hear that. He's going against guys who have been out here for 14, 16 practices, you know. You're going to look that way."