Consider for a moment the storm that Cincinnati Bengals coach Marvin Lewis is trying to weather with his team off to a 1-2 start:
» Two of his high-profile players, Cedric Benson and Adam "Pacman" Jones, are appealing suspensions handed down by the NFL for offseason arrests.
» Another one of his players, wide receiver Jerome Simpson, is at the center of a marijuana investigation after a 2½-pound package of the drug was tracked to his Kentucky home from Northern California.
» And he has a rookie quarterback (Andy Dalton) and a rookie wide receiver (A.J. Green) trying to jump-start the offense.
» All the while, fans in Cincinnati have stopped caring, judging by the show of people in the stands for Sunday's home opener (for the record: 43,363 in 65,500-seat Paul Brown Stadium).
So what happens Monday? Lewis basically guarantees victory over the Buffalo Bills -- who are 3-0 and the NFL's hottest team.
"We're early in the year. We've got a lot of season ahead of us," Lewis said, according to The Associated Press. "And you know, at the end of the week when we're 2-2, there's going to be probably the other third of the league in the same situation."
Is it out of the realm of possibility for the Bengals to upset an emotionally drained Bills team still trying to handle success? Not at all. But we also didn't expect Lewis to come out strong the day after an ugly 13-8 loss to the San Francisco 49ers -- all things considered.
For that, we'll give the normally reserved Lewis credit for pulling out the stops to rally the troops. Too bad Carson Palmer won't buy into it.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
