Bengals’ take on ‘D’ gets D-minus

Every week in the NFL is eventful, and it's obvious where most of the attention was focused last week -- the Dawg Pound in Cleveland and O.J. Simpson's arrest in Las Vegas.

Simpson retired as a player in 1979, but with his habit for talking tough, strong-arming people and running into legal trouble, he might consider applying for the Cincinnati Bengals' defensive coordinator position.

The Bengals suffered another defensive meltdown last week as Cleveland put a 51-spot on the board -- more points than Atlanta, Buffalo and Kansas City have combined to score through two weeks.

It has become apparent that defensive futility again will shadow Cincinnati. Coach Marvin Lewis, once heralded as a defensive mastermind, has fielded a stop unit that looks awfully familiar to last season's anemic version that ranked last in the league against the pass and 30th overall.

The Bengals hit the road again today, and longtime Las Vegas handicapper Jim Spatafore said he likes his chances with Seattle as a 31/2-point favorite. He predicts the Seahawks, off a last-second loss at Arizona, will be more motivated.

"After watching last week's results, it's clear the Seahawks beat a decent Tampa Bay team in Week 1, and that was in Seattle," said Spatafore, a former winner of the Las Vegas Hilton SuperContest. "After last week's tough-luck loss, I like the fact Seattle comes back home and has a chance to dissect the same defense Derek Anderson just picked apart."

Anderson, the Browns' young and unproven quarterback, lacks the experience and skills of Seahawks veteran Matt Hasselbeck, who has started a Super Bowl. Spatafore said he had a tough time choosing his top pick this week because of several value plays on the card, but he could not resist siding against the Bengals.

He said Cincinnati won't be able to rebound from a lucky season-opening victory over Baltimore and a marathon 51-45 loss to Cleveland. The Bengals' drained defense now must face the Pro Bowl duo of Hasselbeck and running back Shaun Alexander.

Seattle coach Mike Holmgren is 4-1 in his career against Cincinnati.

"This is certainly not a trip the Bengals are looking to take," Spatafore said. "This one definitely won't go down to the wire. And don't bother buying the hook (half point) because it's not needed."

Spatafore (priflex.com) offers his analysis of the rest of today's Week 3 schedule:

• Indianapolis (-6) at Houston: The Texans' defense is tough, and after showing a lot of character in coming back to beat Carolina last week, it's clear this team was not looking ahead to the Colts. Back at home where they have covered three of the past four in this series, I'll take the points with Houston against Indianapolis, which is off a physical affair with Tennessee. Colts coach Tony Dungy is 4-8 against the line in his past 12 on the road.

• San Diego (-5) at Green Bay: The Chargers have done a lot of traveling the past two weeks, and these excursions follow a lethargic offensive effort in the season opener against Chicago. After two physical games, San Diego runs into a team that is playing with plenty of confidence thanks to an aggressive defense. The Chargers put up a modest 14 points in both games this season, and now they are in a tough spot.

• Minnesota at Kansas City (-3): It's my feeling there are a lot of pretty bad teams in the league this year -- more than usual -- and these are certainly two of them. The only selection I can see being reasonable in this game would be under the total of 33, as both offenses have struggled through the first two weeks. This is a classic 13-10 final that comes in at the end. Who wins? Who cares? Play this under the total.

• Detroit at Philadelphia (-6): After watching the Monday night game, is there anyone who could possibly like the Eagles at minus-7 as the opening number? That's why they're the clear play. This is a classic oddsmakers trap that is begging the bettor to take the Lions. Why would Philly lay seven points to a team that is 2-0? I'd like the Lions more at plus-4 than I would at plus-7. Lay the chalk with the home team, as the linesmaker is telling us something.

• Buffalo at New England (-161/2): The Bills have scored a total of 17 points the first two games and now have to play arguably the best team in the NFL. The Patriots opened the season with identical 38-14 victories over the Jets and Chargers, and should have no trouble duplicating that domination this week. After losing in the final seconds to Denver in Week 1, Buffalo did nothing to establish its rushing game against Pittsburgh, and quarterback J.P. Losman was sacked four times. The Bills' offense will struggle again.

• Miami at New York Jets (-3): Now on the other side of the pointed finger, Jets coach Eric Mangini will have something to prove here. Ravens coach Brian Billick said the Jets' defense shouted out signals to intentionally throw off the Baltimore offense last week. New York put a scare into the Ravens with less than a minute left. The Jets finally get a win this week against division rival Miami. The Jets beat the Dolphins twice last season and have won five of six in the series.

• San Francisco at Pittsburgh (-9): Go with the favorite in this one, as we have to keep in mind how tough this Pittsburgh defense has been in two blowouts. In Week 1, the Steelers stymied a Browns team that just put up 51 points on the Bengals. Pittsburgh, which could be one of the top three teams in the AFC, wins by double digits.

• Arizona at Baltimore (-71/2): The Ravens will get things going at home against a Cardinals team that coasts in after an emotional last-second win over the Seahawks. Arizona quarterback Matt Leinart will find it tough to deal with linebacker Ray Lewis and Baltimore's rocking home crowd. The Ravens are 21-9-2 in their past 32 games as home favorites.

• St. Louis at Tampa Bay (-4): This could be construed as my Upset Special of the Week. Tampa Bay has gotten everyone's attention with a big win over New Orleans. The Saints simply cannot run-and-shoot against the "Cover 2" defense, but the Rams will be able to handle it. Look for St. Louis to bounce back in a game that should be decided by a field goal either way.

• Jacksonville at Denver (-3): The Broncos let a 17-3 lead slip away and almost got beat by Oakland. Look for Denver's defense to play huge against an overrated Jaguars offense, and Broncos quarterback Jay Cutler will snap out of it and respond to a horrible decision-making performance last week. If Denver can hold its opponent to fewer than 100 net passing yards for the third consecutive game, this should be a cakewalk.

• Cleveland at Oakland (-3): The Raiders come in off a heartbreaking loss in a game they should have won. That had to shake them up. The Browns can beat Oakland at home, on the road or on a neutral field. Cleveland had a confidence-building performance last week and will take advantage of Oakland's defense in this one. Look for the Browns' balanced attack to roll.

• Carolina (-4) at Atlanta: This appears to be a trap line, so I would rather look at the total. For the Falcons to straighten things out, they must key in on the Carolina weaknesses that the Texans found last week. Neither defense has shown me anything, so it looks as if over the total (37) is the play.

• New York Giants at Washington (-4): Look for the 2-0 Redskins to keep it going against a beat-up New York team. The same way we saw Tony Romo and Brett Favre dismantle the Giants secondary, we're going to see Washington quarterback Jason Campbell have his best outing of the season. Let's not forget the Redskins are playing a divisional game, and with the Cowboys in a tough matchup with Chicago, coach Joe Gibbs' bunch will want to keep the momentum going while hoping Dallas loses in the late game.

• Dallas at Chicago (-3): The result of the Redskins-Giants game will be known by kickoff of this one, forcing the Cowboys to come out with guns blazing, and that isn't a tough chore with the weapons they have on offense. The surprise in this game is not going to be how well Romo moves his offense, but how Dallas' defense stifles Bears quarterback Rex Grossman.

Compiled by Review-Journal sportswriter Matt Youmans.