The Bengals are like a super-manipulative party who convinces you they are going to change just as you are about to give up on the relationship. They lost the must win game a week ago, and yet a glimmer of hop appears in Cartier glasses.

Joe Burrow was a full participant at practice this week, which as we all know in light of the Lamar Jackson saga means he is not just practice but taking starter reps.

With Joe, anything is possible. It is not likely, but all of the sudden running the table doesn't seem crazy. Infeasible, sure, but not crazy. Of course, the Bengals will be without Ja'Marr Chase, who gave Jalen Ramsey a Romanowski hello last weekend. Still, where there is Joe Burrow, there is hope.

But does it even matter?

This defense isn't getting any better.

Al Golden told us after Week 1 that he didn't want to play Trey Hendrickson that much because it wasn't good for him, but that they had to in order to win. He nailed that take and he hasn't made a good call since (bada tish!). Seriously, Hendrickson was overworked and now he's hurt. The defense without him is... I don't even have a word. Whatever the opposite of "scrumtrulescent*" is.

The rookies who needed to step up defensively, have stepped left and right and do-si-doed, but definitely not stepped up. In fact, as the weeks go on and on, this unit is looking more and more like a complete overhaul.

Yeah, the defense is bad, so let's all just sit in the corner rocking back and former muttering to ourselves "Joe is coming, Joe is coming," like Bart Simpson at Kamp Krusty,

*"Scrumtrulescent" is a made-up word from an old Will Ferrell Saturday Night Live Sketch in which he played James Lipton from Inside the Actors Studio

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