Dey the 49ers....dey always the 49ers...

I'm embarrassed to have almost worn the colors of the Cincinnati Bengals. Worst offense in the league, and Cincinnati let them run wild.

Yes, the 49ers beat the Bengals 20-13 in a game where the Bengals clearly had more talent on offense but seemed out of rhythm all night. Worse yet, the 49ers 1st-round draft pick (owned by the Patriots) just dropped from #2 to about #6.

Thoughts:

-49ers fans sure are pessimistic this year. It's like they kept expecting bad things to happen, and when they're team grabbed a lead, they didn't know how to react. When third-string QB Shaun Hill kept making things happen, they happily jumped for joy and, believe it or not, started yelling about how this guy might be the starter next year. Talk about jumping the gun. I don't think that guy completed a pass over 15 yards all night long.

-Speaking of which, how the Bengals let him dink and dunk all over them was pathetic. Not only could they not stop the run, they couldn't even get a stop in known passing situations. The height of embarrassment came with 2 minutes left, when the 49ers ran a draw on 3rd and 9 and converted the first down to win the game. Pitiful.

-Bengals receivers seemed open all night, but Palmer couldn't hit them consistently. Nowhere was this more apparent than on crucial 3rd down situations. Couldn't tell whose fault it was, but those conversions were probably the difference in the game. Look, we know the Bengals defense sucks, but a lot of money has been spent on that offense--too much for them to be so sloppy.

-As for the live game experience, it's always fun when the crowd is into it. And by the 4th quarter, when it looked like the 49ers really had a shot at winning the game, the crowd was definitely into it. Despite cheering for the Bengals, not a single hometown fan said one mean word to me, nor did I get a single dirty look from anyone. That was pretty nice. It leaves the door wide open for me to return to Monster Park next year when the Pats come to town.

-Those players seem a lot faster live than they do on TV. And definitely faster than on Madden football. But I do like being able to see the whole field of play, especially the secondary. It really is difficult to figure out what the coverage is when things are moving so fast.