Comment from John Thornton, reader e-mails

Time for some house cleaning on Thursday morning. First an item that was cut from the Bengals notebook that ran in this morning's Enquirer and some reader e-mail taking me to task for picking Denver to defeat the Bengals on Monday night.

First this piece of a note that was cut for space reasons this morning. It's a pretty interesting
quote from Bengals defensive tackle John Thornton, a guy with a definite future in the media, if
he chooses that path. McNair, by the way, was listed as questionable Wednesday with a sternum injury. He missed practice because of a death in his family.

Bengals tackle John Thornton, a former Titan, thinks McNair will play (Sunday). McNair has 20
touchdown passes and a 9-3 record against the Bengals.

"If he doesn't play that just tells you what the Titans think about us," Thornton said. "These
guys need this game. They're at the bottom of their division, too. If he doesn't play then they
feel like their backup can beat us."

Now for the letters from gloating Bengals fans:

Question, from Melvin in Norfolk, Va. (Xenia native): Hello Mr. Crunette: I just want to say you have a hard job, but I have to quote you: "It will be many weeks before I pick the Bengals to win again, REGARDLESS OF THE OPPONENT. Bengal 23, Broncos 10."

At least I have to give you credit. You did not write a demeaning article titled, "BENGALS, DON'T EMBARRASS US." It would only be fair if today's headline would read, "Paul Daugherty, DON'T EMBARRASS US AGAIN" on national TV with your predictions of doom for the Bengals.
I am sorry about that, but when I read that article today, it really made me mad. And I am so happy for the Bengals and Cincinnati.

Answer: I, too, am happy for the Bengals and Cincinnati. But my job is to write as honestly as I can. I thought the Bengals would lose. I thought they would win at Pittsburgh and Cleveland. Shows you what I know.

Here's a hint: I'm picking Tennessee to win Sunday.

Here's what I'm happiest about: As a Hamilton County resident and taxpayer, I'm glad to see the county and city getting some return on the investment in Paul Brown Stadium. Regardless of the lease details and whether one thinks the Bengals have an unfairly generous deal, downtown has been busy and crowded -- much like other NFL cities we visit -- on game days and nights for the past season. Starting with the Kansas City game last season, the last six home attendance marks have been the biggest in Bengals franchise history. A competitive Bengals team is drawing people and their money to the city. That's why the stadium was built.

As for Paul's column, he did a good job of capturing the mood of the city and the team's fans. I heard much the same expression of mixed excitement and dread in the days leading up to the game. ABC showed Paul's column twice because it thought the headline was an accurate depiction of the city's mindset leading up to the Monday night game. Not that he needs my support, but I agree with Paul.

As for the spelling of my last name ... never mind. I'm used to it.

Question, from Joyce in Landen: I could not believe what you said when they interviewed you last night on national television. I never give up on the Bengals, but apparently you have!

Answer: I wish it were national television, but Joyce is referring to a short spot I did on WCPO-TV's pre-game show. I simply said the Bengals didn't have much chance to win and were facing difficult matchup problems. To their credit, and I congratulate them, the Bengals defeated Denver decisively.

I stand by the pick. I was proven incorrect. My job description, by the way ... oh, never mind.

Question, from Anurag in Blue Ash: This really isn't a question so much as a comment. I have been to all three home games, and I wanted to tell you a little something about the fans. The group of people that I go to the games with would be filed under the "Loud and Rowdy" category.

We were told to sit down numerous timess during both the Miami and Baltimore games. It was SO nice to finally go to a home game where almost everyone was up and yelling on every down. It was safe to say that the Jungle was ROARING through that whole Monday Night Game. GOOD JOB FANS!!! That is how it should be on all home games!!!

Answer: The fans were amazingly loud and supportive. Lewis has commented many times about how the fans have helped to create a definite home-field advantage.

Along the same lines, it will be interesting to see the balance of the home crowds for the Pittsburgh and Cleveland games and whether those team's fans were able to get a lot of tickets at Paul Brown Stadium. As you know, in the past, you couldn't tell from crowd noise who was the home team, especially against the Steelers because they travel so many thousands of fans and have a national fan base.

Question, from Michael in Dayton: What happened to the Bengals wearing the orange jerseys for special occasions ... like "Monday Night Football"?

Answer: Lewis answered that Wednesday. He thought the Monday night game was special enough in itself and wanted to save the orange shirts for other games. So the Bengals will wear them at home against Dallas and Cleveland with the new black pants.