Hurricane Ike has damaged Reliant Stadium in Houston and the Ravens-Texans game is likely postponed. Here's what Rotoworld is reporting:

The Texans/Ravens game scheduled for Monday night will likely be postponed. Reliant Stadium has been badly damaged because of Hurricane Ike.
The stadium, which had chunks of it's roof torn off, may not be ready for several weeks. The NFL should announce what they'll do later Saturday. The Ravens bye week (Week 10) is a possible solution, if the Texans and Bengals can reschedule their game for Week 8, when the teams share a bye.

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So, this could wreak havoc on people's bye weeks. A lot of coaches draft to not have bye conflicts and now they could. Of course, with a natural disaster, this isn't the most important thing, but something to watch closely. 

This is not a post about some boycott or protest aimed at Mike Brown or Marvin Lewis. Those things don't work because those two individuals have proven they could care less about us fans. So, that leaves us in quite a quandary. I've been asked why I don't just find a new team to support. That's an option, but honestly, it's who I am. I AM a Bengals fan (as sad and embarrassing as that is). So, I still cheer for the team and scream when they lose. For the record, it's every fan's right to criticize their team and scream about them. I do not subscribe to the theory that a fan must go along like sheep without criticizing their team. That isn't a fan, that's a cult.

So, back to the predicament of what should a frustrated Bengals fan do, without renouncing their fandom? I suggest, watch the game on TV, cheer, cry, yell or vomit. Then go about your normal business on Sunday. Don't let the Bengals ineptness ruin your weekend. It's just not worth it.

However, the fans who go down to the game, spend loads of cash getting drunk on $7 beers and lining Mike Brown's pockets with money to spend at Frisch's are just signing off on the ineptness. Yes, the only way to truly show your disgust and outrage is to stop spending your money at the stadium. Recent reports have shown ticket prices for the opening season game to be going for less than face value. This is a start. Sell your tickets to whoever you can, even the opposing team's fans. That might not sound like you're being a good fan, but consider it tough love for the Bengals.

Marvin Lewis, Mike Brown and the Bengals players do not deserve a blank check from us fans. They need to know that it's unacceptable to continue this way. The only way to communicate that to them is by closing our wallets to them. This isn't a boycott. This isn't a temporary thing. This is something that is a long-term commitment. And it's something that's going to take sacrifice. Many fans have already invested a lot of money in this team with seat licenses and season tickets. That money has already been spent on hot fudge cake by Mike Brown. You can't get that money back. But you can send a message to Brown that enough is enough by having empty seats. We have to hit rock bottom (for the third time during his ownership by the way) before we can pull out of this. And honestly, as long as Brown is the owner, it might not ever turn around. But I know one thing, as long as fans come, and spend, he won't ever change. 

When Vince Young came out of college early after leading the Texas Longhorns to a national title, many thought he'd be a sure-fire #1 pick. As most rookies do, Young took the intelligence/aptitutde test known as the Wonderlic test. It's both a test that indicates a person's ability to perform tasks expected within a job and their ability to learn new skills, but it also offers a pyschological input into a person as well. Some NFL teams give the test a lot of credence. Others pretty much disregard it.

Vince Young scored one of the lowest scores in the history of the NFL when he took it. His score was allegedly a 6 of a possible 50. So, now that Young had a mental collapse this week and talked of suicide and had his friends and family so worried that authorities were called out to look for a missing Young Monday night, is it even surprising? Was his Wonderlic test completely accurate? It appears now that it was. Another player that scored really poorly on their Wonderlic was Javon Walker. His mental breakdown has been well-documented as well.

According to Wonderlic's web site an average football player usually scores around 20 points and a score of at least 10 points suggests a person is literate.  Furthermore, when the test was given to miscellaneous people of various professions, it was observed that the average participant scored a 24. Do you really want your first round player, someone your'e counting to lead you to a Super Bowl to be iliterate and mentally weak?

So, if I were the GM of a team, I would give more credibility to the players who score highly on this test as the mental rigors of the NFL and the responsibilities of learning plays and reads and schemes is a lot for someone to handle. If they're not wired to handle those pressures, I wouldn't bother investing in them. One last thing to chew on, regardng the Wonderlic, both Chris Henry and Pacman Jones scored 7 on the test.

Let's take a look at some injuries you will want to pay attention leading up to kickoff of Week 2:

Quarterbacks
Ben Roethlisberger - Practiced on Friday and will go at CLE

Running Backs
LaDainian Tomlinson - Should play in great match-up vs. DEN
Ryan Grant - Keep your eyes on this one; a true game-time call
Willis McGahee – Even if he does play, get him out of your lineup
Matt Forte - Battling ankle injury, but likely to go

Wide Receivers
Reggie Brown - Officially listed as questionable; but don't play him
Laveranues Coles - Should get the call against Pats
Jerry Porter - Doesn't offer enough value to risk it
Donte' Stallworth - Doubtful; did not practice all week

Tight Ends
Dallas Clark - Likely to be inactive on Sunday
Dante Rosario - Listed as questionable, but expect him to go
Ben Watson - Making progress, but still can't be counted on