THE BROO VIEW with Ken Broo

Almost as amazing as the Bengals non-contending this season, almost, is the leathargic play of the Baltimore Ravens. The two teams meet again this Sunday in Maryland. While the Bengals have shown no life defensively, the Ravens haven't had a pulse when they've had the football. A lot of that can be traced back to an historical problem for the Ravens: no legitimate quarterback. In fact, the last legit QB the Ravens had, was Trent Dilfer. And the Ravens ran him off.

This predicament is strange for the Ravens, since their head coach, Brian Billick had the reputation of being an offensive 'genius' before arriving in Baltimore. The incumbant QB is former Titan, Steve McNair. He would appear to have arrived in Baltimore with his best days behind him. Yet McNair said in this article in the Baltimore Sun, he can still play the game.

But McNair should know well how to beat the Bengals. He saw them enough when the Titans played in the Bengals division. And it took six Bengals' take aways for Cincinnati to beat the Ravens in this season's opener. That seven point win was sealed, only when a bad call was made on an apparent game tying touchdown catch by Todd Heap.

Just posted today on my web site: www.kenbroo.com is the latest "Broo View Podcast". I've got comments from Bengals Carson Palmer, TJ Houshmandzadeh, and Rudi Johnson. You can find the latest "Broo View Podcast" in the "Podcast & More section.

My alma mater went down hard last night in Akron. The 2007 season hasn't been as sweet at 2006 for the Ohio Bobcats. They lost a lot of talent from that surprising team. But along the way, the Bobcats also forgot how to tackle. They've lost too many games this season because their defense has been unable to get off the field. I hear Frank Solich (and let me say again what a rare, lucky break it was to lure him to Athens, Ohio) has a stout recruiting class lined up for 2008. Among his signees will be players who'll allow him to play more of a ball control offense and an agressive defense. I'm told the recruiting class will include players who'll be able to contribute immediately. Stay tuned on this one. As long as Ohio can hold onto Solich and their bright, young athletic director, Kirby Hocutt, the 'Cats will be fine.

Wait until you see how slow the free agent market will be in Major League Baseball this winter. With the breaking news today that 11 free agents are linked to the on going steroid and HGH investigation, teams will be wary of wading into that water. Which makes the Indians re-upping with Paul Byrd all the more curious.

I'm talking sports, as always, this Sunday morning on 700 WLW and 1530 WCKY in Cincinnati. I'll be on the air from 9am until Noon. If you live outside the greater Cincinnati area and would like to tune in, WLW is available on XM channel 173.

Sunday night, we'll break down the Bengals vs Ravens game on Sports Rock!. We roll right after Sunday Night Football on Cincinnati's WLWT Channel 5.