Monday Morning Quarterback

My office overlooks Paul Brown Stadium and today the plaza looks as cold, gray and vacant as if an epic letdown had not happened there Sunday. The sinking of our collective hearts into our collective stomachs on the second play of the game was as close to a communal trauma as this town has shared since...what, they put Olestra into Pringles?

My reaction cartoon won't run until Tuesday, so I tried to fast-forward my thinking to the mood we might share by then. In my book, the Bengals have done their job if they simply get us to mid-January without our contemplating the existential abyss of the gray midwestern winter. We'll eventually look up from our frustration to realize we had a blast this season (and it's only six weeks until pitchers and catchers report to spring training.) Maybe it's my job to thank them for us.

I like the idea of the fans signing Carson Palmer's cast with a thank you, but my pencil rough looks awfully static. I'm playing with variations on the composition, hoping for something more dynamic.