hey, they AREN'T talking about ericsson stadium!

Bengals’ field assailed again|
|By JOE KAY|
|AP Sports Writer|
CINCINNATI (AP) — One game into the season, the Cincinnati Bengals are already on the defensive about the condition of their grass playing field.
San Diego’s Rodney Harrison strained his groin when the grass gave way last Sunday during the Chargers’ 34-6 victory, leaving the Pro Bowl safety sidelined for several weeks.
Bengals receiver and kick returner T.J. Houshmandzadeh also slipped and aggravated his groin during the game, leaving players wondering whether they’re in for another long season of sliding around.
‘‘I don’t think it was like that last year for our first home game,’’ Houshmandzadeh said Thursday. ‘‘It’s starting to kick up grass. They’re putting dirt in to replace the divots. It might be worse. You can’t really tell.’’
The field at Paul Brown Stadium was one of the NFL’s worst in its first two seasons, prompting one team to complain to the league office.
The Bengals insisted they had fixed the problem this year, but the grass came up in clumps during the first two preseason games. They put in new sod at the worst spots for the season opener last Sunday.
There were fewer divots, but a lot of slips and at least one injury attributed to the field.
‘‘On grass in every football stadium in America, whether it’s high school, college or professional, you’re going to have people that have a footing issue now and again,’’ said Troy Blackburn, the Bengals’ director of business development. ‘‘It happens everywhere. Just turn on the television and you can see it. But I think the field has performed much better this year.’’
But players think otherwise.
‘‘Worst field I’ve ever played on in my life,’’ Harrison said Wednesday in San Diego. ‘‘Worse than Philly’s. I just don’t understand how you can spend all that money for a new stadium and have the worst grass in the NFL. It’s horrible. It’s disgraceful.
‘‘You were slipping and sliding throughout the game, and big chunks of grass would just come up. Amazing.’’
Chargers receiver Tim Dwight was stunned when he went onto the field to warm up before the game and saw the condition of the grass. He asked some Bengals players about it.
‘‘For an NFL field, it’s a joke,’’ Dwight said. ‘‘Even they hate it. They’re like, ’We don’t like playing on this.’’’
Bengals players were just as stunned as Dwight when they went onto the field for the first time in preseason and the grass came up in chunks.
‘‘We were like, ’Golly, it’s our first game and the grass is like this?’’’ Houshmandzadeh said.
The Bengals are responsible for maintaining the field at the publicly owned stadium, which opened for the 2000 season. The first-year grass quickly deteriorated, but the Bengals chose not rep-sod
The Jacksonville Jaguars complained to the league after the Bengals left the field uncovered and a storm came through before the final home game of 2000, turning the field into a mess.
The Bengals installed a different type of grass last season, but it, too, came up in clumps. Hamilton County officials considered putting in artificial turf in the offseason, but decided to stick with grass and have the Bengals re-sod more often.
Parts of the field were re-sodded after a Billy Graham mission at the stadium this summer. When areas near the goal lines came up during preseason games, those were re-sodded
The club also is using more dirt and less sand in the base this year, hoping for better results.
During a timeout Sunday, Bengals’ quarterback Gus Frerotte walked around and pushed grass clumps back into place with his foot. Houshmandzadeh did the same thing before kickoffs.
The Bengals have been fortunate that none of their stars has suffered a major injury. Houshmandzadeh wonders what would happen if Corey Dillon or Takeo Spikes got hurt.
‘‘Let CD go down or Spikes because of that,’’ he said. ‘‘Then there would be some thought into it. I think they’re doing the best they can. They might be getting some bad sod or something.’’

 

First thing I noticed when I walked in the stadium last Sunday was our grass - said to myself... damn, that field looks good.

Guess the money Richardson saved hiring Fox vs a few other high price tag coaches went to good use.

 

You sure this guy didn`t fall because his jersey was too heavy? Is that the longest last name in the NFL?

 

Not only that, I heard on ESPN radio, the announcer was raging Cincy for being the only team in the NFL didn't sell out enough tickets to avoid a black out for the home opener.

Even if it's bad respect, we get no respect.