Bengals' Jeremy Hill: "It's now or never"

CINCINNATI - So close, yet so far have the Cincinnati Bengals been in recent years in their quest for their first Super Bowl championship.

For four straight seasons this club has been in postseason contention behind quarterback Andy Dalton and head coach Marvin Lewis, and four straight seasons they were excused in the first weekend.

Any sense of urgency that should be felt in that town seems to be felt the greatest by the guy who has only seen one of those defeats, second-year back Jeremy Hill.

"It's now or never," he told ESPN. "It's been four years in a row, and if it doesn't happen this year, then it's probably never going to happen. That's the mentality and the sense of urgency that we bring in every day. Something has to change."

What won't change is the man leading them from the sideline, who owner Mike Brown, son of Paul, who founded the franchise after being fired from his namesake Browns by Art Modell, has seen fit to keep around for twelve years, even signing him through 2016. 

The Queen City has failed to secure a victory in the playoffs since 1990, the longest drought running in pro football.

"Getting to the playoffs every year, that's cool and all, but we want to get to the next level," Hill added. "The sense of urgency needs to pick up and just the get-up and the want-to-do it. Everyone has that mentality right now and that's going to definitely help us going into the season."

These Bengals have the talent to get into a fifth straight playoff berth, but if they get bounced again on that first Sunday, somebody in that front office may just get the brilliant idea to go shopping for a new head coach.