CINCINNATI -- When the Bengals need a big play, they crumble.Thats been their offenses theme all season, and its left them in tenuous position for a sixth straight playoff berth.The fourth quarter has been their undoing.The Bengals (3-5-1) had another late meltdown on Monday night, falling to the New York Giants 21-20 .They entered the fourth quarter with a lead and wasted chances to put the game away, something thats happened repeatedly during their season.Youve got to be at your best in the fourth quarter, and we havent put it together, Andy Dalton said on Wednesday. Weve been close.Its been the most puzzling part of an offense that piles up the yards but not the points, especially when it matters most.Dalton ranks 21st in fourth-quarter passer rating at 85.2. Hes thrown only three touchdown passes in the fourth quarter, all of them when the opponents went soft on defense while finishing off a game with a lead. One came in Pittsburgh, the other two in Dallas.Cincinnati has scored 40 points in the fourth quarter -- its fewest in any quarter -- and has been held to three points or fewer in six of its nine games.Against the Giants, the Bengals had the ball five times after pulling ahead 20-14 midway through the third quarter and managed only 47 yards and three first downs -- one by penalty -- the rest of the way.The reality is weve been in games at the end and just havent been able to find plays, left tackle Andrew Whitworth said.I think it can go one of two ways: You start to develop into a team that doesnt seem to find an answer, or you can turn it around and make it swing in the other direction.Theres not much time left to get it figured out. The defending AFC North champions trail Baltimore (5-4) and Pittsburgh (4-5) heading into the final stretch of the season.Theyve got two games with Baltimore and they host the Steelers, so theres still a chance to catch up, but only if they figure out how to do a better job of protecting Dalton.He was sacked twice on the final series, when the Bengals line got overwhelmed . Dalton has been sacked 28 times, third-most in the NFL behind Indianapolis and Cleveland quarterbacks. The Bengals are on pace to allow 50 sacks for only the seventh time in franchise history.The Bengals are one of the healthiest teams in the league, so thats not been a factor in the diminished pass protection.Its hard to say whats the big difference for this team, Dalton said. The core is together.On Sunday, they host Buffalo (4-5), which leads the league with 30 sacks. A veteran line knows that it has to do better at giving Dalton time against the Bills .As youve been in this league longer, I think more of our guys are going to find that out that (opponents) start to figure you out, how you block and how you do things, and youd better have an answer for it, Whitworth said.Game notesDalton was limited in practice on Wednesday with a sore throwing shoulder, but is expected to play against the Bills. The Bengals held a light workout coming off the Monday night game. ... G Clint Boling (shoulder), TE Tyler Eifert (knee) and WR Bandon LaFell (knee) also were limited in the offenses workouts. LB Rey Maualuga, who was inactive against the Giants because of an injured fibula, practiced on a limited basis. ... DE Wallace Gilberry had a sore calf and didnt fully practice following his first game since re-signing with Cincinnati.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP-NFLCheap Jacksonville Jaguars Jerseys . 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Armstrong played six seasons and won three championships with Michael Jordan, which gives him an up-close, personal and unique perspective on the psyche of the player widely regarded as the greatest of all time.Armstrong, 48, does not believe it impossible for a current player to surpass Jordan, so it was with great interest that he read comments made by LeBron James that appeared Tuesday in a Sports Illustrated article.Now that he has delivered Cleveland its first championship in 52 years, James said his chief motivation is catching or eclipsing Jordan as the best player ever: My motivation is the ghost Im chasing. The ghost played in Chicago.Armstrong, now a player agent who represents Derrick Rose, has some advice for James.Chasing a ghost is in make-believe land, Armstrong told ESPN.com in a telephone conversation. Thats far-out, thats unattainable, thats something you cant achieve. This aint no ghost. If you want to do it, theres a blueprint. Its possible. Theres only one way to get there. Its not possible for him to do what Jordan did because the circumstances are different, everything is different. What is possible for him is to be bigger than every situation thats put in front of him, to dominate every situation thats in front of him.Armstrong, who won titles in Chicago in 1991, 1992 and 1993, said James has to adopt the mentality that comparing himself to any other player, including Jordan, is an insult.This is to LeBron James: If you want to be the best, get rid of the comparisons, Armstrong said. Get rid of all the comparisons that are out there. Thats what Michael Jordan did. Jordan realized that in order to be the best, you had to get rid of all the comparisons.When you compared Jordan to somebody else, it made him more and more upset. That was with guys who played before him, guys he was playing against and guys in the future. He got upset every time [the media] got on TV and started comparing him to other people. When you compared who is the best 2-guard --?Jerry West or Michael Jordan -- he was upset. When you talked about who was the best player in the NBA, he was upset. When you talked about who had the most championships, he was upset.I remember vividly him getting upset. Hes mad right now that somebodys even thinking a guy can get to his level. Jordan tackled them all -- Wilt [Chamberlain], everyone. Everyone from 1946 on, he went after them until there was no one left to compare him to. So my challenge to LeBron is: This ghost has a face to him. So get rid of all the compparisons because Jordan, unequivocally, did not want you to compare him to anyone.ddddddddddddJordan told ESPN.com on Tuesday that he had not read the Sports Illustrated article. When shown LeBrons quotes, he said he would not comment because he had not seen the entire article.When asked how James can eliminate the comparisons to other players, Armstrong said he has to be obsessed with dominating every moment hes on the court, whether in practice, games or summer competition.Every time he steps on the floor, LeBron has to establish that hes the best, said Armstrong, who briefly worked in Chicagos front office after retiring in 2000. Every year is an opportunity for him to raise his level to the best of the best. When another player raises his level and has a great year, LeBron has to move his game to an even higher level. Jordan used every opportunity to establish whos the best. He didnt go to the Olympics to hang out. He went there to establish who was the best.I dont know LeBron, but what I do know in watching todays game is that Michael Jordan was a very unique character -- not physically, but mentally. Jordan never stepped out on the court to have a good time. He stepped out there to establish that he was the best. Every great player he played against. he went after them -- in practice, in games, in the 1984 Olympics, in summer league, in a workout, in the 92 Olympics. He went after me every day in practice. He went after every player every day in practice. He went after every coach -- until, when it was all said and done, there was no one left standing.Armstrong, who played 11 NBA seasons, hopes James is not the only current player who heeds his comments.?Im saying this because this next generation of young players, every time you step on the court, there needs to be a sense of urgency, he said. No joking around. Michael Jordan was the greatest practice player Ive ever seen. He could go and play 40 minutes the night before and then go practice the next day like he was the rest of us -- guys who didnt play.I want these young kids to have that mentality. Jordan had phenomenal talent. He had phenomenal understanding. But he also had a mentality that I havent seen. He had a sense of urgency every time he stepped on the floor. These guys now need to take on that challenge. At the end, well know whether LeBron did it or not when yall stop comparing him to other players. ' ' '