The Only Thing I Care About Right Now

[Wes Mantooth]

The only thing I really care about right now is injuries, and to be more specific, I'm hoping for a lack of them. I obviously don't want to see anyone go down with anything that's going to cause them to miss games.

Why am I telling you this? Well, because there's been quite a few threads about camp. There's been talk about Carman's place on the depth chart, there's been talk about Burrow and the offense, the defense, etc. And look, I get it. I understand that is all we have to talk about, and that camp is important for guys to get going. I've just never been one that has put much stock in reports from camp, or even how the team looks in the preseason.

I've seen too many guys get glowing reviews from camp, who then go on to have shitty seasons. And I've seen too many players struggle in camp, or sit it out, who go on to have fantastic seasons. I've also seen too many teams look great in the preseason look like trash in the regular season. And I've seen teams go 0-4 in the preseason, the media start to wonder if the team is doomed, who then go on to have a great seasons.

Now, normally when I bring this up and I'd be labeled a hater. Ex: Me yawning when Armon Binns gets a glowing review from Ben Baby or James Be Rapin in August, and everyone is hyped. But in this case I don't think I will be.

Do I care that there are reports Burrow and the offense is struggling? No, not really. Wake me when real football starts. If there is any worrying to be done I'll do it then. What we're seeing right now may just be rust, it could be luck, it could be them taking longer to get moving. I'm not going to speculate on it, nor do I care to.

Do I care that Carman started the season on the bottom of the depth chart? No, not at all. Who knows why that is? Like I said in the other thread, it could be for motivation, it could be for appearances, or he could just need time. I really don't care. I'll worry about it when it actually matters.

Do I care that the defense has looked good? Again, no. I don't care the defense has looked in good in practice playing against their own team in the first week of practice. I'll care when they look good in a real game.

I'm never going to tell anyone how to be a fan or what to talk about. If you want to follow along with all of the reports then more power to you. Afterall, this is the only news you have right now with the Bengals and if you're a Bengals fan then why wouldn't you. I would only offer up that I wouldn't put a lot of stock into it. I wouldn't panic that Carman started low on the depth chart, or that Burrow threw a few picks. It's practice. We're sitting here talking about practice. Practice. Not a game, not a game. Practice.

You know who does have to worry? A team like the Colts. Their starting QB, Carson Wentz is now out 5-12 weeks. Quentin Nelson, their All Pro Guard, is now out with the same injury, and is dealing with the same recovery timeline (5-12 weeks). How would you like to be down your starting QB and your best O-Lineman before preseason even starts?

To each their own, but I'll take a healthy team who looks like shit all through camp and the preseason over a team that's hit with some injuries and has looked good in practice. I'm not going to let some practices with some fluff reports let me get too down or too excited. Burrow can continue to struggle in practice and I don't care. Just stay healthy and have the kinks worked out by September. Everything else is almost meaningless to me.

Hope this thread wasn't too boring or is seen as unecessary. I also hope I didn't offend anyone. I just thought I'd offer some perspective. I've seen a little bit of panicking or people getting down, and I thought I'd share my opinion. I really don't think this matters that much. I wouldn't get too worked up about what Beat Writers are saying in the summer.

[Nicomo Cosca]

Yep. Every day that’s goes by without a significant injury is a good day. Here’s to hoping #1 can end the Bengals 1st round curse.

[GreenCornBengal]

I agree with this wholeheartedly. I used to really eat up the preseason stories but they rarely translate over to the season it seems.

Side note, glad you brought up the Colts. What a doozy of a TC for them. I almost started a thread on it the other day because there is a good chance that their (what seemed for sure) playoff spot opens up for a different AFC team this year. Colts demise = Bengals rise? I’m getting ahead of myself.

[XenoMorph]

all in all there just isnt much to talk about right now lol

[fredtoast]

100% agree that you can't tell much about a team from preseason. And 90% of the starting spots are already locked down. But there are still certain things that are important to follow. Trey Hopkins came out of nowhere to win a starting spot in training camp. And this year there are still competitions at OG, PR, and TE.

So ignore all the extraneous hype on "diamonds in the rough" and day-to-day knee-jerk over reactions. But still follow the crucial competitions.
.

[wildcatnku24]

I've been cautiously checking every so often each day as camp goes on and don't necessarily even read any fluff articles (that's kinda what they are right now still) and just skim/scan for injuries. Sigh of relief thus far (knock on wood all who see this!)

Not thrilled to read Trae Waynes day to day. We need him healthy. The one camp news thing I'm excited about is it seems that our CB group is doing pretty well.

[*Nate (formerly eliminate08)*]

Yes, in the end that is all I care about myself. Lets go into the season reasonably healthy and I am happy.

[bengaloo]

Totally agree about staying healthy being the #1 thing, and also TC warriors that dont translate into season. We've had a few of those over the years. Dontay Moch comes to mind. I do like to follow what they are doing, and definitely buy into the good or bad hype sometimes, but overall the biggest thing is staying healthy and being ready for real game 1.

[Essex Johnson]

Sorry i think i care about a bit more than just staying healthy.. you could have the most healthy team but still not be good or have major issues.. sport is a bit more complicated than just staying healthy

[PDub80]

(08-04-2021, 10:32 AM)Wes Mantooth Wrote: The only thing I really care about right now is injuries, and to be more specific, I'm hoping for a lack of them.  I obviously don't want to see anyone go down with anything that's going to cause them to miss games.

Why am I telling you this?  Well, because there's been quite a few threads about camp.  There's been talk about Carman's place on the depth chart, there's been talk about Burrow and the offense, the defense, etc.  And look, I get it.  I understand that is all we have to talk about, and that camp is important for guys to get going.  I've just never been one that has put much stock in reports from camp, or even how the team looks in the preseason.

I've seen too many guys get glowing reviews from camp, who then go on to have shitty seasons.  And I've seen too many players struggle in camp, or sit it out, who go on to have fantastic seasons.  I've also seen too many teams look great in the preseason look like trash in the regular season.  And I've seen teams go 0-4 in the preseason, the media start to wonder if the team is doomed, who then go on to have a great seasons.

Now, normally when I bring this up and I'd be labeled a hater.  Ex: Me yawning when Armon Binns gets a glowing review from Ben Baby or James Be Rapin in August, and everyone is hyped.  But in this case I don't think I will be.

Do I care that there are reports Burrow and the offense is struggling?  No, not really.  Wake me when real football starts.  If there is any worrying to be done I'll do it then.  What we're seeing right now may just be rust, it could be luck, it could be them taking longer to get moving.  I'm not going to speculate on it, nor do I care to.

Do I care that Carman started the season on the bottom of the depth chart?  No, not at all.  Who knows why that is?  Like I said in the other thread, it could be for motivation, it could be for appearances, or he could just need time.  I really don't care.  I'll worry about it when it actually matters.

Do I care that the defense has looked good?  Again, no.  I don't care the defense has looked in good in practice playing against their own team in the first week of practice.  I'll care when they look good in a real game.  

I'm never going to tell anyone how to be a fan or what to talk about.  If you want to follow along with all of the reports then more power to you.  Afterall, this is the only news you have right now with the Bengals and if you're a Bengals fan then why wouldn't you.  I would only offer up that I wouldn't put a lot of stock into it.  I wouldn't panic that Carman started low on the depth chart, or that Burrow threw a few picks.  It's practice.  We're sitting here talking about practice.  Practice.  Not a game, not a game.  Practice.

You know who does have to worry?  A team like the Colts.  Their starting QB, Carson Wentz is now out 5-12 weeks.  Quentin Nelson, their All Pro Guard, is now out with the same injury, and is dealing with the same recovery timeline (5-12 weeks).  How would you like to be down your starting QB and your best O-Lineman before preseason even starts?

To each their own, but I'll take a healthy team who looks like shit all through camp and the preseason over a team that's hit with some injuries and has looked good in practice.  I'm not going to let some practices with some fluff reports let me get too down or too excited.  Burrow can continue to struggle in practice and I don't care.  Just stay healthy and have the kinks worked out by September.  Everything else is almost meaningless to me.

Hope this thread wasn't too boring or is seen as unecessary.  I also hope I didn't offend anyone.  I just thought I'd offer some perspective.  I've seen a little bit of panicking or people getting down, and I thought I'd share my opinion.  I really don't think this matters that much.  I wouldn't get too worked up about what Beat Writers are saying in the summer.

100% agree. And, even though this was longer than the average, it was a well written post on a crucial topic. I hope people who are near a ledge read this and at least consider stepping back a bit.

[Wes Mantooth]

(08-04-2021, 09:53 PM)Essex Johnson Wrote: Sorry i think i care about a bit more than just staying healthy.. you could have the most healthy team but still not be good or have major issues.. sport is a bit more complicated than just staying healthy

Not sure you understood the point I was trying to make.  My intention wasn't to claim that staying healthy is the only thing that matters, and the quality of the team is meaningless.  The point was that training camp and the preseason rarely let you know just how good of a team it is you actually have. 

We will not know just how good this team is until the season actually starts.  And even then it will take weeks if not months to truly gauge the roster that was built.  Practice, and meaningless preseason games aren't going to tell us much outside of a couple position battles.  It is my opinion to take everything you read from beat reporters with a grain of salt this time of year.

Hope that makes sense; I'm not sure how you came to the conclusion I only think staying healthy matters when it comes to sports.  Clearly there's plenty that matters.  I'm just not sure training camp news is one of them.

[*Nate (formerly eliminate08)*]

(08-04-2021, 09:53 PM)Essex Johnson Wrote: Sorry i think i care about a bit more than just staying healthy.. you could have the most healthy team but still not be good or have major issues.. sport is a bit more complicated than just staying healthy

Being healthy is the biggest thing though. 

We saw just last year how injuries single handedly destroyed our Defense from the inside out.

How injury took out our bright young QB and is looking shaky when MOST of us thought he wouldn't look this way.

Being healthy is the start to being great, take care of yourself and you will win a lot of games. Mental follows the physical.

Brady was protected well for so long he gained the mental aptitude through taking care of himself and it kept his mental state clean.

Brady is just so mentally strong by this time in his career that that MCL didn't even matter with the trenches taken care of in TB.

[Essex Johnson]

(08-04-2021, 10:57 PM)Nate (formerly eliminate08) Wrote: Being healthy is the biggest thing though. 

We saw just last year how injuries single handedly destroyed our Defense from the inside out.

How injury took out our bright young QB and is looking shaky when MOST of us thought he wouldn't look this way.

Being healthy is the start to being great, take care of yourself and you will win a lot of games. Mental follows the physical.

Brady was protected well for so long he gained the mental aptitude through taking care of himself and it kept his mental state clean.

Brady is just so mentally strong by this time in his career that that MCL didn't even matter with the trenches taken care of in TB.

Hmm we won 2 games with a healthy QB  in 9 games and as a whole a healthy offense..

[*Nate (formerly eliminate08)*]

(08-04-2021, 11:10 PM)Essex Johnson Wrote: Hmm we won 2 games with a healthy QB  in 9 games and as a whole a healthy offense..

AJ was a shadow of himself, Geno wasn't even there, sure as hell shouldn't of played as bad off as he was.

Jordan was starting at LG. You are only as good as your worst players.

We were decimated at DT so the Defense was playing with no inside play of hardly any kind. Injuries matter much more than you 
acknowledge Essex. If our starters in the trenches can stay reasonably healthy this season I think we have a shot at making our QB
and everyone else look much better and we will win a lot more games, if not. It won't matter and it shouldn't matter in keeping Zac
for another year, he had his chance, dude must be bad at his job and bad luck on top of it even if I don't believe in luck.

[Essex Johnson]

(08-04-2021, 11:27 PM)Nate (formerly eliminate08) Wrote: AJ was a shadow of himself, Geno wasn't even there, sure as hell shouldn't of played as bad off as he was.

Jordan was starting at LG. You are only as good as your worst players.

We were decimated at DT so the Defense was playing with no inside play of hardly any kind. Injuries matter much more than you 
acknowledge Essex. If our starters in the trenches can stay reasonably healthy this season I think we have a shot at making our QB
and everyone else look much better and we will win a lot more games, if not. It won't matter and it shouldn't matter in keeping Zac
for another year, he had his chance, dude must be bad at his job and bad luck on top of it even if I don't believe in luck.

We suck 2 years in a row ZT is I. Trouble and so is our savior Burrow.. 

[*Nate (formerly eliminate08)*]

(08-04-2021, 11:32 PM)Essex Johnson Wrote: We suck 2 years in a row ZT is I. Trouble and so is our savior Burrow.. 

You drunk posting Essex? Sure sounds like it lol

[Dr.Z]

Good post…agree !!!

[*SHRacerX*]

(08-04-2021, 09:53 PM)Essex Johnson Wrote: Sorry i think i care about a bit more than just staying healthy.. you could have the most healthy team but still not be good or have major issues.. sport is a bit more complicated than just staying healthy

Actually, it sounds very simplistic, but the most healthy a Bengals team has been recently was....2015, when they were dominant.

Look at the Super Bowl Champs each year.  Most of them have their lines intact.  Their QB, and their top skill positions healthy. 

Overall lack of injuries is a massive predictor of success in the NFL.

[*Nate (formerly eliminate08)*]

(08-06-2021, 08:43 AM)SHRacerX Wrote: Actually, it sounds very simplistic, but the most healthy a Bengals team has been recently was....2015, when they were dominant.

Look at the Super Bowl Champs each year.  Most of them have their lines intact.  Their QB, and their top skill positions healthy. 

Overall lack of injuries is a massive predictor of success in the NFL.

Truth.

[masonbengals fan]

Need to start healthy & stay that way.