While the iron is hot.

[*ochocincos*]

(01-11-2022, 06:37 PM)fredtoast Wrote: In Dan Marino's second year in the NFL he won 14 regular season games and went to the Super Bowl while setting single season records for passing tds and passing yds.  He never accomplished any of those things ever again in his 17 year career.

Winning a championship is as much about being healthy and getting hot as it is about overall talent.  We are as healthy as I can ever remember a Bengal team being at the end of the season.  And we are as hot as we have been all year.

When Marino lost the Super Bowl in '84 I am sure Dolphin fans were upset but also saying "We will have a lot more chances to win one as long as we have Dan".

With all the people making such a  big deal about how all of our stars on offense are all 25 or younger I hope they don't lack the sense of urgency to win it all this year while the iron is hot.

Two other things that also probably impacted the Dolphins getting to the Super Bowl with Marino later in his career:
Free agency started in 1993.
Salary cap came in 1994.

In today's NFL, you really have to try to capitalize on rookie contracts. With the way veterans (especially good QBs) get paid, it can be very difficult to keep your talent and put together a championship-caliber team year-after-year.

The Bengals need to definitely view the next few years as their window and go all in.