06-03-2022, 10:24 AM
(06-03-2022, 10:11 AM)ochocincos Wrote: Well there were 6 teams last year who had 12+ wins, and all those teams still have their starting QB from the year(s) before.
I don't think the Bengals improved THAT much just by adding a few OL. The draft picks are all set to be backups/rotational players this year. No starters (unless Bates doesn't play). MAYBE CTB beats out Apple for outside CB duties, but I wouldn't be surprised to see him as a depth guy as a rookie to not rush him into such a big role.
I do think 11-6 is realistic, for sure.
The only teams I would consider putting ahead of the Bengals right now are teams who have gotten to the playoffs the past 2+ years in a row and have had at least one playoff win in that span:
- Bucs
- Packers
- Rams
- Chiefs
- Bills
I agree with you that losing Hill and Adams could impact those teams to some extent, but I don't think it will be night and day difference.
I'm not necessarily saying all the teams above are even better than the Bengals right now, but they're the safer picks because they've had longer success. Bengals are more risky because of how terrible they were for the previous 5 seasons where they didn't even have a winning season.
Are the Bengals true perennial contenders or are they going to be more like the 2020 Browns where they had a great one season but then floundered the next?
I think the Bengals will get to double-digit wins again and make the playoffs, but I can understand why some are even more "wait and see" to even say that.
I agree KC and GB aren’t worse by much. But I’m a believer that Hill and Adams aren’t easily replaced. I think both teams didn’t improve.We should have beat GB and beat KC twice. I didn’t mean to imply they were much worse. My point in all this is of all the top teams I do think the Bengals improved the most.The OL was crap.Now it’s top 8. That’s huge. I just don’t see Tampa, GB, KC improving a horribly weak area to that extent. The Bills did improve slightly.
