Now the true test begins

[*ochocincos*]

(11-21-2022, 02:20 PM)BigStripedCat Wrote: I generally think this is a valid point to bring up. I have a A question and two observations:

Observation 1:
PIT defense is undeniably much, much better with TJ Watt in the lineup. Having missed all but three games this season, I think they are perhaps ranked significantly differently if he's healthy all year.

Observation 2:
Same as my first point, but with Jamarr Chase and the Bengals offense. 3 out of the 5 games you mentioned were lacking the Chase factor - he is a game breaker, no bones about it. Getting him back is adding to an offense that has already been putting up 30+ points of late and hitting their stride.

Question: Are these current rankings, or the rankings going into when we played them? That can make a difference (perhaps marginal), especially when we absolutely blow them out as in the case of Atlanta or Carolina.

These are the current rankings.
I'm not about to go try to search the depths of pro-football-focus or some other site to find the week-by-week rankings.

And in my opinion, I don't think it matters as much when the Bengals play a team, it matters more where they end up. For example, should it matter if a team was ranked 5th after just 2 weeks, only to find out they actually end up 21st by season's end? Perhaps 5th early on was just too pre-emptive and not indicative how good they really are. 10 games in should be a much better indicator of a team this season compared to Week 2-4.