AFC NORTH CHANGING OF THE GUARD

[BmorePat87]

(01-02-2016, 12:47 AM)Essex Johnson Wrote: Now lets look at it another way.. 

Lets look at the Ravens and Steelers and Bengals overall over the lasts 2011 to now and 2006 to 2010

Record, Titles, Playoffs
 2011 to Now

Bengals  51-27-1, 2 titles, 5 playoffs
Steelers  48-31, 1 title, 2 (maybe 3) playoffs
Ravens  45-34   2 titles 3 playoffs

2006 to 2010
Bengals  33-46-1   1 title, 1 playoff
Steelers  51-29, 3 titles, 3 playoffs
Ravens  50-30,  1 title, 4 playoffs

So if you look at the last 10 years in 5 years cycles.. it is obvious that the Bengals have turned the tables in the AFC North, from being a doormat most of the time.. to having the best overall record, 2 titles and 5 straight playoffs.. as both the STeelers and Ravens have worse records in the 5 year span than before, less titles and playoffs as a whole.

I don;t know much more facts that I can give you to understand that the Bengals have really changed the AFC North and with having a better record, more titles and more playoffs have become the top dog.. You might not like it and I understand since as we have gotten better it has taken away from the Ravens.. but it is what it is. 

 You do know if we beat you this Sunday that will be 5 straight wins in a row against the Ravens.. another sign of the changing of the guard.

You can't have it both ways. You can't say that the playoffs are not the point and then try to point to 5 playoff appearances over 3, especially when the Ravens are 6-2 with a Super Bowl win in those 3 playoff appearances while the Bengals are 0-4. Bengals fans are the only fans in the NFL of playoff caliber teams who try to argue against looking at playoff performance. Except, that is the only thing that matters. Who had a better 2014 season? The 10-6 Ravens are the 10-5-1 Bengals who swept the Ravens and were higher in the AFCN? The answer is the team who actually won a playoff game. Hell, the Ravens had a better season than the division champ Steelers because they won a playoff game.

So either all of the playoffs matter (not just appearances) or none of it matters. Make a choice.

If the point of the thread is dominance WITHIN the division, then should we not focus on play within the division? In these 5 years that you're choosing to focus on, the Bengals have a losing record  against Steelers and are 5-4 against the Ravens, though only 4-4 if you don't count the time the Ravens rest their starters before their Super Bowl run.

As I said, the only thing we can take away from this thread is that within the last 3 seasons, the Ravens are beating the Steelers (5-2), the Bengals are beating the Ravens (4-1), and the Steelers are beating the Bengals (4-2). The Bengals have been very competitive overall and they have been able to beat the Ravens consistently since the Ravens secondary turned to crap after the Super Bowl, but they're not the new dominant force in the division if, within the years you are choosing to focus on, they have worse division records than the Steelers and Ravens.