Athlon Magazine Picks Bengals 3rd in AFC

[*Nate (formerly eliminate08)*]

(06-22-2017, 11:07 PM)kevin Wrote: I see Street and Smith, a long time Pro Football Summer prediction magazine is out.  They have Bengals finishing 2nd in AFC and say Bengals will be pretty good.  Although I'm not sure of their idea of pretty good, since they don't have Bengals in Play-Offs....For a Bengals team trying to WIN a play-off game for first time since 1990 season, and hoping AJ Green and Company can go Super Bowl before it all blows up,  I can't agree that missing the play-offs and watching Pittsburg Steelers in play-offs would be good.  To a New York writer that may be good, not to a Bengals Fan.

So Athlon has Bengals having a lousy season due to offensive line, and Street and Smith things Bengals will bounce back but not enough to make play-offs.  I guess they figure 8-8 is good for Cincinnati.

I myself feel if the O Line can BLOCK, and if the D can TACKLE, Super Bowl could be possible. We will start to see what we have in August preseason. I agree with the one mag that says all the WR's and RB's we drafted won't mean a thing if we can't block.  That's just Football 101.  ...but if they open run lanes, and if they open passing lanes and give Dalton the needed time to drop back and throw, then this team could be awesome.  The #1 law of football is protect the QB. Protect the Superstar as in Longest Yard movie.  They do that and they can win. They don't and it's one long bad season.

If we are 2nd in the AFC we will make the Playoffs, i think you meant 2nd in the AFC North Kev.

All true, the O-line is where it is at. If they play well, we will be in the Playoffs and probably have a high seed.

We will win the Division if our O-line plays well and injuries don't decimate us.

(06-22-2017, 11:29 PM)Atomic Orange Wrote: Everyone is sleeping on our defense (addition of Billings, Minter and Burfict's conditioning specifically), and Dalton's release time.

I have it in my head we are going to be hard to score on.

This is where my hopes lie, the Defense carrying Marv's lame ass to a Playoff win, then the sky is the limit.