ESPN Be Hatin!

[Shake n Blake]

(05-08-2018, 02:17 PM)Crazyjdawg Wrote: I mean, did you see us last year?
We had the worst offense in the NFL in terms of  yards, the 7th worst in terms of points, the 4th worst 3rd down conversion rate, the 4th fewest yards per carry, the 3rd fewest rushing touchdowns, 2nd fewest rush yards per game, the 6th worst giveaway/takeaway differential and we were middle of the road defensively.

We only got 7 wins when we had 2 games against Cleveland, a game against Indianapolis and a game against Denver.

Basically, we had a total of 3 quality wins, 2 of which were in the last two weeks when they meant nothing other than playing spoiler haha.

I have high hopes for this team and, with their dedication to fixing the Oline, I believe we will surprise people but, if I remove my bias towards them, I would not really expect them to do much more than they did last year this year.

And while we improved so did a lot of teams. For example, Denver now actually has a QB and a new great pass rusher to pair with their already great pass rush. Other teams at the bottom also added some exciting pieces that should help them get better this year. We aren't the only team that improved and we didn't even make any massive changes that would generate buzz in the media that has to balance 32 different fan bases. We replaced players that never would have started on other teams in the first place.

I think 29 is a bit harsh. I think a more reasonable ranking would be around 22 to 25. But that's just media bias against a team that hasn't done anything noteworthy in almost 30 years.

I think 29 is ridiculous and 22 to 25 is what we should be ranked if no problems were fixed. That's where a 7-9 team belongs. This team was clearly torpedoed by an abysmal o-line. We respond by bringing in one of the best o-line coaches (based on success) in the NFL, trading for a top 10 LT and taking a stud C in the draft. 

Yes the offense put up atrocious numbers last year, but you have to consider things. For one, we changed OC's on the fly and Lazor had no chance to install his own system. Second, the o-line clearly wrecked everything. This team has the pieces and established QB to be successful on offense. The offense - because of the o-line - also did the defense no favors. They did struggle on 3rd downs, but again, the talent is there. This includes emerging young players in WJ3 and Carl Lawson.

There are 12 playoff teams every year. I'd start the Bengals out in the 16-19 range with plenty of room to move up. Even with that league-worst line, this team still managed 7 wins. We didn't go 3-13. I see this as a playoff caliber roster that got derailed by terrible line play. We mostly fixed that on paper. 

I don't think any team on our level or below us last year improved as much as we did, and I don't think any non-playoff team had one problem that clearly sank them like we did. It was pretty clear what was holding us back. Even Marv (who normally doesn't publically criticize players) said as much:

Quote:“Ced’s had two seasons, basically, and it’s just not been exactly where we need it to be,” Lewis told the Cincinnati Enquirer. “That’s held us back.”

It wasn't just Ogbuehi. It was Bodine as well. We took 2 major weaknesses on the line and probably turned them into strengths. I don't think it's homerism to suggest that could have a major impact, and lead us from 7 wins back to 10-11 wins.