04-10-2019, 01:20 PM
(04-10-2019, 11:16 AM)Shake n Blake Wrote: Everyone brings up McCarron, but we lost to TJ Yates and Mark Sanchez (and yes, Sanchez is just as bad and Yates is actually worse). They also forget that the Steelers were without Ben for a stretch (which played heavily in our comeback) and they were rotating guys named Todman and Toussaint (?) at RB (Bell and DeAngelo Williams were out). Both players had huge games somehow.
Everyone brings up how many of our receivers were hurt against Indy, but forgets that the Colts were playing their 4th string RB (Boom Herron). They got a huge game out of some guy that we cut from our practice squad. Boom Herron outplayed Jeremy Hill. A guy who had 1100 yards on 5.1 YPC that year. Is that making lemonade out of lemons?
- We should've won in 2005 even with Jon Kitna. We had a 17-7 lead. We fell apart in the 2nd half, which was a common theme in the playoffs.
- We should've won in 2009. Were the 9-7 Jets more talented than us? A team led by Mark Sanchez? No defensive stars outside of Revis? We were at home, too.
- We at least should've been competitive in 2011 against TJ Yates.
- 2012 I excuse somewhat, because it was a road game against a solid QB and we did keep it close.
- 2013 was a disgrace.
- 2014 should've been more competitive than it was. Missing some WR's doesn't excuse away our defense giving up 376 yards passing (Luck's 3rd best total that year), giving up 141 yards to Boom Herron, or not getting anything out of Jeremy Hill (who was having his best year).
- 2015 was an odd one. I want to partially excuse it because we were starting McCarron, but (1) we were at home, (2) the Steelers got 183 yards out of their 3rd and 4th string RB's, (3) Ben was hurt for 3 series and (4) we had the lead only to lose in embarrassing fashion.
Obviously we can't win them all, but I'd say we should've had at least 2-3 of these.
In 2005, you had a very young team with no playoff experience going up against one of the premier franchises in the NFL. I don't agree that it was a game they necessarily should've won.
2009 as I said is pretty even in my eyes. You had a Bengals team that noone had any real preseason expectations for that lost 3 of their last 4 games playing a Jets team that won 5 of their last 6. That Jets team didn't only beat us in the playoffs, either, they made it to the conference championship game.
Losing to TJ Yates sounds bad, but the 2011 team was a team that came out of nowhere, barely made the playoffs, and were playing Houston in their first home playoff game as the Texans. Arian Foster ran over them.
2013, yeah. Can't argue that one, that was just some awful coaching all around, including Zimmer's defense giving up almost 200 yards on the ground.
They were missing more than just their wide receivers in that game. Besides his top two WRs, they also were missing their #1 TE, several linebackers (Burfict and Mauluga), their right tackle... I remember wondering how they were going to win on the drive to Indy that day. As for Jeremy Hill, well... I think we know what he is now, and his 2014 was the exception and not the rule.
2015, again, I give the advantage to the Steelers going in. I figured going into that game that to have any chance the defense would have to play the game of their lives - and they did, until the last few minutes. I shrug off the Steelers RB situation simply because the Steelers have proven time and time again they can plug in just about anybody back there and have success. Yeah, Big Ben left for a little bit and that helped, but Gio Bernard got stretchered off and that hurt. Plus it's just the fact that the Bengals were going up against their biggest rivals (who own them) at home (where they never beat the Steelers) during primetime (where they struggle) in the playoffs (where they never win) and you had to know that was going to be an uphill battle anyways.
How many of these games were the Bengals actually favored in? Definitely one (SD), but maybe two (SD and NYJ)? The only game I remember feeling extraordinarily confident about was the Chargers game.
