01-06-2021, 09:31 PM
(01-06-2021, 05:41 PM)Wes Mantooth Wrote: The injury excuse would be a lot more valid if we were winning prior to the majority of those players going down.
We were 2-6-1 with Joe Burrow and Jonah Williams both playing.
We were 1-4-1 with Joe Burrow, Jonah Willaims, and Joe Mixon all playing.
We were 1-3-1 with Joe Burrow, Jonah Williams, Joe Mixon, and DJ Reader all playing.
I know I'm not the first to bring this up, and I'm not trying to beat a dead horse. But this is something people continually choose to ignore.
You can't say, "well were bad because we were without Joe Burrow" when we were bad with Joe Burrow. And that goes for everyone else I just listed above.
It's not like we were seeing a significant difference in success (W/L's) with guys that was immediately altered when they went down.
Do injuries matter? Sure. Would we have been better had they not incurred? Probably. But it's not like this is some 10 win team if Burrow and Mixon, and whoever manage to stay healthy.
And let's be honest, if it takes your entire starting lineup to remain fully healthy and intact for you to succeed, then that's just further proof you team isn't very good. That amount of luck doesn't exist in this league. Every team can play the "what if?" game.
This team wasn't a good football team. Period. Those who immediately run to the injury excuse (like they did last year, and the year before that, and the year before that) are only looking for reasons to rationalize something they don't want to admit. That we stink.
The article pointed out where the Bengals are in a rebuild. The Bengals went into the season as a team in the middle of a rebuild. Any team rebuilding does not have depth. Add in ML last season and not only look at the lack of starting talent but they really had no depth at all.
Their best LB was either Preston Brown or Nick vigil or dare I say Hardy Nickerson. They had Kilpatrick running around like an idiot. It was quite embarrassing.
The 2020 Bengals would not be successful if they had multiple injuries to key areas.
Not only did that happen but they also had players they were depending on play like journeyman players.
3 out of 4 of are best players, AJ Green, Atkins and Dunlap played like journeyman players this year.
Losing Reader that early and not even having Trae Waynes was really big.
Bad enough not having a preseason to build consistency. Having new players week in and week out mad the job impossible.
Like many on this board I am a lifetime Bengals fan. I have watched some of our best teams get embarrassed in Prime time especially against the Steelers. I am still in awe that ZT took a team with no off line and no defensive line, rookie linebackers, no starting QB and losing Tyler Boyd early to an injury was able to have Ryan Finley take down the Steelers.
I lknow most on this board do not want to believe Joe Burrow support for ZT. I believe it. I see it in Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyds play as well as the play of the guys that will be here next year.
2021 will be a prove it year for ZT but I believe he will have us not only competitive but a team with a winning record.
