10-21-2015, 12:51 AM
It's still real to me God dammit!!!!! (Bonus points to whoever gets this)
Ok, seriously though, here's a bunch of random thoughts on things I think, things I believe, things feel I need to own up, change of opinion, change of heart, hoosker do's, hoosker don'ts, etc. I'm going to ramble here, and, as usual, probably write more than I need to. But I hope some of you find it somewhat worth reading.
1.) I'm sold on this team being a damn good one. I'm firmly convinced they are a (very) good team, with the potential to be great. Luck has nothing to do with it. The schedule has nothing to do with it. A hot streak has nothing to do with it. They simply are a very good team. While I thought the teams of recent year were decent enough, perhaps good as well, I never thought they belonged in conversation with the elite. I do now.
This team, IMHO, deserves very much to be labeled a true contender. Top to bottom, their roster is as good as it gets.
They have a plethora of weapons on offense, they have a upper tier O-Line, and they have a QB who is playing great. Their running backs are above average. Their wideouts are above average. Their tight end is above average. Their OL is above average. Their QB is above average. And they're lead by an OC that, too, is also above average. I cannot sing praise of this offensive group enough.
Their defense, while perhaps not elite, is too well above average. They have a great DL, they have great individual talents, they can pressure the QB, they have a fantastic secondary, and they too are lead by a capable coordinator. If they get Burfict back to form then I can easily this unit returning back to the elite levels they enjoyed under Zimmer.
All in all, I love this team. Shit, even their Punter is good. Their specials teams play, as a whole, is more than solid. I can honestly say that I personally have never seen a Bengals team this good in my adult life. (Fwiw, I'm 36). This is the best team I can remember seeing since 1988. And honestly, I mostly remember the shuffle, Boomer, the Bud Bowl and the 3d glasses from Pepsi from that year. I was 9, it's not as if I was an expert on anything football related.
2.) I was wrong about Andy Dalton.
I always thought that Andy was, at best, average. I thought he was slightly below average as far as skill set, slightly elevated by experience, intelligence, his weapons, and sheer passing volume. Translation = I just didn't think he was that good. Give him great weapons and he could be average or slightly above. Give average or below and he would give you equal results. I never saw is ceiling above being in the 12-15 range. And after last year I thought he belonged in the 17-22 range of QB's. Not true, as we're seeing now.
While I still don't think he's an elite QB, he certainly is playing elite. And my opinion is now that he truly deserves to be considered average at worst, but more than likely above average. My opinion went from average at best to average at worst. And I now do believe he deserves discussion in the Matt Ryan, Russell Wilson, Tony Romo, level QB's. I'm not saying he's better or worse than any of them, only that IMHO he currently deserved to mentioned in that tier of QB. And that could change, but right now I think Andy is a probably a legitimate 6-10 range QB from a talent standpoint. A 6-10 range QB who is actually producing at a top 3 level.
He's earned his contract moving forward. I was one of a few who hated the deal. I couldn't have hated it more. I hated the urgency, I hated the risk. And you know what? I was wrong. I'll say it again: I was wrong. I even underlined it for you. They made the right move. Hindsight is 20-20, and it's now telling me that they got themselves a nice deal, and their urgency, coupled with frontloading, was a very good decision.
Now, I'm not saying he can't regress. Nor am I saying that I think he becomes a great postseason QB (he could though, I don't know). All I'm really saying is that my ceiling and floor levels for him have completely changed. And no one play can affect this team or inspire confidence more than the QB. For that reason, Andy Dalton's improvement over previous year has allowed me to change my mind about this team's chances more than anything else. If he continues to play in that top 10 level of QB then that, more than anything else, is why this year has a good chance to be different.
3.) I'm not going to get into a ton of Marvin talk. Mainly because a.) this post is already going too long and b.) I'm not in least sold in him.
All that said, he obviously deserves a good deal of credit. He's had his team ready to go. Mentally, they certainly seem well prepared. Guys seem to know their roles, the team seems to have an identity, and more than anything, they seem confident and well composed. Any team that can stage the comeback we saw against Seattle is mentally tough. It takes a veteran team, with a ton of confidence, to stay in a game like that.
I have rolled my eyes on numerous occassions in regards to clock management, and think it's a big problem. One that he needs to fix. And I'm not at all sold on his ability to lead this team in the postseason. (I'll believe it when I see it) But the man has a heckuva team right now. I at least owe him some applause for that.
4.) Lastly, and I'll make this real quick. I wanted to start this thread for a few reasons. I want to own up to a few things and eat some crow so to speak. And I wanted to share some of my own positive thoughts, as I feel some will see that if even I'm pumped up, then that shows just how great this start has been.
But I also wanted to do this as a reminder that I'm an actual Bengals fan. More than anything, I come here to talk football. I love talking sports and I enjoy the debate. So hopefully seeing me say some of what I have will be proof of that. I want people to argue with me or call me a dolt because they think my take sucks or I'm an idiot. I welcome that. I really do. I just don't want people to dismiss something I write only because they think there's some sort of imaginary agenda. It only makes me taking the time to explain myself or my stance a giant waste of time.
Anyways, great start. Here's to it continuing after a week off! Who Dey, *****!!!!
Ok, seriously though, here's a bunch of random thoughts on things I think, things I believe, things feel I need to own up, change of opinion, change of heart, hoosker do's, hoosker don'ts, etc. I'm going to ramble here, and, as usual, probably write more than I need to. But I hope some of you find it somewhat worth reading.
1.) I'm sold on this team being a damn good one. I'm firmly convinced they are a (very) good team, with the potential to be great. Luck has nothing to do with it. The schedule has nothing to do with it. A hot streak has nothing to do with it. They simply are a very good team. While I thought the teams of recent year were decent enough, perhaps good as well, I never thought they belonged in conversation with the elite. I do now.
This team, IMHO, deserves very much to be labeled a true contender. Top to bottom, their roster is as good as it gets.
They have a plethora of weapons on offense, they have a upper tier O-Line, and they have a QB who is playing great. Their running backs are above average. Their wideouts are above average. Their tight end is above average. Their OL is above average. Their QB is above average. And they're lead by an OC that, too, is also above average. I cannot sing praise of this offensive group enough.
Their defense, while perhaps not elite, is too well above average. They have a great DL, they have great individual talents, they can pressure the QB, they have a fantastic secondary, and they too are lead by a capable coordinator. If they get Burfict back to form then I can easily this unit returning back to the elite levels they enjoyed under Zimmer.
All in all, I love this team. Shit, even their Punter is good. Their specials teams play, as a whole, is more than solid. I can honestly say that I personally have never seen a Bengals team this good in my adult life. (Fwiw, I'm 36). This is the best team I can remember seeing since 1988. And honestly, I mostly remember the shuffle, Boomer, the Bud Bowl and the 3d glasses from Pepsi from that year. I was 9, it's not as if I was an expert on anything football related.
2.) I was wrong about Andy Dalton.
I always thought that Andy was, at best, average. I thought he was slightly below average as far as skill set, slightly elevated by experience, intelligence, his weapons, and sheer passing volume. Translation = I just didn't think he was that good. Give him great weapons and he could be average or slightly above. Give average or below and he would give you equal results. I never saw is ceiling above being in the 12-15 range. And after last year I thought he belonged in the 17-22 range of QB's. Not true, as we're seeing now.
While I still don't think he's an elite QB, he certainly is playing elite. And my opinion is now that he truly deserves to be considered average at worst, but more than likely above average. My opinion went from average at best to average at worst. And I now do believe he deserves discussion in the Matt Ryan, Russell Wilson, Tony Romo, level QB's. I'm not saying he's better or worse than any of them, only that IMHO he currently deserved to mentioned in that tier of QB. And that could change, but right now I think Andy is a probably a legitimate 6-10 range QB from a talent standpoint. A 6-10 range QB who is actually producing at a top 3 level.
He's earned his contract moving forward. I was one of a few who hated the deal. I couldn't have hated it more. I hated the urgency, I hated the risk. And you know what? I was wrong. I'll say it again: I was wrong. I even underlined it for you. They made the right move. Hindsight is 20-20, and it's now telling me that they got themselves a nice deal, and their urgency, coupled with frontloading, was a very good decision.
Now, I'm not saying he can't regress. Nor am I saying that I think he becomes a great postseason QB (he could though, I don't know). All I'm really saying is that my ceiling and floor levels for him have completely changed. And no one play can affect this team or inspire confidence more than the QB. For that reason, Andy Dalton's improvement over previous year has allowed me to change my mind about this team's chances more than anything else. If he continues to play in that top 10 level of QB then that, more than anything else, is why this year has a good chance to be different.
3.) I'm not going to get into a ton of Marvin talk. Mainly because a.) this post is already going too long and b.) I'm not in least sold in him.
All that said, he obviously deserves a good deal of credit. He's had his team ready to go. Mentally, they certainly seem well prepared. Guys seem to know their roles, the team seems to have an identity, and more than anything, they seem confident and well composed. Any team that can stage the comeback we saw against Seattle is mentally tough. It takes a veteran team, with a ton of confidence, to stay in a game like that.
I have rolled my eyes on numerous occassions in regards to clock management, and think it's a big problem. One that he needs to fix. And I'm not at all sold on his ability to lead this team in the postseason. (I'll believe it when I see it) But the man has a heckuva team right now. I at least owe him some applause for that.
4.) Lastly, and I'll make this real quick. I wanted to start this thread for a few reasons. I want to own up to a few things and eat some crow so to speak. And I wanted to share some of my own positive thoughts, as I feel some will see that if even I'm pumped up, then that shows just how great this start has been.
But I also wanted to do this as a reminder that I'm an actual Bengals fan. More than anything, I come here to talk football. I love talking sports and I enjoy the debate. So hopefully seeing me say some of what I have will be proof of that. I want people to argue with me or call me a dolt because they think my take sucks or I'm an idiot. I welcome that. I really do. I just don't want people to dismiss something I write only because they think there's some sort of imaginary agenda. It only makes me taking the time to explain myself or my stance a giant waste of time.
Anyways, great start. Here's to it continuing after a week off! Who Dey, *****!!!!
