Did anyone else think Simms was a little feisty about the Bengals?
The part I'm remembering is when Nantz and Simms get into it in the booth about the Bengals being a good team.
Nantz was talking about how great they have been this season, and Simms was the "ya but the playoffs" guy. It was fun watching the two go at it, because it was the epitome of every argument about the Bengals over the last 5 years. They are good but are they good enough.
It seemed to me that Simms had something against Dalton last night. Maybe it is because Boomer is so glum lately and it bothers Simms. Either way, not sure if anyone else noiticed that as well. It wasn't unprofessional or anything, just thought there was some frustration showing between Simms and his opinion of the Bengals.
I still think this Offense is only operating at 70% maximum capacity. Scary when you think about how insane this team will be once we truly put all the pieces together.
I feel like the talent I not on display and we go into regression mode for a quarter or two in almost each game.
We see flashes of SICKNESS but then we can play so FLAT.
AD is playing brilliant football - but - I still think the O stalls or gets into some bizarre dynamic whereby we do not resemble the Bengals we know we can be.
I don't expect perfection but I know this team is still much more talented than what has been put on display.
I'm still waiting for them to pull the trigger and UNLOAD, open it up and PUNISH (embarrass) teams!!
I still think this Offense is only operating at 70% maximum capacity. Scary when you think about how insane this team will be once we truly put all the pieces together.
I feel like the talent is still not fully on display and we go into regression mode for a quarter or two in almost each game.
We see flashed of SICKNESS but then we can play so FLAT.
AD is playing brilliant football - but - I still think the O stalls or gets into some bizarre dynamic whereby we do not resemble the Bengals we know we can be.
I don't expect perfection but I know this team is still much more talented than what has been put on display.
I'm still waiting for them to pull the trigger and UNLOAD, open it up and PUNISH (embarrass) teams!!
I need to make a thread about my happiness for him being back.
Against Pittsburgh we gave up 10 points.
Against Cleveland we gave up 10 points.
The team looks so much better on defense when it needs to be. Not to mention, it is awesome having a sure tackler out there who consistently makes plays. Even when he didn't get the statistical number he was still blowing up plays (insert that goal line play where he ripped through the o-line).
Also, maybe a bit odd but Maualuga hasn't really played the last two games either. Interesting.
Somehow, someway, they managed to make it all about Manziel and turn it into a whine fest with the same get-away free cards that Dalton didn't get last year in the playoffs.
Not once did they really ever talk about the Bengals beyond, "They were the better team."
No, I know these guy's opinions do not matter and that they are more talking heads than anything else. Just be nice to get some acclaim over here. Oh well. Not to mention, these guy's are dicks anyways. Just love when they eat crow over us.
I feel like this is the best way to qualify Dalton's play this year. It's like he's Chris Paul out there, but his teammates are Durant, Melo, Curry, and Dirk.
He hasn't been the Jordan-esque scorer that Brady has been. He hasn't been something-out-of-nothing guy that Rodgers is. But he has been dishing the ball to all of our playmakers perfectly. Minimal mistakes, highly efficient. Hasn't had to make the big throws all the time. That's not who he is. He's like a more athletic yet slightly less accurate Drew Brees.
If he can play this style of football consistently, "Bad Andy" will be stuck in the closet all season. Of course, at some point he's going to have to make the big-time throws to win big games. But at this rate, he won't need to very often.
This gives me confidence that even in the clutch situations, Andy can come through. With such a stacked supporting cast, all he'll have to do is make a few big throws the rest of the season. And that might be enough to break through to the Super Bowl.
Excited to see what he can do the rest of the season. Especially in the playoffs!
It infuriates me when our team seemingly refuses to run a quick play, after a play that is close, where the opposing coach may wish to challenge.
The 20 yard completion to Sanu(?), where he was ruled down by contact after Pettine challenged, exemplifies this point. And it has happened several times over, going all the way back to the Palmer era.
I think I can recall once where they've tried to hurry the next play to avoid a challenge.
It's clear as day that Jeremy Hill's downturn is all in his head due to his fumbling issues. He's worried about losing the ball which is costing him yards. We all want less fumbles so I don't know how to remedy this but it seems maybe that the coaches have gotten into his head a bit too much. Maybe another approach can bring better balance to keeping him conscience of holding onto the ball yet thoughtful enough to think about where he's running.
At some point The Browns have to live or die with Manziel to see if he can help or not.
I thought he did some good things last night. He's definitely more dangerous outside of the pocket, but he also showed that he can do good things while in the pocket. He made some nice throws ( some poor ones too ) and crisp decisions at times while remaining in the pocket. I don't know if he's the answer in Cleveland or anywhere, but you've gotta see what you've got over the course of more than just a few games. I do know that Pettine isn't the answer. The guy is clueless. I missed the halftime interviews they do with the coaches so I don't know how true this quote is but the reporter asked Pettine about the first half and he said 'we've gotta keep Johnny in the pocket. They then asked Marvin about the upcoming second half and he said 'we've gotta keep Johnny in the pocket'. Lol.
I have one more thought on bye weeks vs TNFB.
Why not simply do away with official bye weeks. That way each team can play a Thursday night game with plenty of rest. I'm too lazy to do the math. I wonder if it works out? I guess it's essentially a bye week before a Thursday game but without the structure of a 'bye week' and the scheduling complications exposed by it. Am I missing something with this thought?
