(02-10-2022, 06:46 PM)Au165 Wrote: I don’t give a ton of value to PFF grades anymore after being given some inside knowledge on the process. Miller is a fine player, he’s just not nearly the all world player people want him to be. Again, Trey Hendrickson right now is a better player.

I’m glad Hendrickson is on our side as well. I feel like nobody’s talking about him because of LAs front. It would be nice to see him outshine the LA guys.

Did you watch the Tampa/LA game though? Miller was a real problem. Bloodied Brady’s lip. Strip sacked him. I’m a little worried w him.

(02-10-2022, 07:48 AM)Whacked Wrote: Mehh. We lost to the Bears, Jets and got decimated by the Browns.
“Every given Sunday”  applies to them and us. It was a wild and fun season of football.
Both teams beat good teams and deserve to be here.

I totally agree. However I do not get the hype about the Rams is all.

It's like manufactured hype because I have seen more Bengals fans in the last week than I have in the last 40 years!

(02-10-2022, 08:47 AM)SHRacerX Wrote: I have been hearing more and more about those losses from the national media.

The fact is, the Bengals have won 6 of their last 7, with their only loss (barely) came against the Browns where they rested their starters.  Every single one of those teams that they beat in that 6 game run were good teams, with only Denver finishing below .500.

To be fair, the Rams have finished with wins on 8 of their last 9 and 6 of those 9 teams were above .500.

So, both teams finished hot and are healthy overall.  The odds couldn't be more even.

This is what I am saying!

That is why I do not get the nonstop hype about the Rams....

(02-10-2022, 09:57 AM)fredtoast Wrote: The Rams are only a 4 point favorite and I have not heard anyone acting like they are the "Second Coming"

Really? Because that is all I keep hearing and seeing. 

I am going to clear my Youtube history. Maybe that'll help.

The Rams aren’t the juggernaut that the NFL network and ESPN make them out to be. They do however have a great defensive line which normally isn’t good news for a team with a below average offensive line. I’m sure the Bengals offensive line is tired of hearing about the Titans game and will be ready to put forth a good effort Sunday.

The interesting thing is Bengals beat Titans.
Rams lost to Titans and there's that Animated commercial where Rams are hanging all over the RB, he wears 22 and here they are in the 2022 SB.
But they lost to the team they beat in SB. Bengals won.

Also, did you notice both teams lost both games to their in State rivals.
SF beat Bengals in Regular Season in OT.
Maybe that's the blessing/ritual that allows Bengals to win SB

(02-10-2022, 09:57 AM)fredtoast Wrote: The Rams are only a 4 point favorite and I have not heard anyone acting like they are the "Second Coming"

I have. Hell without watching any of the videos on YouTube I read Rams are going to destroy the Bengals and it won’t b close.

Saw some of it the other way around too, but man, I got to watch a looot if Aaron Donald destroying out interior and Miller blowing up Burrow.

(02-10-2022, 06:51 PM)Nate (formerly eliminate08) Wrote: This. Should be a great game. Both teams are extremely hot and that is why both are in the Superbowl. I watched both of these
teams more than any other teams this season cause I have Gamepass to watch the Bengals and FOX to watch all the NFC games 
and the Rams were played the most that I saw here. It is true that early on in the year the Rams didn't look very good except 
when playing Brady and the Bucs.

I think the difference is we are young and were going to have to go through a lot of growing pains early.

We seem to be a different team now from the regular season and you could argue the same for the Rams without the youth 
factored in as much. Their newer players in Stafford, Vonn Miller and OBJ had to adjust to their new team and now fit in very 
well. In the end I think we can win cause of the heart we play with and that we have so many players that can make a play 
that we might not even mention. The Rams have the big name players though.

We have players that will be big names down the road and hopefully after a SB win Sunday.

Great point about their new pieces having some early growing pains as well.  

The big names seem to be what is swaying so much of the National narrative about the game.  

I must have heard 1000 times this week how they (a player, a coach, an official??? Ok, I made that last one up) want to get Aaron Donald a ring.
That is understandable, and he may be one of the best defensive players of all time.  I would love to have heard someone say:  "I want to get the Bengals a ring in honor of Paul Brown, who helped CREATE this league in to what it is today".  I also think it would be great to offer a ring to all the members of the Ring of Honor.  

Sure, that is a Cincinnati slant, but Donald may be an outstanding player but there are lots of stories from Cincy that helped create the league as it is today that make the Bengals every bit as deserving as the Rams.  

And while I understand that the Rams were in LA years ago before moving to St. Louis and then back, I just don't think they have near the fan base.  I could be wrong, but the Bengals have a lot of folks out there that remember those two Super Bowls (two of the closest of all time, especially in an era of blow out Super Bowls) and are so pumped to win the next one.  

We have a whole 2 days to find out. I'd absolutely love if the Bengals do what the 90 Reds did to Oakland and I see no reason that won't happen again except for the fact it's just one game instead of the minimum 4 in baseball.. Don't forget..a lot of really crappy Bengals teams beat a lot of really crappy Lion's teams with Stafford at the helm..

(02-10-2022, 09:57 AM)fredtoast Wrote: The Rams are only a 4 point favorite and I have not heard anyone acting like they are the "Second Coming"

I've been constantly running across commentators saying this Super Bowl is a mismatch. One that stated if you put the two rosters side by side, it looks like done deal for the Rams. It is just that every time they make such a statement, they add that its football and anything can happen. The sense I get is that they think if the teams played 10 times, the Rams would win 9 times, but there is always a possibility the Bengals could upset the Rams.

Take a look at the comments of Trey Wingo:

"Wingo said the Los Angeles Rams are clearly the better team going into the matchup. Los Angeles' roster is filled with superstars at nearly every position on the field, from Matthew Stafford to Odell Beckham Jr. on offense, to Jalen Ramsey, Aaron Donald and Von Miller on defense. "

"The Rams are a better team. They're a better team, and they're at home, even though the visitor.... Joe Burrow was the most-sacked quarterback in the NFL this year, 51 times. He's the first most-sacked quarterback to ever make it to Super Bowl Sunday. They're giving up almost six yards a rush on defense. That's a fatal flaw, " Wingo said. 

"They should not be here, but they're here, and they're like young an dumb in the best possible way. .. They don't know any better."

"Wingo said the Bengals appear to have a similar mentality of the Dan Marino-led Miami Dolphins who were blown out by the San Francisco 49ers in their Super Bowl appearance but never returned."

But then always the "it's possible" comment:
"But there's something about this Bengals team that I can't put my finger on, like they should not be here. ...the Rams are the better team; they should win. But these Bengals are playing like on Madden easy mode with no baggage right now, and that sometimes is a very powerful thing."

(02-11-2022, 10:19 AM)Nepa Wrote: I've been constantly running across commentators saying this Super Bowl is a mismatch. One that stated if you put the two rosters side by side, it looks like done deal for the Rams. It is just that every time they make such a statement, they add that its football and anything can happen. The sense I get is that they think if the teams played 10 times, the Rams would win 9 times, but there is always a possibility the Bengals could upset the Rams.

Take a look at the comments of Trey Wingo:

"Wingo said the Los Angeles Rams are clearly the better team going into the matchup. Los Angeles' roster is filled with superstars at nearly every position on the field, from Matthew Stafford to Odell Beckham Jr. on offense, to Jalen Ramsey, Aaron Donald and Von Miller on defense. "

"The Rams are a better team. They're a better team, and they're at home, even though the visitor.... Joe Burrow was the most-sacked quarterback in the NFL this year, 51 times. He's the first most-sacked quarterback to ever make it to Super Bowl Sunday. They're giving up almost six yards a rush on defense. That's a fatal flaw, " Wingo said. 

"They should not be here, but they're here, and they're like young an dumb in the best possible way. .. They don't know any better."

"Wingo said the Bengals appear to have a similar mentality of the Dan Marino-led Miami Dolphins who were blown out by the San Francisco 49ers in their Super Bowl appearance but never returned."

But then always the "it's possible" comment:
"But there's something about this Bengals team that I can't put my finger on, like they should not be here. ...the Rams are the better team; they should win. But these Bengals are playing like on Madden easy mode with no baggage right now, and that sometimes is a very powerful thing."

I could never take serious someone having the name "Trey Wingo."

(02-10-2022, 05:26 PM)Science Friction Wrote: THANK YOU!!!   Give me the team that struggled mightily against the Ravens in week 18, giving up 165 yards on the ground and needing a late TD just to win.

That Ravens game has me bewildered as well.  Dirty birds had no players left and we had just thumped them the week before 41-21 - Joe went for 525.

I think part of this hype is the nonstop 24 hour media needing content.

On paper the Rams have a ton of studs, locked in HOF'ers, several All-Pros. There are always narratives being created... I guess people have settled on David vs Goliath, fine with me. Just makes this Super Bowl win even more rememberable.

(02-10-2022, 08:02 PM)Webbtown Wrote: The Rams aren’t the juggernaut that the NFL network and ESPN make them out to be.

More ESPN analyst that I hear are picking the Bengals than the Rams.  Lots of people loving Joe Burrow.

(02-11-2022, 12:35 PM)fredtoast Wrote: More ESPN analyst that I hear are picking the Bengals than the Rams.  Lots of people loving Joe Burrow.

Fred, a total of 76 ESPN analysts, commentators, writers, columnists, and pundits were surveyed.  The results were 56.6% picked the Rams and 43.4% picked the Bengals. 

The link to the list is below. I don't know how many are analysts, but if you could identify which are considered analysts vs. commentators, writers, etc., then you could ascertain the accuracy of whether or not more ESPN analysts are picking the Bengals. I'm skeptical looking the list and think most are picking the Rams.. 

Edit: Actually the analysts are identified as "analysts" (  )  and it turns out 63.6% were picking the Rams and 36.4% were picking the Bengals.


https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/33243776/super-bowl-score-predictions-espn-experts-pick-rams-bengals-mvp-game

(02-11-2022, 09:16 AM)SHRacerX Wrote: Great point about their new pieces having some early growing pains as well.  

The big names seem to be what is swaying so much of the National narrative about the game.  

I must have heard 1000 times this week how they (a player, a coach, an official??? Ok, I made that last one up) want to get Aaron Donald a ring.
That is understandable, and he may be one of the best defensive players of all time.  I would love to have heard someone say:  "I want to get the Bengals a ring in honor of Paul Brown, who helped CREATE this league in to what it is today".  I also think it would be great to offer a ring to all the members of the Ring of Honor.  

Sure, that is a Cincinnati slant, but Donald may be an outstanding player but there are lots of stories from Cincy that helped create the league as it is today that make the Bengals every bit as deserving as the Rams.  

And while I understand that the Rams were in LA years ago before moving to St. Louis and then back, I just don't think they have near the fan base.  I could be wrong, but the Bengals have a lot of folks out there that remember those two Super Bowls (two of the closest of all time, especially in an era of blow out Super Bowls) and are so pumped to win the next one.  

Yes, a lot of people don't know about everything that Paul Brown did for football. Also that Walsh was in Cincy and we were
running the hurry up before he went to the 49ers who always get that credit even though it is false. So many things that PB 
did are kind of brushed over. Maybe a Superbowl will bring these things out into the open. Sure hope we win Sunday for this
very reason. If the Rams win I will be happy for Whit the most, but Aaron Donald is such a great player he deserves a ring 
and this will be his best shot at getting one as this will probably be the best roster he ever gets to play with.

But same with Mahomes and the Chiefs, they had the best roster they may ever have and couldn't beat us.

(02-11-2022, 12:46 PM)Nepa Wrote: Fred, a total of 76 ESPN analysts, commentators, writers, columnists, and pundits were surveyed.  The results were 56.6% picked the Rams and 43.4% picked the Bengals. 

The link to the list is below. I don't know how many are analysts, but if you could identify which are considered analysts vs. commentators, writers, etc., then you could ascertain the accuracy of whether or not more ESPN analysts are picking the Bengals. I'm skeptical looking the list and think most are picking the Rams.. 

Edit: Actually the analysts are identified as "analysts" (  )  and it turns out 63.6% were picking the Rams and 36.4% were picking the Bengals.


https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/33243776/super-bowl-score-predictions-espn-experts-pick-rams-bengals-mvp-game

Sounds about right from those hacks at ESPN.

I don't know how someone could watch both teams in these Playoffs and not see that the Rams turn the ball over, and the 
Bengals are opportunistic on Defense. This is not good for the Rams, it is a mismatch here and it is a positive for the Bengals.

We will see if Donald plays good enough to nullify our Offense once our Defense gets a turnover or two.

Would be awesome if we scored a TD on a turnover in this game. I love Burrow and our weapons but our OL has kept us 
from scoring TD's on Offense, hope the OL takes offense and finally helps out the Offense to score TD's in this game.

(02-10-2022, 08:36 AM)PocketAces32 Wrote: I saw a few stats the other day…

Every Rams loss was to a a playoff team.
The Bengals lost 7 games, 5 to non playoff teams.

The Rams outgained their opponents by over 1,000 yards on the year.
The Bengals outgained ther opponents by 82 yards.

Not saying this game is going one way or the other. But teams could say the exact same thing about the Bengals regular season.

The Rams lost 5 games, all to playoff teams, this is true...but remember, 3 of those losses were to SF and the Cards, who they later played again in the playoffs and beat. This Rams Team is not the same team that it was earlier in the season, any more than the Bengals are the same team they were when they lost to non-playoff teams.

This season has made me put more credence into coaching being the primary factor as to why teams win in the playoffs.

I think coaching will win the Super Bowl. Both coaches have shown their ability to adjust and game plan to their opponent. SM is no joke.

(02-11-2022, 03:05 PM)StripesNall Wrote: The Rams lost 5 games, all to playoff teams, this is true...but remember, 3 of those losses were to SF and the Cards, who they later played again in the playoffs and beat. This Rams Team is not the same team that it was earlier in the season, any more than the Bengals are the same team they were when they lost to non-playoff teams.

Yes, both teams are playing their best as a whole right now.

I think we can play better Offense than we have though if the OL has a great plan to handle the Rams pass rush.

Would like to start scoring some TD's on Offense, we have only scored 4 in the Playoffs.