Looking at teams as they stand now, I don't see any we can't beat on next season's schedule.

Ravens-Win- Lou has neutered Lamar
Ravens-Win
Browns-Win-- they may or may not have Mayfield
Browns-Win
Stealers-Win- Who knows who their QB will be.
Stealers-Win
Bills-Toss up, too close to call.
Dolphins-Win Burrow>Tua
Falcons-Win
Panthers- Win
Patriots- Win, I wanted this matchup in the playoffs.
Saints-Win
Buccaneers-No Brady or Gronk-Win
Chiefs- Why not, Shooter for the Win
Titans-Toss up, this will be a tight game.
Cowboys-Win
Jets-Revenge Win

Now all of those won't turn out to be right, but I'm expecting probably a 14-win season. We'll see how FA and the draft play out. First mock I've seen today has us taking Bernhard Raimann (great, another name no one will spell right) OL out of Central Michigan. Sounds like another project, which will be ok IF we get some Free Agents in here......

Quote:The Bengals need O-line help -- this isn't news. Raimann is raw, and perhaps not a Day 1 answer to the O-line woes but, man, he has the potential to be really, really good. Originally from Austria, Raimann is a former tight end who has only played the position for a couple years. But he made a big leap from from Year 1 to Year 2 and there's no reason to think he won't continue to grow into the position.

This is a little early. A lot will change in FA and the draft. The Bengals should be competitive with Burrow under center (or in shot gun I guess), so I can see us in the hunt and being a perennial double digit win team.

If the starters are all healthy, yes.

Optimistic imo, but no reason that can't be true.

I definitely think that undersells the Ravens. Sure we smashed them in Baltimore, which was a key game in showing the potential this team had. The 2nd time we smashed them, they were playing guys from this forum on defence. They will remember those games and I'd be shocked if we don't get two huge efforts from them next year.

Browns have handled us in recent years. Not so sure we sweep them, but we certainly can do.

Steelers... again, I'd be surprised if they don't rebound a bit against us. But far more unknowns about them than Baltimore.

Good time to be playing the NFC South. Bucs will be less without Brady, and the rest of that division is middling.

Chiefs will want revenge big time. Bills were the matchup I didnt want in the playoffs. Titans I'm not worried about, but will be close.

AFC East should be doable, but we traditionally struggle against all of those teams. Cowboys traditionally beat us. But we are a different team now I think.

Regardless of all of the above, if we give Burrow an O Line and keep the majority of the team together, no reason to 'expect' a loss in any of those games. We can be a tough game for all of those teams.

A lot can change, but we should be favored to win every game except Buffalo. At least we can put the "nobody believes in us" talk away for a bit.

20-0! All jokes aside, it sunk in that we watched a whopping 21 Bengals games this year. Lordy.

Burrow is the type of quarterback that will always give you a chance to win the game. We're obviously not going 17-0 and sweeping the division is tough to do, but 10+ wins is far from out of the question.

Let's see how the draft and FA shapes up.

I agree with most of that.

However, we were incredibly healthy for most of the season. Much healthier than most teams and much healthier than we've been in many seasons. That luck isn't likely to continue. I'm not being a pessimist or trying to jinx us or anything. Just saying that's going to be a factor moving forward (maybe a big factor if Joe keeps getting hit like that).

Definitely feel we can have a better record than this past year as long as we stay somewhat healthy. We went 8-4 since November 1st, in games that Burrow started. In 3 of those four losses we lost the turnover battle by I believe at least 2 each time.

If we improve the O-line and sprinkle in some other depth pieces, we should be competing again for a playoff spot. I expect Baltimore to be back and competitive, but I do think teams have started adapting to Lamar, and I don’t trust he will stay healthy all year. Pittsburgh will be competitive with their defense, but they won’t have a QB unless they acquire one in a trade. Cleveland I think is trending down because I think Baker drama will continue once they start losing.

NFC south looks a lot easier without Brady and Sean Payton.

All of this is subject to change, as is our team.

I'm honestly excited about next year's schedule. There should be some fun games in there. Some new rivalries heating up, too. It's nice to see a challenging schedule and not have a feeling of dread, but looking at what could be awesome. I don't think the Bengals actually win that many games next year. But I think the games should be good. Unless they somehow end up coming out flat next year (and I don't see it given how the guys reacted Sunday night and how likely they are to put in the hard work this offseason), they should really make their mark next year.

I've never been one that's been on the L. Jackson band wagon. In the end I'm still not convinced he's that great a QB. I feel his time in the sun is already getting towards it's end. And I hope the Browns keep Mayfield (he's not good) and I strongly believe the spell he's had over the Bengals is now over. Steelers I'd say are gonna be in rebuild mode for a couple seasons.

Rest of the schedule not that scary. Bills, Chiefs, and Titans are the only teams that concern me any.

Pats will smoke us. Belichick is a grand master facing QB's for first time. I think we will split with Ravens and Browns and sweep Steelers. we go 5-0 against NFC. Jets are a team to watch for sports betting purposes they have 150 to 1 odds like we did last year. I have a feeling they will be better next year than what everyone is expecting.

(02-15-2022, 12:14 PM)bengalfan74 Wrote: I've never been one that's been on the L. Jackson band wagon. In the end I'm still not convinced he's that great a QB. I feel his time in the sun is already getting towards it's end. And I hope the Browns keep Mayfield (he's not good) and I strongly believe the spell he's had over the Bengals is now over. Steelers I'd say are gonna be in rebuild mode for a couple seasons.

Rest of the schedule not that scary. Bills, Chiefs, and Titans are the only teams that concern me any.

Yeah I feel yah about Lamar J. But the Ravens on the whole though were absolutely decimated by injuries this year. They lost all 3 running backs early on for example, then just a ton more injuries elsewhere. If they recover fully from all those, they won't be a pushover like they were last year imo. Plus we will be the ones having the big bullseye.

Also the Cowboys will be a good game, and though winnable for sure, it probably won't be an easy one.

AFC North, I believe we will go 4-2, sweeping one of the teams and splitting with the other two.

We have a first place schedule in which we will play five 1st place teams.

The Ravens have a fourth place shedule and play five 4th place teams.

The Ravens will come back fully healthy and want revenge.
The Browns have our number.
I think what held the Steelers back was their QB, if they find a QB via free agency lookout. Remember while we were 10-7, they were 9-7-1.

The Titans will have Derek Henry and want revenge.
The Chiefs will want revenge.

Teams won't take us lightly anymore we will have a target on our back.

That said, we will be in contention and should make one of the 7 spots for the playoffs.

Everyone picking Bills. I could see a surprise bad season. Allen plays so recklessly he's bound to get hurt sooner or later. The D is overrated they dominate mediocre weak offenses and struggle to stop good to great offenses. Elite edge rushers provide matchup problems for them offensively as well.

(02-15-2022, 10:31 AM)jj22 Wrote: This is a little early. A lot will change in FA and the draft. The Bengals should be competitive with Burrow under center (or in shot gun I guess), so I can see us in the hunt and being a perennial double digit win team.

Yep and everybody thought the invincible Bucs were going to win every game this season and still lost 5 games.

(02-15-2022, 12:32 PM)Millhouse Wrote: Yeah I feel yah about Lamar J. But the Ravens on the whole though were absolutely decimated by injuries this year. They lost all 3 running backs early on for example, then just a ton more injuries elsewhere. If they recover fully from all those, they won't be a pushover like they were last year imo. Plus we will be the ones having the big bullseye.

Also the Cowboys will be a good game, and though winnable for sure, it probably won't be an easy one.

Oh I agree

I'm not saying the Ravens are gonna stink. Just that I don't think they're going to be this Juggernaut they've been made out to be the last couple seasons. And I agree on the Cowboys.

(02-15-2022, 10:27 AM)Sled21 Wrote: Looking at teams as they stand now, I don't see any we can't beat on next season's schedule.

Ravens-Win- Lou has neutered Lamar
Ravens-Win
Browns-Win-- they may or may not have Mayfield
Browns-Win
Stealers-Win- Who knows who their QB will be.
Stealers-Win
Bills-Toss up, too close to call.
Dolphins-Win Burrow>Tua
Falcons-Win
Panthers- Win
Patriots- Win, I wanted this matchup in the playoffs.
Saints-Win
Buccaneers-No Brady or Gronk-Win
Chiefs- Why not, Shooter for the Win
Titans-Toss up, this will be a tight game.
Cowboys-Win
Jets-Revenge Win

Now all of those won't turn out to be right, but I'm expecting probably a 14-win season. We'll see how FA and the draft play out. First mock I've seen today has us taking Bernhard Raimann (great, another name no one will spell right) OL out of Central Michigan. Sounds like another project, which will be ok IF we get some Free Agents in here......

We will be better than this year and I think that is a given especially how we CANNOT ignore our weakness after the Super Bowl
which magnified everything we all knew. We have the money to spend and add at least 2 top OL in Free Agency to give Burrow 
time and open up holes for Mixon and company in the running game. I could definitely see a 14 win season with the OL solidified
and Zac Taylor and his coaches fine tuning what they do. Injuries are the question.

But we will be getting back a couple players I am really excited about in Ossai and ADG.

All I know is that we own Pittsburgh. Two wins from this series annually, so there's that.

If they can put together a top-ten offensive line, I see eleven wins on this schedule. That's assuming, of course, that the defense doesn't fall off a cliff.

Ravens (home) - W
Ravens (away) - L
Browns (home) -W
Browns (away) - W
Steelers (home) - W
Steelers (away) - L
Bills - L
Dolphins - W
Falcons - W
Panthers - W
Patriots - W
Saints - W
Buccaneers - L (If they land Russell Wilson)
Chiefs - L
Titans - L
Cowboys - W
Jets - W

We've seen what Burrow can do with a patchwork line. Give him more time in the pocket and this is a top five offense. Book it.

(02-15-2022, 12:18 PM)Bengalfan4life27c Wrote: Pats will smoke us. Belichick is a grand master facing QB's for first time. I think we will split with Ravens and Browns and sweep Steelers. we go 5-0 against NFC. Jets are a team to watch for sports betting purposes they have 150 to 1 odds like we did last year. I have a feeling they will be better next year than what everyone is expecting.

Thinking the same.  Maybe 11-6 and win the division.  

We checked off a lot of boxes in this past season, and there are at least two more previously unattainable things I'd like to see accomplished in 2022:

1) Winning the division in consecutive seasons
2) Winning playoff games in consecutive seasons

If they want to check off "win a super bowl" I'd be okay with that too.