(09-20-2023, 12:44 AM)guyofthetiger Wrote: The Bengals are in a pickle. Play Joe injured or sit him out. Personally, I think he should sit out this week and play next week. At least let him get some rest and healing.

I don't think any of us are qualified to assess this. They have doctors.

It's a muscle strain. Doctors can decide what the risk of playing with a strain is. And they can act accordingly.

But, in the future, he's likely going to get other strains. IF we shut him down for half the season every time that happens...well it's not going to go well.

From 0-2, IF we shut him down for 5 weeks...we're likely out of the playoffs. We'll go 1-4 or at best 2-3 over that span. Heck, with him we could do that. Not saying that's bad...it depends on the injury and risk.

I would think we lose every game we sit him, maybe we need to give/get a backup QB real game reps so in a another year/season we have a backup that's able to play in a catastrophe or something like Mahomes had last playoffs where the backup came in and scored a TD.

Or maybe this is the year we concentrate on our run game and Burrow isn't somehow the 1st option, he's the 2nd option. They're still lingering in their head past years where he has to be the 1st option. Like if you pulled a Belichick with our Oline and Mixon and told them we're going to run every play except 3 of them.

I wonder if we had a nick foles situation how would we feel, any differently if burrow wasn't the one that led us to a SB win lol.

I cannot condone throwing the season by sitting Joe

And let me say, sitting Joe will be the end of the season. This isn’t a fairy tale. If we sit Burrow we’re aren’t winning even one of those games. The whole scheme
Is created off Burrows accuracy. No way Zac can put in another good offense and get good enough QB play to win games.

If we sit Burrow we might as well tank and not try to win the 4-6 games we’d win without Burrow

(09-20-2023, 09:22 AM)reuben.ahmed Wrote: I would think we lose every game we sit him, maybe we need to give/get a backup QB real game reps so in a another year/season we have a backup that's able to play in a catastrophe or something like Mahomes had last playoffs where the backup came in and scored a TD.

This, we do likely lose every game with Browning and anyone thinking we can easily win games without Burrow isnt keeping up. The Rams have one of the best offenses in the league, beat the Seahawks in Seattle and played the Niners tough, Titans beat the Chargers with a healthy Herbert.

Will Grier showed out well in the preseason if we have to go to a backup. I dont think Browning gives us a chance.

Going down 0-3 will pretty much end the season unless they can squeak a wildcard berth. And I have to think the odds of going 0-3 are very strong by sitting Burrow. Maybe I am being a bit biased because I don't think to highly of the offensive coaching in regards of being up there with the best of them coaching wise. And combine that with a 27 year old career backup of backups who would be playing his first NFL game on MNF.

Yeah I don't know, but if Joe does play, the coaches better scheme around it to maximize what Joe can do with all the talent around him while protecting him as much as possible.

I don't know guys? I'm just trying to look at the bigger picture. And I'm thinking if Joe is only 65% on that calf, can't plant off of it, can't twist it quickly to scramble, is unable and/or afraid to accelerate quickly with it. In other words greatly hindered. You're asking for him to get really injured.

And I'm thinking, what is one more game off gonna do? If he's not 100%, okay 95%. Why not sit him down long enough to make a difference? 5 weeks

I get it, our chances of winning go waayyyyy down. I just don't wanna see Greg Cook 2.0

It doesn't matter if you sit him or not.

If you sit him, the season is over and there's a good chance he doesn't fully recover all year he if does come back and play. If you let him play and he strains it again or re injures it, the season is over.

Bengals made their bed. They need to continue to play him and just roll with it. Hindsight is they should have sat him the first two weeks but no one wanted that before the season started.

Chargers Jags line moved like this last season and Herbert wound up playing of course Chargers got rolled

(09-20-2023, 10:38 AM)WeezyBengal Wrote: It doesn't matter if you sit him or not.

If you sit him, the season is over and there's a good chance he doesn't fully recover all year. If you let him play and he strains it again or re injures it, the season is over.

Bengals made their bed. They need to continue to play him and just roll with it. Hindsight is they should have sat him the first two weeks but no one wanted that before the season started.

Hindsight is always 20/20

Yes they should have listened to Chase and sat him down first few games, I get it. But what's the proper thing to do going forward?

We should have sat him week 1 Burrow is an awful QB in the rain.

(09-20-2023, 10:42 AM)bengalfan74 Wrote: Hindsight is always 20/20

Yes they should have listened to Chase and sat him down first few games, I get it. But what's the proper thing to do going forward?

I mean I think it just depends if he can play through it or not. if he can, then play him. If he is limping out there then obviously sit him. I wouldnt just sit him for the sake of giving it "time to heal" though...because it's not going to. 

(09-20-2023, 10:38 AM)WeezyBengal Wrote: It doesn't matter if you sit him or not.

If you sit him, the season is over and there's a good chance he doesn't fully recover all year he if does come back and play. If you let him play and he strains it again or re injures it, the season is over.

Bengals made their bed. They need to continue to play him and just roll with it. Hindsight is they should have sat him the first two weeks but no one wanted that before the season started.

There's no doubt that the season lives or dies with Burrow. If you bench him now, we're likely looking at a wasted year. If you play him and he re-injures it and he's out for 5+ games, you're also looking at a wasted year.  

So, by that logic, may as well see if he is healthy enough to keep going, because whether he is injured or not, him not playing means we are done.

My only hesitation is that there seems to be a correlation between strained calves and torn ligaments. If the calf muscle is not performing its duties fully, more strain is put on the connecting ligaments to keep the leg moving and that could result in tears.


If our choices are:
1. Sit Burrow and let the calf fully heal while throwing away the season.
2. Play Burrow and risk him tearing his ligaments again, leading to another rehab off season and another missed training camp and another slow start to 2024

....#2 becomes a bit of a harder sell.

It'll all come down to the confidence of the doctors that he isn't risking catastrophic injury by playing on this injured calf.

(09-20-2023, 10:48 AM)Crazyjdawg Wrote: There's no doubt that the season lives or dies with Burrow. If you bench him now, we're likely looking at a wasted year. If you play him and he re-injures it and he's out for 5+ games, you're also looking at a wasted year.  

So, by that logic, may as well see if he is healthy enough to keep going, because whether he is injured or not, him not playing means we are done.

My only hesitation is that there seems to be a correlation between strained calves and torn ligaments. If the calf muscle is not performing its duties fully, more strain is put on the connecting ligaments to keep the leg moving and that could result in tears.


If our choices are:
1. Sit Burrow and let the calf fully heal while throwing away the season.
2. Play Burrow and risk him tearing his ligaments again, leading to another rehab off season and another missed training camp and another slow start to 2024

....#2 becomes a bit of a harder sell.

It'll all come down to the confidence of the doctors that he isn't risking catastrophic injury by playing on this injured calf.

I would argue he runs a bigger risk of further compromise if he rests too long. Soft tissue injuries should be treated intentionally and carefully but not necessarily gently. 

Everyone was screaming and hollering about our backup QB situation during the preseason when we actually had to watch them play.
Joe comes back and everyone kinda forgets about it.  Until now.

It's pretty obvious we aren't winning anything with Browning.  The run game isn't polished enough to lean on because ZT won't balance the offense to involve Mixon more, which would've helped Burrow's calf in the process.  Probably too late to start trying that now.  Management didn't address backup QB and won't because they've got Browning for a cool $750K.  

So now what?  I say if Joe can play this week, play him.  If the calf gets worse and we lose, he will have until next summer to let it heal as we'll be out of the playoff hunt anyway.  Then Browning can finish out the season and we can focus on the draft. 

I know what I would've done if I was management.  I would've called Wentz, Ryan, Foles or another GM looking for a possible trade by now.  Of course, I'm not the one sitting on $13 million in cap space.  Perhaps if I had that kind of money, my thinking would be vastly different.

(09-20-2023, 10:38 AM)WeezyBengal Wrote: It doesn't matter if you sit him or not.

If you sit him, the season is over and there's a good chance he doesn't fully recover all year he if does come back and play. If you let him play and he strains it again or re injures it, the season is over.

Bengals made their bed. They need to continue to play him and just roll with it. Hindsight is they should have sat him the first two weeks but no one wanted that before the season started.

Especially when the Bengals did as little as possible in getting a capable backup QB which has been very much the norm for a long time now. (Maybe they tried? I didn't exactly follow them that much in offseason)

(09-20-2023, 11:55 AM)Millhouse Wrote: Especially when the Bengals did as little as possible in getting a capable backup QB. (Maybe they tried? I didn't exactly follow them that much in offseason)

This is a huge point not being talked about enough IMO. 

If you KNEW Burrow wasn't exactly 100% and playing a backup was most likely going to have to happen at some point in the season, how do you not prepare yourself better than having one of the worst backups in the league on your roster? 

(09-20-2023, 11:55 AM)Millhouse Wrote: Especially when the Bengals did as little as possible in getting a capable backup QB which has been very much the norm for a long time now. (Maybe they tried? I didn't exactly follow them that much in offseason)

I think so as well.

I get it, you're not going to have Joe Montana 2.0 sitting on the bench the vast majority of the time. However Browning is the best we could do??? Not buying that.

Too bad there's not somebody out there they could pick up now. 

You sit Joe & it's a wrap on the season. Either he plays through it or the season is done. Which do you prefer?

(09-20-2023, 09:36 AM)Housh Wrote: I cannot condone throwing the season by sitting Joe

And let me say, sitting Joe will be the end of the season. This isn’t a fairy tale. If we sit Burrow we’re aren’t winning even one of those games. The whole scheme
Is created off Burrows accuracy. No way Zac can put in another good offense and get good enough QB play to win games.

If we sit Burrow we might as well tank and not try to win the 4-6 games we’d win without Burrow

There are some OTs I really like in the upcoming draft that the Bengals might have to be picking in the 8-15 range to get.
Just saying.

(09-20-2023, 01:56 PM)PCB Bengal Fan Wrote: You sit Joe & it's a wrap on the season. Either he plays through it or the season is done. Which do you prefer?

As long as we win.  I know it's only 2 games, but our current trend of playing him, making his calf worse, and then still taking the L isn't conducive to a successful season either.