I surmise no one is particularly 100% full of boundless praise about the performance of the team as a collective this season, I dare say even the "optimists" (of which, yes, I am one)...but do we think they can capture the magic again, and take it all the way?

I know there are the usual general discussions and debates, as well as the team-oriented ones, such as is Joe REALLY healthy, etc -- or if it is a coaching issue, because as we all are aware, the right coaches..or the wrong coaches...can make the difference, as well.

Or maybe...a combination of both factors?

Please...let's discuss.

I need to get some pumpkins for the front porch.

While we are playing better with Joe B’s calf healing the offense still misses Perine and Hurst.

Lot of great teams having sloppy offensive performances this week. Injuries starting to pile up for San Francisco and they're looking very beatable. Take the W and move on.

Bengals have to find a rushing offense if they want to compete late in the season. There is zero rushing scheme right now.

(10-15-2023, 05:23 PM)Synric Wrote: Bengals have to find a rushing offense if they want to compete late in the season. There is zero rushing scheme right now.

Absolutely, we’ve effectively eliminated the running game with play calling and scheme. We’ve made things so much harder for ourselves. They need to fix it during the bye.

Why not us.

My first live game, most have been replays on NFL plus as I worked on the previous Sundays before this. Took some notes

Pratt holds up on the sideline instead of charging and lets Walker get an extra 6 or 7 yards down the sideline, good RB but poor LB play
Three man line on 1st and goal at the one? WTF?
Traveon gets tackled a lot by players that are still being blocked
SWEET move by Boyd to pick up the first down
Kind of an Irv Smith sighting
Logan Wilson's 2023 season has been like old Bengals safety Shawn Williams, a step behind almost every play
Offensive line has poor run blocking schemes, lots of ''running into the pile''
This just in, Ja'marr Chase is really good
Chase Brown looked pretty damn quick on his catch on the sideline
Joe Mixon with a nice cut to avoid a loss and pick up a 1st down on third down.
Iosivas benefits from hustling on a QB scramble drill, ie; Joe can move
Joe's emphatic pleas to get the ball for Iosivas
Awuzie gets beat on a perfect throw by Smith. Just tip your cap to the opponent and get on to the next play

Anchorage's game feed by Paramount plus - aka CBS - was lost so they somehow put on repeats from the local NBC affiliate of last years weather lady showing how to take care of outdoor pets and livestock in the Alaskan winter. Not sure how Paramount tapped into Peacock but that's what happened

The game came back just as it was running down to the 2 minute warning
Geno Smith is sharp vs the zone
Joe Burrow shows some M'homes style scrambling to burn off 15 seconds on a short completion on third a 10 to force Seattle to burn their final timeout.
Big punt by Robbins
Cam Sample quickly beats his man to finish off the first half

smoked weed, played Root Beer Tapper on Xbox, smoked more weed

Poor throw by Joe
Great throw by Geno
Facemask puts them in FG range
Ossai lines up for pass rush, was supposed to drop in coverage, Seattle runs the ball, he still drops into coverage anyway
DJ Turner not playing well so far today
Mike Hilton finally playing like Mike Hilton
Volson bull rushed by a linebacker for a sack on third down
Bad call on Dax
Solid goal to go defense, CTB steps up on third down
Joe with a nice scramble to pick up five yards
O-line still can't get a push. On back to back plays, little to no gain with less than two yards to go for a first forcing a mid-field punt
Geno Smith is sharp vs the zone again to start the 4th quarter
CTB with a big diving INT and a good return to put Cincy at the Seattle 34
Joe throws behind three receivers in a row as Cody Ford replaces Orlando Brown Jr
MacPherson nails a 52 yarder
Bullshit roughing the passer call on DJ Reader
Cam Sample forces Geno to scramble and eventually throw the ball away.
Chase with a big catch and run to move the chains and keep the clock moving
Untouched LB sacks Burrow as Cappa helps Karras so Williams goes inside and the LB ran straight to Burrow as he was just stopping back
DK Metcalf blows past CTB at the line and Smith lays in a perfect throw
CTB gets schooled again for a third down conversion
Big sack by Henderson
More pressure by Hubbard and Hendrickson
Hubbard, Hendrickson and Reader all team up and come up huge with a sack on 4th and goal. Readers collapse of the pocket doesn't allow Smith to step up and keeps him in both of the DEs sights
So far, Tee Higgins isn't even ''Just A Guy'' in 2023. He's having problems getting open
Nick Scott is a weak link
DaxHill with a nice dive/tip of a pass at the goal line
BJ Hill forces the incompletion, can finally exhale

At least we're 3-3. WE need to come out of the bye and actually play well on BOTH offense and defense. No more of this nonsense where one side balls out and the other one goes balls up (like today). Although tackling was AGAIN a big problem and so was explosive plays the D made enough big plays to overcome a horrendous performance by the offense.

Offense is a mess man..... not every game is pretty but this is starting to get stupid.

Something about the Stains beating the 49ers w/o Watson - was a dagger to my spirit.

Their D is SICK and I don’t see finishing better than them or the Rat Turds.

Wish list for Santa this year:

A legit Tight End. IRV is not good.
Tee to be the old Tee
JB to be the old JB
Battle to grow up fast so we can ditch Nick Scott asap
More Improvements at OL
A better RB (Not feeling Mixon, Willams, Brown or Evans)

(10-15-2023, 05:23 PM)Synric Wrote: Bengals have to find a rushing offense if they want to compete late in the season. There is zero rushing blocking right now.

FIFY

The good news is the offense is back to where it was last year.

The bad news is the offense is back to where it was last year.

Another postseason of buttcheek offense?

Well we beat the spread … just saying

(10-15-2023, 05:23 PM)Synric Wrote: Bengals have to find a rushing offense if they want to compete late in the season. There is zero rushing scheme right now.

Agree

They absolutely have to get better at running the ball, HAVE TO !!! Like you say, the further you get into the season the more you have to be able to run it. Passing is great when it's 72 degrees and sunshine. But when it's 35 and raining it's a different story.

I might be in the minority but I’m not as worried about the offense as most seem to be. They looked really good in the 1st half, so along with last game that’s 6 straight quarters where they were humming. The 2nd half was ugly, and Joe made some pretty bad throws, but Seattle has some good DB’s, so tip your hat to them for making their adjustments.

If we can get any semblance of a running game going they’ll be fine.

(10-15-2023, 05:23 PM)Synric Wrote: Bengals have to find a rushing offense if they want to compete late in the season. There is zero rushing scheme right now.

They had some running lanes early with that TE motion into a power look. The problem was they never had a counter off it or any other sort of inverse look to it and they were crashing on it late.

There is no physicality to this offense. they run out of shotgun which is not a viable option consistently. They did get under center a couple times. So could be trending to more, but it’s brutal.

(10-15-2023, 05:57 PM)Nicomo Cosca Wrote: I might be in the minority but I’m not as worried about the offense as most seem to be. They looked really good in the 1st half, so along with last game that’s 6 straight quarters where they were humming. The 2nd half was ugly, and Joe made some pretty bad throws, but Seattle has some good DB’s, so tip your hat to them for making their adjustments.

If we can get any semblance of a running game going they’ll be fine.

Seattle does have great defensive backs that is true. But Joe just looked off in that second half more than anything. His accuracy wasn’t there and he made a pretty questionable throw on that pick. But at the same time I think a half like that is always a possibility because the looks like the first time he’s fully healthy and he’s still getting back into that more open playbook.

It was just really refreshing to see the defense pick the offense up when they struggled. Was great complimentary football at the right time.

But you’re right the running game just continues to be sluggish. I don’t know what the answer is but without it they are just going to keep coming after Burrow when he drops back. We need to get that ironed out.

(10-15-2023, 05:48 PM)Whacked Wrote: Something about the Stains beating the 49ers w/o Watson - was a dagger to my spirit.

Their D is SICK and I don’t see finishing better than them or the Rat Turds.

Wish list for Santa this year:

A legit Tight End. IRV is not good.
Tee to be the old Tee
JB to be the old JB
Battle to grow up fast so we can ditch Nick Scott asap
More Improvements at OL
A better RB (Not feeling Mixon, Willams, Brown or Evans)

To be fair SF was down Deebo and McCaffery. And their kicker isn’t going to miss too many of those.