I honestly don't see a win on the remaining schedule without Joe Burrow. The Colts aren't scary but I think Taylor runs wild that week, and we give up all sorts of big plays... They have 2 really good WRs. Maybe we sneak one out over Pittsburgh? We can't seem to beat Cleveland at full strength. The Chiefs will murder us. It just seems like a lost season.

A lot of us post things like "Burrow can win us multiple championships"... That's really hard to do. That loss to the Rams was really tough. It was easy to shrug off because we shouldn't have made it that far that year. Everyone thought Marino would play in multiple Super Bowls, but he never made it back after his second season. Shit like this just demonstrates how hard it is to win. I guess we have one more season of the rookie deal to look forward to.

(11-18-2023, 11:11 AM)Fan_in_Kettering Wrote: Me too.  Never forget the Bengals once beat the Steelers with Ryan Finley at quarterback.

Will not forget. That creepy photo of him is etched into my brain.

(11-17-2023, 07:40 PM)Joelist Wrote: Burrow is injured and out - it is what it is. Ranting about coaches or OL or whatever won't fix it immediately. He'll get the surgery, recover and be back. If the team approaches these 7 games the right way they are not wasted and meaningless. To me these games need to be used for:

1) Identifying the need places correctly so that we go into offseason with a logical plan.

2) Get all the youngsters lots of snaps. If a player is not expected to be here next year sit them, our youths need the snaps. The more snaps we get the kids the better they will be next year.

3) (this is real pie in the sky) Start rethinking how the offense should be schemed because this scheme is too much hoping on Burrow to be a superhero and not a sound one with a real identity.

4) Fix the defensive issues, and make sure the culture in the defensive room embraces good tackling and using your brain out there (read and react and lane discipline and backside are all mental things). ALL the defensive issues are mental at this point.

In other words, lay the foundation for 2024 so we come out of the gate storming and don't let up.

Nice thread Joelist. I have the same frame of mind as well. I am going to enjoy the ride while hopefully we learn from our mistakes
this season. Burrow will get a chance to learn on the sideline and become a better player, our young players will get a lot of valuable 
experience which should be fun to watch. No point in fretting over things you cannot change. Better blocking on Offense and better
tackling on Defense is what we really need to see, this is what the best teams do well.

(11-17-2023, 08:28 PM)LSUfaninTN Wrote: I mean, if it’s true that they hid the injury (I do not believe Burrow for one second, he was just trying to not throw the team under the bus), then the only person in the Bengals organization that doesn’t deserve it is Burrow and the guys he’s throwing it to who are up for new contracts. I don’t blame the OL for this obviously, but when you factor in the fact that they failed to protect him for 3 seasons and this year the OL still isn’t great, it’s just a bad look all around. 

Please go away. Burrow is done for the season. There’s no reason for you to be here at this point.

(11-18-2023, 12:01 AM)LSUfaninTN Wrote: I rescinded that statement for a while, but, I’ve changed my tune. It’s been nothing but bad news for Burrow since he’s been in Cincinnati. I think he’s injury prone at this point, but it’s not all due to that. There are a lot of other teams that would take better care of him. Granted, the appendicitis had nothing to do with the Bengals, but, at this rate he’s going to Andrew Luck himself out of the league. And the OL is better but still kind of sucks. How much abuse is he going to take? 

And yes, I think Burrow is lying because he’s a classy dude and won’t throw the organization under the bus. I also said, “IF” they hid the injury. Not saying definitively they did. But I’ve been saying for a while that ZT is bad news, the Bengals deserve better, and I wouldn’t put it past him to go against medical advice to win a game to save his job. Burrow is the only reason he can sustain one and I think you know that.

So now Burrow is a liar huh? Wow. Just wow.  So say hypothetically something was wrong with Burrow's wrist, why lie about it? The Bengals could put him on the injury list as a game time decision. He played half the game with no issues. What did Burrow or the Bengals either one have to gain by hiding an injury? This is one of the worst takes yet. 

(11-18-2023, 02:17 PM)Destro Wrote: Will not forget. That creepy photo of him is etched into my brain.

(11-17-2023, 08:28 PM)LSUfaninTN Wrote: I mean, if it’s true that they hid the injury (I do not believe Burrow for one second, he was just trying to not throw the team under the bus), then the only person in the Bengals organization that doesn’t deserve it is Burrow and the guys he’s throwing it to who are up for new contracts. I don’t blame the OL for this obviously, but when you factor in the fact that they failed to protect him for 3 seasons and this year the OL still isn’t great, it’s just a bad look all around. 

You don’t have to believe Burrow. Believe your eyes. Burrow went from throwing a TD to unable to grip the ball or finish the game.

He needs surgery for a torn ligament. He didn’t start the game in need of surgery for a torn ligament because he didn’t have a torn ligament. Use some common sense.

And the last time Burrow missed a game due to injury was Week 18 of 2021 when the Bengals rested their starters versus Cleveland because they were already in the playoffs as AFC North champions.

(11-17-2023, 10:50 PM)CincinnatiKid Wrote: No confidence that  Zac Taylor can make lemonade with the offense 

How is he with making chicken salad out of chicken shit?  Meh, he's probably not good at that either.  

(11-18-2023, 12:43 AM)casear2727 Wrote: Burrow is not lying. The video below has a doctor explaining how stupid it is to think that an acute injury like this is a slow dragging injury.  Kinda like having a sore ankle and then you sprain it, not how it works (thanks Breech for that reference).  

Take your disdain for the Bengals and all your potshots, to your own team's board.  

“I don’t believe Joe Burrow is injury prone. Stop with that. Okay? He’s injury prone because he plays quarterback and he gets hit and targeted. He is not injury prone. He plays a collision sport game. None of these injuries; wrist, appendix, calf, ACL are related to each other. It’s not like anyone else kept getting hit would not be injured and Joe Burrow is. So I do not believe he is injury prone. The position he plays makes him prone to injury and he has had some bad luck.”

This presents quite the quandary. Do I believe an orthopedic surgeon? Or do I believe jj22 who maybe got a C+ in high school biology?

(11-18-2023, 10:23 PM)oncemoreuntothejimbreech Wrote: “I don’t believe Joe Burrow is injury prone. Stop with that. Okay? He’s injury prone because he plays quarterback and he gets hit and targeted. He is not injury prone. He plays a collision sport game. None of these injuries; wrist, appendix, calf, ACL are related to each other. It’s not like anyone else kept getting hit would not be injured and Joe Burrow is. So I do not believe he is injury prone. The position he plays makes him prone to injury and he has had some bad luck.”

This presents quite the quandary. Do I believe an orthopedic surgeon? Or do I believe jj22 who maybe got a C+ in high school biology?

Right, And, the way he plays that position, doing everything he can to extend plays instead of throwing out of bounds, makes him even more prone to injury. Use some common sense people. 

(11-18-2023, 08:42 PM)TheLeonardLeap Wrote:

Lolol

The Bengals have historically been horrid without their STAR QB. I now say to the team.. .PROVE ME WRONG..


*looks towards Browning*

See what I am proposing is not tanking, as it does not involve deliberately losing. You still play to win, but you also do it with a longer term view.

Get all the youngsters lots of snaps ESPECIALLY if you anticipate they will be moving into the lineup next season. This gets them seasoned now so next season they go in with practical experience.

This one you do even if Burrow was fine - break down the defense and drill them relentlessly on correct tackling technique. Also work the kids HARD on reading and reacting correctly and drill the D linemen on edge setting. Do it until they are sick and tired of it and they respond by doing it right.

This is one that will take a little time. Break down the offense and rebuild it according to what the players do well and have a coherent identity in there. Bring in an offensive "consultant" with actual success in the NFL for this also. This will also extend to the draft where we might want to go G early and if a good one is there get us a true FB. And set up the plays so the OL can attack and use their size and power to impose their will instead of reacting and falling back. Also restructure the route tree and the routes themselves to help receivers get open. Make the life of the QB easier.

Most of this can be done while still playing to win.