(01-30-2024, 03:15 AM)TheLeonardLeap Wrote: If we NEED Joe Burrow in order to beat Kenny Pickett and Mason Rudolph, that's still worrying.

Steelers were 2 - 0 against the Ravens. 

(01-30-2024, 11:32 AM)Destro Wrote: I'm signing the petition to go to the NFC North.

I'm signing the petition to go to the NFC South.

(01-30-2024, 11:47 AM)BengalYankee Wrote: Steelers were 2 - 0 against the Ravens. 

Division games are weird. How the hell did the Broncos and Raiders (the Aidan O'Connell led Raiders mind you) both beat the Chiefs this season??

(01-30-2024, 10:22 AM)Nicomo Cosca Wrote: And yet they all just shit the bed in the playoffs…

Well, in Baltimore's case Jackson did make some shitty throws, which often happens in games where there running game was unproductive and Jackson feels like he's got to be the hero.  KC played a fundamentally sound game, particularly on defense, on the day you could say that they won the battle of blocking and tackling.  That does not take away that Baltimore was built to be a very fundamentally sound football team this year, same with SF and Det.

(01-30-2024, 12:09 PM)SunsetBengal Wrote: Well, in Baltimore's case Jackson did make some shitty throws, which often happens in games where there running game was unproductive and Jackson feels like he's got to be the hero.  KC played a fundamentally sound game, particularly on defense, on the day you could say that they won the battle of blocking and tackling. That does not take away that Baltimore was built to be a very fundamentally sound football team this year, same with SF and Det.

Detroit’s secondary is terrible. Not sure I agree they’re “fundamentally sound.” Being able to actually cover is pretty fundamental.

(01-30-2024, 11:45 AM)Nicomo Cosca Wrote: Absolutely.

Look, I get wanting to have a better record against the division, ofc we all want that. What I don’t get is wanting to emulate any of these teams. The Bengals have more playoff wins the last couple years than all of them combined.

Same. I get it too, and I would like a better record. However, the way I see it, survive the North and beat the rest. It has worked well with a healthy Burrow, and even with Jake Browning.

(01-30-2024, 11:51 AM)BengalYankee Wrote: I'm signing the petition to go to the NFC South.

I'm in .....

(01-30-2024, 11:42 AM)Nicomo Cosca Wrote: So it’s only a valid excuse if Lamar is out, but Burrow playing on one leg or going out in the middle of a game doesn’t matter? Got it.

And I’m not sure why people think the outcome of last year’s wild card game would have been any different had Lamar played. He’s a notorious playoff choker, and Huntley actually played pretty well (280 total yards, 2 TD’s, 92.0 rating). He did have a couple turnovers, but again, Lamar is known for turning the ball over himself. In Lamar’s 6 playoff games he’s only had a higher passer rating than 92.0 once. The game a couple weeks ago the Texans.

And I said that... where? Burrow not being healthy is perfectly valid too. But I was pointing at the wins and our inability to beat the Ravens when Lamar plays, thats unfortunately a fact, he has a very healthy record against us. We've beat him what... twice? We have to assume he'll generally be their QB for the foreseeable when we play them.

Yes he's a playoff choker, and maybe it wouldn't have been any different. Maybe it'd have been an easier win, we'll never know. Huntley did play well, but we know on balance he's an inferior QB to Lamar. In either case, it took a hero play by the defence not to lose that game, can't generally rely on goal line fumbles to win you games. But again, not taking the W away, just saying we have problems beating the Ravens. Not sure that's really a controversial point to make.

Guys it all comes down to this... Bengals need to win enough vs. the AFC North to make the playoffs period.

Burrow can win us a game home or away.. he's done it multiple times.

They have to improve period we gotta at least bat .500

We are a finese team. Those other teams are not.

Hence the trouble.

We lose the LOS to all three teams, on both sides of the ball, almost every time. Burrow bails us out sometimes, but gets killed doing it.

Mediocre trench play is not good enough.

(01-30-2024, 11:51 AM)BengalYankee Wrote: I'm signing the petition to go to the NFC South.

I'm signing a petition to move the Bengals to either the XFL/USFL or the CFL.

(01-30-2024, 11:52 AM)Nicomo Cosca Wrote: Division games are weird. How the hell did the Broncos and Raiders (the Aidan O'Connell led Raiders mind you) both beat the Chiefs this season??

Much like the Patriots, or Hulk Hogan the Chiefs always seem to go through a beatdown where people declare them "finally dead" before they rise up in the final moments for the championship.  I guess we do the same thing where we start slow and then get worried before we all "know" the Bengals will go on an 8+ game winning streak, and all that.

(01-30-2024, 11:51 AM)BengalYankee Wrote: I'm signing the petition to go to the NFC South.

(01-30-2024, 12:50 PM)Wyche Wrote: I'm in .....

(01-30-2024, 06:18 PM)Nately120 Wrote: I'm signing a petition to move the Bengals to either the XFL/USFL or the CFL.

NAH.

I love playing in the best division in football and I think it makes us a better team, even if we do get into slugfests. It builds us into a better team.



I also don't want the easy way out and, when we finally do win multiple Super Bowls, it will be so incredible to rub it in all their fans' faces!

The AFCN is also a game of the trenches, which, if we can even have decent offensive and defensive lines, Burrow would smoke the rest of the league.

As far as the titles goes, we obviously need a better record in the division and I feel like, if we can raise our level of play to win in the AFCN and win those battles, we can beat any team in the league.

(01-30-2024, 06:33 PM)BFritz21 Wrote: NAH.

I love playing in the best division in football and I think it makes us a better team, even if we do get into slugfests. It builds us into a better team.



I also don't want the easy way out and, when we finally do win multiple Super Bowls, it will be so incredible to rub it in all their fans' faces!

The AFCN is also a game of the trenches, which, if we can even have decent offensive and defensive lines, Burrow would smoke the rest of the league.

As far as the titles goes, we obviously need a better record in the division and I feel like, if we can raise our level of play to win in the AFCN and win those battles, we can beat any team in the league.

Well found some interesting stats if you look at 18 games Burrow has played against division teams in his 7-11 record ,  his numbers are good but below his career avgs per game in yards and qbr rating, same in passing tds , higher in ints , about same in sacks per game, so room to improve in the division.  We can survive  3-3 years but losing 4 or more tends to make it tough in conference tiebreakers too.

(01-30-2024, 11:51 PM)Essex Johnson Wrote: Well found some interesting stats if you look at 18 games Burrow has played against division teams in his 7-11 record ,  his numbers are good but below his career avgs per game in yards and qbr rating, same in passing tds , higher in ints , about same in sacks per game, so room to improve in the division.  We can survive  3-3 years but losing 4 or more tends to make it tough in conference tiebreakers too.

I completely agree but, like I said in my last sentence, I'd rather play in a tough division and be ready for January than have a cake walk and be killed in the playoffs.

Even if you think we wouldn't get killed in the playoffs, I still love playing the toughest football games.

(01-30-2024, 06:18 PM)Nately120 Wrote: I'm signing a petition to move the Bengals to either the XFL/USFL or the CFL.

LMAO!!!!

P.S.   XFL/USFL merged and is now the UFL.

(01-31-2024, 05:54 PM)BFritz21 Wrote: I completely agree but, like I said in my last sentence, I'd rather play in a tough division and be ready for January than have a cake walk and be killed in the playoffs.

Even if you think we wouldn't get killed in the playoffs, I still love playing the toughest football games.

The last few years the Chiefs were in a cake walk division and look what it got them two SB's.

Brady was in the aforementioned NFC South cake walk division and he got a SB there, before that he was in the cake walk AFC Least and he got 6 SB's from there and 9 SB appearances. 

(01-31-2024, 05:54 PM)BFritz21 Wrote:  I'd rather play in a tough division and be ready for January than have a cake walk and be killed in the playoffs.

nah. Brady dealt with cake walks constantly, and they were always ready in january

(01-30-2024, 05:51 AM)TheLeonardLeap Wrote: On defense we allowed them to get the 2nd and 3rd most yards they got all year, and the 1st most points as well. Meanwhile on offense missing Joe Burrow isn't a reason to average 10.5 points per game against the Steelers (barely over half of their season average points allowed). 

We had Joe Burrow in 2022 and still went 3-3 against the division despite having games against Mitchell Trubisky, Jacoby Brissett, Anthony Brown, and Kenny Pickett.

It's not just a missing Joe Burrow problem. It's a leaning hard on Joe Burrow to mask a lot of problems problem.

Yup 

We have to get way better at running the ball and many other things.

(01-29-2024, 11:36 PM)Fan_in_Kettering Wrote: When a team goes 9-8 but underperforms in division play at 1-5 a problem definitely exists.  Winning just two more division games — or maybe even one more — would have likely placed the Bengals in the AFC playoffs.

Also — and let’s be brutally honest — the Bengals should rightly have gone 0-6 in the division.  In Week 18 Cleveland started their fifth string practice squad’s little brothers to save their starters for the playoffs.

In 2021 and 2022, the years the Bengals went to the AFC Championship, the team featured winning records against division opponents on the way to winning the AFC North and thereby securing at least one home playoff game.  I am of the firm belief that Cincinnati needs to refocus effort on winning the AFC North and possibly securing a higher seed in the playoffs.

Success in the AFC North requires a shutdown defense, a robust running game, and a solid offensive line.  That’s where to focus in the offseason.

Bengals gonna need to change up some of their scheme if they're gonna primarily focus on beating the heavy-run teams in the AFC North.
But they changed their approach to beating the likes BUF and KC.
And if the playoffs were any indication, the AFC North run-heavy teams didn't really do that well after all.

I prefer being able to beat the Chiefs and Bills, as long as the Bengals can find their way back into the postseason.
Heck, they almost made it with Burrow being either out or largely hobbled for all but 5 games of the season.

All loses to AFC north teams this year was because both of our lines got dominated. End of story.

I wish we could clone Munoz.