I'll play.

My predictions…
1. 12-5: Too high in my opintion. 10-7 with a WC berth. From there, anything can happen.

2.  Joey B has an MVP type of year. Not predicting one but certainly in the discussion: I'll raise it further. I'm expecting this to happen. We pay him to be this guy and he has a great situation with the offense. He better make it work.


3. Tee Higgins has his best year: Sure.
4. Jamar Chase has a solid year: Sure

5. Orlando Brown has his best year: I'll take the safer bet and say he does worse, but only slightly worse; which is still better play than what we've gotten at LT before we signed him

6. The OL is top 15 in PFF: Top 20. Marginal improvement overall, but improved play at RT and RG in particular.

7. Mike Gesicki after a slow start comes on strong the last half of the season: Why would he have a slow start?

8. The offense has its best yards per play number in Taylor’s career: In the second half, maybe; but I think there are too many new pieces for us to be popping off right out the gate


9. Our linebackers carry the defense: Fair


10. Myles Murphy emerges: Most overhyped dude on the team. At this point, I hope he pops off for the board's sake.


11. Baltimore and Cincy play in the AFC Championship (Cincy wins KC injury luck runs out): Baltimore has an uphill battle with turnover on the defensive side of the ball. I don't see them getting past KC, Houston, or any sleeper team. Cincy vs KC part 3 or Cincy vs Houston sounds more likely.


12. SF vs Cincy in SB: Nope. The NFC champions will be the Atlanta Falcons, Green Bay Packers, or Dallas Cowboys.. I'll die on this hill.

13. Isovias, Irwin, and Burton have a fierce battle as #3 receiver: Yup.

14. The right side of the line finally elevates us to success in goal line and short yardage: See above

15. The defense is average but opportunistic with turnovers and we lead the league in TO margin: The likelihood of the defense being worse than it was last year is more likely than you think.

(08-14-2024, 02:57 PM)BengalBob Wrote: All of this back and forth about stats is meaningless.  It's all about the market.  The market says Chase will be the highest-paid WR until the next guy comes along.

No it actually doesn't.

Tyreek Hill got paid after Brown, St Brown, and Jefferson, and his new money averaged less than all three.
Waddle got paid after Brown and St Brown and still got less than them.
DJ Moore got paid after Brown, St Brown, AND Waddle and got less than them.

The next guy signed doesn't automatically just reset the market every single time. 

(08-14-2024, 03:09 PM)Soonerpeace Wrote: Chase is a hell of a lot more valuable to the Bengals than A J Brown is to the Eagles. It’s not just about stats. If you don’t recognize that Chase is a top 5 receiver I can’t help you. Because of his contract timeline he’s going to warrant JJ money.

Top-5 isn't the same as "more money than Jefferson". Other top-5 WRs got paid this offseason and none of them got more money than Jefferson and nobody expected them to get more money than Jefferson.

(08-14-2024, 03:12 PM)Soonerpeace Wrote: I mean some people have zero common sense or practicality.They make it to hard. It’s not 100% measurable

$35m/yr is very measurable, and Chase isn't going to get ir or more than it without an absolute monster 2024 season. That's practically common sense.

Also what's with the personal attacks, Sooner?

(08-14-2024, 04:49 PM)TheLeonardLeap Wrote: No it actually doesn't.

Tyreek Hill got paid after Brown, St Brown, and Jefferson, and his new money averaged less than all three.
Waddle got paid after Brown and St Brown and still got less than them.
DJ Moore got paid after Brown, St Brown, AND Waddle and got less than them.

The next guy signed doesn't automatically just reset the market every single time. 


Top-5 isn't the same as "more money than Jefferson". Other top-5 WRs got paid this offseason and none of them got more money than Jefferson and nobody expected them to get more money than Jefferson.


$35m/yr is very measurable, and Chase isn't going to get ir or more than it without an absolute monster 2024 season. That's practically common sense.

Also what's with the personal attacks, Sooner?

I did not quote you.i do agree to get more he’s going to have to have a monster season. You are possibly the best analytical poster on here. You catch things most don’t. Yet it’s not always about analytics. But Where we differ is on AJ Brown. I don’t care how Brown’s stats line up with Chase. He’s not as good. Nor is Chase as good as Jefferson. I really think that both Chase and Tee need a third and fourth receiver to take hold. They both get doubled a lot.

(08-14-2024, 11:25 AM)TheLeonardLeap Wrote: He needs by far the best year of his career.

AJ Brown put up more yards than Chase's career high in back-to-back seasons and still fell short of Jefferson by $3m/yr. 
St Brown was a 1st Team All-Pro and beat Chase's career best season and still fell short of Jefferson by $5m/yr.

Chase needs 1,700+ yards and a 1st Team All-Pro this year if he wants to be in the Jefferson pay conversation. 

Both of those deals were signed PRIOR to JJ, thus they have zero relevance, IMO.

Also:
Brown is 27 years old.
Chase has more yards and TDs with less receptions than St. Brown.
Chase is considered better than both by many, stat chasers can look silly at times.


Chase needs to have a very good year and JJs contract will be a year older when Chase signs.  
I will say it again, Chase doesn't need to have the greatest season a WR has ever had to pass JJ, IMHO.

(08-13-2024, 03:53 PM)Nate (formerly eliminate08) Wrote: We play the Detriot Lions in the Super Bowl. 

(08-13-2024, 04:02 PM)Soonerpeace Wrote: I had Detroit lol and changed it right before posting.

I've been predicting (desperately wanting) that matchup since the mid-80's, and it's about damn time it happened.  We finally get the Lombardi and Detroit finally gets an NFC Championship. Joy erupts in the land where people drink 'pop' instead of 'soda.'

Bengals 12-5 or better.

Bengals Chiefs AFC Champ.
Bengals over Lions in Super Bowl.

Burrow MVP regular season.

Higgins and Chase have their best years.

Easy year of predictions. Easy schedule for Bengals.
Just hope they can stay healthy and finish off the season with a win in the Super Bowl.

(08-15-2024, 09:53 AM)Awful Llama Wrote: I've been predicting (desperately wanting) that matchup since the mid-80's, and it's about damn time it happened.  We finally get the Lombardi and Detroit finally gets an NFC Championship. Joy erupts in the land where people drink 'pop' instead of 'soda.'

For sure Llama I think this is what the sports world needs pretty desperately as far as us sports fans go.

(08-15-2024, 11:50 AM)Bengalstripes9 Wrote: Bengals 12-5 or better.

Bengals Chiefs AFC Champ.
Bengals over Lions in Super Bowl.

Burrow MVP regular season.

Higgins and Chase have their best years.

Easy year of predictions. Easy schedule for Bengals.
Just hope they can stay healthy and finish off the season with a win in the Super Bowl.

Hope Tee can stay healthy, if so, I have the same predictions.

I will throw another one out there. CTB leads the AFC in interceptions.

My prediction is Higgins has more yards and TD's than Chase.

Also, combination of WR3 is better without Boyd.

Our defense is better than expected and becomes a top 15 defense in both points and yards allowed.

Burrow has a career year.

Murphy and Hill emerge as most improved from 2023.

Burton becomes a key weapon as teams scheme to take Chase out of our offense.

Yoshi does his best work inside the 20 yard line.

1.) We go 14-3 and have the #1 seed in playoffs.

2.) Burrow wins MVP and breaks single season TD record.

3.) Chase breaks 2,000 yards and 15 Tds.

4.) Trey Breaks single season sack record and wins DPOY.

5.) We get eliminated by the Jets in semifinal but win back to back Superbowls in 25 an 26.

Bleacher Report

Cincinnati Bengals (11-6)
As long as quarterback Joe Burrow stays healthy, the Bengals will be back atop the AFC North, as they were in 2021 and 2022. You can bet (responsibly) on the Bengals signing wideout Ja'Marr Chase to an extension before Week 1. With Chase, Tee Higgins and an underrated Mike Gesicki at tight end, Cincinnati will field a prolific passing attack. Lou Anarumo's defense will rank within the top 12 in takeaways for a third consecutive campaign to balance a playoff-caliber squad.
Baltimore Ravens (10-7)
The Ravens signed Derrick Henry, who fits their physical culture, though they could have issues blocking for him and protecting a much slimmer Lamar Jackson this year. The Ravens lost three starting offensive linemen from the previous season. Baltimore will also have to adjust defensively after its former coordinator, Mike MacDonald, took the Seattle Seahawks' head-coaching job. The Ravens still have a playoff-caliber roster, but they won't be as dominant as last year.
Pittsburgh Steelers (9-8)
With or without wideout Brandon Aiyuk, Pittsburgh will field a run-heavy offense under offensive coordinator Arthur Smith who should feature Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren as one of the league's best running back duos. Typically, the Steelers field a stingy defense, but they must figure out how to get the best out of 35-year-old Russell Wilson or Justin Fields, which isn't an easy task with possibly two rookie starters along the offensive line.
Cleveland Browns (8-9)
Deshaun Watson's production will determine whether Cleveland remains in the playoff picture or finishes with a sub-.500 record. In 14 games with the Browns, he's thrown for 14 touchdowns and nine interceptions with a 59.8 percent completion rate. The Browns' stingy defense should keep them in games. On the flip side, running back Nick Chubb doesn't have a timetable for return, and Joe Flacco isn't there to bail the offense out if Watson struggles or is unavailable down the stretch.

Taylor Swift wins another SB.