(01-10-2016, 10:16 PM)Shake n Blake Wrote: I'm sure most of what I'm about to say has already been said numerous times considering all the traffic on the boards, but I still need to vent, so here goes...

1. How do the Steelers get away with so much BS? The NFL should look into the incidents involving Munchak and Porter. Suspensions should be issued and some rules probably need to be implemented. There's no place for that in the NFL. Of course, it seems the NFL only  makes a move when there's intense media scrutiny. My guess is this gets swept under the rug. It shouldn't.

2. While I do think the Burfict hit on Brown crossed the line (kinda ticky-tack, but an illegal hit regardless), how the ____ was the hit on Bernard not illegal? Shazier nearly killed him. I was genuinely concerned for Gio as a person after that clearly illegal hit. Yet no penalty. Has the NFL released any statements on that hit?

3. I'm not going to roast Marv for this and I'm not one of those guys that questions every coaching decision. But considering Hill's past fumbling issues and the situation we were in, I think kneeling it to run out clock and kicking a FG to go up by 4 would've been a very smart coaching move. That said, a fumble - even for Hill - isn't exactly a probable outcome. So that's why I won't roast Marv for not kneeling.

4. 5 fumbles (WOW), 3 killer turnovers, 2 false starts from Whit, plus the meltdown by Tez and Pacman? I will roast Marv for that. Where's the discipline? Why do Marv's guys fall apart so much under pressure? Almost without fail?

5. On a positive note, despite the lack of discipline and turnovers, this is the first time that Marv's players have shown up for a playoff game. Some say the defense showed up in the Texans 2.0 game, but if you go back and watch the game or check the stats, the defense did not play up to their standards that day. In the previous 4 games, hardly any players showed up. Last night, so many guys made plays FINALLY. That's what made this the most heartbreaking Bengals game I've ever seen. Even more than 2005.

6. Andy Dalton has received probably 90% of the playoff blame over the last 4 years. Last night, McCarron joined Dalton and Palmer with a horrific playoff performance. 3 fumbles and a pick. 68.3 passer rating. The offense was AWOL for 3 quarters and was the primary reason we lost. I said a few years back that I don't think any QB can have success in the playoffs under Marvin Lewis. Last night just further confirms it for me. I still like Macaroni, I don't place the blame on him. I just don't think Marv puts QBs in a position to succeed.

7. The optimistic side of me wants to say that this game could've went either way, I liked the effort, and with Dalton we probably would've won. Maybe we can finally win one next year. The pessimistic side of me wonders how many more chances this group is going to get. What if we miss the playoffs entirely? If they make it back, they'll probably just find a new way to blow it.

This is one of those times where I really wish the boards were more united. I could really use some Bengals group therapy after this one. I really thought I was witnessing a Bengals playoff win for the first time in my 20+ years as a fan, yet here we are, facing the same questions as the previous 4 off-seasons. Frustrating isn't the word.

All great points and I agree

(01-11-2016, 09:59 AM)masonbengals fan Wrote: It was without a doubt the most heartbreaking loss for me ever as a fan. Nothing compares to it. To go from one emotional high to the lowest of the low feeling in a matter of minutes. Still feel like we got hosed, but Hill's fumble created that whole mess.


I'd like to take a moment & apologize for anything that I wrote on here directly after the game. My emotions like everybody's were high & I had had way too much to drink at that point. I didn't go back & read any of my post from after the game and don't want to relive it in any way. 

I'll be back in the stands when I can & rooting them on from home next year as usual though.
&
I still say
**** you Pittsburgh

All of us were and all devastated. The early media pissing on Burict the entire game (before the penalty) did nto help. Yesterday some idiot on the NFL Sirius radio was calling out the Bengals, their fans as losers (guy on morning show who hosts), today same network has Sharp and others showing how the Bengals were screwed over and over again which is why the fans went crazy in the stands. No excuse fot it, but the incredibly poor calls caused the rioting and throwing of things, It is wrong, but it was not unprovoked.

This one was tough. I've been a fan since '79. I've seen some ups and plenty of downs. I felt good about this game going in. I was in Florida with one of my daughters for a field hockey tournament and the other parents all know I'm a Bengals fan. Had a lot of people in my corner.

As luck would have it, it was also my birthday Saturday and there would be no better gift than a victory. Thought they had the game won only to witness that ending. All the parents felt bad for me Sunday, but the one who really put it into perspective was my 15 year old. She looked at me yesterday on the way to the airport and simply said "It's just a game Daddy." Message received.

Great post. I have to say Im still pissed from Saturday's loss. When we lined up to play the Steelers I knew this shit would happen and it did. It's way to much of a coincidence they get breaks going their way all the time. Im not saying the Steelers have things rigged their way but do think there is some preferential treatment going on with calls on the field.

Marvin Lewis made every wrong decision he could at that moment. He needs to quit clapping his hands and saying lets finish and actually finish himself, he doesn't.

What drives me more crazy than anything else is the fact Lewis will be here no matter what he does.

Every year its the same, we lose, everyone says Im done expecting anything, next year...you get hope then repeat.

I honestly wasn't expecting them to win Saturday, in fact Im shocked they almost did. It made the loss worse when you know they had the game and literally gave it away. The only other loss for me that was more painful was the 88 SB loss.

(01-10-2016, 10:29 PM)WeezyBengal Wrote: I dont understand why Hill was getting the majority of the carries to begin with. Gio has been the better back all year.

I do think that, sans the near decapitation, Gio would have been carrying the ball. 

I think I would have given the ball to Rex.  I am sick to death of The Fumbler.  He had a mostly lousy year, he has no composure, no maturity, is way too selfish.

And finally, how might things have been different if we could truly trust our kicker?

(01-11-2016, 11:59 AM)McC Wrote: I do think that, sans the near decapitation, Gio would have been carrying the ball. 

I think I would have given the ball to Rex.  I am sick to death of The Fumbler.  He had a mostly lousy year, he has no composure, no maturity, is way too selfish.

And finally, how might things have been different if we could truly trust our kicker?

All Hill had to do was take the ball and fall down 3 times. He didn't need to push it. We were in field goal range, and could have put the game away. Dumbest player on the team. I would be ok if we cut him.

I agree with everything other than you saying AJM had a horrific performance. I get it, he sucked it up for three quarters but you can't pin the loss on him. I was literally getting ready to write an article about how it took two AJ's to overcome our playoff bug when all the BS went down.
He played poorly at first no doubt, but it was very heavy rain and that's not something you can anticipate and practice in. You can't say AJM and the offense was a main reason we lost though because he should have been the reason we won. He pulled it together at the end in what should have been the greatest playoff comeback of all time.

But the G*DD**M refs decided to call the game with that Jone's flag! Porter should have been flagged too offsetting the penalty. At least let the game end with a difficult field goal try.

Worst of all, they missed the call on Gio and then after reviewing the obvious illegal hit they gave the Stoolers the ball. Oh and no flags for them dancing like idiots while Gio is unconscious.
They let those F**king A**hats provoke the shit out of our team and then only called shit on us. They wanted to penalize us that's why Porter came on the field and received a game ball for it. Pacman was right worst f**king refs ever! So bias, so obvious and yet swept under the rug with help from the stupid announcers. Like the announcers have never heard of helmet to helmet before. Give me a break, the NFL must have wanted the bigger fan base to win and it seemed like everyone was on board to fix the game.

Saw a comment on PFT I thought I'd share. Of course, PFT is painting the Bengals in a bad light and saying nothing about the Steelers. They're going to post a story (really an opinion piece) on the Shazier hit soon. Of course I'm sure they'll come up with an angle that makes it not a dirty hirt.

Quote:As Cincy fan, I don’t think there was any way Brown was faking it. Looks like he got hit on the button by Burfict’s shoulder and was genuinely out. That said, if Brown plays this week, then I think it raises some questions.

I wonder how people would view Burfict’s hit if Nance had called Burfict’s shoulder hit “unfortunate” and Shazier’s helmet to helmet hit “disgraceful”. A lot of this narrative that Burfict was “out of control” is directly from the broadcast crew. If you go back and watch the broadcast, Burfict spent a lot of time pleading to the refs early in the game because he was getting knocked around after the whistle and knew he couldn’t retaliate (see DeCastro blocking him 20 yards into end zone after the whistle).

After the Shazier hit – the sideline reporter literally says something to the effect of “Burfict is losing it”. We don’t see it, we just hear it. Yet, somehow, he is the one Bengal maintaining composure and making plays the next series. He sacks Ben on a perfectly legal play (which turns out to be game changer) – and Nance spends 15 minutes asking Mike Carey repeatedly whether there was anything illegal about the tackle (they’ve quickly moved on from the “unfortunate” Shazier hit). Burfict does nothing for the remainder of the game other than make legal plays (including an incredible diving interception that should have sealed the game). Then the personal foul at the end. That’s it. That’s the one play in this game that made him an “out of control” monster. I understand he has an earned history (just as Mike Mitchell and Joey Porter do)…. but this idea that he was a ticking time bomb all game is a fiction. He and Shazier were probably the two best players on the field for the most of the game.

I think this commenter is right (not on Brown's acting job, but everything else). The more time I've had to sit back and think about it, the more I realize that Burfict wasn't as "out of control" as the media painted him. Even his 1 dirty play wasn't really dirty. Meanwhile they brushed off Shazier's far more brutal hit on Gio, as well as the thuggish behavior of Steelers coaches, DeCastro targeting Burfict, etc.

(01-11-2016, 01:44 PM)Shake n Blake Wrote: I think this commenter is right (not on Brown's acting job, but everything else). The more time I've had to sit back and think about it, the more I realize that Burfict wasn't as "out of control" as the media painted him. Even his 1 dirty play wasn't really dirty. Meanwhile they brushed off Shazier's far more brutal hit on Gio, as well as the thuggish behavior of Steelers coaches, DeCastro targeting Burfict, etc.

Of course it was a narrative, the media knows the Steelers have the bigger fanbase and they were coloring them as the victims all night. I couldn't believe how much BS they were getting away with on the sidelines after the hit on Gio! Duck dancing and antagonizing the Bengals with no repercussions. No one was commenting on how out of control Shazier was or how they should not have given them the ball after that fumble. He was knocked unconscious for Christ Sake! Then there was hardly any comment on a coach Mike Munchak pulling Reggie Nelson's hair! That should be an ejection! WTF! The whole game was announced for the a**hat Steelers fan base. It was so biased and so obvious that fines just aren't enough to satisfy me. I'm still pissed about it! 

(01-10-2016, 10:16 PM)Shake n Blake Wrote: I'm sure most of what I'm about to say has already been said numerous times considering all the traffic on the boards, but I still need to vent, so here goes...

3. I'm not going to roast Marv for this and I'm not one of those guys that questions every coaching decision. But considering Hill's past fumbling issues and the situation we were in, I think kneeling it to run out clock and kicking a FG to go up by 4 would've been a very smart coaching move. That said, a fumble - even for Hill - isn't exactly a probable outcome. So that's why I won't roast Marv for not kneeling.

4. 5 fumbles (WOW), 3 killer turnovers, 2 false starts from Whit, plus the meltdown by Tez and Pacman? I will roast Marv for that. Where's the discipline? Why do Marv's guys fall apart so much under pressure? Almost without fail?

 

This is one of those times where I really wish the boards were more united. I could really use some Bengals group therapy after this one. I really thought I was witnessing a Bengals playoff win for the first time in my 20+ years as a fan, yet here we are, facing the same questions as the previous 4 off-seasons. Frustrating isn't the word.

This is my question as well.  The lack of discipline on this team is ludicrous and has gone back to at least the 2005 season.  I don't think Lewis is capable of reigning some of these guys in and it always seems to hurt at the worst possible moments.

Watching the Bengals in the playoffs is like a bad Carrie sequel. Pops keeps telling me they're all going to laugh at us, and I refuse to listen saying they won't were serious this time. Yet when the clock strikes midnight.........

(01-11-2016, 01:44 PM)Shake n Blake Wrote: Saw a comment on PFT I thought I'd share. Of course, PFT is painting the Bengals in a bad light and saying nothing about the Steelers. They're going to post a story (really an opinion piece) on the Shazier hit soon. Of course I'm sure they'll come up with an angle that makes it not a dirty hirt.  


I think this commenter is right (not on Brown's acting job, but everything else). The more time I've had to sit back and think about it, the more I realize that Burfict wasn't as "out of control" as the media painted him. Even his 1 dirty play wasn't really dirty. Meanwhile they brushed off Shazier's far more brutal hit on Gio, as well as the thuggish behavior of Steelers coaches, DeCastro targeting Burfict, etc.

I was close to 'out of control' listening to Nance's drivel all throughout the game. It actually surprised me tbh. I don't recall an announcing crew ganging up on one team like they did Saturday night.

I stand by the criticisms of players and coaching that I have written in the past 36 hours. The Bengals need to do some things differently, no doubt. Bottom line for me, at least for today, is not really caring what the league does in response. It won't be enough as we are out, and Pittsburgh plays next weekend. Officiating gets worse with each year, making harder to remain a pro football fan. Love me some Bengals, but not liking the NFL much these days. They seem to be the ones "out of control".

(01-11-2016, 11:59 AM)McC Wrote: I do think that, sans the near decapitation, Gio would have been carrying the ball. 

I think I would have given the ball to Rex.  I am sick to death of The Fumbler.  He had a mostly lousy year, he has no composure, no maturity, is way too selfish.

And finally, how might things have been different if we could truly trust our kicker?

Fisher should have been in to lead block, and Burkhead given the ball.

Marvin does an excellent job of keeping these kids out of trouble on the street where seemingly on the field not so much. To me the Shazier hit was illegal as it gets , yet Mike Perreria (the supposed guru of officials ) said that it wasn't. Does that mean if say Tom Brady moves outside of the pocket with his back to you and then turns to run upfield you can drill him in the head? Pretty sure it doesn't, runninngbacks aren't even supposed to lower THEIR heads and hit a defender! When Beckham speared a guy in the head it was an atrocity, Shazier does it he deserves a medal? Still, it was that hit that woke the entire Bengals team up, and turned Burfict into a beast. EVERYBODY on the Bengals played with a purpose after that, and it propelled us to the spectacular comeback. I think we seen why they were slow to put Hill into a couple of games this year. I'd love to tell you exactly what I thought about that, but, I'll leave it at it was inexcusable. Murphy's law I suppose. On a much lighter note, if you can catch the Lebatard and Stugotz take on the whole thing it is HILARIOUS!!!! They don't condone what happened, but they sure do make it funny, I felt a lot better after getting a good laugh or two out of that, check it out, it's a great watch!! Who-Dey my friends!

(01-11-2016, 02:42 PM)Wyche Wrote: Fisher should have been in to lead block, and Burkhead given the ball.

Hill just can't fumble the ball in that situation.  Two hands and go down with contact.  Simple as that, you don't need to fight for the extra yards.

(01-11-2016, 01:27 PM)BayouBengal Wrote: I agree with everything other than you saying AJM had a horrific performance. I get it, he sucked it up for three quarters but you can't pin the loss on him. I was literally getting ready to write an article about how it took two AJ's to overcome our playoff bug when all the BS went down.
He played poorly at first no doubt, but it was very heavy rain and that's not something you can anticipate and practice in. You can't say AJM and the offense was a main reason we lost though because he should have been the reason we won. He pulled it together at the end in what should have been the greatest playoff comeback of all time.

But the G*DD**M refs decided to call the game with that Jone's flag! Porter should have been flagged too offsetting the penalty. At least let the game end with a difficult field goal try.

Worst of all, they missed the call on Gio and then after reviewing the obvious illegal hit they gave the Stoolers the ball. Oh and no flags for them dancing like idiots while Gio is unconscious.
They let those F**king A**hats provoke the shit out of our team and then only called shit on us. They wanted to penalize us that's why Porter came on the field and received a game ball for it. Pacman was right worst f**king refs ever! So bias, so obvious and yet swept under the rug with help from the stupid announcers. Like the announcers have never heard of helmet to helmet before. Give me a break, the NFL must have wanted the bigger fan base to win and it seemed like everyone was on board to fix the game.

Defense and special teams brought the team back not the offense. Every scoring drive we had amazing field possession. The offense was absolute garbage, and looked like the worst offense in the league. The Browns offense could do better.

FWIW, the second false start was a penalty on Harrison they didn't call but they called the third time.
We know that penalty well, simulating the snap count.

(01-11-2016, 02:39 PM)wildcats forever Wrote: I was close to 'out of control' listening to Nance's drivel all throughout the game. It actually surprised me tbh. I don't recall an announcing crew ganging up on one time like they did Saturday night.

I stand by the criticisms of players and coaching that I have written in the past 36 hours. The Bengals need to do some things differently, no doubt. Bottom line for me, at least for today, is not really caring what the league does in response. It won't be enough as we are out, and Pittsburgh plays next weekend. Officiating gets worse with each year, making harder to remain a pro football fan. Love me some Bengals, but not liking the NFL much these days. They seem to be the ones "out of control".

They always gush over the Rusty River Rednecks.

(01-11-2016, 02:44 PM)OrlandoBengal Wrote: Hill just can't fumble the ball in that situation.  Two hands and go down with contact.  Simple as that, you don't need to fight for the extra yards.

That's true too.  However, we smashmouthed the Ravens with Fisher just one week ago.  No where to be found.  Three weeks or so prior to SD and the whole first half against them in the playoff game, BJGE smashmouthed them.....no where to be found in the second half.  

These players shouldn't be put in these situations to fail.  I realize what Hill needed to do, then again, the coaches gotta know his limitations in that scenario.

(01-11-2016, 03:12 PM)Wyche Wrote: That's true too.  However, we smashmouthed the Ravens with Fisher just one week ago.  No where to be found.  Three weeks or so prior to SD and the whole first half against them in the playoff game, BJGE smashmouthed them.....no where to be found in the second half.  

These players shouldn't be put in these situations to fail.  I realize what Hill needed to do, then again, the coaches gotta know his limitations in that scenario.

Pittsburgh's strength is in their front 7. The goal was to get the front 7 split up and spread out.