(06-21-2015, 02:08 PM)Joe Pong Wrote: Wow. Seriously dude? A message board closing and you take it personally? What a drama queen.

If that caused you even a momentary, split-second of emotion, you have some serious life issues.

When talking to someone about serious life issues then you may want to do this......................

(06-21-2015, 02:24 AM)Shady Wrote: Yeah, you captured it better than I did. Maybe it really is a sense of apathy bordering on a sad sense of resignation to losing in the playoffs. It's hard to sustain the enthusiasm and joyful anticipation of another season after four straight one-and-dones. We've got a successful (winning) team, but they need to find a way to become a great team.

I feel like (most) fans get their joy out of watching a team progress. Whether that's from watching a 3-13 team turn it around and finish 8-8, or watching a team get over the playoff hump, it's all the same. As long as their team shows progress towards the ultimate goal, people are happy.

Most Bengals fans I know seemed happier in 2003 than they did last year. In 2003 we finished 8-8 and missed the playoffs. Why would people be happier with that? Because it was major progress from the previous 2-14 record. The 10 wins and swift playoff exit last year was definitely not progress. It just appears that they've peaked as a "good" team that is incapable of taking the step towards greatness.

With winning, expectations are raised (for most...not some, apparently). This team has reached a point where anything other than a playoff win(s) has to be viewed as a disappointment. Marvin and co have done a good job in raising the standards, but they've reached a point where more should be expected of them. Particularly in postseason play. 

(06-21-2015, 02:56 PM)OSUfan Wrote: I guess I sort of feel sorry for you guys. Not excited about a team that has made the playoffs 4 straight seasons? Cue.....we lost in the first round. Well one thing is for certain.............if you do not make the playoffs then you certainly have no chance to advance....

You say this as if it's unreasonable to be upset with this. It's really not. 99% of the fan base is pretty jaded about the constant playoff losses and the 24 year streak. If you're in the 1% that isn't upset about it, maybe you're the one who is unreasonable? I agree that you can't win if you don't make it (seems pretty obvious), but most fans don't have much faith left that they can ever win even if they do keep making the dance.

Can you blame them? The Bengals have one of the most embarrassing streaks in NFL history (24 years without a playoff win). Marvin has set records for playoff futility by a HC. Dalton's 0-4 record is among the worst ever by a starting QB. So again, is it really unreasonable to have doubts or to be jaded about our chances? The facts say no.

(06-20-2015, 03:13 PM)Tiger Teeth Wrote: If only Denny were here, he'd cheer you up.  Bank on it!  

This made me literally lol. "Bank on it!" Hilarious.

(06-21-2015, 02:56 PM)OSUfan Wrote: I guess I sort of feel sorry for you guys. Not excited about a team that has made the playoffs 4 straight seasons? Cue.....we lost in the first round. Well one thing is for certain.............if you do not make the playoffs then you certainly have no chance to advance....

I don't think i's anything that a little actual football won't cure, provided that we look like we've improved or at least look as awesome as we did in the first Ravens game last year.

(06-21-2015, 03:21 PM)Shake n Blake Wrote: I feel like (most) fans get their joy out of watching a team progress. Whether that's from watching a 3-13 team turn it around and finish 8-8, or watching a team get over the playoff hump, it's all the same. As long as their team shows progress towards the ultimate goal, people are happy.

Most Bengals fans I know seemed happier in 2003 than they did last year. In 2003 we finished 8-8 and missed the playoffs. Why would people be happier with that? Because it was major progress from the previous 2-14 record. The 10 wins and swift playoff exit last year was definitely not progress. It just appears that they've peaked as a "good" team that is incapable of taking the step towards greatness.

With winning, expectations are raised (for most...not some, apparently). This team has reached a point where anything other than a playoff win(s) has to be viewed as a disappointment. Marvin and co have done a good job in raising the standards, but they've reached a point where more should be expected of them. Particularly in postseason play. 

You say this as if it's unreasonable to be upset with this. It's really not. 99% of the fan base is pretty jaded about the constant playoff losses and the 24 year streak. If you're in the 1% that isn't upset about it, maybe you're the one who is unreasonable? I agree that you can't win if you don't make it (seems pretty obvious), but most fans don't have much faith left that they can ever win even if they do keep making the dance.

Can you blame them? The Bengals have one of the most embarrassing streaks in NFL history (24 years without a playoff win). Marvin has set records for playoff futility by a HC. Dalton's 0-4 record is among the worst ever by a starting QB. So again, is it really unreasonable to have doubts or to be jaded about our chances? The facts say no.

What did the facts and history say about American Pharoah winning the Triple Crown? I guess it is a good thing that Baffert decided to not just scratch him for the Belmont Stakes......you know with history and all...

(06-21-2015, 06:25 PM)OSUfan Wrote: What did the facts and history say about American Pharoah winning the Triple Crown? I guess it is a good thing that Baffert decided to not just scratch him for the Belmont Stakes......you know with history and all...

I know zilch about horse racing, but I do know that no HC or team has ever lost 4 straight opening playoff games, and went on to win the 5th.

That said, never say never. As pessimistic as the past makes me feel, I still have some optimism going into each season and each playoff game.

(06-21-2015, 02:56 PM)OSUfan Wrote: I guess I sort of feel sorry for you guys. Not excited about a team that has made the playoffs 4 straight seasons? Cue.....we lost in the first round. Well one thing is for certain.............if you do not make the playoffs then you certainly have no chance to advance....

Yeah, i tend to get tired of the exact same result, year after year.

(06-21-2015, 08:21 PM)Shake n Blake Wrote: I know zilch about horse racing, but I do know that no HC or team has ever lost 4 straight opening playoff games, and went on to win the 5th.

That said, never say never. As pessimistic as the past makes me feel, I still have some optimism going into each season and each playoff game.

How many coaches have been in that situation before though? Just curious honestly don't know can't be a whole lot.

(06-21-2015, 08:47 PM)J24 Wrote: How many coaches have been in that situation before though? Just curious honestly don't know can't be a whole lot.

Not many, if any. We're in pretty unprecedented territory as far as playoff futility goes. That alone should tell you something.

Teams usually would've fired the HC or figured out a way to win by now. That's why the Bengals' situation is so unprecedented.

The Bengals have defied the odds and continue to find ways to lose in convincing fashion every time.

(06-21-2015, 10:23 PM)Shake n Blake Wrote: Not many, if any. We're in pretty unprecedented territory as far as playoff futility goes. That alone should tell you something.

Teams usually would've fired the HC or figured out a way to win by now. That's why the Bengals' situation is so unprecedented.

The Bengals have defied the odds and continue to find ways to lose in convincing fashion every time.

You just struck the nail on the head. It's rarely or not been done before because other NFL teams don't allow it to go on this long. 

One thing about this upcoming year is that the team has a tougher schedule and we are going to get to see some games we don't see much.

There are some games this year that, if I were the owner, I'd have circled on my calendar and these games would be a point of pride for the team to bring its absolute A game to.

First, [first on list because it's the first game of the year] the Bengals have never beaten the Raiders on the road, not ever. Yes, that's not a typo. While Oakland isn't and hasn't been that great for quite awhile, the Bengals nonetheless are 0 for in Oakland. I say this would be an important win considering the team's history there. The Bengals last playoff game against Oakland happened to be the start of their now longest playoff win drought. Yes, you read correctly. The Bengals last playoff win was against the old Houston Oiler's and the following week they traveled to the LA Raiders and haven't won a playoff game since.

Second, there's the 49ers, in San Fran. The Bengals have only 3 wins against the 49ers and something like 12 losses, two of which happen to SB losses. This should measure very, very, very high on the team's pride meter and going into San Fran and knocking the snot out of them should be a priority for the coaches and management and the team.

Third is the Steelers who swept the Bengals last year. The Bengals need to show up and play their best ball. Last year, in the final game of the year Bell was injured and he didn't play the following week in a Steelers loss to the Ravens. The Bengals had AJ Green go down and he didn't play in the Bengals playoff loss. So expect some bad blood. The Bengals need their head in these games and need to come away with at least one victory.

Fourth, is Seattle at PBS. Seattle is clearly one of the top tier teams in the league and should be considered a good measuring stick to see how this team has progressed or regressed, which ever may be the case.

Fifth would be the Ravens. The Bengals won both games last year and the Ravens are going to be out to prove they are the better team. Bengals need to continue their winning ways and be up for these games.

Sixth is San Diego, a team that came into PBS in 2013 and continued the Bengals playoff drought. The Bengals were over confident and just got beat. That needs to be set right.

Seventh is Denver, a team the Bengals beat last year and embarrassed Manning somewhat. Manning doesn't forget and laying the wood on Manning and Denver for the second year in a row late in the season would help establish the Bengals as a legit contender going into the playoffs. It's important for a team like the Bengals, who haven't won a playoff in game so long, to go into the playoffs with several wins in a row and Denver needs to be one of those.

Eighth would Cleveland on Thursday night. Yes the Bengals won the second game against the Brown last year, the embarrassing performance by Andy Dalton has yet to be set right. Dalton and the offense need to dominate on Thursday night this year. Not because it's Browns, but because they need to prove to themselves that they can show up and be dominating in a situation where they haven't fared well in the past.

Ninth is Houston, a team that will be looking for revenge after last year, but a team the Bengals need to lay the beat down on soundly. The Texans have handed the Bengals two of their last 4 playoff losses. Payback is far from complete.

(06-20-2015, 05:04 PM)Rfaulk34 Wrote: Go to http://www.bengals.com , close your eyes, throw a dart at your monitor and you'll hit on one. 

So I took your advice, and was unable to post for 24 hours since I had to go buy a new monitor.  :angry:

Damn you Rfaulk!!! 

(06-22-2015, 01:04 AM)murdock2420 Wrote: So I took your advice, and was unable to post for 24 hours since I had to go buy a new monitor.  :angry:

Damn you Rfaulk!!! 

This kind of dart!!

(06-21-2015, 02:56 PM)OSUfan Wrote: I guess I sort of feel sorry for you guys. Not excited about a team that has made the playoffs 4 straight seasons? Cue.....we lost in the first round. Well one thing is for certain.............if you do not make the playoffs then you certainly have no chance to advance....

If you don't win in the PO, you can't get to the Super Bowl. Cue.... Injuries, the 90s, etc. 

I knocked on wood as I was reading your post.

Just in case...

Give it time. Once preseason and TC really start and we can see what we have the engagement level will go up.

It has definitely been a boring offseason. Obviously, that's a good thing or bad thing depending on how you feel about this team. Yes we've been to the playoffs 4 years in a row, but we've lost all 4 of them. People have thrown plenty of excuses for 3 of the games. So things do feel stagnant around here. Hell, we're heading into year 5 of our "franchise" QB and we still can't figure out if the guy is the real deal or not.

As for this current year, we've made very little change to the team so there's not much to talk about on that end. We didn't have a sexy draft so it's hard to talk about that. Mini-camp is over and there was hardly any story line going on.

(06-22-2015, 09:43 AM)Hoofhearted Wrote: If you don't win in the PO, you can't get to the Super Bowl. Cue.... Injuries, the 90s, etc. 

Did you actually have a point?

It is great that the Bengals don't seem to have many arrests anymore (knock on wood). Orson Charles was our last I think.

(06-22-2015, 04:51 PM)OSUfan Wrote: Did you actually have a point?

Did you read it? If you don't win in the PO, you have 0 % chance of making it to the Super Bowl. Making the PO is the first step of the equation to winning a championship. The other part of the equation is to win while you're there. So to make this clear: you need to win in the playoffs to win a championship.