I have the Bengals at 3 and 2 going into the Bye week to start the 2017 season.

Ravens at home, Texans at home, at Packers, at Cleveland, Bills at home.

I have Win, Loss, Loss, Win, Win for 3 and 2.

Then it is the Bye Week with a game at PITTSBURGH to prepare for.

While I see Joe Mixon getting eased in over the first few weeks, I expect that we will have seen enough good Flashes from Mixon and John Ross to Pump the City up. Ross & Mixon should also have had some Highlight film plays by the time the Bye week comes to get some National Media attention to further Pump things up.

The team having 5 games under their belt to Gel with, plus the Bye week could offer some Hope to Fans that we could actually Win at Pittsburgh. Mixon & Ross could be ready for bigger roles with a Bye week to do some extra preparation in. If we are 3 and 2 then the Steelers game would be Huge with lots of National Media focus heading into it. The Burfict & Pac Man Playoff Meltdown will again garnish Media attention but it may actually Fuel the Bengals in a quest for Revenge. Big Ben at Home would still have the Edge but a Bengals win in this game could Shock the league, the City and the Media. All yeah, and this Board.

I hope you guys have a great season. Trust me we're afraid of week 3 against you guys. You have our number.

(05-26-2017, 11:24 AM)depthchart Wrote: I have the Bengals at 3 and 2 going into the Bye week to start the 2017 season.

Ravens at home, Texans at home, at Packers, at Cleveland, Bills at home.

I have Win, Loss, Loss, Win, Win for 3 and 2.

Then it is the Bye Week with a game at PITTSBURGH to prepare for.

While I see Joe Mixon getting eased in over the first few weeks, I expect that we will have seen enough good Flashes from Mixon and John Ross to Pump the City up. Ross & Mixon should also have had some Highlight film plays by the time the Bye week comes to get some National Media attention to further Pump things up.

The team having 5 games under their belt to Gel with, plus the Bye week could offer some Hope to Fans that we could actually Win at Pittsburgh. Mixon & Ross could be ready for bigger roles with a Bye week to do some extra preparation in. If we are 3 and 2 then the Steelers game would be Huge with lots of National Media focus heading into it. The Burfict & Pac Man Playoff Meltdown will again garnish Media attention but it may actually Fuel the Bengals in a quest for Revenge. Big Ben at Home would still have the Edge but a Bengals win in this game could Shock the league, the City and the Media. All yeah, and this Board.

We can beat all those Teams

5-0 Bengals are back to 2015 form

(05-26-2017, 12:44 PM)XenoMorph Wrote: We can beat all those Teams

5-0 Bengals are back to 2015 form

I hope you are right.

I see a 1 and 2 start and the Fans bumming.
Watt and Clowney make our O-line look bad. Rodgers pulls out a win.

Then we win 2 straight.
The O-line starts looking better and Fans are Pumped up going into the Steelers game at 3 and 2.

An early season Roller Coaster ride with the Steelers game being a Chance to Rise Up in the Division with the team gelling.

(05-26-2017, 01:05 PM)SunsetBengal Wrote: You can best believe that if this team comes out on fire, the attitude will most definitely be one of "waiting for the other shoe to fall".

LOL

Yes the attitude of the naysayers.

But, I think more optimistic in this forum than negative Nancy types, just the optimistic are not as vocal

Let's pray for 5-0 so we can revisit it to see the outcome

Regardless of the outcome after the first five games, all I'll be thinking about is who will end up getting hurt in the Steelers game immediately after the bye. At least one Bengal always goes down.

(05-26-2017, 01:15 PM)Luvnit2 Wrote: LOL

Yes the attitude of the naysayers.

But, I think more optimistic in this forum than negative Nancy types, just the optimistic are not as vocal

Let's pray for 5-0 so we can revisit it to see the outcome

In 2015, I was never more "all in", or emotionally invested in a Bengals team since the Wyche and Boomer years.  When Andy went out with that broken thumb, it was like someone ripped out my heart with a bale hook.

It will take some dominating of epic proportions, on both sides of the ball, for me to allow myself to go all in again.

(05-26-2017, 12:38 PM)packerbacker Wrote: I hope you guys have a great season. Trust me we're afraid of week 3 against you guys. You have our number.

The game against your Packers is one of the toughest on our schedule and on the Road.

If we did somehow win, it would be Big for our Playoff chances.

You guys sometimes start out slow and then go on a big winning streak, so maybe catching you early and in better weather could help us.

Should be an exciting game.

(05-26-2017, 01:07 PM)depthchart Wrote: I hope you are right.

I see a 1 and 2 start and the Fans bumming.
Watt and Clowney make our O-line look bad. Rodgers pulls out a win.

Then we win 2 straight.
The O-line starts looking better and Fans are Pumped up going into the Steelers game at 3 and 2.

An early season Roller Coaster ride with the Steelers game being a Chance to Rise Up in the Division with the team gelling.

I believe we have taken the last 3 from the packers and their OL isn't better than ours... And we probly have the better DL as well.

Marvin has the Ravens number most games

We owe the Texans  if Watts healthy it will be a tough game but I Think Dalton is ready for a little pay back on the Texans

Bills in our house not worried about

Browns are still the Browns until proven otherwise.

Its the NFL we could lose 1 or maybe 2 of these games in a close contest     But if our offense is close to hitting its potential its gonna be hard to stop and our D should be able to get off the field and get the ball back into the offenses dangerous hand.

Of course any major injury changes things.   We have decent depth in most places.

(05-26-2017, 03:23 PM)XenoMorph Wrote: I believe we have taken the last 3 from the packers and their OL isn't better than ours... And we probly have the better DL as well.

Marvin has the Ravens number most games

We owe the Texans  if Watts healthy it will be a tough game but I Think Dalton is ready for a little pay back on the Texans

Bills in our house not worried about

Browns are still the Browns until proven otherwise.

Its the NFL we could lose 1 or maybe 2 of these games in a close contest     But if our offense is close to hitting its potential its gonna be hard to stop and our D should be able to get off the field and get the ball back into the offenses dangerous hand.

Of course any major injury changes things.   We have decent depth in most places.

Playing the Texan's Top Defense and the Packer's Offense, led by Rodgers, should be excellent preparation for the game at the Steelers.

We should be somewhat "Battle Tested" entering the Bye week and going into the Steelers game on both sides of the ball.

Won't be an easy game for the Steelers.

I really don't like making predictions so early in the offseason, but I'm leaning towards 4-1, with the only loss at Green Bay. The Texans at Cincinnati should be beatable given their loss of depth in the secondary (A.J. Bouye), against our reinforced WR corps. They're still going to have an untested QB (Savage or Watson), so if the Bengals line gives Andy enough time (doesn't need to be a sack free game, just one where Andy can go through enough of his progressions in 3 or 4 seconds), the Bengals should win a close game with their defense holding down the fort, IMO.

If we go 2-0 going into the Bengals game watch us lose.

(05-26-2017, 01:30 PM)SunsetBengal Wrote: In 2015, I was never more "all in", or emotionally invested in a Bengals team since the Wyche and Boomer years.  When Andy went out with that broken thumb, it was like someone ripped out my heart with a bale hook.

It will take some dominating of epic proportions, on both sides of the ball, for me to allow myself to go all in again.

For the record, I don't think you are a naysayer so my apologies if you took it that way. 

I fully understand how hard it is to invest in this team emotionally and agree 2015 playoff loss is one if not the worst sports loss I ever endured. I was just responding to those who are worried we fall off a cliff after a 5-0 start. WE have not had many great starts, but to my knowledge we make the playoffs when we have great starts most of the time (and then lose in round 1 of playoffs).

I'm going to leave coaching completely out of this for a change.

Staying healthy will absolutely be the key to a successful season. Obviously, it always is. We had key injuries and out of shape starters before training camp ended last year. No doubt that was a killer.

The offensive line really worries me though. The line from last year had never been more offensive, and after losing the only decent linemen from 2016 I just don't think we did enough to fix that issue. I guess time will tell... But I think the main reason we seem to fall apart is injuries to key players. This roster is very talented, but we especially need our key players healthy to make any real noise. Who knows how 2015 would have ended had Andy not broken his hand...

(That's not to take anything away from McCarron, he did an admirable job and pretty much won us a playoff game of it weren't for Hill and the ensuing meltdown... But I'll always wonder if we had a healthy 2015 Dalton would that game have even been close?)  

(05-26-2017, 01:30 PM)SunsetBengal Wrote: In 2015, I was never more "all in", or emotionally invested in a Bengals team since the Wyche and Boomer years.  When Andy went out with that broken thumb, it was like someone ripped out my heart with a bale hook.

It will take some dominating of epic proportions, on both sides of the ball, for me to allow myself to go all in again.

That's how I felt in 2005, and how I felt when I saw Carson rolling on the turf in agony. That was the one and only year I felt extremely confident the team was a contender. I've been kicked square in the nuts by this team several times since then. I couldn't bring myself to fully trust them even in 2015, and thank god I didn't. I half expected us to piss away that Pitt playoff game even after Burfict picked that pass off. I think I actually laughed it all off before during and after this final moments. It was the ultimate "OF F***ING COURSE!" moment in Bengal history.

But anyway, I'm with ya. Domination of epic proportions to to truly trust this team again. 

(05-26-2017, 06:26 PM)Pat5775 Wrote: I'm going to leave coaching completely out of this for a change.

Staying healthy will absolutely be the key to a successful season. Obviously, it always is. We had key injuries and out of shape starters before training camp ended last year. No doubt that was a killer.

The offensive line really worries me though. The line from last year had never been more offensive, and after losing the only decent linemen from 2016 I just don't think we did enough to fix that issue. I guess time will tell... But I think the main reason we seem to fall apart is injuries to key players. This roster is very talented, but we especially need our key players healthy to make any real noise. Who knows how 2015 would have ended had Andy not broken his hand...

(That's not to take anything away from McCarron, he did an admirable job and pretty much won us a playoff game of it weren't for Hill and the ensuing meltdown... But I'll always wonder if we had a healthy 2015 Dalton would that game have even been close?)  

Good reminders of a tale of 2 seasons. In 2016, we had issues out of the gate with some key guys like Burfict and others. In 2015, we started 8-0 and then our QB breaks his thumb and we still managed to get to the playoffs, we were still in a position to beat the Steelers, but lost. Why? We had a very good complete roster on both sides of the ball and ST.

Our roster was extremely talented 2 years ago, yet 2 years later guys I respect like Gil Brandt say we are not a top 10 talent team this year. That is fair, but my guess a year ago many also thought the Falcons were not top 10. What happened? They added a few key pieces with Sanu and Mack in FA, but they also had 3 or 4 guys from the 2014 draft step up and become starters, quality starters. I am hoping we see the same thing from our 2015 and 2016 draft class, guys stepping up. If so, it could be a very fun team as 2 of those guys are projected starters at LT and RT and the scary OL concerns we share.

I still blame the PAC/tez meltdown on Jeremy Hill I don't think I'll ever forgive him but without Andy we wouldn't have made it anyways I guess but that's finished business let's leave it finished new team new year

(05-26-2017, 06:42 PM)TSwigZ Wrote: I still blame the PAC/tez meltdown on Jeremy Hill I don't think I'll ever forgive him but without Andy we wouldn't have made it anyways I guess but that's finished business let's leave it finished new team new year

I agree. Simply, you just can't fumble in that situation. You run 3 times and maybe get a 1st down and end the game. Or worst case, you run 3 times, make them use all 3 TO's and kick a chip shot field goal. Then make them score a TD with around a minute to go and no TO's against a fired up defense and fired up and loud crowd.

This will be a tough season. I have always been optimistic and believe in this team, but this year it seems to me so many things have to click. On paper we should be great but then things don't go right as we sometimes expect. QB and Wrs need to be on the same page from the start. I remember all to well going into week 5 and hearing "we just aren't clicking, we need to just keep working". I will ready though come week 1!!!!

(05-26-2017, 06:33 PM)Pat5775 Wrote: That's how I felt in 2005, and how I felt when I saw Carson rolling on the turf in agony. That was the one and only year I felt extremely confident the team was a contender. I've been kicked square in the nuts by this team several times since then. I couldn't bring myself to fully trust them even in 2015, and thank god I didn't. I half expected us to piss away that Pitt playoff game even after Burfict picked that pass off. I think I actually laughed it all off before during and after this final moments. It was the ultimate "OF F***ING COURSE!" moment in Bengal history.

But anyway, I'm with ya. Domination of epic proportions to to truly trust this team again. 

See, I never bought into the Bengals being Super Bowl contenders in '05.  I was thrilled that they were winning games, but thought that they were getting lucky too many times with the secondary coming up with all those interceptions.  I fully expected them to beat the Steelers that day, until Palmer went down, but didn't expect much more than the Wild Card win.