(08-10-2015, 09:22 AM)Luvnit2 Wrote: MB - I have no issues with him. He is loyal to his employees. He has proven he can change as he has helped change the culture of the franchise. The only thing lacking is post season success which I think is coming.

ML - ML reshaped a troubled franchise. My knock on ML is his ability to adapt a game plan after halftime. It has been an issue his entire career.

AD - I also have no major issues with Andy. He needs to secure  the ball better (so did Brett Favre and the QB darling a  year ago Bridgewater only had 14 TD's with 12 picks) as do a lot of NFL QB's. He lost one playoff game he was favored in and one playoff game had college talent (Colts) due to injury. He has 4 short years of NFL experience and was a 2nd round draft pick. Only one QB picked ahead of him in the 2011 draft (#1 overall Cam has come close to his NFL success) is still around starting.

I know I will get called a homer for being optimistic and not trashing all 3, but I am not going to pile on when I disagree and in many cases am at the other end of the spectrum. The reality is fans are upset for not winning playoff games, I am too, but I won't give those 3 100% of the blame. I have watched way too many grown men who make a lot of money tank in playoff games, thus I have a long list of players/reasons why we got there, but did not win a playoff game.

I don't think you're a homer for being optimistic, I think you're a homer for being unrealistic.

1. The whole "we weren't favored in X amount of games" bullshit is just that, it's bullshit. You can't just say "oh well" every time you're a 3 point underdog and lose the game by 15+ points. That's not really how odds work. I don't know how many times I've tried explaining this to people. If we were covering the spread each time, this could be a different conversation, but that's not what has happened. You can say "well, we weren't supposed to win the Texans games, so it's not a huge deal", but you don't realize by bringing up odds, you're actually proving MY point and going against your own conclusion. We weren't "supposed" to win if you talk odds, but we also weren't "supposed" to get blown out and look like a college team either, were we?

2. You have no major issues with MB and only halftime adjustments being your issue with ML, but then you go on and on about how it's an entire team effort in the losses and blah, blah, blah. The usual excuse for people defending the owner and coach. If you have a long list of players and reasons of why we didn't win any of the playoff games that we've been to, then who do you suppose that ultimately falls on? If we never have the 40+ players capable of winning postseason games, that HAS to fall on either the owner/GM, coach, or both of them. You can't say it's the players fault but not the owner/coach's fault without realizing who is putting them on the field and who is calling the shots. If the problem is the talent on the field, then ultimately, it's the fault of whoever is putting that talent on the field and expecting them to win football games.

I'll never understand the people that want to generalize everything with the mindset of "well, it's the whole team's fault, so we can't blame anyone specifically", that's flat out goofy logic. Yes, we haven't had many players step up in the playoff games, but that doesn't mean that all blame is exactly equal and individual players and coaches shouldn't be criticized.

(08-09-2015, 10:16 PM)Shake n Blake Wrote: That's the obvious answer, but I was looking for a little more detailed answers.

What could they change that may lead to playoff wins?

Okay, I'll give a bit more depth.

Mike Brown:
1. I'm pretty happy with Brown right now. I think he's done a great job transitioning Marvin into a GM and handing the negotiations reigns over to Katie. But just in case.....give up any remaining power over decision making.

2. Convince Marvin to become GM so that we can bring in a new head coach. We already lost out on Zimmer, who should have been our head coach 3 years ago. But it'd be better late than never. 

3. Someone brought it up earlier, but it's amazing that there is not Bengals hall of fame. There's no centralized place to find out who the Bengals greats were. And it's a shame that there is no way to honor the constantly snubbed Bengals that deserve to be in the hall of fame. I don't know if other teams have halls of fame for just their team, but they have it in baseball, and I'd like to see the Bengals have one as well.

Marvin Lewis:
1. Officially transition to GM. He's great with personnel. He's great with a few other things I guess. But he's one of the worst time managers I've ever seen and one of the worst overall in game head coaches ever.

2. Stop holding out young players just because they are young. We've seen it time and time again. As a team, we've become less reliant on rookies unless they are far and away (and by a large margin) the best player at their position. Dre or Dennard should have replaced our two veteran corners earlier last year. Hall was struggling like crazy and was left in just because. In addition, in 2013, Gio couldn't make it onto the field as much as he should have because BJGE was older. Last year, Hill didn't see much time until the second half of the year, despite shining in his limited snaps. Clarke didn't get many snaps despite Gilberry playing like absolute shit all season. The list goes on. Lewis is notorious for not putting the best team on the field, just because he doesn't trust rookies and young players. It is very detrimental to the team.

3. Stop discouraging confidence. We've seen it with Burfict, now Dawson. He didn't like it in Ochocinco, nor did he care for it with Dillon. I'm fine with discouraging big egos. But you've got to realize that ego is part of this game. In order to be the best, you need to think you're the best. It's nice to see guys like Green, Atkins and MJ play well, because they're humble, down to earth and don't talk a lot. But who doesn't love the big personality that a team can rally around? Confidence is a good thing, and telling a young player like Dawson that he has negative personality traits just because he thinks he can be one of the best is ***** asinine. Don't let it grow into a TO type of personality, which is toxic to the team, but there is nothing wrong with a little egotistical confidence. It is what makes winners winners. Not everyone can be as humble as you, Lewis. Stop projecting your personality onto your players. A team's passion is a direct reflection of its head coach, and you can see that that is not working for this team.

Andy Dalton:
1. Stop choking! Do you know how frustrating it is watching him choke on his own tongue during the biggest games? It can't be a coincidence. Every time he's on prime time, or any time we are playing some kind of elimination game (whether it be in the playoffs, or when fighting for seeding in the playoffs), he has a seemingly terrible game. Stop it. And, granted, this has a lot to do with his head coach. Lewis chokes and sends the chokingness on down the line to all his players. But Dalton has some boneheaded plays when it matters most. The most obvious one is when he forced himself to fumble against the Chargers. Ugh. What a completely idiotic unforced error that only enforces the idea that he can't handle the pressure of winning when you need to.

2. Stop relying solely on Green. I know last year he was down to very few options, with Jones and Eifert out, but he still throws to Green way too often. Obviously, you want to use him more often than the other players on your team, but the fact that he stares AJ Green down almost every play makes it so obvious what he's trying to do. and the other team picks up on this and exploits it. I don't have the numbers on me right now, but he throws so many of his interceptions to Green, mainly because he's unnecessarily throwing into triple and maybe even quadruple coverage. You have other targets, notably your RBs, who are both excellent at receiving passes. Use them, as well as Eifert and Jones and Sanu and Alford. You don't need to pass to Green every play. It wasn't so exaggerated last year, as Green missed, I believe, 5 games last year. But in 2013, Green was targeted 180 times and only had 98 receptions. That's 82 passes in his direction that were not converted into receptions. That's a 54% success rate. That same year, Jones was at 64%, Bernard at 79%, Gresham at 70%, Sanu at 60% and Eifert at 66%. But even in 2014, his percentage to Green was only 59%. While his percentages to Gresham, Bernard and Hill were 78%, 73% and 84% respectively. Green is a long pass catcher ,most his percentage will definitely be lower than running backs and tight ends. But that's just ridiculous.

3. Cut down on the interceptions. I touched on this in the 2nd point, but it bears repeating. Stop throwing into heavy coverage. You have so many short to mid range targets at your disposal. If Green isn't open, don't force it to him. Dump off to Hill and let him make a play. Or run a few yards out of bounds if you have the opportunity. Or even just throw the ball away. The only thing worse than having to punt is to give the ball away. It's not a coincidence that the team with the least amount of turnovers wins the game more often than not. You can't rely on big plays to counterbalance your bad plays. It's better to just not make bad plays to begin with. Don't throw so many errant "hope" passes. Just throw it away or dump it off. Obviously, you want to give Green a shot to make a great play every once in a while, but you don't need to be reckless.

(08-09-2015, 07:15 PM)Shake n Blake Wrote: Obviously the Bengals have enjoyed unprecedented regular season success over the last 4 years. They've also set NFL records for playoff ineptitude during the same span. Pretty much everyone places the most blame for that on either the Owner, Head Coach and QB for the failures. Or some combination of the three.

So what are 3 things that each one could do that would sway your opinion of them and make you feel close to 100% positive about them going forward? I'll start this off. Hopefully it gets some good discussion going.

Mike Brown

1. Build a practice facility. Marv wants one. The players want one. This alone should be enough to make fans want one as well.

2. Hire a GM. This might be something that should wait until Marv moves on, but a GM would help this franchise maintain continuity through coaching changes. It'd also fill Marv's void as a voice of reason to tell Mike Brown that trying a TE at Center may not be a good idea. I'd like to see Marv in this role if he decides to step down at some point, although I'm not sure he'd be interested.

3. Hold sub-par coaches and players accountable. Don't reward mediocrity with loyalty. Restructure a contract every now and then if warranted. Great franchises do this all the time.

Marvin Lewis

1. Be more aggressive in playoff games. I'm not one of those that always says Marv needs to be more aggressive. He actually has been much more aggressive lately, going for it on 4th down a lot, mixing in trick plays, etc. In the playoffs this seems to disappear though. It just feels like we've never had a creative game plan in a playoff game.

2. Find some natural leaders, and don't discourage them when they show this trait. This team is lacking in that category.

3. Find a way to get this team hot going into the playoffs. Easier said then done I guess.

Andy Dalton

1. Cut down the INT's. Pretty simple. 17-20 is just too many. 12-14 would be better.

2. Play better against the Browns. Dalton was fine against the Ravens and Steelers last year. Against the Browns, saying he's tough to watch is putting it nicely. It just seems like he sails every throw. It's tough to figure out why Dalton can look good one week, then look like this against the Browns (or occasionally other teams).

3. Find a target not named AJ Green that he relies on regularly. MLJ and Eifert are obvious candidates. Dalton pretty much ignored Sanu when AJ was healthy last year. It makes our offense extremely predictable when opposing defenses only have to worry about stopping AJ Green.

To be fair, I'd ignore stone hands Sanu too.

In all seriousness, I'd agree totally with what you've said here.

I'd add that Mike needs to recognize past greats, thereby establishing a sense of organizational pride.  A "family" vibe, if you will.  There are a lot of little nuances that could improve the culture around here.....might even interject a little emotion.  

For example, 2013 marked the 25 year anniversary of the '88 Super Bowl run.  Why couldn't they have acknowledged that team during opening ceremonies of the playoff game against SD?  Could you imagine the atmosphere and the electricity in the air?  We complain about the team being flat....I know, when I played, something like this would've sure gotten me amped beyond normal.  You add in the energy from the crowd that the players feed off of from an event like that......

They need to start doing things like this while there are still fans in the bleachers who remember these things! :angry:

(08-10-2015, 09:37 AM)djs7685 Wrote: I don't think you're a homer for being optimistic, I think you're a homer for being unrealistic.

1. The whole "we weren't favored in X amount of games" bullshit is just that, it's bullshit. You can't just say "oh well" every time you're a 3 point underdog and lose the game by 15+ points. That's not really how odds work. I don't know how many times I've tried explaining this to people. If we were covering the spread each time, this could be a different conversation, but that's not what has happened. You can say "well, we weren't supposed to win the Texans games, so it's not a huge deal", but you don't realize by bringing up odds, you're actually proving MY point and going against your own conclusion. We weren't "supposed" to win if you talk odds, but we also weren't "supposed" to get blown out and look like a college team either, were we?

2. You have no major issues with MB and only halftime adjustments being your issue with ML, but then you go on and on about how it's an entire team effort in the losses and blah, blah, blah. The usual excuse for people defending the owner and coach. If you have a long list of players and reasons of why we didn't win any of the playoff games that we've been to, then who do you suppose that ultimately falls on? If we never have the 40+ players capable of winning postseason games, that HAS to fall on either the owner/GM, coach, or both of them. You can't say it's the players fault but not the owner/coach's fault without realizing who is putting them on the field and who is calling the shots. If the problem is the talent on the field, then ultimately, it's the fault of whoever is putting that talent on the field and expecting them to win football games.

I'll never understand the people that want to generalize everything with the mindset of "well, it's the whole team's fault, so we can't blame anyone specifically", that's flat out goofy logic. Yes, we haven't had many players step up in the playoff games, but that doesn't mean that all blame is exactly equal and individual players and coaches shouldn't be criticized.

I will address one point as I stopped reading your BS response immediately after you stated:

You can't just say "oh well" every time you're a 3 point underdog and lose the game by 15+ points.

I can say anything I like, you can disagree all you want, but you are wrong to suggest anyone can't speak their mind,

(08-10-2015, 10:08 AM)Luvnit2 Wrote: I will address one point as I stopped reading your BS response immediately after you stated:

You can't just say "oh well" every time you're a 3 point underdog and lose the game by 15+ points.

I can say anything I like, you can disagree all you want, but you are wrong to suggest anyone can't speak their mind,

Holy shit, Luvnit doesn't understand a figure of speech, somebody alert the press.

When I said "you can't just say 'oh well' every time you're a 3 point underdog and lose the game by 15+ points", that doesn't mean that I'm telling you that you literally aren't allowed to say it. That statement I made is saying that it's silly to say that, and that I find it illogical.

Do you even know how to words?

Also, I'm not even really just "disagreeing" with the thing about odds, I'm explaining how they actually work. It's not really a matter of opinion, it's a fact. If you want to be the guy bringing up odds, we can't ignore that odds also have point spreads to discuss as well. We weren't "supposed" to lose those games by the points we did, actually we weren't even close in most of them. Being the guy to bring up Vegas isn't a good idea unless you're trying to make the Bengals look even worse than they already have in the playoffs, IF you understand how odds work of course.

(08-10-2015, 10:11 AM)djs7685 Wrote:

Holy shit, Luvnit doesn't understand a figure of speech, somebody alert the press.

When I said "you can't just say 'oh well' every time you're a 3 point underdog and lose the game by 15+ points", that doesn't mean that I'm telling you that you literally aren't allowed to say it. That statement I made is saying that it's silly to say that, and that I find it illogical.

Do you even know how to words?

If you are going to try to mock my intelligence, I suggest you write questions that make you look smart.

Like I said, I get and we all get your personal attacks anytime you get challenged. I suggest you find some meds to calm you as you look very foolish attacking members of the forum when you were not provoked.

Now, I will carry on with day. Have a wonderful day and week.

(08-09-2015, 07:15 PM)Shake n Blake Wrote: Obviously the Bengals have enjoyed unprecedented regular season success over the last 4 years. They've also set NFL records for playoff ineptitude during the same span. Pretty much everyone places the most blame for that on either the Owner, Head Coach and QB for the failures. Or some combination of the three.

So what are 3 things that each one could do that would sway your opinion of them and make you feel close to 100% positive about them going forward? I'll start this off. Hopefully it gets some good discussion going.

Mike Brown

1. Build a practice facility. Marv wants one. The players want one. This alone should be enough to make fans want one as well.

2. Hire a GM. This might be something that should wait until Marv moves on, but a GM would help this franchise maintain continuity through coaching changes. It'd also fill Marv's void as a voice of reason to tell Mike Brown that trying a TE at Center may not be a good idea. I'd like to see Marv in this role if he decides to step down at some point, although I'm not sure he'd be interested.

3. Hold sub-par coaches and players accountable. Don't reward mediocrity with loyalty. Restructure a contract every now and then if warranted. Great franchises do this all the time.

Marvin Lewis

1. Be more aggressive in playoff games. I'm not one of those that always says Marv needs to be more aggressive. He actually has been much more aggressive lately, going for it on 4th down a lot, mixing in trick plays, etc. In the playoffs this seems to disappear though. It just feels like we've never had a creative game plan in a playoff game.

2. Find some natural leaders, and don't discourage them when they show this trait. This team is lacking in that category.

3. Find a way to get this team hot going into the playoffs. Easier said then done I guess.

Andy Dalton

1. Cut down the INT's. Pretty simple. 17-20 is just too many. 12-14 would be better.

2. Play better against the Browns. Dalton was fine against the Ravens and Steelers last year. Against the Browns, saying he's tough to watch is putting it nicely. It just seems like he sails every throw. It's tough to figure out why Dalton can look good one week, then look like this against the Browns (or occasionally other teams).

3. Find a target not named AJ Green that he relies on regularly. MLJ and Eifert are obvious candidates. Dalton pretty much ignored Sanu when AJ was healthy last year. It makes our offense extremely predictable when opposing defenses only have to worry about stopping AJ Green.

Interesting idea.

Mike:
1- Fire Marvin, Zampese and evaluate a couple other of the staff. Stop settling for ineptitude. We have the same problems both in game and at some positions year after year, and we have the same people in charge of those decisions and positions. If you want to prove you want to win it all, stop being the nice guy and fire the dead weight.

2- Get some permanent fixtures honoring former players. Statues, busts, even just murals would go a long way to making it look like you wanted to recognize where we came from.

Marvin:
1- Use the tools you have to play the game, not the ones you want. He wanted Palmer to be a game manager, that didn't work out. He wants Dalton to be Roethlisbegrer, it's not working out. He wanted BJGE to be Gio instead of letting Gio be Gio. He can't decide if he wants FBs and TEs to be TEs or FBs

2- Learn how to coach. Who the **** punts in OT? Who gets blown out of every second half playoff game because they stop everything that's working and focus on everything that isn't?

3- I really don't think he can. Marvin has done some really dumb things that he hasn't learned from in a decade.

Dalton:
1- Turnovers. Stop making them.

2- Stop worrying about turnovers. They happen. You don't have to be Brett Favre about it, but every throw doesn't have to be the safest throw, you don't have to wait until Green or Jones has three or four yards off his defender.

(08-10-2015, 10:22 AM)Luvnit2 Wrote: If you are going to try to mock my intelligence, I suggest you write questions that make you look smart?

Like I said, I get and we all get your personal attacks anytime you get challenged. I suggest you find some meds to calm you as you look very foolish attacking members of the forum when you were not provoked.

Now, I will carry on with day. Have a wonderful day and week.

Where did I personally attack you?

Now, hopefully you don't take this as an attack, but I do think there may be something wrong with you (overly sensitive maybe?) if you took my post so personally. If you can't understand a simple phrase on the internet, I don't know what to tell you.

"Do you even know how to words" has words intentionally left out, surprise! Did you seriously miss that? I like how you're mocking my grammar for using a popular phrase that's used when mocking somebody else.

I do apologize if the internet is new to you and you've never heard these phrases before. I made some very good points and tried explaining odds and why you can't just ignore MB/ML when dishing out blame, but you deflected and somehow are bashing me now for "attacking" you, and that's absolutely ridiculous. I guess that's one way of saying "I have no arguments because I'm obviously wrong", so yeah, have a great day

Also, FWIW, don't play the victim and say that you didn't provoke me. Ignoring my entire post except for 1 line that you didn't even comprehend correctly and calling it a "bullshit response" absolutely fits the description of provoking this type of response.

(08-09-2015, 10:16 PM)Shake n Blake Wrote: That's the obvious answer, but I was looking for a little more detailed answers.

What could they change that may lead to playoff wins?

Some Valium for Marvin the day of a playoff game.  When his nuts tighten, as they appear to do, it has a devastating trickle down effect on his team.  Find a way to calm down Marv now you have a chance.

Maybe if we end up in the playoffs again, Marvin will finally be to the point of saying F it!  Let's just go play like our asses are on fire.

Mike Brown ... Nothing. He is what he is.

Marv and Randy?AFC Championship game or better appearance. I don't think they have it in them.

(08-09-2015, 07:15 PM)Shake n Blake Wrote: What could Mike, Marv and Dalton do to sway your opinion of them?

Mike Brown
Honestly, there's little junior could do to command respect from me. I'm older than most and remember his father. Mikey is no chip off the old block.

Marvin Lewis
I'm of two minds about Marvin.

On one hand, I credit him with the success the team has had over the past 6 years and changing the losing culture that Mike Brown brought to the team when he took over. This is a big one and one that carries a lot of weight with me.

On the other, he just doesn't seem to have what it takes play with the big boys. I hope he gets inspired and takes command and leads this team.

I want to see some clever, correct in-game adjustments that make a damn difference.

He really needs to take command and be a calm, certain guy when things go awry. If Dalton has an awful first half [and he will because he's Andy Dalton], Lewis needs to be decisive and push the right buttons and get the right players who are motivated into the game.

Andy Dalton
Ug!
1. Beat some quality teams consistently. Teams like Indy, NE, Pittsburgh, etc just aren't scared of this guy. They defend the receivers and Dalton just doesn't step up in those situations.
2. Play consistently.
3. Win in the playoffs.
4. Just go out there, see the field, make correct calls and don't be overwhelmed by it all when things don't go your way. Just go out there and execute with some certainty and calmness.

Have Eminem write a theme song for the team.

(08-11-2015, 03:23 AM)BengalChris Wrote: Andy Dalton
Ug!
1. Beat some quality teams consistently. Teams like Indy, NE, Pittsburgh, etc just aren't scared of this guy. They defend the receivers and Dalton just doesn't step up in those situations.
2. Play consistently.
3. Win in the playoffs.
4. Just go out there, see the field, make correct calls and don't be overwhelmed by it all when things don't go your way. Just go out there and execute with some certainty and calmness.

1.The Bengals with Dalton as their QB are 8-5 against teams with winning records in the last two seasons. (even though that's more of a team that than a QB stat)
2. Dalton does have to play more consistently, but he normally plays good or great, with only a couple games a season where he plays bad.
3. Winning in the playoffs isn't a QB thing

(08-11-2015, 03:45 AM)Brownshoe Wrote: 1.The Bengals with Dalton as their QB are 8-5 against teams with winning records in the last two seasons. (even though that's more of a team that than a QB stat)
2. Dalton does have to play more consistently, but he normally plays good or great, with only a couple games a season where he plays bad.
3. Winning in the playoffs isn't a QB thing

8-5? No, why do you keep forgetting the playoffs?

You chances of winning in the playoffs when your QB is having a horrid game is just about zero.

And, I'll sit with my points as the things Dalton needs to do to change my opinion about him.

The terrible play against SD and the contract demands turned me off from him. Now he needs to right things.

I don't understand the question, but then again, my opinion of Dalton and Coach Lewis are both pretty high opinions. Lewis took over THE BUNGLES of 12 season without a play-off season, 4 fired head coaches in those 12 years, many last place seasons, considered by most of the media as the worst franchise in the NFL. Since taking over, Coach Lewis has went to the play-offs 50 % of the time, 6 times in 12 years. Nobody is calling this team THE BUNGLES anymore. I was about ready to give up on the Bengals after 2002, after being a fan from day one in 1968. Coach Lewis brought good football back to Cincinnati. .....As for Dalton, 4 play-off seasons in first 4 years. No other Bengals QB has ever taken Bengals to more than 2 straight play-offs and that was Ken Anderson and he did it one time only. No Bengals QB has ever won a play-off game in his first 4 seasons. In his first 3 seasons, Dalton threw over 20 touchdown passes each season, only being done by Dan Marino and Peyton Manning. He has already set the Bengals season yards passing record, done in his third season. He has been to 2 Pro Bowls in 4 years.

So my opinion of Coach Lewis and Dalton is pretty high right now, so this question of what do they have to do to sway my opinion of them. In my case, I guess lose for a few years and both really fall apart. I don't expect Dalton or any NFL QB to go to the play-offs every season in the NFL. Coach Lewis having this team in the play-offs 50 % of the time he has been here is pretty good. Of course we would like to go deeper in the play-offs, and I'm sure the players and coaches and front office want it even more than the fans. Still, for turning around the worst franchise in the NFL and making the BUNGLES the Bengals again, I respect Coach Lewis. For coming in after Carson refused to play, and forced to start every game as a rookie and starting every game for four years and 4 straight play-off seasons, I respect Mr Dalton. I respect them both a lot already.

Again, 2001 and 2002, people couldn't give BUNGLE tickets away, and I mean that. Where I worked, people with tickets tried to give tickets away, and nobody wanted them, and I turned down many free tickets because the team was awful, just awful. Free tickets could be had outside the stadium, but nobody wanted to go see THE BUNGLES. ....and let's not forget this team only won 4 games in 2008 and 2010. The seats were pretty empty then as well, and mostly Boo Birds giving Carson a hard time. Dalton going 4 straight play-off seasons is a huge turn around and amazing a kid out of college could do it. Dalton has the best winning % of any Bengals QB. Things are much better under Coach Lewis and Dalton than before they came here.

(08-11-2015, 11:44 AM)kevin Wrote: Nobody is calling this team THE BUNGLES anymore.

That's just not true at all. Try living anywhere near western PA for a month or two during football season.

It used to be "Haha, your team can't win 4 games...Bungles"

Now it's just "Haha, your team will never win a playoff game, why even care if you get there?....Bungles"

Sure, it's better to make the playoffs than not at all, and there are a lot less people calling us the Bungles than there used to be, but there's still a decent amount of negativity around the league regarding this team. We're going to have to deal with that until they get over the playoff hump. I truly believe that even if they win just 1 playoff game that a lot of fans and the media will lay off the Bengals quite a bit.

(08-11-2015, 11:58 AM)djs7685 Wrote: That's just not true at all. Try living anywhere near western PA for a month or two during football season.

It used to be "Haha, your team can't win 4 games...Bungles"

Now it's just "Haha, your team will never win a playoff game, why even care if you get there?....Bungles"

Sure, it's better to make the playoffs than not at all, and there are a lot less people calling us the Bungles than there used to be, but there's still a decent amount of negativity around the league regarding this team. We're going to have to deal with that until they get over the playoff hump. I truly believe that even if they win just 1 playoff game that a lot of fans and the media will lay off the Bengals quite a bit.

I could care less what the people in Steelers Country think. ...I assume it's not Browns fans laughing because the Browns are a joke wrapped inside of a riddle, always changing coaches, quarterbacks, front office, never getting anywhere.

Only 4 teams have made the play-offs the last 4 seasons. Bengals, Broncos, Patriots, Packers. ....OK, Dalton hasn't won a play-off game yet, Anderson or Boomer never won a play-off game in their first 4 seasons either. That we are doing something only Broncos, Patriots and Packers are doing tells me this team is on the right track, going in the right direction.

(08-11-2015, 12:01 PM)kevin Wrote: I could care less what the people in Steelers Country think. 

Only 4 teams have made the play-offs the last 4 seasons. Bengals, Broncos, Patriots, Packers. ....OK, Dalton hasn't won a play-off game yet, Anderson or Boomer never won a play-off game in their first 4 seasons either.  That we are doing something only Broncos, Patriots and Packers are doing tells me this team is on the right track, going in the right direction.

Whether we've made the playoffs in 4 straight seasons or not, people still refer to this team as the Bungles.

It happens. You saying it doesn't isn't really making the statement true. The perception is still there, and it absolutely happens outside of Pittsburgh as well, I was just using that as an example since I see it a lot more than usual living around here.

The media and a lot of fans will continue to take their jabs at the Bengals until we win a playoff game. We get more respect now than we did in the 90's, but that's not really saying much. Obviously a team that wins 9-11 regular season games each year is going to be looked at differently than the teams that are winning 2-4 each year, but let's not get ahead of ourselves and act like the entire perception of this organization has changed. We're still looked at as losers by a LOT of people, just a different, "better" kind of loser.

(08-10-2015, 08:42 AM)corpjet Wrote: The tied is turning on Mike, the last 10 years have proven the organization is headed in the right direction.  For Andy and Marvin its going to be getting the money off their backs and winning playoff games, yes games with an s on the end not just one.

aside from a couple of teams like the Browns..it is almost impossbile to run a "bad franchise " in the NFL..there is a very thin line between winners and losers, the owners make a great deal of money

Marvin should have been dismissed after losing to san diego two years ago in the playoffs

(08-11-2015, 12:14 PM)djs7685 Wrote: Whether we've made the playoffs in 4 straight seasons or not, people still refer to this team as the Bungles.

It happens. You saying it doesn't isn't really making the statement true. The perception is still there, and it absolutely happens outside of Pittsburgh as well, I was just using that as an example since I see it a lot more than usual living around here.

The media and a lot of fans will continue to take their jabs at the Bengals until we win a playoff game. We get more respect now than we did in the 90's, but that's not really saying much. Obviously a team that wins 9-11 regular season games each year is going to be looked at differently than the teams that are winning 2-4 each year, but let's not get ahead of ourselves and act like the entire perception of this organization has changed. We're still looked at as losers by a LOT of people, just a different, "better" kind of loser.

Proof that you are wrong is The Bengals have Prime Time Games now......The media doesn't put lousy teams on in Prime Time, or tries not to......Sure, maybe some people still don't give the Bengals any respect. ...Just as some people like Hitler, some people have never read a book, some people do this, some people do that.  I can't worry about  " Some People "......I would say the network execs having the Bengals in Prime Time the last few years is a huge change from when the network execs threw up at the idea of THE BUNGLES in Prime Time.  Cincy Fans use to wonder why no Prime Time, but not me, the team was awful......So I care more of the network execs opinion, than some people in west Pennsylvania, and I really don't care about all Steelers people.