All you hear about the Bengals and the current situation is "It could be worse we could go back to the 90's" Well guess what with the state of this front offices joke of decision making and desire to truly win, this team and organization is still in the 90s. Big deal we won 7 games instead of 2 or 3. Whats the difference? This team cant win a playoff game and has nor ever could compete with any contending team in a consistent way.

If the current coaching decisions follow what most of us think on this board, we may as well put our grunge shirts on, drink some Snapple, Be Kind and Rewind our VHS tapes from Blockbuster before returning them and believe Marvin Lewis when he says, "I'll Be Back"

Get ready boys because the "I cant believe this is happening again" is about to happen and you wonder why this team is never be taken seriously.

(01-02-2018, 11:01 AM)GodFather Wrote: All you hear about the Bengals and the current situation is "It could be worse we could go back to the 90's" Well guess what with the state of this front offices joke of decision making and desire to truly win, this team and organization is still in the 90s. Big deal we won 7 games instead of 2 or 3. Whats the difference? This team cant win a playoff game and has nor ever could compete with any contending team in a consistent way.

If the current coaching decisions follow what most of us think on this board, we may as well put our grunge shirts on, drink some Snapple, Be Kind and Rewind our VHS tapes from Blockbuster before returning them and believe Marvin Lewis when he says, "I'll Be Back"

Get ready boys because the "I cant believe this is happening again" is about to happen and you wonder why this team is never be taken seriously.

I can definitely see your point.
If the goal is to win playoff games, the result is the same in the ML era as it was in the 1991 through 2002 - 0 playoff wins.
If the goal is to make the playoffs though, there was an improvement.

For me, it was enjoyable in the mid-late 2000's to see the Bengals in contention for the playoffs through most of December and even make it a few times.
Then I considered it a small improvement on top of that when they perennially made the playoffs five straight seasons.
But I'm with you at this point...The fans are now used to making the playoffs, so it's time to take the next step. There should be no satisfaction in just making the playoffs anymore.

I get what you're saying but I'll point out one difference: in the 90's my mindset going into almost every game was that they were probably going to lose. Under Marvin, that has been replaced by prime time games, playoff games, and games against the Steelers.

In all seriousness though, Marvin inherited a team with 5 playoff wins in their history, and in 15 years he has failed to add to that total. I think this organization operates with this fear that if they move on from him they'll instantly turn back into the dumpster fire that the 90's were. For that reason, it seems Mike is scrambling to resign a near .500 coach while the rest of the league is setting up interviews with the top available candidates.

Marvin Lewis quote...
"The one thing that we've been consistent on since I began here is staying on the same page and I think that's important," Lewis said. "There's a direction that the owner wants to have, there's a direction that I have to -- he's hired me to do a job and we've got to make sure we stay aligned in that, and if his direction is different than my direction, then it's probably not good. We just have to make sure, I have to make sure, we're all on the same page."
"If I'm here, we're going to do everything in my power to be world champions," Lewis said. "That's what my job is and nothing short of that is acceptable."

This tells me that things got screwed up with Whit, Zeitler, Ross and some other things in the past year. We all know that Marvin knew our OL was going to be garbage, hell the whole world knew it. Did MB think not? Did he think Piano Man was going to perform a miracle? And that Ross pick had the old 90s written all over it, Peter Warrick anyone?

In all honesty, I kind of miss the 90's. And the more I think about it, I realize in a lot of ways I was happier (and much more mentally healthy) during the abysmal 90's than the Marvin Lewis era.

At least in the 90's I knew the team would suck. There was no co*k-teasing us with division championships and playoff appearances, giving us false hope of a championship run. In the 90's, there was no stress. No delusions. We were what we were: the Bengals. The lowly Mike brown Cincinnati Bengals. Yes, the constant losing sucked and I was only a kid but really... In so many ways I was happier then.

Crazy (and depressing) to think about

I CALL BULLSHIT.
This is NOT the same as the 90's.
Back then, teams would see Bengals on the schedule and automatically put it down as a "W.". EVERY Bengals win was seen as an "upset" by the media.
That has NOT been the case, recently.  If nothing else, Marvin brought the Bengals back to respectability.  I still want him gone as coach, though.

(01-02-2018, 11:01 AM)GodFather Wrote: All you hear about the Bengals and the current situation is "It could be worse we could go back to the 90's" Well guess what with the state of this front offices joke of decision making and desire to truly win, this team and organization is still in the 90s. Big deal we won 7 games instead of 2 or 3. Whats the difference? This team cant win a playoff game and has nor ever could compete with any contending team in a consistent way.

If the current coaching decisions follow what most of us think on this board, we may as well put our grunge shirts on, drink some Snapple, Be Kind and Rewind our VHS tapes from Blockbuster before returning them and believe Marvin Lewis when he says, "I'll Be Back"

Get ready boys because the "I cant believe this is happening again" is about to happen and you wonder why this team is never be taken seriously.

So, you are saying that right now we are in a worse situation than the Browns?

Because that was the 90s.  No hope, no talent, no drafting ability.  Nothing.

Sorry, man, but I don't agree with you one bit.  This is nowhere near the 90s.

Yep, in the 90's there was NO HOPE.
Now we have at least some.

This team is barely above 90's bad, just a tick above.

We're 12-22-1 against teams not named Cleveland in the last two and 1/2 seasons. And 5 of those 12 wins have came against teams finishing with five wins or less themselves !

We have exactly 7 wins against very mediocre teams in that span and that's it ! To try and pretend like this has been a team in contention during that span is quite delusional.

(01-02-2018, 11:01 AM)GodFather Wrote: All you hear about the Bengals and the current situation is "It could be worse we could go back to the 90's" Well guess what with the state of this front offices joke of decision making and desire to truly win, this team and organization is still in the 90s. Big deal we won 7 games instead of 2 or 3. Whats the difference? This team cant win a playoff game and has nor ever could compete with any contending team in a consistent way.

If the current coaching decisions follow what most of us think on this board, we may as well put our grunge shirts on, drink some Snapple, Be Kind and Rewind our VHS tapes from Blockbuster before returning them and believe Marvin Lewis when he says, "I'll Be Back"

Get ready boys because the "I cant believe this is happening again" is about to happen and you wonder why this team is never be taken seriously.

Nah.  It ain't back to the 90's.  We're in a different kind of Hell now.  We're in the pit of mediocrity.

(01-02-2018, 11:58 AM)bengalfan74 Wrote: This team is barely above 90's bad, just a tick above.

We're 12-22-1 against teams not named Cleveland in the last two and 1/2 seasons. And 5 of those 12 wins have came against teams finishing with five wins or less themselves !

We have exactly 7 wins against very mediocre teams in that span and that's it ! To try and pretend like this has been a team in contention during that span is quite delusional.

Barely above?  Really?   From the death of Paul Brown and the 1991 season until 2002 when Marvin arrived the Bengals were 55-137, that is an average of 4.5 wins per season.  We had 1, 2 win season, 4, 3 win seasons and one season at 8-8, our best season in a 12 year span.  Just for reference...We have 56 wins in the last 6 years, even with this year and last.  

This is worse. We've been stuck with Giggles for 15 years now with no playoff wins. At least we were offered somewhat hope with 3 different HC's 1990-1999. This is insanity.

Some of you obviously do not remember the 90's. Dave Shula, Bruce Coslet, Dick LeBeau (great D-coordinator, bad head coach), zero scouting staff, no Director of player personnel, Jeff Blake, Scott Mitchell, Neil O'Donnell, Gus Freaking Frerotte, Akili Smith, David Klingler. Jeff Query was a starting WR on some of those teams for God's sake. Seasons were over by the first of October. It was the Browns before the Browns. We can hate the current state of the organization all we want, but it is NO comparison to the comedy act that went on here in the 90's and early 2000's. Not even close.

(01-02-2018, 12:20 PM)Takedown Wrote: This is worse. We've been stuck with Giggles for 15 years now with no playoff wins. At least we were offered somewhat hope with 3 different HC's 1990-1999. This is insanity.

LOL, Dave Shula, hired because of his name, never coached again after Cincinnati.  Bruce Coslet, inside man.  Dick Lebeau, inside man.  Where was the hope?  Everyone knew that Shula and LeBeau were bad hires.  Coslet?  I felt sorry for him, no control.  What exactly happened with the whole Blake/Esiason deal?

As terri le as the 90s was, at least the Bengals were still kinda exciting to watch when Dillon, Pickens and that crew was playing, at least they weren't a stale bland bunch like today.

(01-02-2018, 11:52 AM)Tomkat Wrote: I CALL BULLSHIT.
This is NOT the same as the 90's.
Back then, teams would see Bengals on the schedule and automatically put it down as a "W.". EVERY Bengals win was seen as an "upset" by the media.
That has NOT been the case, recently.  If nothing else, Marvin brought the Bengals back to respectability.  I still want him gone as coach, though.

Right back at ya call9ng bullshit, I guarantee you the Steelers put a W next to them when they play us. Hell we were up 17-0 and they were still putting the W up and got it.

This Lewis led team hasn’t gotten us anymore victories than the 90s Bengals and if I’m not mistaken it’s about winning championships not putting a W in the regular season column. If your content with that then your rooting for the right team cause you and Brown are two peas in a pod.

(01-02-2018, 11:54 AM)Hammerstripes Wrote: So, you are saying that right now we are in a worse situation than the Browns?

Because that was the 90s.  No hope, no talent, no drafting ability.  Nothing.

Sorry, man, but I don't agree with you one bit.  This is nowhere near the 90s.

We had talent in the 90s. It got squandered away like the Lewis Bengals. No talent huh? Corey Dillon, Carl Pickens etc. The drafting ability now is over rated. Our 1st round picks are hit or miss at best go back and look. We’ve been down the path, Bengals will never win with Lewis. How is that better than the 90s.

(01-02-2018, 11:56 AM)Tomkat Wrote: Yep, in the 90's there was NO HOPE.
Now we have at least some.

Not if Lewis comes back and if you think it does your playing mind games with yourself.

I've been with this team as a fan since the beginning, and I can assure you, this is nothing like the 90's.....

(01-02-2018, 11:01 AM)GodFather Wrote: All you hear about the Bengals and the current situation is "It could be worse we could go back to the 90's" Well guess what with the state of this front offices joke of decision making and desire to truly win, this team and organization is still in the 90s. Big deal we won 7 games instead of 2 or 3. Whats the difference? This team cant win a playoff game and has nor ever could compete with any contending team in a consistent way.

If the current coaching decisions follow what most of us think on this board, we may as well put our grunge shirts on, drink some Snapple, Be Kind and Rewind our VHS tapes from Blockbuster before returning them and believe Marvin Lewis when he says, "I'll Be Back"

Get ready boys because the "I cant believe this is happening again" is about to happen and you wonder why this team is never be taken seriously.

I'm in a different kind of camp than a lot of people, I suppose. I unconditionally enjoy the Bengals and love discussing them (as well as sports in general).

1: I love the Bengals unconditionally with one exception... they move. That's my God principle in all of this. I'm a fan and enjoy them no matter what. I even take pleasure in finding comedy in their failures. Why not? I'll certainly not take misery out of it. I'm not wired that way.

2:  I don't get a boner off of if the Bengals are taken seriously or not. It's a football game. If anyone who doesn't work for the NFL is THAT serious about it, we're on different planets in terms of perspective. That's not to say someone is wrong for being upset if they stink. We're customers. We deserve a level of effort. But I will support (or not) with my wallet, not my heart and soul.

3: If the Bengals win, I don't personally get anything. NOTHING. I live my happy life the same way, regardless.

"Never allow your personal self esteem to get too high or too low off of another man's successes or failures."
- As quoted by ME.

PS: This is NOTHING like the 90s. They are competitive and there are expectations. The 90s Bengals were never on TV (I adopted the Eagles as my 2nd favorite team because I could actually watch them on TV), and were made fun of all over the news. This isn't dysfunction. This is poor performance. There's a difference there, in my eyes.

7-9 is boring. I was bored this season. That's my only complaint, really.

(01-02-2018, 12:53 PM)Sled21 Wrote: I've been with this team as a fan since the beginning, and I can assure you, this is nothing like the 90's.....

I’ve been with this team since the 70s and have no more hope for it than the 90s teams if Lewis and company are resigned.

(01-02-2018, 01:05 PM)GodFather Wrote: I’ve been with this team since the 70s and have no more hope for it than the 90s teams if Lewis and company are resigned.

So you had NO HOPE in 2015 before Dalton got hurt?
Lewis was our coach then and we definitely had hope!