You guys think that team would have won it all if Palmer didn't get hurt?

No. The defense was terrible.

The offense was good enough to beat any team, but not four good teams in a row. Especially not outdoors in January.

(05-09-2019, 11:28 AM)fredtoast Wrote: No.  The defense was terrible.

The offense was good enough to beat any team, but not four good teams in a row.  Especially not outdoors in January.

That team was solid though. The Defense forced a lot of turnovers.

I will always believe we would have beat Pittsburgh. How much further we would have gotten is one of those questions in the land of great what if's ?

But, what would Palmer not getting his knee trashed have done down the road ? Another in the long list of Bengals what ifs ? Greg Cook, Bill Walsh and so on.

(05-09-2019, 11:34 AM)packerbacker Wrote: That team was solid though. The Defense forced a lot of turnovers.

Even with the high amount of forced turnovers they were 22nd in scoring defense.

I said "No", but I am not going to say it was impossible.  That was an elite offense.  It is possible they could have gotten real hot and won it all, but when that defense was not getting turnovers they were not good at all.

(05-09-2019, 11:38 AM)bengalfan74 Wrote: But, what would Palmer not getting his knee trashed have done down the road ?

Palmers knee injury was not an issu at all.  His 2006 numbers were pretty much the same as his 2005 numbers.

What destroyed that team was having one of the very best O-lines in the league in 2005 then in just 3 years losing Braham to injury completely, Steinbach to free agency, and Levi and Willie suffering injuries from which they never fully recovered.

(05-09-2019, 11:53 AM)fredtoast Wrote: Palmers knee injury was not an issu at all.  His 2006 numbers were pretty much the same as his 2005 numbers.

What destroyed that team was having one of the very best O-lines in the league in 2005 then in just 3 years losing Braham to injury completely, Steinbach to free agency, and Levi and Willie suffering injuries from which they never fully recovered.

Losing Rudi Johnson hurt pass blocking big time. I've said for years that the best pass blocking RB that I've ever seen was Walter Payton. The second best was Rudi Johnson. Rudi didn't catch a lot of passes because he was committed to plugging up the leaks in the o-line. Chris Perry was committed to being in the passing game as a receiver. Palmer injured his elbow in the first game without Rudi on a play that Perry whiffed on his block.

What did you guys think of the 2006 team?

The 2015 team was the Super Bowl team, not 2005. IMO.

(05-09-2019, 12:36 PM)packerbacker Wrote: What did you guys think of the 2006 team?

Absolutely devastated by injuries/suspensions.

Thurman did not play a snap.

Pollack and Braham only played one full game each.

Levi Jones missed 11 games.

Kelly Washington missed 11.

Chris Perry missed 10.

Brian Simmons missed 5

Dexter Jackson missed 4.

Deltha O'Neal missed 4.

Bobbie Williams missed 3.

Housh missed 2.


Henry missed 3.

Thornton missed 1.

(05-09-2019, 01:16 PM)NKURyan Wrote: The 2015 team was the Super Bowl team, not 2005. IMO.

By far.

With Dalton at QB we were 10-2 with the #4 scoring offense and the #1 scoring defense.

(05-09-2019, 01:16 PM)NKURyan Wrote: The 2015 team was the Super Bowl team, not 2005. IMO.

The 2015 team melted down late against the Steelers with the lead.

Maybe with a different HC and mentality that was a SB Team. On paper, it was a Top 3 roster.

In 2005, I'm fairly confident we beat the Steelers. That was Marvin's 1st playoff game. The pattern of playoff losses wasn't established.

We wouldn't have won a SB. The defense was too bad.

But, IF we win that game, I think we likely win more playoff games since then.

(05-09-2019, 02:05 PM)THE PISTONS Wrote: The 2015 team melted down late against the Steelers with the lead.

Maybe with a different HC and mentality that was a SB Team. On paper, it was a Top 3 roster.

That 2015 team beat the Steelers on the road with the same HC.

I don't know if the roster was top 3, but it was much better than the '05 team and plenty talented enough to win the Super Bowl.

The playoff meltdown was epic.  Even Peko, who was regarded as one of the top leaders on the team, lost his head.  Don't know how much of that you can blame on Marvin. 

(05-09-2019, 02:12 PM)fredtoast Wrote: That 2015 team beat the Steelers on the road with the same HC.

I don't know if the roster was top 3, but it was much better than the '05 team and plenty talented enough to win the Super Bowl.

The playoff meltdown was epic.  Even Peko, who was regarded as one of the top leaders on the team, lost his head.  Don't know how much of that you can blame on Marvin. 

It felt like a WWE match.

(05-09-2019, 02:12 PM)fredtoast Wrote: The playoff meltdown was epic.  Even Peko, who was regarded as one of the top leaders on the team, lost his head.  Don't know how much of that you can blame on Marvin. 

(05-09-2019, 02:37 PM)ochocincos Wrote: It felt like a WWE match.

To me it is a little like having certain Teachers in High School.

The kids size up one Teacher versus another and determine what they think they can get away with.

The same kids may behave in one class but misbehave with a different Teacher in another class.

Would Peko/Burfict/Pac Man act the same way were Bill Belichick their Head Coach ?

Would they even have been on a Bill Belichick team to begin with or have been cut for melting down ?

(05-09-2019, 01:16 PM)NKURyan Wrote: The 2015 team was the Super Bowl team, not 2005. IMO.

The most complete Team since '88 SB.

Bengals went all in, for a SB run. I believe we would have beaten Denver and getting at least the second seed for playoffs.

I don't think even if we get past NE, that we would have beaten Carolina. Newton and Panthers give us problems that we have yet to solve.

(05-09-2019, 02:05 PM)THE PISTONS Wrote: The 2015 team melted down late against the Steelers with the lead.

No kidding? Gee, I almost forgot. 

That game in 2015 wouldn't have even been close with Andy Dalton at QB. They would've been up by at least two scores the way the defense played that night, and at that point there's no room for a meltdown. The only reason the Steelers were in that game was because McCarron did nothing for 3 quarters... I'll give him credit for pulling them into the lead at the end, but had they got anything from their QB before then it's not even a game IMO.

was Hue the OC that year?
he did nothing in that week leading up to the Steelers
game to throw any kind of wrinkle at the Steelers.
in the playoffs you cant use the same playbook as the regular
season.
that offense was vanilla 101 in the Steelers game

(05-09-2019, 03:22 PM)impactplaya Wrote: was Hue the OC that year?
he did nothing in that week leading up to the Steelers
game to throw any kind of wrinkle at the Steelers.
in the playoffs you cant use the same playbook as the regular
season.
that offense was vanilla 101 in the Steelers game

They had a (mediocre at best) backup QB starting, of course it was vanilla. It's not like the Steelers put on an offensive clinic that night, either.

At dinner on my way to the game I knew that if the Bengals were going to win it was going to be an ugly, physical, defense-oriented win. It almost was. I think if Andy starts they get at least one TD in the first three quarters of the game, and probably more.

People can trash Hue all they want - he certainly deserves it - but he and Andy were magic together.