As for my prediction:

@ Seahawks - L
49ers - W
@ Bills - W
@ Steelers - L
Cardinals - W
@ Ravens - L
Jaguars - L
@ Rams - L
Ravens - W
@ Raiders - W
Steelers - L
Jets - W
@ Browns - L
Patriots - L
@ Dolphins - W
Browns - L

7-9

Super optimistic take - The Steelers and Ravens take a step back and the Browns' attempts to get better make them worse. The Jets and Raiders will never be good (like the Browns) and Seattle isn't good early in the year, Jimmy Garoppolo is a bust of a FA/trade, we know the NFC west so the Cardinals and Rams will be easier, the Bills and Dolphins always stink and they have new QBs and systems that the jury is still out on, and Tom Brady will finally regress and/or we haven't had much issue with the Patriots. Oh, and the Jaguars are bad.

Dalton has something to prove and nobody believes in us and we are flying under the radar. Teams that were better than us will get worse, teams that aren't good that tried to get better made the wrong moves and will still be bad, we are going to get better/heather and the coaching/personnel moves we made will work unlike the Browns/Raiders/Cardinals/Jaguars.

16-0

(08-20-2019, 12:04 PM)XsandOs Wrote: I have been under the impression that he is lost for the season. Is that not the case?

There is a slight chance he could return. That said, if anyone has ever had surgery you know that it takes weeks and months to regain strength. I don't see him being strong enough to play when he heals and it's probably a bad idea to actually play him.

I want to say 6-7 wins. I think 8-9 wins is the ceiling. We could win as few as 5 games if AJ is out longer.

I'll go with 6-10.

0-16?? 16-0???

Need more data to make an assumption.

(08-20-2019, 11:22 AM)ochocincos Wrote: Probably ML and the FO would get the blame for not having good enough depth to replace the injured starters.
This new regime may get a pass though this year because it's a brand new staff and schemes.

I just wish they signed 2-3 quality upgrades. The Rams in addition to hiring McVay did that too.

We could have really improved this year. Bringing in a Ram or 2 that knew the scheme would have been nice too.

(08-20-2019, 12:33 PM)Junglejuice Wrote: 0-16??  16-0???

Need more data to make an assumption.

Good point.  Let's talk about what we think our record is going to be in 2018 instead.

(08-20-2019, 12:35 PM)THE PISTONS Wrote: I just wish they signed 2-3 quality upgrades. The Rams in addition to hiring McVay did that too.

We could have really improved this year. Bringing in a Ram or 2 that knew the scheme would have been nice too.

BENGAL FANS - Niiice hire!  ZT is gonna make us the 2018 Rams!
ZT - Make us the 2014 Dolphins?  You got it!

Knock off the personal attacks. Respond to the topic, not the other posters.

That is all. Thank you for your cooperation.

(08-20-2019, 12:28 PM)Nately120 Wrote: Super optimistic take - The Steelers and Ravens take a step back and the Browns' attempts to get better make them worse.  The Jets and Raiders will never be good (like the Browns) and Seattle isn't good early in the year, Jimmy Garoppolo is a bust of a FA/trade, we know the NFC west so the Cardinals and Rams will be easier, the Bills and Dolphins always stink and they have new QBs and systems that the jury is still out on, and Tom Brady will finally regress and/or we haven't had much issue with the Patriots.  Oh, and the Jaguars are bad.

Dalton has something to prove and nobody believes in us and we are flying under the radar.  Teams that were better than us will get worse, teams that aren't good that tried to get better made the wrong moves and will still be bad, we are going to get better/heather and the coaching/personnel moves we made will work unlike the Browns/Raiders/Cardinals/Jaguars.

16-0

You forgot to mention that Ross doubled his drops but also his TD catches!

Gotta think positive!!

(08-20-2019, 12:35 PM)THE PISTONS Wrote: I just wish they signed 2-3 quality upgrades. The Rams in addition to hiring McVay did that too.

We could have really improved this year. Bringing in a Ram or 2 that knew the scheme would have been nice too.

Fans were saying Taylor’s scheme would help us turn things around like Mcvay did when he got to the Rams. You need players too not just scheme. The Rams are polar opposites from us in there approach. Under Mcvay the Rams traded for WR Brandin Cooks , signed Robert Woods as a free agent, signed Andrew Whitworth as a free agent, signed Suh as a free agent ,traded for Marcus Peters , signed Aqib Talib, traded for Dante Flower Jr, and signed Eric Weddle as a free agent safety. Plus they have a qb under his rookie contract and there trying to maximize that window. Not saying there approach is right just stating Mcvay got a ton of help from the GM early on. Plus he had a veteran former head coach in Wade Phillips on his staff versus Taylor who has a mostly inexperienced staff.

(08-19-2019, 06:53 PM)TheLeonardLeap Wrote: The Raiders prediction is based on assuming Antonio Brown ends up playing for them.

Don't forget the Jets have Le'Veon Bell.

I doubt either of us saw the Bengals getting swept by the Browns last year, and all the Browns did since then was just get better. I literally see no answer on the Bengals D for the Mayfield/Beckham Jr/Landry/Njoku/Chub/Hunt offense.

- - - - - - - - - - -

The Bengals OL looks like it will be bad to epic proportions, and the LBs aren't going to be any better than the big issue they were last year. It's hard to win with a bad OL and bad LBs. Means it's hard to stay on the field on offense, and hard to stay off the field on defense.

Where did the Bengals roster actually get better from last years 6-10 to this year?

Where do you get the nerve to use your brain on a message board?!?

(08-20-2019, 12:58 PM)lone bengal Wrote: Fans were saying Taylor’s scheme would help us turn things around like Mcvay did when he got to the Rams. You need players too not just scheme. The Rams are polar opposites from us in there approach. Under Mcvay the Rams traded for WR Brandin Cooks , signed  Robert Woods as a free agent, signed Andrew Whitworth as a free agent,  signed Suh as a free agent ,traded for Marcus Peters , signed Aqib Talib, traded for Dante Flower Jr, and signed Eric Weddle as a free agent safety. Plus they have a qb under his rookie contract and there trying to maximize that window.  Not saying there approach is right just stating Mcvay got a ton of help from the GM early on. Plus he had a veteran former  head coach in Wade Phillips on his staff versus Taylor who has a mostly inexperienced staff.

How dare you... stating a willing FO made some kind of impact when we still get guys like Jerry?!?

Preposterous!

(08-20-2019, 01:05 PM)BengalsRocker Wrote: How dare you... stating a willing FO made some kind of impact when we still get guys like Jerry?!?

Preposterous!

I’m not saying they have to sign free agents to crazy deals but they can make moves on those 2nd tier guys to supplement there draft. I’m a build mostly through the draft guy but when you rely solely on the draft and guys get hurt or don’t pan out it really sets you back.

@ Seahawks - Loss
49ers - Win
@ Bills - Win
@ Steelers - Loss
Cardinals - Win
@ Ravens - Loss
Jaguars - Win
@ Rams (UK) - Loss
Ravens - Loss
@ Raiders -Loss
Steelers - Loss
Jets - Win
@ Browns - Loss
Patriots - Loss
@ Dolphins - Win
Browns - Win

7-9

(08-20-2019, 01:00 PM)BengalsRocker Wrote: Where do you get the nerve to use your brain on a message board?!?

Where do you get the nerve to claim that a person "using his brain" will see that our LBs will be no different from last year.

I use my brain and I think there will be a big difference with the addition of Pratt if Vigil and Brown can both stay healthy.

(08-20-2019, 01:17 PM)fredtoast Wrote: Where do you get the nerve to claim that a person "using his brain" will see that our LBs will be no different from last year.

I use my brain and I think there will be a big difference with the addition of Pratt if Vigil and Brown can both stay healthy.

Let's hope so.

Stay snarky my friend.

(08-20-2019, 01:17 PM)fredtoast Wrote: Where do you get the nerve to claim that a person "using his brain" will see that our LBs will be no different from last year.

I use my brain and I think there will be a big difference with the addition of Pratt if Vigil and Brown can both stay healthy.

I agree Fred, maybe I am a homer, but I think Pratt becomes a good LB in 2019 and by end of the year we are happy we grabbed him in round 3.

Brown being lost to injury was also a blow, I think he is a good LB but did not have the health to prove it yet here. I think Evans is another who could progress and help our defense if called upon.

(08-20-2019, 12:35 PM)THE PISTONS Wrote: I just wish they signed 2-3 quality upgrades. The Rams in addition to hiring McVay did that too.

We could have really improved this year. Bringing in a Ram or 2 that knew the scheme would have been nice too.

The Bengals still have $19 mill in cap space after Boyd's extension.
The following money went to outside FAs - Miller ($5.3 mill), Webb ($3 mill), Wynn ($1.3 mill) = $9.6 mill.
Add that to $19 mill and it's $28.6 mill.
It would be even more if they didn't re-sign some of internal FAs like Hart ($5.9 mill), Brown ($4.7 mill), Eifert ($4 mill), Dennard ($4.5 mill), etc.

Let's say, for example, they brought in JaWuan James and CJ Mosley instead of re-signing Hart and Brown. Assuming they signed everyone else except for Hart and Brown, they would have had $29.6 mill in cap space before signing James and Mosley.
Mosley and James went for a combined average of just under $30 mill with only $21 mill counting against their teams' caps this year.
It would have set the team up with a franchise RT and ILB for 4 years, but it likely could mean no contract extension for AJ (at least not before FA next year).

Bottom line: they could have brought in 2-3 quality upgrades (although they believe the people they brought in are quality players), as you said, although I am near-certain that a decent chunk of the remaining cap was reserved for an AJ Green extension.

(08-20-2019, 01:17 PM)fredtoast Wrote: Where do you get the nerve to claim that a person "using his brain" will see that our LBs will be no different from last year.

I use my brain and I think there will be a big difference with the addition of Pratt if Vigil and Brown can both stay healthy.

Brown was actually playing rather well before he got hurt.
He was on pace for about 100 tackles, 9 PDs, and 4-5 INTs. That'd be considered pretty solid.
Him getting back on that track would be good.

Vigil was on pace for 122 tackles and 4 PDs if he played the whole season.


I agree that if Pratt continues his trajectory, him with Brown and Vigil can create a solid LB group.
I'm not confident in any of the backups though, so hopefully no injuries happen more than a game or two.

(08-20-2019, 12:06 PM)McC Wrote: I believe there has been mention made of him possibly being back before the end of the year but it seems more like wishful thinking than a realistic hope.

(08-20-2019, 12:06 PM)ochocincos Wrote: Heard it mentioned that Jonah Williams might have a chance to be returned from IR later in the season.
Trying to find source to confirm...
https://www.bengals.com/news/quick-hits-jonah-still-preparing-crocker-coaching-for-real

That's interesting. Thank you.