(09-16-2019, 05:16 PM)Adamantium Wrote: How about new ownership? That would be nice.

Sound tackling would be a nice start til then...

(09-16-2019, 01:59 PM)PhilHos Wrote: Sooooooooooooo, you DON'T want to trade our players for draft picks?

I do think trading for draft picks would be wise...it's just we need a GM who is competent or it won't matter.

(09-16-2019, 05:10 PM)grampahol Wrote: More importantly are you a folder or a scruncher of toilet paper? These and other important questions should be at the forefront of all Bengals discussions.   What's your favorite TP embossing pattern ? Flowers or those French(ish) designs?  1000 sheets per roll or...? I used to hate those individual waxy sheets in public restrooms. Maybe it was just me..I dunno.

I used to be a scruncher but for about the last decade or so i'm more of a folder. Not a proper fold, but i just roll it around by palm and then pull it off and, voila, it's kind of "folded". 

No patterns. Just regular old 2-ply, plain TP. No flowers, no scent, no anything else. 

(09-16-2019, 12:29 PM)Wyche Wrote: Here's a take, maybe in left field, but it's a take nonetheless. Zac gets to see how bad/good the team is at all positions. A real front office would take his evaluation and address it accordingly. Get active in FA, and have a good draft and the team may take off. Pipe dream, I know, but I think that's what I'd do. I believe in Jonah Williams. His tape and track record says he is what we all hope he will be. That loss did hurt us. Still, you can't fix the team in a draft. There has to be some help, real help. If they want to win games with the skill players they currently have, that's what needs to happen.

You'd like to think that they want to win every week, and they work toward that goal, while knowing that a good number of these guys are going to be gone after this year--one way or another--so, like you said, there's a hint of evaluation and any winning they can do is a plus. 

The key to this is...like you said, they need to do better in FA. Target at least 1 really good player, healthy and in his prime to fill an area of need--maybe even two--instead of signing several guys that are meh. 

But...i'll believe that right after i see it. 

The fashionable thing is for players to demand trades. May find ourselves getting that treatment soon.

(09-16-2019, 10:57 PM)rfaulk34 Wrote: You'd like to think that they want to win every week, and they work toward that goal, while knowing that a good number of these guys are going to be gone after this year--one way or another--so, like you said, there's a hint of evaluation and any winning they can do is a plus. 

The key to this is...like you said, they need to do better in FA. Target at least 1 really good player, healthy and in his prime to fill an area of need--maybe even two--instead of signing several guys that are meh. 

But...i'll believe that right after i see it. 

I agree with this all.

It's just that we have so many holes, that 1 draft won't fill them. I mean look what we got from this years draft: MJ starting at Guard and playing poorly. The rest of the class hasn't contributed much yet.

Granted I think Jonah would have been an above average Tackle.

(09-16-2019, 10:57 PM)rfaulk34 Wrote: You'd like to think that they want to win every week, and they work toward that goal, while knowing that a good number of these guys are going to be gone after this year--one way or another--so, like you said, there's a hint of evaluation and any winning they can do is a plus. 

The key to this is...like you said, they need to do better in FA. Target at least 1 really good player, healthy and in his prime to fill an area of need--maybe even two--instead of signing several guys that are meh. 

But...i'll believe that right after i see it. 

Right on.....no more dumpster diving. Let's get a couple of difference makers and I think the team would be in a better place. As noted in another thread, we have some good pieces at our skill positions.

(09-17-2019, 10:00 AM)THE PISTONS Wrote: I agree with this all.

It's just that we have so many holes, that 1 draft won't fill them. I mean look what we got from this years draft: MJ starting at Guard and playing poorly. The rest of the class hasn't contributed much yet.

Granted I think Jonah would have been an above average Tackle.

The worst and hardest part of this is; this team has had such a long, exhausting "stretch" of seasons (you know what i'm talking about...no need to rehash it all) that there aren't very many fans that are willing to wait 2, 3, 4 seasons until ZT has "his team" and they possibly, actually win a playoff game or more. Most fans of this team don't have the patience left to wait 1 season for the turnaround, they want it immediately. But like you said, and we all know, that's unrealistic due to the number of needs on this team. 

(09-17-2019, 10:35 AM)Wyche Wrote: Right on.....no more dumpster diving. Let's get a couple of difference makers and I think the team would be in a better place. As noted in another thread, we have some good pieces at our skill positions.

Yeah, there is a good amount of talent on the team to work with to avoid a losing season. The effort and play in game 1 showed the potential. The defense, believing the hype that they were much better, came out and laid an egg--as they've done so many times in the past. They have to come to a place where they understand that it takes focus, preparation and effort every single week in practice in order to produce like they did against Seattle. Somehow, this team continues--after a good win--to believe they're good enough to step on the field and win by sheer talent alone, and nothing could be further from the truth, as evidenced by the SF game. 

AND, someone on the offensive side of the ball needs to figure out some way to get a combination of Olinemen that can pass block and run block adequately in the same game. 

Relax I know yesterday looked bad but were not that bad. Ill let some of you so called fans on here on a little secret. If we can weather the storm and get everyone reasonably healthy we can still be good. We got hit in the mouth and our nose bloodied by good 49er team it happens.

(09-17-2019, 11:31 AM)rfaulk34 Wrote: The worst and hardest part of this is; this team has had such a long, exhausting "stretch" of seasons (you know what i'm talking about...no need to rehash it all) that there aren't very many fans that are willing to wait 2, 3, 4 seasons until ZT has "his team" and they possibly, actually win a playoff game or more. Most fans of this team don't have the patience left to wait 1 season for the turnaround, they want it immediately. But like you said, and we all know, that's unrealistic due to the number of needs on this team. 

Yep. The time to move on from Lewis was after the Pittsburgh Playoff loss. Probably the best thing for Lewis too. It's another way this team is mismanaged.

But, yes...you're right.

The hope was that new coaches could come in and fix players. (This basically meant that the old staff was bad.) Well...it doesn't appear that this will be the case from a development or scheme perspective.

We haven't added those 2-3 impact free agents.

And health was another thing that was being banked on. Well, health hasn't been there either...and it likely never will.

But, yes like you say the amount of needs we have are big...and guys like Green, Atkins, and Dunlap are 30/31...so as we fill needs, other needs will spring up. That's why it's tempting to trade guys for draft picks.

Honestly, IF I were the GM...I'd really have to think over what I'd do. IF going from a 5-6 win team to a 3-4 win team with a lot of draft picks significantly made the future brighter...maybe I do that.

(09-17-2019, 03:16 PM)THE PISTONS Wrote: Yep. The time to move on from Lewis was after the Pittsburgh Playoff loss. Probably the best thing for Lewis too. It's another way this team is mismanaged.

But, yes...you're right.

The hope was that new coaches could come in and fix players. (This basically meant that the old staff was bad.) Well...it doesn't appear that this will be the case from a development or scheme perspective.

We haven't added those 2-3 impact free agents.

And health was another thing that was being banked on. Well, health hasn't been there either...and it likely never will.

But, yes like you say the amount of needs we have are big...and guys like Green, Atkins, and Dunlap are 30/31...so as we fill needs, other needs will spring up. That's why it's tempting to trade guys for draft picks.

Honestly, IF I were the GM...I'd really have to think over what I'd do. IF going from a 5-6 win team to a 3-4 win team with a lot of draft picks significantly made the future brighter...maybe I do that.

I would say the pass offense has improved, simply due to new route combinations and using guys more to their strengths. The defensive line, if healthy, is a strong point of the defense, but if they don't get to the QB, the LBs and DBs can be exposed. 

They have long road to get near the top 10 teams in the league, but with the focus and effort they showed against Seattle, 8-8 +/- a game isn't unreasonable. Throw in a few breaks (that they rarely get--along with laying eggs on occasion) and 9 or 10 wins is possible...under the perfect circumstances of health+focus and effort+a couple breaks. 

Even over the last 3 years of losing records they went 4-3-1, 4-4 and 4-4 at home. A healthy, focused team should be competitive in 6 of the 7 remaining home games and 4 of their remaining road games. The rub is expecting them to be focused and healthy each remaining Sunday...

A whole lot of...(man, i hate this word) hope, to get near or just above .500