Two more "winnable" games coming up... @ Philly, and then Jacksonville here. IMHO, you really couldn't ask for a better stretch of oppenents to start the year (Chargers, Browns, Eagles, Jags).

We all know how disappointing the first two games have been. I've seen people that I considered more forgiving, and definitely more positive than the average poster, voice considerable frustrations and disappointment. It seems that what started as a mostly optimistic board as quickly turned into a mostly pessimistic board. At least from the perspective related to the coaching staff.

So now they have an opportunity to right the ship. They could win both of these games. I'm not saying that's likely, only that it is a legitimate possibility.

So what happens, depending on how we fare in these two games?

Well, I think going 2-0 would go a long way in people maybe reconsidering how they feel about Zac Taylor. A 2-2 record, with two close losses wouldn't be all that bad. It would put us on pace for what many predicted in the offseason (at or near .500).

A 1-1 split here I don't think moves the needle a ton in terms of faith in the staff. But at least we'd get our first W in the first 4 weeks as opposed to week 12. A win would definitely be nice for this group of guys, and especially Burrow. I don't think anyone would be joining the Zac Taylor fan club after a 1-3 start, but I do think it would stop the bleeding so to speak.

Going 0-2 would be disastrous. All hell will break loose on these boards if that were to occur. And rightfully so. We'd be sitting at 0-4, after a relatively easy start to the year. Zach Taylor would be sitting at 2-18. Going 0-2 is completely unacceptable here.

I started a similar thread to this in the beginning of the season, looking at the 1st 2 game stretch. It reads very similarly to this one. And I think it ended up ringing true. It doesn't take a genius to predict that people would be upset with an 0-2 start.

I'll be curious to hear how you feel about what we need to accomplish these next two games, and what you think the response looks like depending on the outcome. I think an overwhelming majority will admit that if we don't pick up a win in either of these two games that they'll have lost faith.

We still got two games with the Ravens, two with the Steelers, Dallas, Houton, Tennessee. We've got a lot of really good teams to play. We have to do better in some of these easier matchups.

It's time to get it done on Sunday. No excuses.

First game was one sketchy penalty call away from a win.

Second game was a 5 point loss.

But "close" doesn't count if we do not start winning. Even 4 very close losses is still 0-4. "Close" is better than getting blown out, but at some point you have to start winning close games.

The biggest reason the next 2 games are important is that the 4 games following, leading up to the bye, are difficult. I foresee us losing all 4 of them. Winless going into the bye week would almost certainly seal Taylor's fate, barring a miraculous turnaround.

Good news is I like how we match up against the Eagles. Dehner said in a recent column at the Athletic that one of his Bengals sources says they believe Geno will be back. Philly's offense is terrible. Wentz is terrible. I live in Philly and Eagles fans have been down on his since well before this year.

I agree for the most part. The difference between 1-1 over these two games and 0-2 is huge. Can't wait until late in the season to get the monkey off our back.

I can’t lose faith in ZT, never had any. Nothing in his resume suggests he will be a successful HC, it actually shows he’s terrible at coaching football. Just ridiculous that the Brown/Blackburn family fell for that media “close to McVay” hype.

At the risk of sounding hyperbolic, you might as well write the season off if they go 0-2 the next couple of games. That puts them at 0-4 with 5 divisional games left on the schedule. And you better believe we are likely to lose 4 of those.

(09-23-2020, 01:11 PM)Yojimbo Wrote: I can’t lose faith in ZT, never had any. Nothing in his resume suggests he will be a successful HC, it actually shows he’s terrible at coaching football. Just ridiculous that the Brown/Blackburn family fell for that media “close to McVay” hype.

I remember one of the media guys saying Zac Taylor was starting to get alot of buzz as a head coach candidate. They also went on the say that the Bengals probably hired him a year or 2 early because of the situation the team was in at the time. The Bengals were not a great looking job opportunity in early 2019. 

I think the scary part is that we can only envision wins that are extremely close. When will we ever see a game where we win convincingly again? That is something that will really ease these pain we are all feeling. Marvin wins were typically close. We had a few blowouts, but wins like the Benson Bears game or the Marvin Jones Jets game are something we just don’t get often enough.

If Zac can win, good. If Zac can get the team to win convincingly, it will go a long way to help everyone’s opinion of him.

Win or lose, we win if at the end of the game Burrow can walk off the field under his own power.

(09-23-2020, 01:04 PM)fredtoast Wrote: First game was one sketchy penalty call away from a win.

Second game was a 5 point loss.

But "close" doesn't count if we do not start winning.  Even 4 very close losses is still 0-4.  "Close" is better than getting blown out, but at some point you have to start winning close games.

I still say the Bengals are the only team that gets that called against them. #81 Did it 3 times at least in the same game with nothing called. What a slap in the face. That Ref couldn't have affected the game anymore than that call. It's like they do it just to let us all know they are still the Bengals or whatever. That 1 call could have Major implications on our season. Those never go our way. The Bengals are 1-1 with confidence and a real shot to go 3-1.... This is affecting me as bad as the Pittsburgh playoff game in '15..

(09-23-2020, 03:26 PM)Interceptor Wrote: Win or lose, we win if at the end of the game Burrow can walk off the field under his own power.

I remember saying this about Palmer.. I seriously doubt this teams capabilities to put it all together...

(09-23-2020, 03:35 PM)Tony Wrote: I remember saying this about Palmer.. I seriously doubt this teams capabilities to put it all together...

I know the line sucks, but I'm just worried for Burrow. So much talent and potential, I would hate to see it go wasted because we couldn't protect him.

(09-23-2020, 03:39 PM)Interceptor Wrote: I know the line sucks, but I'm just worried for Burrow. So much talent and potential, I would hate to see it go wasted because we couldn't protect him.

It’s NFL football. Burrow is a big boy. If we don’t see any improvement by the second half of the year or he takes an injury then I’ll be worried. For now, he is getting clobbered like most first overall QBs who go to a bad team.

To me, some of it is just to be expected. You worry with mentally weak guys like David Carr but Burrow is the opposite of that. What doesn’t kill ya makes ya stronger, so let’s just pray he doesn’t get killed before the line is fixed. IMO, he will survive and be better for it.

I must admit, I feel better about game 1 after watching LA take KC to the wire. That said, we really need to win these next two.

Minshew is going to tear this defense apart. Dude seems to convert every damn 3rd down.

It's out of our control. The Bengals got 4 losing teams from last season to start off its year. So far, they haven't gotten it done.

How things go will be up to Taylor, his coaches and the players.

We do these two things well I think we win at Phil
1. Consistent pressure from DLine
2. Burrow makes some plays finally down the field

(09-23-2020, 10:31 PM)Essex Johnson Wrote: We do these two things well I think we win at Phil
1. Consistent pressure from DLine
2. Burrow makes some plays finally down the field

So no mention of getting the running game going? Cause you’re not winning many games rushing for like 50 yds a game outside of what your QB picks up.

You can hit all the deep shots you want, but if you can’t effectively run the ball and kill clock, you’re exposing our extremely suspect defense by keeping them on the field too much.

(09-23-2020, 02:29 PM)Big Boss Wrote: At the risk of sounding hyperbolic, you might as well write the season off if they go 0-2 the next couple of games.  That puts them at 0-4 with 5 divisional games left on the schedule.  And you better believe we are likely to lose 4 of those.

Optimism: gone.

0-2 teams have 10% chance of making playoffs.

Season: over.

(09-23-2020, 10:45 PM)Nicomo Cosca Wrote: So no mention of getting the running game going? Cause you’re not winning many games rushing for like 50 yds a game outside of what your QB picks up.

You can hit all the deep shots you want, but if you can’t effectively run the ball and kill clock, you’re exposing our extremely suspect defense by keeping them on the field too much.

Those are my two keys to winning this game, big plays will ignite the team  and  I
By the way I will take at least 1 big shot since we have had none so far...

(09-23-2020, 01:04 PM)fredtoast Wrote: , but at some point you have to start winning close games.

0-10 in one score games since the beginning of last year. Almost unheard of. Typically you want to win half of those. 

In the previous 5 years, their record was 16-18-2