(12-25-2020, 08:36 PM)TheLeonardLeap Wrote: If Joe hadn't gotten injured, that would have meant the Bengals suddenly had a better OL than they actually have. So yes, a healthy Burrow and a better OL would have results in 6-7 wins.

The Bengals aren't a bad team because Burrow got hurt. Burrow got hurt because they are a bad team.

Nope

I'm happy again today. I'll be happier next week when we not the Ravens out of the playoffs.

Looks like we've found our backup QB, looks like the oline is starting to gel, looks like Tee Higgins is a budding star, looks like Zac is figuring out we don't have to throw 60 times a game...

I'm happy to see the wins. Not concerned too much about draft position. But more worried that two or three flukey wins when they have nothing at stake will mean more of Zac, Turner and Lou next year.

(12-27-2020, 07:49 PM)masterpanthera_t Wrote: I'm happy to see the wins. Not concerned too much about draft position. But more worried that two or three flukey wins when they have nothing at stake will mean more of Zac, Turner and Lou next year.

What has been flukey about the wins?

(12-27-2020, 07:49 PM)masterpanthera_t Wrote: I'm happy to see the wins. Not concerned too much about draft position. But more worried that two or three flukey wins when they have nothing at stake will mean more of Zac, Turner and Lou next year.

If they're winning games so be it... Knock off Baltimore's next week, and I'd say I'm alright with bringing them back on a no ***** excuses year.

Hopefully the past 2 games pounded the importance of establishing the run into Zac's skull...

(12-26-2020, 02:02 AM)THE PISTONS Wrote: Yeah...MJ gave up what 7-8 pressures in the Washington game. And Burrow threw what about 30 pass attempts in the 1st half. And Washington has a top 5 pass rush. And we have given up a lot of sacks.

So...yes - the gameplan and personnel on both teams DEFINATELY contributed to the injury. Definately.

Now can guys get hurt on a fluke play here and there? Sure.

But, the more pressure your QB is under and the more he gets hit...that increases chances of an injury.

All this talk about Burrow becoming Andrew Luck is out there for a reason. With a bad line, you can't throw as much as we do and especially with an empty backfield.

Agreed. Injuries to the QB can happen on any play however the more hits the QB takes the greater the likelihood of some form of injury. The constant pressure was also going to impact on Joe's development. He was getting rid of the ball quickly which is a good thing but it is not ideal in allowing him to go through his progressions and make the right call. There is a difference between going quick and rushing the read. Joe was not as successful going downfield because of the pressure. The constant hits could have caused him to start rushing his reads even more. Joe will be at his best when he has time to go through progressions and find open receiver not as a dink and dunk QB because he is constantly under pressure.

The reality is that coaches and players don't tank. Zac isn't going to support the players tanking so he can be fired. Most players are playing for their livelihood so likely aren't going to tank. And if they do quit during the year, then you don't want them on your team. The GM can hope they finish with the top draft pick but short of benching players the team on the field will still want to win. Today's offense did not have Burrows, Boyd or Mixon so really they were well positioned to lose and they did not. That says something. Personally I hoped they would lose and get Sewell or at least be in a position to trade down and collect a few picks but that is easier for me to hope for because I am not fighting for a job and will here next year as part of the fanbase regardless. As much as I wanted Sewell I still feel better when they win I would just like to see the other crappy teams win too

(12-27-2020, 07:51 PM)bfine32 Wrote: What has been flukey about the wins?

I think we happened to catch Pittsburgh at just the right time when their qb couldn't make many deep throws and the dbs could sit on routes. Typically this hasn't happened much in the last five plus years.

Today,  we caught a terrible Houston team without much of a run defense,  and most of their top receivers out.  And still this defense almost let Watson win the game. 
Now I'm very happy they won two in a row.  I'm just not sure they ever do this when the stakes have been high in the last five years. Combine that with the Bengals' tendency for the dead cat bounce,  the wins seem to be flukey. Especially because last week's defense didn't show up this week. Glad to see the offense showed up,  but Houston's D is pretty bad. Perhaps if all three phases show up next week and they win,  I'll change my opinion. 

(12-27-2020, 07:55 PM)jason Wrote: If they're winning games so be it... Knock off Baltimore's next week, and I'd say I'm alright with bringing them back on a no ***** excuses year.

Hopefully the past 2 games pounded the importance of establishing the run into Zac's skull...

Honestly I didn't watch many games this year, but I don't get the feeling Zac will start winning simply by pounding the ball on the ground more. Their OL hasn't done well in the first halves of last year or this one. So if they get rid of the line coach and make serious improvements to the line then maybe it will bring some hope that Zac had learned well.  But I think he likes and trusts Turner too much.

https://images.app.goo.gl/6c7cF1bohcWdLJvW9

(12-27-2020, 08:10 PM)masterpanthera_t Wrote: Honestly I didn't watch many games this year, but I don't get the feeling Zac will start winning simply by pounding the ball on the ground more. Their OL hasn't done well in the first halves of last year or this one. So if they get rid of the line coach and make serious improvements to the line then maybe it will bring some hope that Zac had learned well.  But I think he likes and trusts Turner too much.

My point was the past two weeks, they knew they couldn't just throw the ball around the field, and they went out and got themselves going on the ground. You have to do that.

(12-27-2020, 08:40 PM)jason Wrote: My point was the past two weeks, they knew they couldn't just throw the ball around the field, and they went out and got themselves going on the ground. You have to do that.

Yeah, I'm saying that I hope that what Zac learnt doesn't have an impact because hopefully they have a new HC next year. 

(12-27-2020, 08:46 PM)masterpanthera_t Wrote: Yeah, I'm saying that I hope that what Zac learnt doesn't have an impact because hopefully they have a new HC next year. 

Makes sense; because who the hell would want to keep Zac if he learned something that led to us winning games? 

It’s taken Zac Taylor 30 games to figure out how to run a balanced offense. It will take another 30 games for him to figure out why a shutdown defense is a good thing to have.

(12-27-2020, 08:46 PM)masterpanthera_t Wrote: Yeah, I'm saying that I hope that what Zac learnt doesn't have an impact because hopefully they have a new HC next year. 

That'd be my wish too, but I think he's back, so hopefully the proverbial lightbulb turns on for Taylor.

(12-27-2020, 08:48 PM)bfine32 Wrote: Makes sense; because who the hell would want to keep Zac if he learned something that led to us winning games? 

Oh sure if that's what you got out of my statement. Zac learning something that took him 30 games to learn now means that Zac is the coach to lead the Bengals to glory? All of a sudden these two wins make us see huh? I'm sure Dave Shula won a few games at the end of the year during his losing seasons too.
 

You might like Taylor,  you might not. But let's not act like not wanting Taylor back means the same as not wanting the Bengals to succeed. 

'Late season Zac' is at least competitive, now 4-5 in in December. 

The problem is the other Zac, who is an abysmal 2-19-1 in all other months.

IMO, it's similar to scoring a couple of touchdowns in the final minutes of a blowout. While the past 2 weeks have been extremely fun to watch and it's awesome to see these back to back wins...I think it's also fair to be a skeptical about whether it's really indicative of anything more than playing well in end of the year games.

I hope I'm wrong though, and it leads to good things next year, because Zac will obviously be back.

Zac is coming back next year, I’m sure of that. I think he’s saved his job with these wins. The only way he would’ve been on the hot seat is if they would have lost out.
We just need to hope he’s figuring it out and that they will address the OL issues this off season.

And for you degenerate gamblers - the two teams who previously made playoffs with losing records in non-strike years both won their first round playoff games. So take the points and the NFCE champ in the first round.

Good outing by Gio today. Nice to see a run game and some good screens as well. I was a little confused on the second drive today why they went away with what made them successful the first drive, but they went back to it. I really like how Brandon Allen is playing as well. I said it before and I'll say it again. He's Kitnaesque. But maybe a little better passer.

(12-27-2020, 09:12 PM)Clark W Griswold Wrote: Zac is coming back next year, I’m sure of that. I think he’s saved his job with these wins. The only way he would’ve been on the hot seat is if they would have lost out.

I’m not so sure about Zac returning to Cincinnati in 2021. His resume is better now, after all: He’s beat the Steelers, won a road game, and won two consecutive games. He’s likely to finish 7-24-1 after two years but that’s still terrible at 0.219 and he’s not the long term answer.