(01-26-2023, 09:37 PM)Nately120 Wrote: ZT is a second banana for sure, but that's hardly the end of the world.  I've compared Burrow & Taylor to Hall & Oates, or Simon & Garfunkel, or the rest of the Beatles & Ringo.  Oates/Garfunkel/Ringo can always be the butt of jokes because they aren't Hall/Simon/Paul-John-George, but the fact is that they we part of something huge, they've seen the top of the mountain, and their biggest sin is not being on the level of the main guy.

With that being said, I do think Burrow is so good that it'll be hard to evaluate damn near anyone.  We will see how long we can keep this band together, but I have a suspicion some of our players who take big bucks to go to middling or bottom-tier NFL teams are going to suspiciously return to earth a bit.  It's all good, Burrow can get his teammates paid and he can elevate the FAs that come in.

As for ZT?  Well, as long as Burrow keeps telling people that he's the best coach on earth and they collect championships, he'll be collecting awards and laughing all the way to the bank like John Oates.

(01-26-2023, 03:30 PM)Shake n Blake Wrote: Every Bengals fan loves Joe and that includes me. I have a Burrow SB jersey that I got a couple weeks after the game. It was the first jersey I've purchased since I took a gamble on an Odell Thurman jersey on clearance in 2007.

I'm a Bengals fan. So Joe Burrow is my dude.

Joe is currently leading the best stretch of football in team history and it's only going to get better. As the wins and accolades start to compile, Joe's star will get bigger and bigger and it's gravity will increase.

Last year I saw a guy say Joe makes everyone better. Ok, no problems there, right? Another guy says our defense was/is a bunch of nobodies really, and Joe has elevated our defense to playing at an elite level.

That's where I draw the line.

What I'm driving at is this: Once a player's star gets this big or bigger, the praise almost starts to border on worship. Logical takes like great QBs make everyone better get amplified.

Poor Zac Taylor will never get any credit from the national media or even many of us, bc he didn't win while rebuilding this team for only 2 years. Every coach will be a product of Joe. Every good performance a product of Joe.

It reminds me a lot of Tom Brady. People always talked like he won without help, but if you go through each year he got a ring, you always see a top 8 defense. You always saw names like Gronk, Edelman, Dillon, Wilfork, Samuel, Ty Law, Lawyer Milloy, etc. Great o-lines.

I also wonder if any Pats fans ever reminisce about their SB losers in 1985 and 1996. Is Bledsoe just a footnote in the history of Brady? I don't want to see that happen with our good old teams if/when we win one.

I also want to see all of our current good players get all the credit they deserve. Not just here, but in the national media, where I rarely hear anyone sing the praises of Trey Hendrickson or DJ Reader.

Zac Taylor is an afterthought despite helping to change the culture and finding a diamond like Lou. Mike Brown is still a cheap skate despite being aggressive in FA and building a practice bubble.

If you made it to the end of this, thanks for reading, and I appreciate your thoughts.

(01-26-2023, 06:22 PM)Sled21 Wrote: I tell you what, I Googled to find out, and what I found is kind of scary for them. He and his girlfriend both need to get off Social Media, there are a slew of unhinged, and I mean UNHINGED, women coming after him and sending her not so nice messages. I sincerely hope they are traveling with bodyguards. 

(01-26-2023, 10:02 PM)Shake n Blake Wrote: Great post and I agree with the comparison. Like I said, sometimes the star just gets so bright, it's all people see or talk about.

(01-26-2023, 03:30 PM)Shake n Blake Wrote: Poor Zac Taylor will never get any credit from the national media or even many of us, bc he didn't win while rebuilding this team for only 2 years.

(01-26-2023, 10:21 PM)TheLeonardLeap Wrote: There's rebuilding, and then there's going 4-17 without Burrow. If he had gone even 8-13 without Burrow he'd probably get more credit.

Lets put it in these terms. Zac Taylor's winning % without Burrow is worse than Hue Jackson's winning % as a HC. That's not me burying Zac, but just pointing out the reality that when that's the case, you aren't giving a ton of reason to believe otherwise.

(01-26-2023, 10:32 PM)THE PISTONS Wrote: True. But I think the coaches improved a lot. It's really impossible to say though.

(01-26-2023, 10:21 PM)TheLeonardLeap Wrote: There's rebuilding, and then there's going 4-17 without Burrow. If he had gone even 8-13 without Burrow he'd probably get more credit.

(01-26-2023, 06:58 PM)George Cantstandya Wrote: I don't really pay attention to celebrities personal lives but I bet it is pretty typical for them to have all kinds of crazy people on their social media and elsewhere.  Probably goes with the territory and something celebs have to learn to deal with.  Not saying that it's right for people to treat them that way though. I imagine they and many other celebrities as well as a lot of very high paid people do have people hired to look out for that kind of stuff. 

(01-26-2023, 04:30 PM)PDub80 Wrote: ZT and the Bengals coaches get plenty of positive run in the media.

And the defense WAS. bunch of nobodies. DJ Reader even pointed out a really cool fact: Only 1 first rounder gets meankngful snaps on D.... And, if I recall, not 1 guy on the Bengals D got a 2nd contract from the team that they were first with.

^ That = nobodies, in general. But now.... NOW they're all somebodies. And it's awesome to see.

The HC, DC, OC, & assistants are highly thought of.

Sorry, my man, I just don't agree with the side of the fence you're falling on here. The entire org has done an A+ job with the turn around since ZT was hired.

(01-26-2023, 04:12 PM)Sled21 Wrote: Not sure it was the same guy, but I heard someone the other day on Sirius NFL saying the same thing, that Joe makes the defense better. But, he went on to explain it in that the defense can play loose knowing Joe is going to ball out and if they make a mistake on D, Joe will score when they get teh ball back to him. It lets them play faster and looser than if they were worried about messing up and letting the other team score. I think there is some validity in that.

(01-26-2023, 06:22 PM)Sled21 Wrote: I tell you what, I Googled to find out, and what I found is kind of scary for them. He and his girlfriend both need to get off Social Media, there are a slew of unhinged, and I mean UNHINGED, women coming after him and sending her not so nice messages. I sincerely hope they are traveling with bodyguards. 

(01-26-2023, 06:58 PM)George Cantstandya Wrote: I don't really pay attention to celebrities personal lives but I bet it is pretty typical for them to have all kinds of crazy people on their social media and elsewhere.  Probably goes with the territory and something celebs have to learn to deal with.  Not saying that it's right for people to treat them that way though. I imagine they and many other celebrities as well as a lot of very high paid people do have people hired to look out for that kind of stuff. 

(01-26-2023, 11:19 PM)grampahol Wrote: meh..The term GROUPIE has been around for quite some time. It's not like Joe is the Beatles, Elvis and Frank Sinatra all rolled into one.. 

(01-27-2023, 11:06 AM)Graphicguy Wrote: I don’t know that I can say I “resent”, anything about Burrow, the team, etc.

I’m glad he’s our QB. Personally, I’ve never seen one person/player who reinvented an NFL team as well, as thoroughly and as positively as Burrow has. And, to do it in such a short length of time is nothing short of a miracle. He’s better than Kenny Anderson. He’s better than Boomer. He’s better than Carson. Yeah, some of those guys may have had one or two traits that are better than Burrow. But, as a leader, a complete QB, Burrow wins the crown. So, no resentment there.

If the defense has to practice against the likes of Burrow, Chase, Higgins, Boyd, Mixon etc, of course it will make them a better defense.

As far as Taylor? I’d say half the NFL (if not more) would put him on their short list for a HC position if he were to become available for some crazy reason. I just rewatched his interview with Tony Dungee from the end of last season (not sure when it was filmed). He embodies the professionalism, the tough “paid my dues”, the football mind, and the creativeness that the Brown family cherishes. Now, looking back, it’s easier to see and understand what they were doing. He made it clear the direction he wanted the team to go (and nowhere did he ever mention guys like Dalton, AJ Green, etc). He wanted leaders on the team when he first got here and mentioned Pratt, Bates, Mixon, Boyd, by name.

(01-26-2023, 06:22 PM)Sled21 Wrote: I tell you what, I Googled to find out, and what I found is kind of scary for them. He and his girlfriend both need to get off Social Media, there are a slew of unhinged, and I mean UNHINGED, women coming after him and sending her not so nice messages. I sincerely hope they are traveling with bodyguards. 

(01-27-2023, 11:43 AM)Soonerpeace Wrote: His vision and plan had Arizona heavily interested and Denver as well but Denver had a lot of stipulations. The Browns history of loyalty and the fact he and his wife loved the city turned him to Cincy.