Changing the Culture Matters

[*Nate (formerly eliminate08)*]

(02-03-2022, 02:43 PM)George Cantstandya Wrote: I think this season's success has been a combination of all, talent, leadership, and culture.  I think there has defiantly been a shift in how this team plays compared to previous teams.  They just don't seem to give up even when they get down early and it looks like they have no chance. They seem to all be willing to fight for each other until the clock runs out.   Even though there are parts of the team that still seem to be lacking at times, especially the o-line, the team as whole feels to me like they are ready to step up when other parts are not performing so great.   Mostly it feels to me like they are all playing as a team and not just individual parts.

Sure swagger and culture isn't the entire reason the team has gotten to where they are.  But I think the confidence they have in each other and the way the team seems to have gelled is indeed a big part of it.   I think discounting that isn't a fair assessment and whether it is coaching or the players, or a combination of both that are responsible, it sure seems to have played a factor to me as a casual observer.

Lastly, i don't think noting these perceived changes in the team is an insult to Marvin and the great players the Bengals had during the years prior to this.

Nice post George, too bad it might get buried with Fred's same lame arguments about Dunlap being such a standup dude last year.

[J24]

(02-03-2022, 04:30 PM)Synric Wrote: Dunlap was taking a backseat to Sam Hubbard and Carl Lawson two players that needed evaluated especially when they were losing. Carl Lawson was coming up on a possible contract extension who had never really played all 3 downs. It was important to get him in there to see what they had going forward. We seen the exact same thing with Finley over Dalton for a couple game stretch Dalton took it like a professional. Dunlap didn't handle the situation well and went to social media to complain so when Sam Hubbard was hurt the team didn't move him back into the starting lineup the next week. Eventually Dunlap social media tirade caused the team to force a trade. 

It is what it is with the Carlos Dunlap situation he was tired of losing and didnt want to give the young guys behind him reps they needed for a team that was rebuilding. He went to what he thought was a contender with virtually zero compensation for the Bengals so he got what he wanted in the end.

I had/have no problem with Lawson or Hubbard playing over him but Bledsoe and Hunt? I can see why that pissed him off. I would argue the decision to start those guys over Dunlap cost us both the Colts and Browns game.

All in all though he handled the situation poorly and there is no excuse for that. Both sides needed to move on and probably should have done it sooner.

[*bfine32*]

(02-03-2022, 04:54 PM)J24 Wrote: I had/have no problem with Lawson or Hubbard playing over him but Bledsoe and Hunt? I can see why that pissed him off. I would argue the decision to start those guys over Dunlap cost us both the Colts and Browns game.

All in all though he handled the situation poorly and there is no excuse for that. Both sides needed to move on and probably should have done it sooner.

There's only one reason we know where Carlos was projected on the depth chart and it's because he made it public. The team did not make any type of demotion public; nor do we know for how long or why the decision was made. The team then gave the malcontent what he wanted ( a hard lesson in be careful what you ask for).

The team did not handle the situation poorly. Now if they would have held a press conference and say we're moving Carlos way down the death chart you'd have a point.  

[*Synric*]

(02-03-2022, 04:54 PM)J24 Wrote: I had/have no problem with Lawson or Hubbard playing over him but Bledsoe and Hunt? I can see why that pissed him off. I would argue the decision to start those guys over Dunlap cost us both the Colts and Browns game.

All in all though he handled the situation poorly and there is no excuse for that. Both sides needed to move on and probably should have done it sooner.

My point is after Lawson and Hubbard was moved up Dunlap went to social media to disrespect the coaches and the team which includes his teammates. So he didnt get his spot back when Hubbard was hurt and Bledsoe took that spot. Dunlap would have been the better option there but what he did had to be punished and he continued to do more of the same so he had to be removed from the locker room.

[*Wyche'sWarrior*]

(02-03-2022, 02:28 PM)fredtoast Wrote: Last year culture, team spirit, and Armani Bledsoe got us 4 wins.

And where exactly is that brilliant D-line coach Nick Eason who decided to bench Dunlap?

Big Los appears to have been correct.

That doesn't all happen overnight, especially when you're flipping a roster. C'mon man... you've got more common sense than that. 

[*Wyche'sWarrior*]

(02-03-2022, 04:30 PM)Synric Wrote: Dunlap was taking a backseat to Sam Hubbard and Carl Lawson two players that needed evaluated especially when they were losing. Carl Lawson was coming up on a possible contract extension who had never really played all 3 downs. It was important to get him in there to see what they had going forward. We seen the exact same thing with Finley over Dalton for a couple game stretch Dalton took it like a professional. Dunlap didn't handle the situation well and went to social media to complain so when Sam Hubbard was hurt the team didn't move him back into the starting lineup the next week. Eventually Dunlap social media tirade caused the team to force a trade. 

It is what it is with the Carlos Dunlap situation he was tired of losing and didnt want to give the young guys behind him reps they needed for a team that was rebuilding. He went to what he thought was a contender with virtually zero compensation for the Bengals so he got what he wanted in the end.

.....and now the Seahawks suck. Go figure.

[J24]

(02-03-2022, 05:09 PM)bfine32 Wrote: There's only one reason we know where Carlos was projected on the depth chart and it's because he made it public. The team did not make any type of demotion public; nor do we know for how long or why the decision was made. The team then gave the malcontent what he wanted ( a hard lesson in be careful what you ask for).

The team did not handle the situation poorly. Now if they would have held a press conference and say we're moving Carlos way down the death chart you'd have a point.  

They played two shitty players over Dunlap to prove a point.(Bledsoe and Hunt)  That's not handling a situation poorly?

Like I Said before (and at the time) Dunlap handled the situation poorly.

(02-03-2022, 05:09 PM)Synric Wrote: My point is after Lawson and Hubbard was moved up Dunlap went to social media to disrespect the coaches and the team which includes his teammates. So he didnt get his spot back when Hubbard was hurt and Bledsoe took that spot. Dunlap would have been the better option there but what he did had to be punished and he continued to do more of the same so he had to be removed from the locker room.

Starting Bledsoe over Dunlap cost us games last season.

Anyways its old news and the team is in the Super Bowl this season.

[*rfaulk34*]

(02-03-2022, 04:30 PM)Synric Wrote: Dunlap was taking a backseat to Sam Hubbard and Carl Lawson two players that needed evaluated especially when they were losing. Carl Lawson was coming up on a possible contract extension who had never really played all 3 downs. It was important to get him in there to see what they had going forward. We seen the exact same thing with Finley over Dalton for a couple game stretch Dalton took it like a professional. Dunlap didn't handle the situation well and went to social media to complain so when Sam Hubbard was hurt the team didn't move him back into the starting lineup the next week. Eventually Dunlap social media tirade caused the team to force a trade. 

It is what it is with the Carlos Dunlap situation he was tired of losing and didnt want to give the young guys behind him reps they needed for a team that was rebuilding. He went to what he thought was a contender with virtually zero compensation for the Bengals so he got what he wanted in the end.

Yep. Dude was toward the end of his career, there was a lot of losing building up and there was zero playoff wins in sight. Certainly no hope of a SB. 

When you've given what you've given to a team for 10 1/2 years and they start looking at younger guys in front of you with no real hope of winning anytime in the future, what are you going to do? 99.99% of people are going to want to go somewhere else where you can get more snaps and possibly some playoff games. What's the best way to expedite that? 'Squeaky wheel'. 

I was rough on Carlos in the beginning, but i can see the position he was in and i really can't blame him for wanting out. Very, very, very few people on this planet are going to take what he was given, believe that things will change (for the team) and stick around. 

Every Bengals fan wants every Bengals player to do things they probably wouldn't do themselves. 

In hindsight, and if he's being honest, i wonder how much Carlos wishes he was still here?

[*bfine32*]

(02-03-2022, 05:55 PM)J24 Wrote: They played two shitty players over Dunlap to prove a point.(Bledsoe and Hunt)  That's not handling a situation poorly?

Like I Said before (and at the time) Dunlap handled the situation poorly.

Starting Bledsoe over Dunlap cost us games last season.

Anyways its old news and the team is in the Super Bowl this season.

As i said we have no idea why they demoted Dunlap. We do know Dunlap handled it like a petulant child.

But as you say: Old news. We now have a RDE that acts and plays like a grown man 

[Sled21]

(02-03-2022, 05:55 PM)J24 Wrote: They played two shitty players over Dunlap to prove a point.(Bledsoe and Hunt)  That's not handling a situation poorly?

Like I Said before (and at the time) Dunlap handled the situation poorly.

Starting Bledsoe over Dunlap cost us games last season.

Anyways its old news and the team is in the Super Bowl this season.

2nd time you've posted that, and it's not correct. Hunt was brought in last year and played Defensive Tackle, not end. He was playing in place of Reader and Topou and every other DT we had that opted out or got injured. And he did a fine job at DT coming off the couch.

[SuperBowlBound!]

(02-03-2022, 05:55 PM)J24 Wrote: They played two shitty players over Dunlap to prove a point.(Bledsoe and Hunt)  That's not handling a situation poorly?

Like I Said before (and at the time) Dunlap handled the situation poorly.

Starting Bledsoe over Dunlap cost us games last season.

Anyways its old news and the team is in the Super Bowl this season.

Nobody really knows what happened in the Dunlap situation for sure.
Watching this team and specifically the defensive line it seems like everyone does their job each play. One play they may be asked to drop back in coverage or rush QB another play may be designed for the end to secure the edge. 

I thought I had heard that Carlos would freelance sometimes instead of staying to his responsibilities of called defensive play.

[*Nate (formerly eliminate08)*]

(02-03-2022, 06:48 PM)SuperBowlBound! Wrote: Nobody really knows what happened in the Dunlap situation for sure.
Watching this team and specifically the defensive line it seems like everyone does their job each play. One play they may be asked to drop back in coverage or rush QB another play may be designed for the end to secure the edge. 

I thought I had heard that Carlos would freelance sometimes instead of staying to his responsibilities of called defensive play.

You are correct and Carlos would over pursue lots allowing the QB or RB to release into the middle of our Defense for big run plays.

We can all speculate on what happened off the field but Carlos Dunlap's over pursuing on the field was clear as day.

See how Hubbard plays, he plays disciplined and holds his gap not allowing RB's or QB's to run through his gap. 

This is how you play End on a disciplined front. Opposite of what Dunlap was doing last season with us.

[Nicomo Cosca]

Part of my job is telling it like it is, sweet or sour. So here it is: in 12 years of doing this, this is legit one of the single most fun, truly together, selfless teams I’ve ever been around. All of you @NFL fans who’ve missed them so far, you’re about to get a show. #Bengals https://t.co/yPjjxbGa2M

— Aditi Kinkhabwala (@AKinkhabwala) February 6, 2022

[*Synric*]

(02-06-2022, 11:20 PM)Nicomo Cosca Wrote:

Part of my job is telling it like it is, sweet or sour. So here it is: in 12 years of doing this, this is legit one of the single most fun, truly together, selfless teams I’ve ever been around. All of you @NFL fans who’ve missed them so far, you’re about to get a show. #Bengals https://t.co/yPjjxbGa2M

— Aditi Kinkhabwala (@AKinkhabwala) February 6, 2022

And even though Aditi is supposed to cover the AFC North she spends most of her time in Pittsburgh and Baltimore.

[TecmoBengals]

(02-06-2022, 11:20 PM)Nicomo Cosca Wrote:

Part of my job is telling it like it is, sweet or sour. So here it is: in 12 years of doing this, this is legit one of the single most fun, truly together, selfless teams I’ve ever been around. All of you @NFL fans who’ve missed them so far, you’re about to get a show. #Bengals https://t.co/yPjjxbGa2M

— Aditi Kinkhabwala (@AKinkhabwala) February 6, 2022

Anyone denying Taylor had a vision for what he wanted the culture of his organization to look like under his leadership as coach is either obtuse or cannot relate because they have never held a position of leadership.

We've been lucky with the last two Bengals head coaches. Although Marvin couldn't win in the playoffs, he changed the organizational culture to remove us from the backwards ways of running an NFL organization in the '90s to become a more respectable franchise in the early 2000s+.

It seems Zac has also had influence on ownership with the free agency building and apparently has collaborated with Duke to ensure individuals of particular character are on the roster.

I offer culture and other human characteristics are immeasurable qualities and dismiss any notion in this thread that tries to dismiss culture mattering by citing bad records from previous years.


Thanks for sharing the tweet, it solidifies what most posters here recognize: Zac has done an amazing job implementing an organizational culture that's resulted in a Super Bowl run.

[Sled21]

The "4 Moves" article listed talks about the move they go through before picking a draft pick or Free Agent. The scouts find them, then the coaches look at them and see if they think they can use them. They then talk to coaches who had them before, and players who played on the same teams in college to make sure they are going to fit into the culture. It's not just 'grab a name" that is available, which goes along with them asking him about what they would get if they drafted Ja'Marr.