Sports Illustrated projection

[PDub80]

(09-07-2015, 12:28 PM)grampahol Wrote: McCarron would then be the first Alabama QB to be worth spit in the NFL for quite some time. Bold? I'm not quite sure it's bold unless you spell bold as LOL.

By that logic .... AD doing it would be the first TCU QB in history to be worth spit.

Or Big Ben being the first Miami QB to be worth spit
Or Rodgers being the first Cal QB to ......
Or Tom Brady the first Michigan QB
Or Russel Wilson the first Wisconsin OR NC State QB
Or Peyton Manning the first TN QB
Or Drew Brees the first Purdue QB
Or Colin Kaepernick the first Nevada QB
Or Joe Flacco the 2nd (Rich Gannon was the 1st) Delaware QB
Or Eli the first Ole Miss QB
Or Donovan Mcnabb the first Syracuse QB
Or Rex Grossman the first FL QB
Or Kurt Warner the first U of Northern Iowa QB
Or Hasselbeck the first BC QB
Or Kerry Collins the first PSU QB
Or Steve McNair the first Alcorn State QB
Or Jake Del Homme to be the first U of Louisiana Lafayette
Or Dilfer to be the first Cal State Freson QB
Or Steve Young the first BYU QB



Going by Superbowl appearances, no school seems to turn out QBs more than once or twice EVER. In fact, looking at the NFL in any sort of recent scope, there isn't a single college football program that has consistently put out big time NFL talent. So, I guess it comes down to the individual player then, doesn't it? Or, do you have some sort of goofy ax to grind on Alabama in general? 

Have I made my point clear enough that the "This QB from such and such school can't be any good or go to a Superbowll" argument doesn't need to be put out as some sort of smart thing to say? I hope so.

[Anderson HOF]

(09-07-2015, 11:06 AM)BengalFanInNJ Wrote: All good points, but, you know that the Steelers and Ravens always seem to find diamonds in the rough. While the Steelers defense isn't what it used to be, it won't be terrible. Plus, they have a top-5 QB like him or not. If Roethlisberger is playing, the Steelers always have a chance. Same with the Ravens. They always seem to have a solid defense and Flacco plays great when it counts. The QB position is what separates us and those two teams and it's a huge difference.

I have the AFC North as this:

Steelers  11-5
Ravens   10-6
Bengals   9-7
Browns    7-9

I don;'t buy that the Steelers and Ravens have been out performing us in the regular season the last 4 years.. yes to post season for Ravens, they have been way superior.... .. not though for Steelers over last four years.  The Steelers since their 2010 run to super bowl.. have missed the playoffs 2 of the last 4 years and are 0-2 in the playoffs so the Bengals have outperformed the Steelers over last four seasons in regular season and both teams have stunk in the playoffs in that time.

[Pat5775]

This schedule is brutal... And we have at least 4 prime time games this year (could be more if we get flexed in December again... But not likely). I see this years team going 8-8

[BoomerFan]

No idea. Maybe we hang around .500 for the first 8 games and are 4-4 before going on a 7-1 run to end 11-5. Or maybe we implode and go 5-11.

The rest of the division is tough to read too. Steelers have the leagues best offense, but their Center went down and their defense looks stinky. Ravens always play tough but don't have a deep threat or TE anymore. So basically you've got Flacco and Steve Smith on offense and a nasty DL defensively. This might be a year where 9-7 win the division.

[Bronxbengal]

(09-05-2015, 11:22 PM)Utts Wrote: The offense will not improve despite the return of MLJ and Eifert. Dalton is still Dalton, and I think he's getting worse not better. Add to that a fragile line and a shaky center, and you have a recipe for mediocrity at best.

Dalton will be Dalton, but the success for this season lies with the O-line.  If the middle of the O-line cannot keep pressure off of Dalton (circa playoffs 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014), Dalton will struggle, but 95% of the QBs in the NFL will struggle in the same situation.  The Oakland game will be telling since their front are very good with Khalil Mack moving to end.   If our line struggles next Sunday, it will be a very long year with SI prediction being spot on.  However, if this line can get Jeremy Hills holes to run in, it will help setup up the passing game which can translate into a 10 win season.  I'll wait and see.  However, I am not encourage with the O-line play during the preseason. 

[Whatever]

(09-07-2015, 11:06 AM)BengalFanInNJ Wrote: All good points, but, you know that the Steelers and Ravens always seem to find diamonds in the rough. While the Steelers defense isn't what it used to be, it won't be terrible. Plus, they have a top-5 QB like him or not. If Roethlisberger is playing, the Steelers always have a chance. Same with the Ravens. They always seem to have a solid defense and Flacco plays great when it counts. The QB position is what separates us and those two teams and it's a huge difference.

I have the AFC North as this:

Steelers  11-5
Ravens   10-6
Bengals   9-7
Browns    7-9

Wherever you rank Ben, number wise, he is still a second tier QB. Teams with a truly elite QB are almost guaranteed a playoff berth. Tom Brady and Peyton Manning don't miss the playoffs, no matter what's going on around them. The Steelers have missed the playoffs 3 of the last 6 years, more than demonstrating that Ben is simply not capable of putting a team on his back and carrying them. He has always needed either an elite defense or a stacked supporting cast on offense for the Steelers to be a contender. Saying they have a chance just because they have Ben isn't really rooted in fact.

Similarly, Flacco often plays well in the playoffs, but during the regular season, he is much like Dalton in that he is highly inconsistent. I think that's a valid argument if we're talking who goes further in the playoffs, but not when predicting regular season records.

[PDub80]

(09-07-2015, 03:43 PM)Whatever Wrote: Wherever you rank Ben, number wise, he is still a second tier QB.  Teams with  a truly elite QB are almost guaranteed a playoff berth.  Tom Brady and Peyton Manning don't miss the playoffs, no matter what's going on around them.  The Steelers have missed the playoffs 3 of the last 6 years, more than demonstrating that Ben is simply not capable of putting a team on his back and carrying them.  He has always needed either an elite defense or a stacked supporting cast on offense for the Steelers to be a contender.  Saying they have a chance just because they have Ben isn't really rooted in fact.

Similarly, Flacco often plays well in the playoffs, but during the regular season, he is much like Dalton in that he is highly inconsistent.  I think that's a valid argument if we're talking who goes further in the playoffs, but not when predicting regular season records.

At first I was going to argue with you on Ben not being first tier, but after reading the whole thing.... it's pretty much spot on and I'm giving you rep. Great points. My only thing with Flacco vs AD is that sometimes I think that some of Flacco's negatives are products of some wacky play from the skill positions. He has had one or two studs, but never someone like an AJ Green in their prime with the exception of Ray Rice.

[Frank Pembleton]

(09-07-2015, 02:06 PM)BoomerFan Wrote: Ravens always play tough but don't have a deep threat

That's why they drafted Breshad Perriman

[*jason*]

(09-07-2015, 03:43 PM)Whatever Wrote: Wherever you rank Ben, number wise, he is still a second tier QB.  Teams with  a truly elite QB are almost guaranteed a playoff berth.  Tom Brady and Peyton Manning don't miss the playoffs, no matter what's going on around them.  The Steelers have missed the playoffs 3 of the last 6 years, more than demonstrating that Ben is simply not capable of putting a team on his back and carrying them.  He has always needed either an elite defense or a stacked supporting cast on offense for the Steelers to be a contender.  Saying they have a chance just because they have Ben isn't really rooted in fact.

Similarly, Flacco often plays well in the playoffs, but during the regular season, he is much like Dalton in that he is highly inconsistent.  I think that's a valid argument if we're talking who goes further in the playoffs, but not when predicting regular season records.

I think that has more to do with the divisions that these QBs play in.  Ben has had to contend with the Ravens every  year of his career.  Now the Bengals are right there as well.  Peyton Manning had zero competition in the AFC south, and Brady really hasn't either except for that little blip from the Jets for a year or two, and now.  The AFC west is pretty mediocre for Manning to this day.

[*jason*]

(09-07-2015, 01:03 PM)PDub80 Wrote: By that logic .... AD doing it would be the first TCU QB in history to be worth spit.

Or Big Ben being the first Miami QB to be worth spit
Or Rodgers being the first Cal QB to ......
Or Tom Brady the first Michigan QB
Or Russel Wilson the first Wisconsin OR NC State QB
Or Peyton Manning the first TN QB
Or Drew Brees the first Purdue QB
Or Colin Kaepernick the first Nevada QB
Or Joe Flacco the 2nd (Rich Gannon was the 1st) Delaware QB
Or Eli the first Ole Miss QB
Or Donovan Mcnabb the first Syracuse QB
Or Rex Grossman the first FL QB
Or Kurt Warner the first U of Northern Iowa QB
Or Hasselbeck the first BC QB
Or Kerry Collins the first PSU QB
Or Steve McNair the first Alcorn State QB
Or Jake Del Homme to be the first U of Louisiana Lafayette
Or Dilfer to be the first Cal State Freson QB
Or Steve Young the first BYU QB



Going by Superbowl appearances, no school seems to turn out QBs more than once or twice EVER. In fact, looking at the NFL in any sort of recent scope, there isn't a single college football program that has consistently put out big time NFL talent. So, I guess it comes down to the individual player then, doesn't it? Or, do you have some sort of goofy ax to grind on Alabama in general? 

Have I made my point clear enough that the "This QB from such and such school can't be any good or go to a Superbowll" argument doesn't need to be put out as some sort of smart thing to say? I hope so.

Phillip Rivers?...  Anybody?

[jowczarski]

I'm a little surprised by this projection, to be honest, as well as Peter King's pick of the Ravens in the Super Bowl. Our season predictions come out Thursday and Paul Dehner, Jr. and I reveal our Bengals prediction during the #BBP tomorrow (when it posts) -- and I assure we are not "homers" -- but to say this team totally nosedives is ... interesting. I guess you have to pick a few playoff teams to do that so you can fit your "surprise" playoff teams in there, but honestly (barring major injury, of course, of course) I don't see this. But, I guess that's the beauty of predictions. We all have to do them, and you're either right or you're wrong. But I know I'll catch far more heat for being wrong than they will!

[Whatever]

(09-07-2015, 08:30 PM)jason Wrote: I think that has more to do with the divisions that these QBs play in.  Ben has had to contend with the Ravens every  year of his career.  Now the Bengals are right there as well.  Peyton Manning had zero competition in the AFC south, and Brady really hasn't either except for that little blip from the Jets for a year or two, and now.  The AFC west is pretty mediocre for Manning to this day.

Dalton is 4-0 in making the playoffs in the same division, and Flacco is 6-1. Ben is 7-4, and trending downwards. After making it 4 of his first 5 years, he's 3-3 in the last six. Correspondingly, that falls in line with Pittsburgh moving away from a defense first/ball control offense which asked him to be a game manager into their current model of trying to make him the star. Also keep in mind that both Dalton and Flacco have led their respective teams to the playoffs four years in a row. Ben has never gotten the Steelers to the playoffs 3 years in a row, let alone four. He also has no playoff wins the past four years, same as Dalton. You can argue better supporting casts for Dalton and Flacco, but isn't the point of an elite QB that they can win games with less talent surrounding him? Particularly in a discussion about regular season records, Ben has simply not proven himself to be a significant enough upgrade over Dalton or Flacco to produce more wins, so unless we're calling Flacco and Dalton elite, there's no reason to put Ben in that category.

[yellowxdiscipline]

Meh everyone is entitled to their opinion.. SI has become a joke for sports relevancy the last decade or so. Expose pieces have become their go to instead of strong game related pieces. The Bengals are a lot better than 6-10… Flip those numbers around and that should be our final record. 6-10 is if this team just falls apart.. Im talking losing Andy, Geno, AJ, and Jeremy Hill falling apart.

[PDub80]

(09-07-2015, 08:34 PM)jason Wrote: Phillip Rivers?...  Anybody?

I was going down the list of QBs who had been in a Superbowl within the last 20 years or so and grabbing different guys. That's why I did NOT include Rivers, but he is a great player!

[jfkbengals]

I see that the PFT predictions were posted sometime recently, and NO ONE on that site had us making the playoffs either.  I actually find that quite stunning...

[CINwillWIN]

(09-05-2015, 10:32 AM)PhilHos Wrote: I can understand picking the Bengals 3rd, I really can. Pitt and Balt were playoff teams along with Cincy last year. Considering Baltimore actually won a playoff game and Pitt won the division, I can see why some would pick Cincy 3rd.

But to put the Browns ahead of us? Why? Yeah, Cleveland was a decent team for a little more than half of the year, but their biggest issue was their offense and I don't think they addressed it enough to warrant moving them ahead of us.

SI think the Bengals are going to make a dive this season so they can draft Braxton Miller early in the 2016 draft. 

Does anyone actually read SI anymore?

....maybe the swimsuit issue.

[BengalChris]

(09-08-2015, 08:41 PM)Whatever Wrote: Dalton is 4-0 in making the playoffs in the same division, and Flacco is 6-1.  Ben is 7-4, and trending downwards.  After making it 4 of his first 5 years, he's 3-3 in the last six.  Correspondingly, that falls in line with Pittsburgh moving away from a defense first/ball control offense which asked him to be a game manager into their current model of trying to make him the star.  Also keep in mind that both Dalton and Flacco have led their respective teams to the playoffs four years in a row.  Ben has never gotten the Steelers to the playoffs 3 years in a row,  let alone four.  He also has no playoff wins the past four years, same as Dalton.  You can argue better supporting casts for Dalton and Flacco, but isn't the point of an elite QB that they can win games with less talent surrounding him?  Particularly in a discussion about regular season records, Ben has simply not proven himself to be a significant enough upgrade over Dalton or Flacco to produce more wins, so unless we're calling Flacco and Dalton elite, there's no reason to put Ben in that category.

Flacco and Ben have SB wins. Ben had two of them in his first four years.

We can't seem to overcome those playoff blues for some reason and until we do, we'll be the 3rd best team in the division. Fair or not, that's the way of perceptions in the NFL. That 0-4 record in the playoffs just doesn't resonate the same as winning a SB. A SB win is so much more difficult than just making the playoffs.

[Brownshoe]

(09-09-2015, 05:56 AM)BengalChris Wrote: Flacco and Ben have SB wins. Ben had two of them in his first four years.

We can't seem to overcome those playoff blues for some reason and until we do, we'll be the 3rd best team in the division. Fair or not, that's the way of perceptions in the NFL. That 0-4 record in the playoffs just doesn't resonate the same as winning a SB. A SB win is so much more difficult than just making the playoffs.

Ben had an amazing run game and defense when he won those Super Bowls. Don't think that it was all him, because the first time he won a Super Bowl his stat line was 123 yards, almost 40% completion, 0 TDs, and 2 INTs.

Flacco didn't start to do well in the playoffs until his 5th year. In his first 5 playoff games he played worse than Dalton, and he still was winning games. That wasn't because of Flacco, but it was his team.

[Daddy-O]

(09-05-2015, 03:12 AM)fredtoast Wrote: Bengals go 6-10 and finish dead last in the AFCN.

The only player we lost from last year was Terrance newman, and even SI agrees that our defensive backfield can "match the best in the league" but only "until free agency breaks it up".

Don't know how we can go from 5 lossses to 10 losses without losing any critical players at all while adding Michael Johnson and gettong a lot of key players back from injury.

And even harder to understand how we can not finish at least in front of the Browns.

Wow, that's insane for SI to project only 6 wins.  I know we have a difficult schedule but so does the rest of our division.  Like most years it will likely come down to wins within the division.

Not that I have a ton of respect for SI but that prediction is pure ignorance on their part.

[BengalChris]

(09-09-2015, 07:03 AM)Brownshoe Wrote: Ben had an amazing run game and defense when he won those Super Bowls. Don't think that it was all him, because the first time he won a Super Bowl his stat line was 123 yards, almost 40% completion, 0 TDs, and 2 INTs.

Flacco didn't start to do well in the playoffs until his 5th year. In his first 5 playoff games he played worse than Dalton, and he still was winning games. That wasn't because of Flacco, but it was his team.

It doesn't matter why. What matters is that they did it and we didn't. That makes them better.