10-02-2023, 10:31 AM
I think people drastically underestimate the cumulative effect losing games, and losing teammates has on team chemistry.
For example, losing Uzomah (then Hurst), Perine, Bell, Bates, etc. Each time it was like... eh, no big deal - next man up, right?
But, like death by 1000 cuts, every lost teammate left yet another hole to fill, both physically and mentally.
The difference between winning and losing is RAZOR-THIN, and it takes very little to fall of that edge into the abyss like we're seeing now.
The Super Bowl run was like fairy-tale magic. The stars aligned. Everything fell in place. No catastrophic injuries, and every bounce or penalty seemed to go mostly the Bengals' way.
But, just as importantly, that team had leadership and chemistry... a spark that now seems to be missing.
Some may say it's one thing or another... I say what we're seeing now is the result of a slowly draining lifeblood of chemistry, lost drop by drop.
For example, losing Uzomah (then Hurst), Perine, Bell, Bates, etc. Each time it was like... eh, no big deal - next man up, right?
But, like death by 1000 cuts, every lost teammate left yet another hole to fill, both physically and mentally.
The difference between winning and losing is RAZOR-THIN, and it takes very little to fall of that edge into the abyss like we're seeing now.
The Super Bowl run was like fairy-tale magic. The stars aligned. Everything fell in place. No catastrophic injuries, and every bounce or penalty seemed to go mostly the Bengals' way.
But, just as importantly, that team had leadership and chemistry... a spark that now seems to be missing.
Some may say it's one thing or another... I say what we're seeing now is the result of a slowly draining lifeblood of chemistry, lost drop by drop.
