12-21-2023, 09:00 PM
(12-21-2023, 02:22 PM)Garrus Wrote: This is obviously the time of year you want to play your best, so I cannot complain since it is the most intense and clutch time to be good. However, I really would like to see them start off a little better early on.
As this season shows making the playoffs is not a given, and those early season blunders really increase the difficulty of making the postseason. We will also never get the 1 seed unless we can come out a bit hotter the first half the season. Granted I know it is a bit tough because Burrow has been hurt/recovering basically every year in the offseason, and also the OL just cannot get the reps they need to play well. Last 2 years the later we got in the season the OL played better and better. I truly think if LC, Cappa and Jonah don't get hurt last year we beat KC and go back to the SB because they were playing well. They must just need a bunch of live reps to get up to speed, and you can't really do that in practice anymore.
So I don't have a good solution to make the early season better, maybe just some luck that Burrow stays healthy and our new RT comes out and plays well (Since I doubt we are retaining Jonah unfortunately). Still, it is refreshing to see the Bengals be a December/January team for once.
Well said Garrus, took the words right out of my mouth honestly. Great that we have been very good in December and January, but we
do need to start out much better at the beginning of the season instead of digging ourselves an early hole every year in the best Division
in football.
