02-19-2024, 05:02 PM
(02-18-2024, 02:46 PM)Crazyjdawg Wrote: The Bengals are very responsible with their management of the salary cap and dead cap space. They don't sign contracts that they don't have at least a 90% assurance will be played out in their entirety or else structure them such that the last year or two of a contract has little or no dead cap if the player were to be cut.
They don't dabble much in void contracts or converting annual salary cap numbers into bonuses that can be spread out across multiple years to back load contracts with the intention of competing now and dealing with the consequences later.
These are generally accepted facts and admirable on an objective scale.
But I sure wish they'd bend their rules every once in a while just to get that impact player that might push us over the edge.
(02-18-2024, 05:34 PM)Crazyjdawg Wrote: I think you may be setting the bar too low relative to the team's potential.
Before Joe Burrow, all I wanted was a single playoff win. I didn't even dare hope that we'd be Super Bowl contenders because it felt like the team was not capable of even competing for that level of success since we had not won a playoff game in going on 30 years (my entire lifetime).
So from 2011 to 2019, I just said "let's just win a playoff game. Get over that hump. And then, after we get used to winning playoff games, maybe we can build on that into real success."
We made the playoffs 5 years in a row, and each time I was just praying we'd get that 1 win.
and we never did.
That's what made 2021 so surreal. We got the first playoff win in 30 years...then we got another...and another....and then we were literal minutes (and 1 penalty) away from winning the first Super Bowl in franchise history.
In 2022, I didn't dare to think that should be the new standard. Despite the success in 2021, we still felt like underdogs, since so much of our success was predicated on big bombs to Chase and the defense inexplicably shutting down Patrick Mahomes in the 2nd half of the AFC CG.
But, as the season went on, we stopped being a chippy under dog and started behaving like a true contender.
By the time we reached the playoffs, we had not lost a game in almost 3 months. We felt like the favorites rather than the underdogs.
And we played like it in Buffalo (the Baltimore game was a bit iffy, but that's division rivals for you).
The problems occurred when we were entering the AFC CG with half an Oline, and then more injuries followed iirc.
Despite it all, we still only lost by 3 points and should have gone to overtime if not for a horrendous punt and a really bad penalty.
Coming into the 2023 season, why would Bengals fans settle for something less than winning or at least reaching the Super Bowl?
That doesn't really make sense to me. Of course that's the new goal. We've already crushed all the other goals. It's time to get that SB.
Admittedly, some fans go a little crazy, calling for Zac to be fired for this or that. But that's literally every fan base. I don't think having high expectations is equivalent to not appreciating the success we've had.
Great posts CJD, you pretty much said everything, it is time to get that SB win no question. Like you said, we have hit on all the other
goals. I think the team and the coach's feel the same way.
(02-19-2024, 01:53 PM)Wyche Wrote: I agree, Katie isn't getting enough credit, but with outsiders like the guys in this video acknowledging it, maybe people are finally beginning to see. I'm not sure that Katie cares, and probably likes being in the shadows, so to speak, but she deserves some praise. Without her and her daughters, we likely still don't have a Ring of Honor, wouldn't have the stadium upgrades coming, wouldn't have stadium naming rights to generate funds, wouldn't have the fan engagement and social media presence, and Ken Riley likely isn't in the Hall of Fame. They put a lot of effort in behind the scenes and on social media for the push to get him to Canton.
Yep, Katie has done a great job with everything you say here Wyche and doesn't get enough cred.
