02-25-2016, 09:44 AM
My Bengals TEAM report card looked at as two semesters and a final exam....
- A+ for the first half (semester) of the season: Didn't lose.
- D for the 2nd half (semester) of the season: The Texans game was inexcusable, the Broncos game was gaffed away at the end and shown to be HUGE at the end in terms of mattering, the Cardinals game was there to be won - but lost, and the QB threw a pick at a crucial moment against PITT and then broke his hand. All 4 of those losses were to teams the Bengals were more talented than and they were in a position to beat if they hadn't beaten themselves. The Bengals beat the bottom tier NFL teams, which kept this from being an F. I explain the D more below....
I don't care about the QB getting hurt. Other quality teams deal with that and win just fine - as they should. NO QUALITY WINS in the 2nd half of the season, an embarrassing loss to the Texans on MNF WITH Andy at the helm. That game would have made all the difference in the world at the end (1st round bye & 1st seed). With or without the starting QB the team and offense looked about the same in the 2nd half of the season once McCarron and the coaches got comfortable - after the 49ers game.
- Playoff Game (Finals) they get an F: They failed. End of story. They were dominated for most of the game (15 to 0 after 3 quarters), came back at the end to be in a position to win annnnnnd..... SELF DESTRUCTED. Blew up in the most embarrassing fashion imaginable with the game well in hand. NO discipline or concentration on offense (Hill's fumble while fighting for meaningless yards with the game won), and NO discipline or concentration on defense (Gave up a long drive with under 2 minutes to play to lose and of course the double PERSONAL FOULS TO LOSE)
Final Grade:
I came up with my final grade by using the GPA scale and weighting their finals performance/result. Both semesters averaged averaged together net a 2.5 C+, but the Bengals getting an F on their final exam showed that they hadn't learned anything or, if they did, were unable to actually apply it. I also would weigh the final exam (playoffs) much heavier than the first half of the season. It's what's most important and the whole reason they went to school (played the season) in the first place. When I consider HOW the Bengals lost their "finals" (triple meltdown with game in hand), who they lost it to (Steelers), and where they lost it (at home) and couple that along with the Texans debacle on MNF with their starting QB - effectively losing home field advantage, along with NO WINS over quality teams in the back half of the season they get a big fat......
F : The most talented roster in the NFL shows they are unbeatable in the first half of the season, then goes 4-4 in the back half (only able to beat 4 of the worst teams in the league), only to melt down in what can be considered one of the top 5 most legendary "Bungling" ways to lose a playoff game in the entire history of the NFL.
- A+ for the first half (semester) of the season: Didn't lose.
- D for the 2nd half (semester) of the season: The Texans game was inexcusable, the Broncos game was gaffed away at the end and shown to be HUGE at the end in terms of mattering, the Cardinals game was there to be won - but lost, and the QB threw a pick at a crucial moment against PITT and then broke his hand. All 4 of those losses were to teams the Bengals were more talented than and they were in a position to beat if they hadn't beaten themselves. The Bengals beat the bottom tier NFL teams, which kept this from being an F. I explain the D more below....
I don't care about the QB getting hurt. Other quality teams deal with that and win just fine - as they should. NO QUALITY WINS in the 2nd half of the season, an embarrassing loss to the Texans on MNF WITH Andy at the helm. That game would have made all the difference in the world at the end (1st round bye & 1st seed). With or without the starting QB the team and offense looked about the same in the 2nd half of the season once McCarron and the coaches got comfortable - after the 49ers game.
- Playoff Game (Finals) they get an F: They failed. End of story. They were dominated for most of the game (15 to 0 after 3 quarters), came back at the end to be in a position to win annnnnnd..... SELF DESTRUCTED. Blew up in the most embarrassing fashion imaginable with the game well in hand. NO discipline or concentration on offense (Hill's fumble while fighting for meaningless yards with the game won), and NO discipline or concentration on defense (Gave up a long drive with under 2 minutes to play to lose and of course the double PERSONAL FOULS TO LOSE)
Final Grade:
I came up with my final grade by using the GPA scale and weighting their finals performance/result. Both semesters averaged averaged together net a 2.5 C+, but the Bengals getting an F on their final exam showed that they hadn't learned anything or, if they did, were unable to actually apply it. I also would weigh the final exam (playoffs) much heavier than the first half of the season. It's what's most important and the whole reason they went to school (played the season) in the first place. When I consider HOW the Bengals lost their "finals" (triple meltdown with game in hand), who they lost it to (Steelers), and where they lost it (at home) and couple that along with the Texans debacle on MNF with their starting QB - effectively losing home field advantage, along with NO WINS over quality teams in the back half of the season they get a big fat......
F : The most talented roster in the NFL shows they are unbeatable in the first half of the season, then goes 4-4 in the back half (only able to beat 4 of the worst teams in the league), only to melt down in what can be considered one of the top 5 most legendary "Bungling" ways to lose a playoff game in the entire history of the NFL.
