Andrew Whitworth

[Hoofhearted]

(12-22-2016, 08:55 AM)SHRacerX Wrote: They do have SOME strengths...stability, talent evaluation, consistency.  Your assessment of their performance this year is dead on, but one year ago, they had the #2 scoring defense in the NFL.  They had a potent offense whenever AJ and Eifert were on the field together.  

Don't get me wrong, there are things that make me want to stick pins in my Marvin Lewis doll (lack of a 2 minute drill despite 14 years as coach, inability to adapt the game plan during a game, overly conservative) but I have come to the conclusion that there is simply no way that they will let Marv go for one bad year after five good ones.  If he has another similar season next year, I think he is gone.  As much as I feel Zampese was a large part of their failure, he will be granted a second chance as well.  They never give up on rookies after one year and Zamp was, essentially, a rookie as a coordinator. 

So, my hope is that they can make a few fixes and get right back in the hunt next year.  If it doesn't work NEXT year, he's gone.  If it does work next year, then the Bengals are right back in the hunt.  I don't see any one team that is unstoppable and I think at full strength, the Bengals could beat almost any team at any place.  

It killed me to watch Nugent and Ogbuehi struggle as they did this season, but I never saw Dalton quit.  I never saw him get happy feet and become a David Carr or David Klingler...even after getting the ever-loving shit beat out of him the first two weeks.  

My optimism is fueled by the likes of Eifert, AJ, Boyd, Gio all being together next year with (hopefully) a young burner in Core emerging.  The defense needs one key piece on the line (RDE) and I would bet my bile duct that is our first pick.  They also have Hardison and Billings coming back, as well as WJIII.  Dre Kirkpatrick improved to the point that he was probably our best player in the secondary.  Josh Shaw is getting a lot of valuable experience, as is Dennard.  Heck, even Alex Erickson has turned out to be one of the top KO return men in the NFL.

I am incredibly frustrated by the weaknesses of this team, but I still see a ton of positives that will keep me going.  

I stopped losing hope that he will adjust the way he coaches, which is unfortunate. I don't dislike Marv at all, but it absolutely kills me that it seems like every single year it's the same exact problems (as you noted). I have all the hope in the world we have a good enough core to compete, but little to none that Marv and his staff will put them in the correct mind-set and position to maximize their talents. It's a players game of course, but you absolutely need a coaching staff to help steer the ship and keep everyone on the same page.