05-30-2017, 01:21 PM
(05-29-2017, 07:50 AM)SHRacerX Wrote: Wow. That surprises me to hear. I thought that they exercised the steeler demon in that game toward the end of the season in pitt, and beating them in the playoffs would have sent the Bengals on a run. Indy would have been tough, but if memory serves, they would have had to play the Bengals in Cincy. And Manning was still being somewhat of an enigma in the postseason.
I was sure 2005 was the Bengals chance to win it all.
As for the OP, I see 5-0 or 4-1 at worst. Not having something stupid like consecutive road games to start the season is huge. Locally, I think the city will really rally behind the team. I won't make bold predictions about game attendance, as it is just too easy to watch at home and still love the games, but I think there will be a lot of excitement.
On a National level, be prepared for this kind of crap: "The Ravens have been down for a while now, and they got the Texans early before their QBs could really be ready. The Browns and Bills suck, so I will give Cincy credit when the beat a team like New England or pittsburgh". And that is just fine with me.
In the words of the immortal Lou Brown: "I'd like to hang around and see if we can give them all a nice shitburger to eat".
You are right that the National Media will hold back on giving the Bengals credit until they beat say the Steelers. They will also keep the "can't win a Playoff game" slogan going.
However;
The additions of Joe Mixon and John Ross is GOLD to the National Media when it comes to raising NFL Fan interest in the Bengals game highlights by non Bengal fans. Joe Mixon blowing up for say 127 yards and two TDs or John Ross having 4 catches for 116 yards with a 57 yard blazing speed TD will make the Bengals one of the more interesting teams for these Media types to Focus on. Our local team has become a more captivating National Story Line with the addition of these 2 players.
