08-06-2015, 02:59 PM
(08-06-2015, 02:42 PM)SHRacerX Wrote: Perhaps, and I don't consider it pitiful to state that the best player on the defensive line (Geno) was on IR, which not only wore down the remaining DTs, but took our best player off the field. How would have Detroit fared without Suh? Yes, he's that important.
The Bengals also lost BOTH starting CBs by the time the playoffs rolled around (Hall and Newman). Lamur was lost early in the year. Taylor Mays was lost later in the season. That is five starters not playing a down in the playoff game.
The offense generated 100 more yards than the Chargers, but turnovers were the biggest factor in the loss.
I'm not saying that other teams don't have injuries, but if that is the healthiest the Bengals have been in the playoffs for the Dalton Era, I don't think it is unreasonable to believe that if they stay healthy this season they could win the division, nor do I believe this makes our fanbase "pitiful".
What makes our fanbase look pitiful is when we see people constantly claiming our teams have been great, but we just got unlucky all these years. Every fanbase has it's morons, and we're no exception. There are people out there that think we're the most unlucky team in the world, and that this quarter of a century playoff win drought isn't due to much that's lacking in ownership, coaching, or talent on the field. I guess I shouldn't say it makes the entire fanbase pitiful, just that section of it.
The offense generated 100 more yards than the Chargers because we kept giving them short fields and the defense actually played well during that game. The offense was the culprit of that loss. I don't care if our offense had a billion yards, they couldn't find the end zone and they kept giving the ball away. Gio and Andy share a large percentage of that L. Also, Lamur is awful and I don't believe Mays was a starter.
Our defense was thoroughly embarrassed in 2011 and 2014, and the offense played like absolute shit in 2012 and 2013. Injuries or not, this team didn't play at a high level in ANY of the recent playoff games. That comes down to coaching and execution, neither have been satisfactory over the past 4 seasons and we weren't just an injury or two away from going on a playoff run. This team hasn't been ready to legitimately contend (2013 definitely proved that), but I will say that on paper, the 2015 squad looks very good.
