ESPN DOWN GRADES BENGALS DUE TO HEAD COACH

[*SHRacerX*]

(07-22-2017, 01:16 PM)Shake n Blake Wrote: Like I said..."if's and but's". Maybe you can excuse 1 or 2, but after that it just starts sounding like excuses. Something has to be systematically wrong for 7 straight playoff losses to happen. We're setting records for a reason. The wrong kind of records.

And with all the excuses, I start to notice that we only look at our own team...we don't consider what the opponent was dealing with...

Texans 1: Yeah we were supposed to be bad and were starting a rookie QB. Does anyone realize that the Texans were coming off a 6-10 season and were starting a TON of young players and rookies...including a terrible rookie QB with 5 starts?

Texans 2: We shouldn't have focused on Gresham in the game plan. That was a coaching error. The Texans were without Brian Cushing and were dealing with Schaub's sudden decline.

Chargers: Yeah we were missing Atkins. If we can't survive the loss of 1 player, we'll never win a playoff game. The Chargers were road dogs playing a team they'd already lost to at home.

Colts: Yeah we were hurting at receiver (although we did have Sanu), but the Colts were hurting badly at RB. They were down to their 3rd and 4th stringers. 

Steelers: Yeah we were without Andy. The Steelers were down an MVP caliber RB, his backup (DeAngelo Williams), were rotating RBs you'll have to google, were without Ben for 3 drives, without Pro-Bowler Maurkice Pouncey, on the road etc.

And this is only touching on the last 5 games. We all know that we've seen the same dead offense, defense that loses it's bite, and inability to put together 2 halves of football in all 7 games.

We've got to stop excusing it.

I get it, especially what you said about "it just sounds like you are making excuses".  That it is, 100%.  But had they held on to win that pittsburgh game, would that have changed everything?  The fact that we won one game?  Is it because we are tired of hearing the quarter century without a playoff win?  Why not just say half century without a Super Bowl win?  We would be with the Eagles, Falcons, Panthers, Browns, Cards, Vikings, Lions, Jags, Bills, Texans, and Chargers as teams that have never won a Super Bowl.  Slightly less than a third of the league.  Is that better?  

Your point that other teams had injuries, etc, is valid, but the Bengals were much more beat up than the Colts, and they were also missing other players against the Chargers, but it really boils down to excuses.  Great teams find a way and we simply have not had a great team top to bottom in the Marvin Era.  2005 and 2015 came pretty damn close.  I not only see this team as loaded with talent, but a coach in his final year of his deal.  I am hoping this creates a more aggressive strategy of throwing punches instead of always ducking and hoping the opponent makes a mistake.