Did we just witness the fall of the Evil Empire?

[BFritz21]

(01-15-2018, 01:39 PM)Ctfan73 Wrote: I agree, at worst they might miss the playoffs for a year or two.  Long term they will remain a contender even after Ben leaves.

I think they'll bet decent when Ben leaves, but I don't know about contending because it all goes through him and his ability to keep the defense off-balance and widespread because o this ability to throw the deep ball/extend plays.

Life's easy on receivers when they have all day to run and have the entire field to find free space (I know they run routes, but sometimes they can alter them a bit and, even if they don't, it's still difficult for the D to cover the entire field, length and width).  

(01-15-2018, 01:58 PM)Brimey Wrote: This current Steelers team is done. And their super bowl window is perhaps closed at the moment. Bell will likely be gone, Shazier was a huge loss, and they have diva issues at receiver. Their secondary is suspect, and some of their LB picks just have underperformed.

But unlike the Bengals, their organizational structure is excellent. And they will be back quickly most likely. I also haven't seen the drop off from BR that many see. He looked good yesterday against a great pass defense and made some throws that quite frankly, our QB doesn't have the ability to make.

Bengals aren't going to get over the hump by the Steelers getting worse. Here's hoping Marvin has more control and the dominos fall. The playoffs were full of previously beleaguered teams. With the right moves, the Bengals could be like the Jags next year. Need some FA help, young guys to develop, and to hit some picks in the draft. Can turn it around that quick.

They're willing to spend money on free agents like we're not (but let's hope Marvin was right about us being active in free agency this offseason), but I don't think that their franchise does much more than most franchises, they just live off the reputation, which draws players to them.

(01-15-2018, 04:20 PM)HarleyDog Wrote: Not excited to face Ben next year after looking at his stats against an exceptional defense like Jacksonville.

Most of his throws were lucky and he looked like he struggled more under pressure.  I was actually thinking while watching it "we just need to bring the pressure and we'll win the games next year."

Ben will be 36 next year....... do you think his body can take that kind of beating at 36?