01-07-2019, 04:18 PM
It's very easy to look at these schedules now and say we'll be a playoff team but we really don't know. We'll split with the Ravens like we always do but now we have to respect Cleveland on the schedule. It's easy to say Pittsburgh will be a mess next season with an AB trade being inevitable but who's to say they still won't find a way to beat us twice like they always do. We play a couple of 4th place teams like the Raiders and Jaguars. Those should be wins. You play the AFC East and you should beat everyone but NE (not that NE is unbeatable but facing Beli is always a challenge). You play the NFC West and outside of the Rams, I'm not scared by anyone in that division. And that's my point. The way that I just described the schedule makes us seem bound for 12 wins but in order for that to happen, almost every single team on our schedule will have to not improve. The Jets, 49ers, Seahawks, Browns, Ravens, Bills, even Raiders will certainly improve in some capacity even if they don't land any top FAs. Jaguars could bounce back too if they finally pull the plug on Bortles.
Bengals schedule this past season looked like a slam dunk for 10 wins and it probably would've been if not for injuries but we still struggled with mediocre teams like Miami, Tampa, Denver. We played the Panthers when they looked like world beaters. We played Atlanta when they were injured to hell and back and still barely pulled it out. We got destroyed by elite teams like NO and KC. You need to be lucky with your schedule too.
That's also important when considering our next head coach. We can muster up 6-7 wins against mediocre competition, but can we keep up with the playoff teams on our schedule and even beat a few of them? What's the reward of beating sorry teams on the way to the playoffs if you're gonna get outplayed once you get there?
Bengals schedule this past season looked like a slam dunk for 10 wins and it probably would've been if not for injuries but we still struggled with mediocre teams like Miami, Tampa, Denver. We played the Panthers when they looked like world beaters. We played Atlanta when they were injured to hell and back and still barely pulled it out. We got destroyed by elite teams like NO and KC. You need to be lucky with your schedule too.
That's also important when considering our next head coach. We can muster up 6-7 wins against mediocre competition, but can we keep up with the playoff teams on our schedule and even beat a few of them? What's the reward of beating sorry teams on the way to the playoffs if you're gonna get outplayed once you get there?
