10-23-2015, 01:41 PM
(10-23-2015, 09:08 AM)SHRacerX Wrote: I love this kind of optimism, and I chuckled when I read it the first time.
But then....I started thinking about the next four games:
At pittsburg- I'm really just hoping for a fair game from the refs and no dirtbagging from the team. I think they can outscore this team because the Bengals defense is superior to theirs....and both offenses are really good.
Win that game, then you have:
Browns at home- They always give the Bengals a fight, but just not enough talent to hang, even on a short week.
Texans at home (MNF)- They are a dumpster fire. Hoyer gives them a respectable offense, but only one real weapon at WR and he will be contained.
Cardinals on the road- Going on the road, on a short week, NFL teams have a straight up winning % in the low 30s. That's bad. The Cardinals have offensive weapons and a solid defense. This was the game I predicted as the Bengals first loss. However, the Cardinals have looked very average of late. The Bengals are better. If they win this game, they are 10-0. At that point, people would start talking about it.
The only real challenges at this point will be pitt and AZ. Get by those two and here is the remainder of the schedule.
Rams at home
Browns on the road
steelers at home
49ers on the road
Broncos on the road (MNF)
Ravens at home
I know "getting by those two" is far easier said (typed?) than done, but it is a very real possibility after that.
Pittsburg is Pittsburg and will always give us a fight. Both Pitt games will be tough ones. Hopefully we win both.
The Browns have been playing surprisingly well on offense, especially McCown... it could be an old Ohio shootout in both games!
The Texans aren't as bad as you may think, and Hopkins is easily the best WR in the league right now, he just isn't a household name yet. Great, great player.
Cardinal have been tough, and Carson will have something to prove.
Rams have the tendancy to play up to their competition and have a ferocious defense, can't feel too confident about that one either.
The niners will be a cakewalk.
The broncos on MNF at their house will have something to prove, as they will remember last year when we played them. This should be a great game, and I don't expect Manning to be futile the whole season, we will have to see where he is by then. Either way, Talib and the rest of that defense have been top notch.
Ravens will be done with their season by week 17, so unless our backups are playing, we should win.
Long story short, none of these games are gimmies (except maybe Niners and Ravens rematch). The team will need to remain focused if they want to go undefeated, and slip ups against these teams will not end well.
