09-18-2020, 01:59 AM
(09-18-2020, 01:44 AM)Bengalstripes18 Wrote: I second the notion that if the Bengals screw this up and don't get a championship with Burrow, they are done as a franchise.
I just don't see how they could screw it up. I guess we'll see what happens.
But don't act like they already screwed it up--that is a judgement left for 5 years down the road if we can't get him re-signed. Now is the time to build around Burrow.
I'm extremely encouraged by the performance of the offense--in spite of the offensive lines struggles. Mixon is rushing well. They are protecting just enough up front for Burrow to make some great plays.
The players around Burrow can only get better, right? They're not going to regress, are they? This is a young offensive line. They'll get better.
To me this will be a fun process to watch the team around Burrow improve and the team get to a point where they contend for championships. If things don't turn out that way then that will obviously be disappointing. But I just don't see how they could screw it up. If they do screw things up, they will be forced to pack it up as a franchise. I don't think the fan base could take any more, could they?
I'm not going to worry about it though. I see a winner in Burrow and will enjoy the time he's leading the team.
At the end of the day, this team is still in transition. There was a big overhaul on the roster both financially and with the quarterback change. Still, they have a lot invested in Dalton-Green era players. I'm obviously talking about Geno, Carlos and AJ. These guys all make a ton of money. In time, they will be gone along with their contracts. We aren't getting a hell of a lot from them now.
It's not fun to think about, but if they can't be productive anymore, they will need to be purged. The next era of successful Bengals football may well not include them.