How Will This Team Shoot Themselves In The Foot This Year?

[Pat5775]

(07-09-2017, 12:35 PM)Beaker Wrote: Skepticism is realistic.....flat out negativity is damaging and unproductive. There is a wide difference in being skeptical as to if we will win a certain game, given circumstances such as injuries, or the other team being on a roll, and flat out negativity believing that something bad will happen before the season even begins.

I truly believe the universe gives you exactly what you ask for. And that is multiplied by the number of people believing the same way. If there are countless fans (both at the game and watching at home) believing in their hearts that the team is going to blow it, guess what usually happens? Ask a browns fan their thoughts after a "snatching a loss out of the jaws of victory game", they will usually admit they were just waiting for their team to find a way to blow it.

So I do believe our negativity has an impact...both in a workings of the universe kind of way, and a player mindset kind of way. It is damaging. Being positive is ALWAYS the better option.

So me believing Marvin will never win a playoff game, that we will lose more often than not to the steelers and will likely crap the bed in Primetime has more to do with my "negative" mindset than Marvins overall head coaching ability. Gotcha, makes perfect sense. Silly me for basing my beliefs on past results. 

[bengalguy71]

(07-09-2017, 01:46 PM)Pat5775 Wrote: So me believing Marvin will never win a playoff game, that we will lose more often than not to the steelers and will likely crap the bed in Primetime has more to do with my "negative" mindset than Marvins overall head coaching ability. Gotcha, makes perfect sense. Silly me for basing my beliefs on past results. 

History does not lie!  For me, I ask, what is different about this year from the last 26? What is so different this year that makes me believe it will be better this time around?  Nothing!!

They have had some great players and team talent since 2005, but the constant has been Mike Brown and Marvin Lewis.

[Beaker]

(07-09-2017, 01:46 PM)Pat5775 Wrote: Silly me for basing my beliefs on past results. 

Past results are no guarantee of future performance. 

[Pat5775]

(07-09-2017, 05:50 PM)Beaker Wrote: Past results are no guarantee of future performance. 

History is doomed to repeat itself, my friend. We'll see it repeat once again this year. The one constant we've had for the last decade and a half of choke-artist football is still here. It won't be any different until changes are made. And I refuse to get my hopes up, expect this year to be any different only to be let down again. I'd rather be pleasantly surprised. 

[Beaker]

(07-09-2017, 07:54 PM)Pat5775 Wrote:  I'd rather be pleasantly surprised. 

You can still be pleasantly surprised without expecting the team to fail before a game is even played.

[Pat5775]

(07-10-2017, 10:17 AM)Beaker Wrote: You can still be pleasantly surprised without expecting the team to fail before a game is even played.

Believe me, I'd love to go into every game thinking we had a great chance to kick ass like its 2005. But over the years I've learned to know better. I go into every game hoping for the best but expecting the worst. That's just how the team has made me over the years. It's less of a solid kick in the nuts that way, softens the blow. 

[Beaker]

(07-10-2017, 12:29 PM)Pat5775 Wrote: I go into every game hoping for the best but expecting the worst.

That's a crappy way to go through life. But again, the whole premise of this thread is negative. (How are they going to screw up). We hear about changing the culture of a team or locker room, I think we should also change the culture of fans. You can be excited when they win, and disappointed when they lose whether you believed going in that they were going to win...or blow it. 

[Pat5775]

(07-10-2017, 05:12 PM)Beaker Wrote: That's a crappy way to go through life. But again, the whole premise of this thread is negative. (How are they going to screw up). We hear about changing the culture of a team or locker room, I think we should also change the culture of fans. You can be excited when they win, and disappointed when they lose whether you believed going in that they were going to win...or blow it. 

Agreed that it's a crappy way to go through life. But as I've already said, I am a very positive and upbeat person overall. But when it comes to the Bengals? Not so much. And that is not my fault. Anyone who believes that this team will get over the hump with the status quo is lying to themselves. I'm painfully aware of that fact, and forgive me (and plenty others) who realize that as well. The team has done nothing to give us any real hope, especially since Marv Lewis is still here. You won't see a change in fan culture until changes are made within the organization. 

[bengalguy71]

The biggest difference between this team since, 2005 is that, for the most part, every time they take the field for a season game, regardless against who, they have a good chance of winning the game!

As a fan from the beginning (1968) this hasn't been true of this team for 14 years from 1991 to 2004.

That, in and of itself, makes it more enjoyable to watch, but I am like Pat5775, I hope for the best, but expect the worst.

Even after Burfict's interception in the 2015 playoff game, I said to my wife and son, for most other teams, that would be the ballgame, but for this team, you can only celebrate victory after the clock reaches 0:00, they are at least one point ahead, and there are no yellow flags on the field, and son of a gun if they didn't mess that up too!!

Can I get an amen Pat5775?

[Pat5775]

(07-10-2017, 08:19 PM)bengalguy71 Wrote: The biggest difference between this team since, 2005 is that, for the most part, every time they take the field for a season game, regardless against who, they have a good chance of winning the game!

As a fan from the beginning (1968) this hasn't been true of this team for 14 years from 1991 to 2004.

That, in and of itself, makes it more enjoyable to watch, but I am like Pat5775, I hope for the best, but expect the worst.  

[b]Even after Burfict's interception in the 2015 playoff game, I said to my wife and son, for most other teams, that would be the ballgame, but for this team, you can only celebrate victory after the clock reaches 0:00, they are at least one point ahead, and there are no yellow flags on the field, and son of a gun if they didn't mess that up too!![!
/b]

Can I get an amen Pat5775?  

Absolutely agreed! That playoff game, I was watching at a bar amongst a bunch of neutral fans (mostly Giants, Patriots and Bills.. and one steeler fan  ) and after Burfict's interception I started to celebrate, saw how much time was left and I immediately went into full on panic mode. I was a shaking, nervous, finger nail-chewing wreck. Literally EVERYONE was telling me to relax and that the Bengals had this one in the bag (some random guy got up to leave and shook my hand, congratulated me on "the first playoff win in 3 decades" and headed out... Bruh!). I remember telling everyone that they don't know this team like I do and there was STILL a way they could blow this... And low and behold. I left that bar a laughing fool. All I could do was laugh. I think it's how I hold onto my sanity cheering for this team. Who else would that happen to but the Bengals? You just can't make this stuff up

[Passepartout]

It is OK to laugh. As really need to laugh at times. But really by not winning a playoff game in the Lewis era. Time is now of the essence with all joking aside.

[*Wyche'sWarrior*]

(07-06-2017, 07:59 PM)bfine32 Wrote: I've critiqued the SD game plenty and we shutdown the Chargers running attack down (around 3YPC if memory serves) until less that 3 minutes remaining in the game and we had to sell out and try to get the ball back on D because our last 4 offensive series had resulted in 2 INTs and 2 turnover on downs. So to say we couldn't stop the rushing attack is just silly. 

Our QB was responsible for 3 Turnovers has a passer rating of 67 (sadly a career high), our runner rushed for over 4 YPC, our D held a top 10 D in check until they were gassed in the 4th from getting zero offensive help.

You tell who most rational folks would pin that loss on. 

The coach that decided to quit giving that guy the ball even though we were only down one score and that runner had historically ran through the Chargers like a knife through hot butter?

[3wt]

(07-04-2017, 10:20 AM)bfine32 Wrote: Ok after reading the thread and clicking the results here is my $0.02:

My skills are amazing as I correctly predicted which one would be ahead; although all those listed fall under the "coaching" umbrella.

Of course like each year I think this will be the one we get over the hurdle and I consider the latest playoff loss as the only time we shot ourselves in the foot.

The Indy playoff loss was due to injuries. We got Rex Burkhead and Ryan Hewitt leading the receivers

The Charger loss was on 2 crucial Turnovers. (Gio and Andy fumbles)

The Texans games was just simply being too young in critical positions and one poorly thrown bomb

I know Marvin is an easy scapegoat but the problem is this team does not get treated as a first class organization by the owner. It's ran as a mom and pop organization.

I think there is merit in what you say about the mom and pop organization.   It's too closed a system, a theory that is reinforced by the fact that one of the great minds in football (Paul Brown) made a series of catastrophic decisions (e.g. trading Bill Bergy away and choosing Tiger Johnson over Bill Walsh) because there was no one there to challenge his opinion. 

The same problem was operative when Mike Brown refused to pay Boomer Esiason what he wanted to come back and lead the team after a monster showing in the last several games of the season, and let him walk to go to Monday Night Football (though that fiasco was sort of two sided).

Conversely when Mr. Brown released some of the control of operations to Marvin Lewis and contracts to his daughter and son-in-law the organization seemed to perform more professionally.  And it's not because Mike Brown is an evil or stupid person.   There has been further growth as Duke Tobin has handled his area of personnel development.

What we seem to have is a team that now drafts better than it used to, generally times and crafts its contracts at a very professional level, but still makes poor decisions in how it treats its current and past players, and lets them walk on "principle" (for example because you don't pay aging linemen and guards more than "X" - because you just don't).

My prayer is that between Katie and Duke the professionalism will continue to grow.   And I don't know what needs to happen for the team to embrace it's past players more than lip service and a "50" logo, and start using them as a resource like they want to be used.

Something is missing.  And I agree with you that the problem seems to inhere with the ownership - as much as I revere and respect them.  

[Circleville Guy]

What about injuries? As fans, we always try to be possative going into a new year. This team is loaded with talent, you can't deny that. The OL is probably going to get pushed around. Andy isn't awesome, he is solid though. I expect him to get knocked out early for the year. That blame sits strictly on ownership too. Fans won't be surprised, somehow this ownership will be though and that's sad. I really, really, really hope that I'm wrong.

[Fan_in_Kettering]

There will be no shooting in the foot by the Cincinnati Bengals in 2017.

The pieces, the personnel, and the poise are there. We just need a plan.