The loss leader of the league

[grampahol]

First off I joke about this quite often, but the more I see and think about it I've become convinced that since the league can legally script the outcomes of games and there are literally billions of dollars on the line the Cincinnati Bengals is a league loss leader by design and as such we'll never see a championship in Cincinnati because of it.
We can debate coaching smarts all day, but can anyone make a credible argument that Pittsburgh's head coach, Mike Tomlin is actually smarter than a broken pencil minus the eraser? I kind of doubt it. 
Andy has played pretty good up until just recently and out of the blue he suddenly can't toss the ball from the beach into the water from the shore line. Something isn't quite white in the rice here and we're to believe that two first round draft picks are somehow responsible for the whole mess? 
Unless the entire offensive coaching staff secretly had one big collective stroke in the off season and Mike Tomlin suddenly became smart overnight something just isn't adding up. 
Of course there's no proof other than what we see each and every game, year after year, but go to your local grocery store and try to figure out how suddenly milk can cost just a dollar one day and $3.50 a few days later..It's called a loss leader to get you into the door to buy more expensive items and it works. 
It works in football as well.
Aaron Rogers was seen as the best QB EVER by many and suddenly as if by magic he's an interception machine. Really? 
Two old guys who, if they had to actually compete with a bunch of 250 pound 24 year old men are able to go on to win championships at 40+? I don't know about the rest of you, but I've seen 40 come and go and can assure you that you just don't suddenly get to your prime physical shape at 40 without divine intervention and if there really is a god I kind of doubt he's rooting for Pittsburgh and New England and tossing Green Bay under the bus. 
Look, I want to think that the Bengals are just doing poorly because of the Oline, coaching and Andy suddenly without a reason in the world became horrible, but those issues existed before he became terrible. I want to believe that this team can win it all, but........
I believe that the Brown family is financially rewarded by having the loss leader of the league and I can't say that I can blame them. After all, if someone offered to make you a billionaire to suck would you take them up on the offer as opposed to barely scraping by and winning championships? How can any team never win a playoff game and still be able to pay out multiple million dollar salaries year after year after year?  You don't just become financially successful by being the worse team in the league and stupid to boot by accident. That would be like winning the big lotto drawing every year by digging in dumpsters for discarded tickets.. If they were anywhere even remotely as stupid as they appear to be there's no way in hell they wouldn't be all living in homeless shelters instead of mansions. It's quite literally impossible to be that stupid and still make billions of dollars without a little help from the league.. hint hint..nudge nudge wink wink.. 

[THE PISTONS]

The Steelers organization is soo much better than the Bengals. With less cap space this year, they:

-Tagged Bell
-Extended Brown
-Extended Tuitt
-Signed Hayden
And they also kept DeCastro who is a Guard last offseason.

The Bengals have us brainwashed to believe that keeping free agents costs the ability to retain future free agents.

IF you believe the Bengals organization is part of some conspiracy where they are the Washington Generals of the NFL...it's just crazy.

2 Major Forces Shape the Current Bengals:

The NFL also has revenue sharing. In a normal business you have to put a good product out there or people won't buy it and you go bankrupt. In the NFL you get 1/32 of the pie no matter what. This has enabled a lot of the Bengals complacency.


The Bengals are the result of a team being run as a family business where profit is the major motive and things are done as frugally as possible. The other teams are mainly ran by billionaires and multimillionaires who want to win for prestige and invest in their teams to win.

[grampahol]

(09-18-2017, 01:54 PM)THE PISTONS Wrote: The Steelers organization is soo much better than the Bengals. With less cap space this year, they:

-Tagged Bell
-Extended Brown
-Extended Tuitt
-Signed Hayden
And they also kept DeCastro who is a Guard last offseason.

The Bengals have us brainwashed to believe that keeping free agents costs the ability to retain future free agents.

IF you believe the Bengals organization is part of some conspiracy where they are the Washington Generals of the NFL...it's just crazy.

2 Major Forces Shape the Current Bengals:

The NFL also has revenue sharing. In a normal business you have to put a good product out there or people won't buy it and you go bankrupt. In the NFL you get 1/32 of the pie no matter what. This has enabled a lot of the Bengals complacency.


The Bengals are the result of a team being run as a family business where profit is the major motive and things are done as frugally as possible. The other teams are mainly ran by billionaires and multimillionaires who want to win for prestige and invest in their teams to win.

Remind us again why you then root for this team like I do? If Pittsburgh is run so much better then why not root for them? 
I used to want to believe the league is set up for parity to give each team an equal chance, but there are just too many coincidences to sell that idea anymore .
The Atlanta Falcons had the game in the bag 28-3 in the 3rd quarter and yet for reasons absolutely unknown to anyone alive except for the people involved a 40 year old outplayed a bunch of young dudes in the prime of their lives as if by magic.. *POOF!* I'm just not a big believer in magic, but conspiracies? When billions of dollars are on the line you betcha!

[Gamma Ray Tan]

(09-18-2017, 01:54 PM)THE PISTONS Wrote: The Steelers organization is soo much better than the Bengals. With less cap space this year, they:

-Tagged Bell
-Extended Brown
-Extended Tuitt
-Signed Hayden
And they also kept DeCastro who is a Guard last offseason.

The Bengals have us brainwashed to believe that keeping free agents costs the ability to retain future free agents.

IF you believe the Bengals organization is part of some conspiracy where they are the Washington Generals of the NFL...it's just crazy.

2 Major Forces Shape the Current Bengals:

The NFL also has revenue sharing. In a normal business you have to put a good product out there or people won't buy it and you go bankrupt. In the NFL you get 1/32 of the pie no matter what. This has enabled a lot of the Bengals complacency.


The Bengals are the result of a team being run as a family business where profit is the major motive and things are done as frugally as possible. The other teams are mainly ran by billionaires and multimillionaires who want to win for prestige and invest in their teams to win.

Your last comment is 100% correct. Unfortunately the Brown family runs the Bengals to maximize profitability. To them, money trumps winning. This is why the Bengals will ALWAYS be at a disadvantage compared to other teams, because other owners don't need the revenue....they have other ventures that bring in money. Until the Bengals get an owner that doesn't need the NFL revenue.......We are stuck in this revolving door of mediocrity.

[THE PISTONS]

(09-18-2017, 02:15 PM)grampahol Wrote: Remind us again why you then root for this team like I do? If Pittsburgh is run so much better then why not root for them? 
I used to want to believe the league is set up for parity to give each team an equal chance, but there are just too many coincidences to sell that idea anymore .
The Atlanta Falcons had the game in the bag 28-3 in the 3rd quarter and yet for reasons absolutely unknown to anyone alive except for the people involved a 40 year old outplayed a bunch of young dudes in the prime of their lives as if by magic.. *POOF!* I'm just not a big believer in magic, but conspiracies? When billions of dollars are on the line you betcha!

No parity? Some 23 teams have been to the Super Bowl since we last have. That's parity.

The Bengals refuse to hire a GM and have a woefully small scouting staff by NFL standards. They just refuse to change. There is no conspiracy. They tolerate mediocrity.

But hey...if believing in some elaborate conspiracy helps you root for the Bengals...then great!

[THE PISTONS]

No parity?

- 23 teams have been to a Super Bowl. 72% of the league
- Every team besides the Browns, Texans and Lions has won at least 4 playoff games
- 11 teams have won at least 11 playoff games
- 26 teams have at least 5 playoff wins, which is how many the Bengals have in their 49 year history
- 13 teams have been to multiple Super Bowls
- 14 teams have won a Super Bowl

Here's the playoff records for all teams from 1991-2015

Patriots: 25-12
Packers: 19-16
Steelers: 18-14
Ravens: 15-8
Broncos: 15-11
Cowboys: 14-10
49ers: 14-11
Colts: 14-15
Seahawks: 12-10
Eagles: 12-13
Giants: 11-7
Panthers: 9-7
Bills: 8-7 (3rd longest streak, at 21 seasons)
Saints: 7-7
Jets: 7-8
Chargers: 7-9
Rams: 6-4
Cardinals: 6-5
Redskins: 6-6
Oilers/Titans: 6-9
Falcons: 6-9
Vikings: 6-13
Raiders: 5-5
Jaguars: 5-6
Buccaneers: 5-6
Dolphins: 5-9
Bears: 4-6
Chiefs: 4-11 (broke a 22 year streak last year)
Texans: 2-3 (both wins over Bengals)
Browns: 1-2 (streak is now at 19 seasons)
Lions: 1-8 (their streak is only 1 year shorter)
Bengals: 0-7 (the streak is now up to 26 seasons)

[McC]

Mike learned everything he knows about football from Paul. Problem is, the 50's, 60's and 70's were a long time ago and Mike has never seen fit to adapt.

I don't think it's just about money. What's he need more money for? He doesn't even spend what he's got. It's all about I'm gonna do it my way, come hell or high water.

[TKUHL]

(09-18-2017, 06:44 PM)McC Wrote: Mike learned everything he knows about football from Paul. Problem is, the 50's, 60's and 70's were a long time ago and Mike has never seen fit to adapt.

I don't think it's just about money. What's he need more money for? He doesn't even spend what he's got. It's all about I'm gonna do it my way, come hell or high water.

I love a good conspiracy but it's really not that complicated. I wish the problems with this team was as easy to explain away as some grand conspiracy but that would give MB way too much credit. The fact is he's a stubborn old man not willing to adapt. The post above is completely right, sometimes it's just that simple. The most obvious answer is usually the correct one.

[TKUHL]

Now if the next SB is Houston vs Dallas you might be onto something.

[reuben.ahmed]

Good points in this thread. Mike Brown does not have an ego about winning, whatever he says, perhaps he cares about holding onto his money. Usually rich people have major egos, must flaunt it, must win. Biggest house, most expensive car, biggest boat, most houses. It's a curious scenario when a team owner appears to not have winning as their #1 objective.

[Fresno B]

(09-18-2017, 01:47 PM)grampahol Wrote: First off I joke about this quite often, but the more I see and think about it I've become convinced that since the league can legally script the outcomes of games and there are literally billions of dollars on the line the Cincinnati Bengals is a league loss leader by design and as such we'll never see a championship in Cincinnati because of it.
We can debate coaching smarts all day, but can anyone make a credible argument that Pittsburgh's head coach, Mike Tomlin is actually smarter than a broken pencil minus the eraser? I kind of doubt it. 
Andy has played pretty good up until just recently and out of the blue he suddenly can't toss the ball from the beach into the water from the shore line. Something isn't quite white in the rice here and we're to believe that two first round draft picks are somehow responsible for the whole mess? 
Unless the entire offensive coaching staff secretly had one big collective stroke in the off season and Mike Tomlin suddenly became smart overnight something just isn't adding up. 
Of course there's no proof other than what we see each and every game, year after year, but go to your local grocery store and try to figure out how suddenly milk can cost just a dollar one day and $3.50 a few days later..It's called a loss leader to get you into the door to buy more expensive items and it works. 
It works in football as well.
Aaron Rogers was seen as the best QB EVER by many and suddenly as if by magic he's an interception machine. Really? 
Two old guys who, if they had to actually compete with a bunch of 250 pound 24 year old men are able to go on to win championships at 40+? I don't know about the rest of you, but I've seen 40 come and go and can assure you that you just don't suddenly get to your prime physical shape at 40 without divine intervention and if there really is a god I kind of doubt he's rooting for Pittsburgh and New England and tossing Green Bay under the bus. 
Look, I want to think that the Bengals are just doing poorly because of the Oline, coaching and Andy suddenly without a reason in the world became horrible, but those issues existed before he became terrible. I want to believe that this team can win it all, but........
I believe that the Brown family is financially rewarded by having the loss leader of the league and I can't say that I can blame them. After all, if someone offered to make you a billionaire to suck would you take them up on the offer as opposed to barely scraping by and winning championships? How can any team never win a playoff game and still be able to pay out multiple million dollar salaries year after year after year?  You don't just become financially successful by being the worse team in the league and stupid to boot by accident. That would be like winning the big lotto drawing every year by digging in dumpsters for discarded tickets.. If they were anywhere even remotely as stupid as they appear to be there's no way in hell they wouldn't be all living in homeless shelters instead of mansions. It's quite literally impossible to be that stupid and still make billions of dollars without a little help from the league.. hint hint..nudge nudge wink wink.. 

I dont understand the Mike Tomlin diss. He's a lot smarter than any coach the Bengals have had. He's the epitome of a top caliber NFL coach. 

Is this how the team and fans think? If so it's no wonder why we can't win sh**.

[BMK]

(09-18-2017, 02:15 PM)grampahol Wrote: Remind us again why you then root for this team like I do? 

 The real question is.... if you actually believe the ridiculous notion that the whole NFL is some sort of huge, scripted reality show, why do YOU still root for this team? If, as you believe, the Bengals are mandated by the league to lose, and that the team dutifully follows the script (i.e. purposely suck), I'm curious, why DO you root for this team??  

[THE PISTONS]

(09-18-2017, 09:44 PM)BMK Wrote:  The real question is.... if you actually believe the ridiculous notion that the whole NFL is some sort of huge, scripted reality show, why do YOU still root for this team? If, as you believe, the Bengals are mandated by the league to lose, and that the team dutifully follows the script (i.e. purposely suck), I'm curious, why DO you root for this team??  

Maybe he misses Days of Our Lives? 

[McC]

(09-18-2017, 09:44 PM)BMK Wrote:  The real question is.... if you actually believe the ridiculous notion that the whole NFL is some sort of huge, scripted reality show, why do YOU still root for this team? If, as you believe, the Bengals are mandated by the league to lose, and that the team dutifully follows the script (i.e. purposely suck), I'm curious, why DO you root for this team??  

Wouldn't have thought this even needs said but here goes.  If you have a team, you root for it no matter what.  These loyalties are not constantly changing things.  These are things that last lifetimes and are passed on through generations.  It's what you do.  You root and you hope.

[WildCat]

(09-18-2017, 06:44 PM)McC Wrote: Mike learned everything he knows about football from Paul.  Problem is, the 50's, 60's and 70's were a long time ago and Mike has never seen fit to adapt.

I don't think it's just about money.  What's he need more money for?  He doesn't even spend what he's got.  It's all about I'm gonna do it my way, come hell or high water.

the answer is it's ALWAYS about the money. what else does the brown family really have? mike brown never has and never will give two shits about winning. views it as a bonus rather than a goal. he's already acheived his goal, well his daddy did. it'll never not be about the money so long as they own this team.

[yellowxdiscipline]

(09-18-2017, 06:44 PM)McC Wrote: Mike learned everything he knows about football from Paul.  Problem is, the 50's, 60's and 70's were a long time ago and Mike has never seen fit to adapt.

I don't think it's just about money.  What's he need more money for?  He doesn't even spend what he's got.  It's all about I'm gonna do it my way, come hell or high water.

Back when team owners were just team owners and didn't have any revenue from other business ventures. Thats the problem with the Brown family, this is their business, so naturally they want to make as much money as possible. If putting out a mediocre product year after year is still making the family rich then why would they stop.

[Nicomo Cosca]

(09-18-2017, 09:20 PM)Fresno B Wrote: I dont understand the Mike Tomlin diss. He's a lot smarter than any coach the Bengals have had. He's the epitome of a top caliber NFL coach. 

Is this how the team and fans think? If so it's no wonder why we can't win sh**.

Idk if I'd put him up there with Belichick, Caroll, Reid, etc, but he's a good coach. I love how aggressive he is, going for it on 4th down, going for 2...

[*Wyche'sWarrior*]

Rodgers has the same problem we do....shitty line. Couple that with his main weapons out....and dare I say....the QB struggles. (It's really only making excuses in Cincinnati...it doesn't happen anywhere else ).

Brady....meet George Blanda. It happens every generation or so.

The Stoolers get a lot of favoritism....I'll give you that...but top to bottom, they're just better than us.

Revenue sharing cures even stupidity.

[McC]

(09-19-2017, 02:39 AM)WildCat Wrote: the answer is it's ALWAYS about the money. what else does the brown family really have? mike brown never has and never will give two shits about winning. views it as a bonus rather than a goal. he's already acheived his goal, well his daddy did. it'll never not be about the money so long as they own this team.

Nope.  It isn't.  He cares about winning but only if he does it his way.  How goofy is it to say it's all about the money for a guy who doesn't even spend money on himself?

I'd say it's even way more about employing family and friends than the money. 

Hell, winning is more profitable than losing.  So, saying he cares only about money and not about winning makes no sense at all.  So, which of those two conflicting ideas is it?

[*bengalfan74*]

(09-18-2017, 06:44 PM)McC Wrote: Mike learned everything he knows about football from Paul.  Problem is, the 50's, 60's and 70's were a long time ago and Mike has never seen fit to adapt.

I don't think it's just about money.  What's he need more money for?  He doesn't even spend what he's got.  It's all about I'm gonna do it my way, come hell or high water.

Exactly McC

Mike Brown is really hard to explain because he's literally stuck in like 1965. He's the old schooler of old schools ! I fully believe Mike wants to win but there's no way in hell he's not going to do it HIS way !

He grew up and played in the old days. They practiced in the muck and the mud, the cold and snow. They didn't get water during breaks, they were tough. No indoor practice facility is needed. There was no free agency so - we don't need that. Mike seen his dad get fired, he's even said it tore him up. So he doesn't fire coaches - loyalty above all.

Mike's determined to make it in a propeller plane in the jet age. There's no conspiracy