I'm Optimistic! (And Pessimistic)

[BFritz21]

We went into one of the toughest places to play in the NFL and gave them everything they could handle and we should have won the game.

Without the Andre hold down on the 5(?), we possibly score and that changes the game.

Erickson's fumble also shifted momentum.  

Ross's drop killed us when he maybe scores with the entire sideline open.

We were playing without our top offensive weapons and our second-best weapon for most of the game and still only lost by one!

Clowney's an animal but I thought we eventually got him under control (a little).

I was unhappy with some of Taylor's play calls, like one fourth and one why would you try and run Gio from the shotgun?  Start with Andy under center and run Gio straight at the line and that's tough to stop.  I'm upset that we threw on third and one and thought one of those (maybe both) should have been a QB sneak.

I was unhappy with a few other calls, but, for his first game, it was pretty damn impressive to go into a place like Seattle and lose by one!

No such thing as a moral victory, but, for how lost we all thought the season was before it even started. I was happy with the game!

We still have a lot of work to do, but I'm a bit optimistic!

[BonnieBengal]

(09-08-2019, 09:07 PM)BFritz21 Wrote: We went into one of the toughest places to play in the NFL and gave them everything they could handle and we should have won the game.

Without the Andre hold down on the 5(?), we possibly score and that changes the game.

Erickson's fumble also shifted momentum.  

Ross's drop killed us when he maybe scores with the entire sideline open.

We were playing without our top offensive weapons and our second-best weapon for most of the game and still only lost by one!

Clowney's an animal but I thought we eventually got him under control (a little).

I was unhappy with some of Taylor's play calls, like one fourth and one why would you try and run Gio from the shotgun?  Start with Andy under center and run Gio straight at the line and that's tough to stop.  I'm upset that we threw on third and one and thought one of those (maybe both) should have been a QB sneak.

I was unhappy with a few other calls, but, for his first game, it was pretty damn impressive to go into a place like Seattle and lose by one!

No such thing as a moral victory, but, for how lost we all thought the season was before it even started. I was happy with the game!

We still have a lot of work to do, but I'm a bit optimistic!

Exactly.  We are rebuilding, and we did a lot better than most of us thought for our first game in Seattle with a new coach and without AJ Green.

[NKURyan]

(09-08-2019, 09:07 PM)BFritz21 Wrote: Ross's drop killed us when he maybe scores with the entire sideline open.

Not sure you can say he killed us with that when he promptly makes up for it with a huge redemption TD catch.

[THE PISTONS]

#Bengals defense has forced 5 three-and-outs through 3 quarters.

They didn't have 5 in an entire game the entire 2018 season.

— Jeremy Rauch (@FOX19Jeremy) September 8, 2019

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[Rubekahn29]

(09-08-2019, 09:11 PM)THE PISTONS Wrote:

#Bengals defense has forced 5 three-and-outs through 3 quarters.

They didn't have 5 in an entire game the entire 2018 season.

— Jeremy Rauch (@FOX19Jeremy) September 8, 2019

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Easily the most pleasant surprise. Bummed they couldn't pull it out for the D. 

[Nati#1]

I predict a big season this year. Playoff bound if we keep playing with the confidence we had especially on defense.

[BFritz21]

Another big thing was how we just seemed more energetic and like we wanted to play! I honestly think that, even more than most teams do normally, we looked like a bunch of kids that were playing the game because it was a game and we loved being out there.

I was so happy about that because it will make the players more willing to put everything on the line and play better because they're just playing a game they love!

[CJD]

(09-08-2019, 09:07 PM)BFritz21 Wrote: I was unhappy with some of Taylor's play calls, like one fourth and one why would you try and run Gio from the shotgun?  Start with Andy under center and run Gio straight at the line and that's tough to stop.  I'm upset that we threw on third and one and thought one of those (maybe both) should have been a QB sneak.

That play call as well as the punt on 4th and 7 were the two big playcall mistakes in my opinion. The former is more forgivable because running for 1 yard is not an unreasonable call in a 4th down, even when the defense is expecting it. Most of the time, giving up 1 yard on a run is considered a win by the defense, for context.

The punt though was a huge problem to me though. What is more likely? Our offense, which had over 400 yards of offense to that point, getting 7 yards? Or our defense getting a 3 and out and then our offense promptly marching downfield for a field goal with ~1:30 left in the game?

But other than that, the playcalling was superb. I loved the flea flicker call. It's amazing to see what our offense can do when the coaches actually care about offense.

This game was the first time I actually felt like I was watching a professional football team in years.

[grampahol]

Still a long, long way to go. Anyone remember last season with a 4-1 start before the wheels fell off? I feel optimistic as well, but they really need to be much more consistent and for Andy to stay healthy. I'm not counting on either Findley nor Dolagala to pull rabbits out of their hats quite yet.

[Earendil]

(09-09-2019, 09:49 AM)grampahol Wrote: Still a long, long way to go. Anyone remember last season with a 4-1 start before the wheels fell off? I feel optimistic as well, but they really need to be much more consistent and for Andy to stay healthy. I'm not counting on either Findley nor Dolagala to pull rabbits out of their hats quite yet.

Yeah, the 4-1 start last year was great.  But the problem was that Marvin and Lazor never adjusted the schemes for the injuries.  Lazor in particular looked like he had no idea what to do when the tight ends got hurt.  And we all know Marvin's thoughts on making adjustments.