It’s a Marathon, Not a Sprint

[TheUberHuber]

(09-15-2019, 09:59 PM)THE PISTONS Wrote: I just don't think the line is talented. They can learn the scheme all they want...but some of them just aren't physically good football players.

What you mean? They gave hart 7 million so he has to be good right???? Right??

[THE PISTONS]

Honestly, they won't look this bad every week.

All it will take is a 3 point loss to the Bills on the road and we'll be back on our 11-5 win pace for some on the board!

[George Cantstandya]

Speaking of marathons, we the fans have been running that one for decades. That's a real damn marathon or should we call it "fanathon"? Always staying true believing that it will improve. It takes a lot to keep chugging along. :)

[oncemoreuntothejimbreech]

At 0-2 they’re chances at making the playoffs are roughly 12%. Which means it’s September and they’re already playing for draft position. Par for the course during the Mike Brown regime.

[Trademark]

(09-15-2019, 09:49 PM)impactplaya Wrote: The next 2 games I feel.will.determine the season
2 and 0.the Bills and Steelers gets them to .500
Anything less it's too much of a uphill climb to reach playoffs
The best thing for this team to.do get past
This blowout and prepare for the Bills.
Hopefully AJ is good to go
His presence on the field could really lift this team
At the right time

This team isn’t beating either team. They had s tough time containing Jimmy G. Good luck containing Allen, the Steelers always own this team. I’m already over this season

[*psychdoctor*]

Winning solves most perceived problems. Just win.

[t3r3e3]

(09-15-2019, 09:30 PM)Joelist Wrote: Yes the game was an embarrassment, from BOTH lines being dominated (as usual) to 5-7 dropped passes including a TD in the end zone to the horrid defense and basically everything else. And yes ZT needs time to get his approach fully in place.

But to be honest it won't matter unless the Bengals change their ways and do whatever is needed regardless of cost to build Defensive and Offensive lines that blow the other team off the ball and do not permit themselves to ever be dominated.

The major team liabilities last year were the o-line and the linebacking core. They’re still the weakest links; the front office did a laughable job of fixing the major issues. This team is at best a 5-11 or 6-10 squad. The o-line is a bottom 3 unit in the league. Until they fix the line and get some backers that can diagnose, run, and cover they’re going to be an also ran in the AFC North. I stand by my earlier prognostications of a finish somewhere between 4-12 and 6-10. This is not going to be a wonderful season. Sucks to say it, but it’s reality.

[*Go Cards*]

Bengals O-line was overwhelmed by a very good D-line. It was a recipe for disaster and a bad match up to begin with.


Think O-line will be out matched in most games but not as bad as they were yesterday very often.

Will see better days this season but bracing for a long lumpy road this year as well.

Agree with OP that this coaching staff deserves more than this season to be judged by me and this will be a toss out season.

Am a lifelong Bengals fan and can wait a year and still believe in Zac is the guy to get us there in the long run.

[*SHRacerX*]

(09-15-2019, 09:15 PM)Fan_in_Kettering Wrote: Getting blown out by the 49ers in the Bengals’ home opener was flat out embarrassing.  There were no bright spots.  No one played even remotely well; this loss is on the whole team and the entirety of the coaching staff.

After some time to think — and a nice Mexican dinner — I have seen things from a new perspective.  I’m going to give Zac Taylor, the coaches, and the whole roster the entire season to turn the Bengals around. Marvin Lewis started 0-3 in his first season and even the great Sam Wyche started 0-5.  Zac needs the same consideration.

Let’s face some sobering facts.  First, this roster was predominately formed under the previous regime.  This means adjusting the playbook to the players, not drafting players to fit the playbook.  As Zac gets more drafts under his belt the team will improve.  Next, this is a whole new culture.  I don’t see team members pointing fingers of accusation against each other which is terrific.  Playing as a team is vitally important.

About a month ago I started a thread predicting a slow start and a fast finish for the Bengals.  I stand by this assertion.

Great post and completely accurate.  This isn't on Taylor.  What hurts the most is the perceived lack of effort.  No "we can play with anyone!" after last week.  A complete debacle.

But you are dead on in your assessment.  

It just makes me sick to see the likes of Baltimore (who we destroyed last year) , Indy (who lost their QB), Buffalo (who seemed like a mirror image of the Bengals for ages), etc. all seem to have found a competitive plan.  Not Cincy.  Not even close.  

[Fan_in_Kettering]

(09-16-2019, 09:04 AM)SHRacerX Wrote: Great post and completely accurate.  This isn't on Taylor.  What hurts the most is the perceived lack of effort.  No "we can play with anyone!" after last week.  A complete debacle.

But you are dead on in your assessment.  

It just makes me sick to see the likes of Baltimore (who we destroyed last year) , Indy (who lost their QB), Buffalo (who seemed like a mirror image of the Bengals for ages), etc. all seem to have found a competitive plan.  Not Cincy.  Not even close.  

First of all, thank you. I try to be as objective as possible in my analysis but it can be difficult. I don’t think some fans realize how broken the Cincinnati Bengals had become. The team never recovered from the heartbreak of losing in the playoffs to the Steelers and the first loss in 2018, also to the Steelers, totally demoralized the team and its fan base.

This isn’t just a “new dey.” This is a whole new start. It took three whole seasons for blocking and tackling fundamentals to completely atrophy and no coach could turn this organization around overnight. I can’t believe I’m writing this but we were spoiled by Marvin Lewis’ almost immediate success. Zac Taylor isn’t going to have instant success. The team is too broken and too dysfunctional for this to happen as it did in 2003-2006.

Thankfully, the coaches know this. I’m not mad at Zac, Brian Callahan, or especially Lou Anarumo. They aren’t working with a blank canvas here; they are working with existing players, some of whom have played under four different defensive coordinators now.

[sonofstat]

(09-15-2019, 09:32 PM)Whatever Wrote: The real test is going to be what they do next week.

It's very possible that they were buying their own hype after last week.  Silly after a loss, I know, but it happens.

They had a good performance where they should have won, and an abysmal performance this week.  Have to see what's the norm and what's the aberration.

I think this is the new 'normal' for 2019....by that i mean massive variability in performances week in / week out.

Under years of Marv we broadly knew what we were getting (for some that was reassuring, for some that was infuriating) and we were broadly competitive in the regular season with him.

We have a rookie HC, OC, DC (apart from brief interim period) and new schemes plus a fair bit of churn on the roster especially at OL.

I may not like it but i have a feeling on any given week it'll be either a SEA or SF performance...with perhaps not much in between!  

[CJD]

I think the reason people are hesitant to give Zac Taylor and his staff more time to get their playbooks/philosophies implemented is because almost every single one was either a stretch hire or a retread hire in the first place.

Jim Turner is the Oline coach. Has never been considered a prodigy. Has had scandals surrounding him in multiple places he's worked. Suspected of being a nepotism hire. All around an unusual hire.

Lou Anarumo is a defensive coordinator who has never held that position before in a non interim basis. Has never been considered a prodigy. Was the DB coach of a bad team as his crowning achievement.

Zac Taylor is the head coach. Has never even been an offensive coordinator before in a non interim basis. In the few places he has led the offense, it has not been impressive (UC and Miami). He has been considered a prodigy in some cases, but no team was really willing to put their money where their mouth was (no team ever hired him as an offensive coordinator or play caller).

So when things went as badly as they did yesterday, the immediate suspicion is "These guys are in way over their heads." In cases like that, more time doesn't necessarily make things better. In fact, in some cases, it may even make things worse.

So now the Bengals fans, who were forced to endure nearly 2 decades of Marvin Lewis, are now being asked to give some patience to coaches who, at the time, were questionable hires at best. If you give them time to work through the kinks, who knows if we'll end up better or far worse on the other end? What if they draft players who aren't worth the slots (as many suspect Sample of being, for example) and end up being back ups when you needed them to be stars/starters? How many bad drafts can we withstand?

Now, let me be clear. I don't think it's time to jump ship nor do I think it's time to consider replacing these coaches. I'm just saying let's not fall into the Marvin Lewis trap of "oh, if you give him enough time with enough freedom, he'll work it out." We need to be pragmatic in the way we approach this New Dey. We cannot have a Marvin Lewis 2.0. If this coaching staff can't get it done in 2 to 3 years, you need to fire them and get some actual coaches. We cannot rest on our laurels (what little we have left) for another 2 decades hoping the coaches suddenly become good at coaching.

[R3stangs]

(09-15-2019, 09:24 PM)Fan_in_Kettering Wrote: William Jackson III had an awesome interception!

And then proceeded to run out of bounds before he could get touched.

[chopperbobby]

I don’t know what is worse. The way they played Sunday or the fact the fans (me included) looked at a loss as hope. We are the only fan base that has accepted defeat as a positive. Mike brown has set us up and kicked us down so much we take a loss as a golden egg. Who Dey new Dey. What ever we are still the bengals and I will be there next game. Hopefully we only lose by less than 10 points to give us hope again.

[J24]

The OP is right it's a marathon and not a Sprint.