The Regression is Accelerating

[Fan_in_Kettering]

At the end of the 2018 regular season when the Bengals parted ways with Marvin Lewis the team had regressed to the point where it would take three years of solid drafts and active free agency to right the ship.

During the 2019 season the regression continued and here in 2020 the regression is accelerating. Two years on into this rebuild the Bengals are now at least five years away from being contenders again. If major changes aren’t made this week the team may enter a death spiral from which it cannot recover.

Zac Taylor isn’t the answer, none of his staff are the answer, and 95% of the current starting roster couldn’t even make the Steelers’ or Chiefs’ practice squads.

Let’s go through the more egregious false promises:

1. Changing the culture. Yeah, from bad to worse.

2. More accountability. Not observed.

3. Better communication: Nonexistent.

Beyond these issues, we see a lack of depth and low energy play — all from a playbook written in crayon. Zac Taylor promised to reconstitute the Rams’ offense in Cincinnati but I see nothing in common with Los Angeles. Besides, why would Zac build a team in the NFC West mold when Cincinnati plays in the AFC North?

Drafting Joe Burrow #1OA made a media splash but in all honesty the Bengals did not improve as a result. Most of us on here predicted the 2020 season and how badly it would play out with only a few new faces on the roster. We worried Joe would be hurt due to bad pass protection and our fears came true.

Someone needs fired right now.

[Wes Mantooth]

(12-06-2020, 07:39 PM)Fan_in_Kettering Wrote: At the end of the 2018 regular season when the Bengals parted ways with Marvin Lewis the team had regressed to the point where it would take three years of solid drafts and active free agency to right the ship.

3 years?

The team we were playing today gutted their entire roster (Still won 5 games) and the very next season they're sitting at 8-4.

San Francisco when from 4-12 to 13-3 and the Superbowl with a single offseason.

This is not college.  You can rebuild, and "right the ship: almost immediately.  It just takes a legitimate front office, good coaching, and an actual plan.

[Fan_in_Kettering]

(12-06-2020, 07:45 PM)Wes Mantooth Wrote: You can rebuild, and "right the ship: almost immediately.  It just takes a legitimate front office, good coaching, and an actual plan.

You’re absolutely right — but we don’t have any of these things.

[*Nately120*]

Here is a sort of thought I had recently...

Bengals fans - I hope Burrow kicks Mike Brown's door in and demands that he make changes and starts trying to win!  I'm sick of seeing this culture where losing is ok!

Also Bengals fans for the past few years - Ah gee we're bad, I hope we lose all our games so we can draft (insert player here) or get (insert coach here) fired.


We seem to be in a cycle where we are sick as hell of losing all off-season and then halfway into the season we start rooting for losses. We're the yo-yo dieters of NFL fandom.

[KillerGoose]

(12-06-2020, 07:45 PM)Wes Mantooth Wrote: 3 years?

The team we were playing today gutted their entire roster (Still won 5 games) and the very next season they're sitting at 8-4.

San Francisco when from 4-12 to 13-3 and the Superbowl with a single offseason.

This is not college.  You can rebuild, and "right the ship: almost immediately.  It just takes a legitimate front office, good coaching, and an actual plan.

Agreed. The Bengals just don’t have any of that, which is why they are still failing. Also, I am not sure why this bothers me, but when people say “XYZ won’t work, we play in the AFC North, not ”.

The AFC North isn’t some mythical division where only one style of football works. Pittsburgh has had one of the worst rushing offenses over the past few seasons and they are currently undefeated. The offense the Rams used on their Super Bowl was heavily predicated on the run and passing off of play action. That style of offense would certainly be successful here, and I think that is the way the team should be built. All of the pressure can’t be on Burrow.

[masonbengals fan]

This team is going full bore in the wrong direction.

[*Nately120*]

(12-06-2020, 07:45 PM)Wes Mantooth Wrote: This is not college.  You can rebuild, and "right the ship: almost immediately.  It just takes

(12-06-2020, 07:45 PM)Wes Mantooth Wrote:  a legitimate front office

X

(12-06-2020, 07:45 PM)Wes Mantooth Wrote: good coaching

XX

(12-06-2020, 07:45 PM)Wes Mantooth Wrote: and an actual plan.

XXX

[bengaloo]

This team is a trainwreck. There is no effing way they can keep ZT after this season. The fans are going to revolt if they do lol. I wish they would send him and his band of losers home tomorrow. The players could probably coach themselves better than this hot mess.

[*Nately120*]

(12-06-2020, 08:06 PM)bengaloo Wrote: This team is a trainwreck. There is no effing way they can keep ZT after this season. The fans are going to revolt if they do lol. I wish they would send him and his band of losers home tomorrow. The players could probably coach themselves better than this hot mess.

The only reason I can see people wanting to keep ZTis if they are convinced that the next guy is going to be even worse than him.  Part of me says it's not really his fault since he clearly wasn't qualified for the job, but the other part of me says that he took a job where all he had to do was go .500 and he'd be the best HC in generations and he still blew it.


ZT's ability to set losing records on a franchise that has been known for losing for 30+ years is amazing.

[chopperbobby]

(12-06-2020, 07:58 PM)masonbengals fan Wrote: This team is going full bore in the wrong direction.

Dam the torpedos full speed ahead, Admiral David Farragut.

[JSR18]

The head clown need only to look back and take a page out of his father's playbook (that's who he tries to emulate, right?)

The Bengals 1979-80 season was a dismal 4-12.
The following year was 12-4. AFC Champs. 1st round bye. 1st Super Bowl.

Look back and figure out how Daddy did it FFS!!

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

[SladeX]

(12-06-2020, 07:58 PM)masonbengals fan Wrote: This team is going full bore in the wrong direction.

So....there IS a plan. Demented and sad. But it's a plan.

Paraphrasing Judd Nelson...TBC

[*rfaulk34*]

The Giants were able to go into Seattle and beat the 'hawks. With Colt McCoy...


You hear that Zac? Colt McCoy.

[*rfaulk34*]

(12-06-2020, 07:45 PM)Wes Mantooth Wrote: 3 years?

The team we were playing today gutted their entire roster (Still won 5 games) and the very next season they're sitting at 8-4.

San Francisco when from 4-12 to 13-3 and the Superbowl with a single offseason.

This is not college.  You can rebuild, and "right the ship: almost immediately.  It just takes a legitimate front office, good coaching, and an actual plan.

He tends to dip into the hyperbole jar a bit much. 

[*bengalfan74*]

(12-06-2020, 08:14 PM)Nately120 Wrote: The only reason I can see people wanting to keep ZTis if they are convinced that the next guy is going to be even worse than him.  Part of me says it's not really his fault since he clearly wasn't qualified for the job, but the other part of me says that he took a job where all he had to do was go .500 and he'd be the best HC in generations and he still blew it.


ZT's ability to set losing records on a franchise that has been known for losing for 30+ years is amazing.

Kinda blows your mind after it sinks in. 

[*Nately120*]

(12-06-2020, 10:25 PM)bengalfan74 Wrote: Kinda blows your mind after it sinks in. 

Ehh, not really.  I'm no nostradumbass, but I kept an open mind that ZT could be ok but I also knew his resume indicated a guy who would be quite likely to be in over his head and not good.

The fact that it took him the bare minimum 11 games to break the 10-game losing streak and it took him the bare minimum 1 season to match our 50+ year worst season record was amazingly awful, though.  I thought he'd be better than that, because he just had to be "not the worst ever" to be better than that...and yet he wasn't.

Cosmic, man.

[*ochocincos*]

The entire purpose of the draft, free agency, and having a spending cap is to help teams turn around quickly.
They have the ability to get back to a winning record in just a season or two.

Marvin Lewis improved the Bengals by 6 wins in his first season.
Jim Harbaugh turned a 6-win San Franchisco team into 13-3 his very first season.
Sean McVay turned a 4-win Rams team into an 11-win team his very first season.
Kevin Stefanski already has the Browns with 2 more wins than they had last year and there are still 4 games to play.
I could keep going, but there are plenty of instances where a brand new coach came in and completely changed the team around immediately.

You have to be willing to trim the fat, have a good plan for your offense/defense, and properly scout and get new players via FA and the draft that will help get you there. Unfortunately, this organization chose to keep around some veterans but change to a scheme that doesn't fit them very well, and they've had bad luck with bringing in FAs and draft picks aside from a few.

[*bengalfan74*]

(12-06-2020, 10:34 PM)ochocincos Wrote: The entire purpose of the draft, free agency, and having a spending cap is to help teams turn around quickly.
They have the ability to get back to a winning record in just a season or two.

Marvin Lewis improved the Bengals by 6 wins in his first season.
Jim Harbaugh turned a 6-win San Franchisco team into 13-3 his very first season.
Sean McVay turned a 4-win Rams team into an 11-win team his very first season.
Kevin Stefanski already has the Browns with 2 more wins than they had last year and there are still 4 games to play.
I could keep going, but there are plenty of instances where a brand new coach came in and completely changed the team around immediately.

You have to be willing to trim the fat, have a good plan for your offense/defense, and properly scout and get new players via FA and the draft that will help get you there. Unfortunately, this organization chose to keep around some veterans but change to a scheme that doesn't fit them very well, and they've had bad luck with bringing in FAs and draft picks aside from a few.

= Mike Brown "Umm we're not in the business of making other teams better. We're hanging onto our vets."

The only thing he's never figured out is his ways don't make his team better either. 

[Bengalitis]

(12-06-2020, 07:45 PM)Wes Mantooth Wrote: 3 years?

The team we were playing today gutted their entire roster (Still won 5 games) and the very next season they're sitting at 8-4.

San Francisco when from 4-12 to 13-3 and the Superbowl with a single offseason.

This is not college.  You can rebuild, and "right the ship: almost immediately.  It just takes a legitimate front office, good coaching, and an actual plan.

I like the optimism, but its always other teams. Even Marvin started with baby steps.

[*ochocincos*]

(12-06-2020, 10:39 PM)bengalfan74 Wrote: = Mike Brown "Umm we're not in the business of making other teams better. We're hanging onto our vets."

The only thing he's never figured out is his ways don't make his team better either. 

I'm sure Mike Brown also expected that his coaches would figure out a way to better utilize these guys who were so successful under Marvin.