AFC so far.....3 weeks

[Sled21]

(09-27-2021, 07:37 PM)Nate (formerly eliminate08) Wrote: So is Kareem Hunt and he is a great pass catcher as well.

Yeah, Hunt scares me more than Chubb. (not underrating Chubb, he's one of the best in the league) It seemed that in the Pittsburgh game everyoe was crashing the pocket going after Fat Ben, leaving the WR screen wide open. Hopefully Lou fixes that before the Cleveland game.

[*Nately120*]

(09-27-2021, 07:19 PM)impactplaya Wrote: Kinda funny how when JB was getting sacked
Through the 1st 2 games every media NFL guy
Said "oh.JB wont make it through 17 games,
And they should have drafted Penei blah blah.blah

Well.Baker Mayfield got sacked 5 times vs the Bears and
Thats 9 through 3 games. Thats only 1 less than JB
Yet nobody is saying.Baker wont make it through
17 games.

The hypocrisy is rather funny

Burrow had a very notable injury his first year, though.  When Burrow plays a whole season the narrative that he can't play a whole season will fizzle out.  So far, it's a reasonable concern.

I'd compare it to Baker by saying that the Browns changed their front office, their GM, and then built intelligently through the draft and added key free agents at positions of need and some people still say "Meh, they're the Browns...they'll go 3-13."

[*Nate (formerly eliminate08)*]

(09-28-2021, 08:47 AM)Sled21 Wrote: Yeah, Hunt scares me more than Chubb. (not underrating Chubb, he's one of the best in the league) It seemed that in the Pittsburgh game everyoe was crashing the pocket going after Fat Ben, leaving the WR screen wide open. Hopefully Lou fixes that before the Cleveland game.

Feel the same, Hunt is the type of RB that gives us problems. We usually can handle big RB's like Chubb at least somewhat.

It is the scat back types that have hurt us in the past. But Chubb is great himself.

[GodFather]

(09-27-2021, 01:13 PM)fredtoast Wrote: Cleveland and Baltimore both look like Super Bowl contenders.  

Cleveland has been consistently good.  They lost by 4 on the road to the Chiefs, but they had more yards and first downs than Kansas City.  Over all they have the #7 offense and #3 defense. Their roster is loaded with talent, and Baker Mayfield is a much better QB than a lot of people want to admit.

Baltimore has looked like a Super Bowl contender at times, but they have been hit hard by injury and have not been as consistent as the Browns.  I watched them give the Raiders game away with poor defensive schemes that resulted in too much one-on-one and sometimes zero-on-one coverage on the Raiders receivers.  I did not see the Detroit game but from everything I read and heard it was a dumpster fire.  Jackson is becoming a better passer than a lot of people want to admit, but he still needs to be more consistent.  Catch them when they are on and we won't beat them.  but catch them on a down stroke and we could easily win.

Steelers looked pathetic.  But for every Bengal fan who swears he is not going to believe in the Bengals until he sees a full season to prove it we all have to realize that the Steelers have not had a losing record in 18 years and their defense has been top 6 in the league for 4 straight years.  If they get healthy they could be a completely different team.

Bengals have top 10 defense talent.  The offense has a lot of potential, but they have to get a lot more consistent.  That "banged up" Steeler defense still held us to 3 of 9 on third down and 268 total yards.   I think we have a lot of talent on offense also.  My biggest fear there is the health of Jonah Williams and Joe Mixon.  Hopefully Higgins returns 100% and Carman develops into an upgrade over Su'a-Filo.  If that happens then we will look a lot better.  Not an elite offense (yet), but plenty good enough to beat a lot of teams with a top 10 defense.

If the Browns stay healthy then I see them as the class of the division.  Right now, due mainly to injuries, the Steelers sre struggling and the Ravens are inconsistent.  I can see us anywhere from 2nd to 4th.

The Brown's are absolutely stacked at all positions. They have no excuse to go far into the playoffs this year. They finally have a solid head coach. I think they will be a very hard team to beat.

And also think Mayfield is the biggest biatch in the NFL. After him refusing to shake Hue's hand when he went to Cincy after he was FIRED is the most unsportsmanlike thing Ive seen in a very very long time. Highly dislike him...

[Bengalstripes9]

(09-27-2021, 02:25 PM)fredtoast Wrote: No one is going to stuff the Brown run game as long as Chubb and the O-line are healthy.

Chubb is in his 4th season and has never had an per carry average under 5.0.  It is 5.5 this season and 5.2 for his career.  He could actually have an MVP type season behind that offensive line.

Ravens have no healthy RBs or good WRs.  Lamar is a freak, but if you beat him up and keep him some what under control that offense is very vulnerable.

I agree. The Ravens are certainly lacking in the skill positions. Their oline isn't bad though. And even their backup running backs are decent. But if you can contain Lamar, you can shut that offense down. Their defense is very good though. They're definitely going to be in the top 2 or 3 teams in the division. If they miss the playoffs that would be crazy--and most likely due to injuries piling up. 

The Browns are just so loaded at oline. They invested heavily there and it's payed dividends. They've got a good defense as well. They are the toughest run game to stop--and a big reason we loaded up on the dline the past couple years. I don't see them missing the playoffs either.

You're right not to count the Steelers out of it too. But their line looks really shaky. If they get healthy on defense, they'll be in a lot of games. They shut down the Bills impressively in week one (an extremely difficult task). They've got loads of talent at the skill positions as well. But without an oline, they are going to struggle offensively. I see them dropping to 1-4, but bouncing back if they get healthy. I don't see them making the playoffs though.

I think the Bengals will be on the verge of a playoff birth. But there's a lot thats up in the air. The offense needs to improve. We see glimpses, but no consistency as you pointed out. Gotta get better on 3rd down and along the oline to give Burrow more time. Gotta do a better job of getting off the field on 3rd down on defense as well. But the defense looks a lot better. I see us as just outside the playoffs, or making the wild card. But they have a lot of talent. It is possible that they win the division. There's just so much up in the air with a lot of their talent being young and inexperienced, and you never know what will happen with injuries. Tough to know what to expect yet.

[SuperBowlBound!]

(09-27-2021, 03:09 PM)Jhowdy54 Wrote: U guys are giving the Browns Defense too much credit. Yes they had their way with the Bears but really struggled to contain the Texans with backup QB. And of course Chiefs had their way with them as well. Ravens have many flaws as well. Every team has weaknesses. Yes many strengths but weaknesses as well.

I agree with this. 


We have so many negative thinkers on this board. 

I know the Browns and Ravens are good but they are not dominating every game. 
They have their warts as well. I think we have played as good as anybody and our defense looks completely different.

I am not saying we will dominate these teams on our schedule but for the first time in a long time I like what I see from this team.

[Joelist]

Lots of close games. The Rats are an unforced fumble by the Chiefs RB and a BAD no call by the refs away from being 0-3. The Browns probably lose to the Bears if Fields was not playing. Granted we are a RB fumble away from 1-1-1 but ours was at least forced.

[fredtoast]

(09-27-2021, 01:13 PM)fredtoast Wrote: Baltimore has looked like a Super Bowl contender at times, but they have been hit hard by injury and have not been as consistent as the Browns.  I watched them give the Raiders game away with poor defensive schemes that resulted in too much one-on-one and sometimes zero-on-one coverage on the Raiders receivers.  I did not see the Detroit game but from everything I read and heard it was a dumpster fire.  Jackson is becoming a better passer than a lot of people want to admit, but he still needs to be more consistent.  Catch them when they are on and we won't beat them.  but catch them on a down stroke and we could easily win.

3 weeks later and nothing has changed.  The two Ravens games I have actually watched (Raiders, Colts) their defense has looked like swiss cheese.

Yet overall they have the #7 defense despite playing some good offensive teams (Chiefs, Raiders, Colts, Chargers).

How can the same defense shut down Herbert (22-39, 195 yds, 1 td, 1 int) and get scalded by Carson Wenz (25-35, 402 yds, 2 td, 0 int)

We have the talent to beat the Ravens, but if their defense gets a lot of pressure and Lamar gets hot they could blow us out.