Favorite Bengals team

[fredtoast]

(10-30-2021, 09:17 PM)samhain Wrote: The 09 team was a special one, too.  The last minute victories vs the Steelers and Ravens were two great moments in this team's modern history.  "Touchdown Andre Caldwell!" is probably my favorite call I've ever heard on the radio in any game.

I have seen us win 2 AFC Championship games, but I never had an emotional reaction to a Bengal game like beating the Ravens the week Vicki Zimmer died.

That '09 team was the least talented Bengal team to make the playoffs.  They were a lot of smoke and mirrors.  But that was the most exciting season ever.  Seemed like every other week was a last second win with a couple of game saving 4th down conversions.

[samhain]

(10-30-2021, 09:34 PM)fredtoast Wrote: I have seen us win 2 AFC Championship games, but I never had an emotional reaction to a Bengal game like beating the Ravens the week Vicki Zimmer died.

That '09 team was the least talented Bengal team to make the playoffs.  They were a lot of smoke and mirrors.  But that was the most exciting season ever.  Seemed like every other week was a last second win with a couple of game saving 4th down conversions.

Yeah it was different.  They swept the division, Benson demolished the Bears in a revenge game, beating the Packers in Green Bay after the knife-in-in-the-heart Stokely touchdown game vs Denver, etc.  

They ran out of gas late in the year, which also was impacted by the passing of Chris Henry.  They just didn't have the offensive firepower to cut it in the postseason.  Either way, I always look back on that season as a great one.

[fredtoast]

(10-30-2021, 11:20 PM)samhain Wrote: beating the Packers in Green Bay after the knife-in-in-the-heart Stokely touchdown game vs Denver, etc.  

People forget that in 2009 it was still popular to point out that the Bengals only had ONE winning season in the last 18 years.  The team had gone gotten worse every year since '05 and only won 4 games in '08.  It seemed like things were right back to the '90's.

Every team has fans who are optimistic before the season starts. But even a lot of the Bengal homers could not help but feel that '09 was going to be a disappointment after losing opening day like that. 

It is easy to believe in curses when you have gone almost 2 decades with only one winning season.

[Truck_1_0_1_]

'15 probably for me; Eifert on fire, shitting on Manziel (again), Dunlap kicking ass and Whitworth making all-pro (after he gave up 8 total pressures in 1,000+ snaps in 2014; 1 hit and 7 hurries, 0 sacks and 3 accepted penalties all year, none holding), not to mention Nuge' being clutch and attending the most-satisfying Bengal game in-person, against the Rams, that season was magical for me.

HATE the way it ended (obviously), but I was flying high all regular season. Screw Macaroni.

As many have said though, this team is just awesome as well and if the season continues to be as it has been, it may be my favourite team outright, in the end.

[J24]

My favorite team had to be the 11-15 Bengals. Just loved the Cincy vs the World attitude the team brought.

[*SHRacerX*]

In ascending order:

3rd place: The 1988 team. Innovation. The no-huddle. The creativity of the west coast, er....Ohio River Offense. Also had a top defense with the SWAT team. The first year of the new uniforms. Crazy fun year.

2nd place: The 2005 team: High-powered offense. Young QB. After so many years of ineptitude with some huge misses on day 1 of the draft that KILLED teams before the rookie wage scale. We FINALLY had a taste of winning again. I thought O'dell Thurman would be a HOF'r after his rookie season. How it ended, though. Puke.

1st place: 2021 team. Ok, ok....Make fun of my "forget the past" nature. Here's why: I LOVE Joe Burrow. He is everything Palmer wasn't. Sorry, not sorry. I LOVE the defense. Relentless. Energetic. Selfless. Tough. They are so young, but have already taken the biggest enemies behind the woodshed. I see so many ways the Bengals can beat teams and they are just scratching the surface of what they could be. I am hoping that Khalid Kareem can boost the pass rush down the stretch and Snufalufagus himself (Trae Waynes) can get healthy and also be an asset down the stretch.

To elaborate: Why am I so in love with Burrow? Because athleticism always seems to catch up with hot QBs. Vick had ridiculous athleticism. Teams found ways to stop him. Mahommes has looked very human of late. Murray? Possibly the same thing. However, when you have a QB that has that rare combination of athleticism and incredible "football savant" IQ (think Brady, Manning, Montana), then you have someone with staying power. What Joe Burrow is doing in just 17 NFL starts, coming off a devastating knee injury is incredible. Absolutely incredible. And here is one more thing: He just keeps getting better.

[fredtoast]

(10-30-2021, 07:28 PM)fredtoast Wrote: '81 probably just because they were the first.

It was crazy having the whole world talk about the Bengals playing in the Super Bowl.

And the Freezer Bowl has become and NFL legend.  I will never forget watching it.

'05 team could not beat the '15 team (or the '21 team if we keep playing better), but they are my second favorite because they ended over a decade of horror. Palmer is not the bets QB in Bengal history, but he had the best arm.  It was a beautiful thing to watch him throw the ball when he was on.  Also arguably the best O-line in Bengal history.  Rudi led a very strong run game.  Defense had a lot of issues, but we forced enough turnovers to win 11 games.

[*bfine32*]

1981.

[grampahol]

(10-30-2021, 03:44 PM)rfaulk34 Wrote: That is, unfortunately, one thing i remember very vividly about that season. Dad and i went outside to get in the car and anything wet--like nostrils--froze instantly. It also took us about 30-45 minutes to get the car started to get where we were going to watch the game. 

In 81 I lived in an old house on it's last legs..The insulation sucked and my car wouldn't start so I had to walk everywhere.. That game was the only bright spot in an otherwise pretty miserable winter..The 88 game I had to put down the family cat minutes before the game and she really didn't wanna die very easy..That sucked..Then they LOST the SB.. 

[masonbengals fan]

1988 has to be my favorite. That offense just clicked. Boomer was rolling.

I remember the 81 team but was just out of high school & had other things on my mind. Partying & chasing girls took priority. LOL

[Essex Johnson]

81 was my favorite but 2015 was team I felt was the most complete and total thrill to watch on both sides of ball and best team since 88.