This team just isn't "there" yet.

[Tomkat]

2 muffed punts (Turnovers)
1 dropped INT
Missed FG, etc...

ELITE teams can overcome those mistakes.
This team just isn't there yet.

[WeezyBengal]

They are making more mistakes now then they were in the beginning of the season...that's what I don't get.

This team was super disciplined and taking care of the football for the most part. The past few weeks it's all gone to hell.

[CJD]

I know this is a meme at this point, but I think next year is where we put it all together. This isn't like "maybe we'll do something next year" comments like we became so used to with Andy Dalton as our QB. We are actually an ascending team with Burrow leading us. We are set to have a lot of cap space next off season, even more after we cut Waynes, and our defense is only a few depth pieces away from being reliable enough to make this team top tier.

What we need to do is genuinely upgrade RG (not just take a project in the 2nd round, but actually sign a free agent that has shown they can play guard at a high level), retain Spain and upgrade center (Hopkins has improved but he's still below average). I'd also be open to upgrading LT and moving Williams to RT. We also need one new starter at CB (Apple has been good down the stretch and I'd like to retain him, but as a priority back up rather than a starter), but other than that I think we could make a run next year if we just protect Burrow. He takes way too many "instant" sacks with this Oline.

[HarleyDog]

(12-13-2021, 11:28 AM)Crazyjdawg Wrote:  I think we could make a run next year if we just protect Burrow. He takes way too many "instant" sacks with this Oline.

This year isn't over yet. Sure we've had a few tough losses the last few weeks but despite it all we are still only one game back. It's a good place to be and TBH, if we put it together down the stretch, we would be gelling at the perfect time heading into the playoffs. The Oline is very concerning though so Pollack has some work to do. Our defense is playing well but are still giving up the middle and the deep ball concerns me quite a bit. The loss of Wilson for the year was huge and I'm not sure what the status is on Hendrickson. As for our offense, I'm baffled at the lack of success. Way to many weapons to utilize but the drops have killed us. Burrow still needs work byt he's a smart guy and hope he gets this figured out this year instead of next.

All-in-all, I think we still have a great shot to win a few playoff games. We just have to get our shit together.

[Southpaw Frerotte]

No the team is there (minus Darius Phillips who will never be "there"). Zac Taylor is the one who isn't "there" yet and I'm doubting he ever will be.

[leonardfan40]

Yesterday’s loss was tough to swallow. Offense did not look good, but if you remove Phillips from the equation we still probably win against a playoff (albeit mediocre playoff) team.

Season is not over. The next two games are huge though. If we can get to 9-6 while handing Baltimore another loss we’ll be in decent shape. If we can’t do that then we can start to think about next year.

Defense played well until the last minute of regulation. Offense got a little mojo late. This team doesn’t need to be great all year long. Just good enough to make the playoffs and hopefully get hot down the stretch.

They’ve put themselves in a position where their backs are against a wall, but they’ve also put themselves in a position where they’re playoff contenders in mid December. When they got blown out 2 games in a row earlier this year they responded. They’re in a similar position where they need to string tougher some wins or the season is lost. We’ll see how they respond, but it’s still too early to write this team off. Even after two tough losses. Everyone said how tough our stretch run was going to be. It was never going to be pretty but let’s see how it plays out.

[TheCincinnatiKid]

Yeah I personally think the response to our team this year has been a little harsh. But then the game day threads usually are.

We were the worst team in the league two years ago. We won 4 games last year. I know Burrow was out for a huge part, but we really weren't a very good team.

This year, we are a pretty decent team. The team building in the offseason has clearly made us better. Our First Rounder has made a big impact. Our franchise QB is making some dumb mistakes, but I feel is improving.

Sure the team has faltered more the further we've gone on, but the Franchise isn't used to winning. A lot of these guys and a lot of the coaching staff has spent the last 2 years losing, so it shouldn't be a shock when we end up on the losing side in a big game. That's not an excuse for it, just saying that sometimes teams need to get used to winning to be better teams when it matters most.

That's not me saying 'YAY 7-6!!!'... but I think if people are being reasonable we have clearly made substantial progress this year. Last year and the year before, we were this season's Jets/Jags/Texans. I know we lost to the Jets, but we're clearly FAR better than those teams currently. No that's not some great success, but it illustrates that we've improved.

The task next year will be to keep that trajectory going, and become the divisional leader and the playoff team we can be. We can still achieve that this year. If you'd have said at the beginning of the year that we'd be right in the mix with PIT/BAL/CLE (Who were all very good teams last year), I think most of us would've been happy with that.

The litmus test as always will be at least a playoff win. Until we achieve that, most of the statistical improvements won't really matter.

[*ochocincos*]

Personally, I didn't expect the team to be "there" this season anyway after going just 4-11-1 last year.
They are right about where I expected them to be - teetering around the middle of the middle of the pack.

[fredtoast]

(12-13-2021, 12:01 PM)leonardfan40 Wrote: Offense got a little mojo late. 

Despite our offense having zero turnovers we still just had 6 points halfway through the 4th quarter.

There is just no excuse for that.  We have too much talent on offense.  I am not saying we can put up 30 every game, but we sure as hell should have more than 2 FGs halfway through the 4th quarter.  Especially at home.

[Nicomo Cosca]

(12-13-2021, 01:00 PM)fredtoast Wrote: We had 6 points halfway through the 4th quarter.

There is just no excuse for that.  We have too much talent on offense.  I am not saying we can put up 30 every game, but we sure as hell should have more than 2 FGs halfway through the 4th quarter.  Especially at home.

Darius Phillips took away 2 drives from the offense. Now maybe they wouldn’t have scored any points on either of them, but 2 lost possessions is 2 lost possessions.

[*pally*]

(12-13-2021, 11:16 AM)WeezyBengal Wrote: They are making more mistakes now then they were in the beginning of the season...that's what I don't get.

This team was super disciplined and taking care of the football for the most part. The past few weeks it's all gone to hell.

they had no expectations of success from the outside world at the beginning of the season

[fredtoast]

Chargers and Niners are both "borderline" playoff teams.

If you can't beat teams like that on your home field then you are not going to make the playoffs.

[R3stangs]

(12-13-2021, 01:06 PM)pally Wrote: they had no expectations of success from the outside world at the beginning of the season

So its ok they're flailing now because they weren't supposed to be any good anyway?

[TheFan]

(12-13-2021, 12:01 PM)leonardfan40 Wrote: Yesterday’s loss was tough to swallow. Offense did not look good, but if you remove Phillips from the equation we still probably win against a playoff (albeit mediocre playoff) team.

Defense played well until the last minute of regulation. Offense got a little mojo late. This team doesn’t need to be great all year long. Just good enough to make the playoffs and hopefully get hot down the stretch.

Our offense wasn't really THAT bad yesterday though. We lost 2 possessions due to Phillips sucking at football and another from a Chase drop on our first series. 

We still scored (or should have scored) on 5 of our 9 possessions in regulation and 6 out of 10 including OT. 

I think a big problem in our losses continues to be bad play calling by ZT, especially once in FG range. The run, run, run, punt coming out of halftime and the not going for the win in OT are just two glaring examples of where he continues to fail the team. 

[R3stangs]

(12-13-2021, 01:00 PM)fredtoast Wrote: Despite our offense having zero turnovers we still just had 6 points halfway through the 4th quarter.

There is just no excuse for that.  We have too much talent on offense.  I am not saying we can put up 30 every game, but we sure as hell should have more than 2 FGs halfway through the 4th quarter.  Especially at home.

(12-13-2021, 01:10 PM)fredtoast Wrote: Chargers and Niners are both "borderline" playoff teams.

If you can't beat teams like that on your home field then you are not going to make the playoffs.

Both spot on.

[leonardfan40]

(12-13-2021, 01:00 PM)fredtoast Wrote: Despite our offense having zero turnovers we still just had 6 points halfway through the 4th quarter.

There is just no excuse for that.  We have too much talent on offense.  I am not saying we can put up 30 every game, but we sure as hell should have more than 2 FGs halfway through the 4th quarter.  Especially at home.

(12-13-2021, 01:04 PM)Nicomo Cosca Wrote: Darius Phillips took away 2 drives from the offense. Now maybe they wouldn’t have scored any points on either of them, but 2 lost possessions is 2 lost possessions.

Nicomo beat me to it. It’s easy to forget just how much 2 turnovers like that affect a game. More than just the score.

The Bengals only had 6 drives before their TD’s in the 4th. Obviously they should score a TD in their first 6 drives but they did move into FG range 3 times in 6 drives. The real disappointment was the first series where we stated inside the 49ers 45 and couldn’t even get into FG range. Bengals had 9 real possessions in regulation and if McPherson makes the FG they would have scored points on 5/9. Including TD’s on 2/9 or 22% of drives which is right in line with expected TD’s per drive.

By comparison the 49ers had 9 drives in that time (50% more drives/chances)Including 2 that lead to 10 points by starting inside FG range thanks to Phillips.

Offense wasn’t good yesterday but they weren’t as bad as some are making them out to be. Phillips single handedly gave that game away and the team still coulda/woulda/shoulda won in OT against a playoff team

[Tomkat]

Did the Bengals get any points on the drive where the Chase "TD" was overturned as a drop?

[FastEddie]

(12-13-2021, 05:07 PM)Tomkat Wrote: Did the Bengals get any points on the drive where the Chase "TD" was overturned as a drop?

Field Goal

[*Wyche'sWarrior*]

(12-13-2021, 11:28 AM)Crazyjdawg Wrote: I know this is a meme at this point, but I think next year is where we put it all together. This isn't like "maybe we'll do something next year" comments like we became so used to with Andy Dalton as our QB. We are actually an ascending team with Burrow leading us. We are set to have a lot of cap space next off season, even more after we cut Waynes, and our defense is only a few depth pieces away from being reliable enough to make this team top tier.

What we need to do is genuinely upgrade RG (not just take a project in the 2nd round, but actually sign a free agent that has shown they can play guard at a high level), retain Spain and upgrade center (Hopkins has improved but he's still below average). I'd also be open to upgrading LT and moving Williams to RT. We also need one new starter at CB (Apple has been good down the stretch and I'd like to retain him, but as a priority back up rather than a starter), but other than that I think we could make a run next year if we just protect Burrow. He takes way too many "instant" sacks with this Oline.

Yes, with this kind of space, you can keep a few guys like Apple and Hopkins as quality DEPTH, and upgrade them to start.

[*Wyche'sWarrior*]

(12-13-2021, 12:01 PM)leonardfan40 Wrote: Yesterday’s loss was tough to swallow. Offense did not look good, but if you remove Phillips from the equation we still probably win against a playoff (albeit mediocre playoff) team.

Season is not over. The next two games are huge though. If we can get to 9-6 while handing Baltimore another loss we’ll be in decent shape. If we can’t do that then we can start to think about next year.

Defense played well until the last minute of regulation. Offense got a little mojo late. This team doesn’t need to be great all year long. Just good enough to make the playoffs and hopefully get hot down the stretch.

They’ve put themselves in a position where their backs are against a wall, but they’ve also put themselves in a position where they’re playoff contenders in mid December. When they got blown out 2 games in a row earlier this year they responded. They’re in a similar position where they need to string tougher some wins or the season is lost. We’ll see how they respond, but it’s still too early to write this team off. Even after two tough losses. Everyone said how tough our stretch run was going to be. It was never going to be pretty but let’s see how it plays out.

Fair points, and just like they haven't been able to win three in a row this year, they've yet to lose three in a row.