Best Bengals Team Ever?

[reuben.ahmed]

(11-06-2015, 09:49 PM)Awful Llama Wrote: But they got to the Super Bowl, that's the point.  We're not grading on a curve, here.  Those teams were special because they were this close to a world championship.  :34 in one instance.  If this team plays in a Super Bowl, regardless of the outcome, and they best the 12-4 regular season records of those '81 and '88 squads, then then you bet I will join you in saying they're the best Bengal team, ever.  Period.  But, sorry, not a minute before and certainly not with an entire half of a season left to play. 

So why isn't there a curve again?

E.g. when Jordan was playing, you're not winning a championship. He probably would have had 9 in a row if he didn't retire. It's a little different when competition MAY be better, one will never know.

[*bengalfan74*]

Half way through the season ? No

Do they have the potential to be ? Absolutely

And I think they will be !

[*Awful Llama*]

(11-06-2015, 09:51 PM)reuben.ahmed Wrote: So why isn't there a curve again?

E.g. when Jordan was playing, you're not winning a championship. He probably would have had 9 in a row if he didn't retire. It's a little different when competition MAY be better, one will never know.

We're not discussing an absolute.  In my opinion, this team hasn't bested the success of the '81 and '88 teams.  When they do, in my opinion, then I'll be happy to say they're the best team. 

You get that I want to do that, right?  I'm just not ready to do it now when all this team is assured of at the present is a season no worse than 8-8. 

But...

[Atomic Orange]

(11-06-2015, 05:12 PM)wolfkaosaun Wrote: butplayoffwins

Igetit but on the other hand doesn't it seem just a bit silly to judge a team on 1-3 games versus 16? Say a 7-9 Colts team makes the playoffs, gets hot for a game and beats us...or see the wild card Giants make the playoffs and beat the 16-0 Patriots in the SB.

[fredtoast]

Okay. all of you guys who can not form an opinion until the playoffs are over can just go away until February. No need to say anything until then.

[wolfkaosaun]

(11-06-2015, 05:47 PM)fredtoast Wrote: The '81 and '88 teams both had postseason losses, while the '15 team has zero.

The '81 and '88 teams both had multiple postseason wins, while the '15 team has zero.

[wolfkaosaun]

(11-06-2015, 10:18 PM)fredtoast Wrote: Okay.  all of you guys who can not form an opinion until the playoffs are over can just go away until February.  No need to say anything until then.

That is my opinion. If they can't win in the playoffs then they are not the best Bengals team ever.

I'm not going to rank a team that has zero playoff wins against two teams that won conference championships.

Does it have potential to be better? Absolutely. But I'm not going to say they are the best just yet.

Sorry my opinion isn't "Hey they're 8-0, best team ever".

I mean, the Chiefs went 9-0, didn't turn out to be better than their '69 team that won the Super Bowl. Or their '97, '95, or '94 team.
They were 1 and done after being 9-0.

[Sovereign Nation]

(11-06-2015, 09:49 PM)Awful Llama Wrote: But they got to the Super Bowl, that's the point.  We're not grading on a curve, here.  Those teams were special because they were this close to a world championship.  :34 in one instance.  If this team plays in a Super Bowl, regardless of the outcome, and they best the 12-4 regular season records of those '81 and '88 squads, then then you bet I will join you in saying they're the best Bengal team, ever.  Period.  But, sorry, not a minute before and certainly not with an entire half of a season left to play. 

You may not be grading on a curve.  However, I will always look at the broader picture when giving out my analysis and opinion.

Tell me who do you think had the better SB victory, Eli or Peyton?  I mean Peyton beat the Bears but Eli knocked off the undefeated NE Patriots.  Then Eli beat the Patriots for a 2nd SB victory.

According to you, all 3 teams are the Best teams ever for their respective organizations.  However Eli's 1st SB has to be ranked as the BEST of the 3 teams based off of the other factors involved.

I look at what team the Bengals could face in the playoffs.  Right now we are in a race for a 1st round bye.  Now if we don't get it and have to play WC weekend and we get a banged up or inexperienced team and beat them, sure it will remove the playoff stigma, but then we would have to travel to NE or Denver and also play a strong experienced squad (unless of course the team has some key injuries), which means we could come up short.  If you were to put those teams of yesteryear in the same situation, would they be able to come up with the win?  I am guessing no, they would lose.

Even with a Bye, we could still have to contend with either the Patriots or the Broncos, depending on the seeding and who wins WC weekend.  If we were to draw a 2nd seed and get Pats or Broncos, then we could be 1 and done again.  Again, if you were to put the past teams in this situation, would they be able to come up with a win?  I am also guessing no, they would lose.  Of course this is just based off of my speculation and there is no way to know for sure.

I actually think this team is the best team ever, because it gives us the best chance to win a SB.  People talk about the maturity and how much fun everyone is having.  I agree with those, but I am also seeing a focus that seemed to be missing before.  I don't see any team knocking us out of the playoffs due to this focus.  I just don't see anyone willing to give up, they wouldn't want to hear for another year, "Yeah, but the playoffs...", and that seems to be the biggest difference in this team.

[McC]

(11-06-2015, 05:31 PM)Awful Llama Wrote: We have two AFC Championship teams in this franchise's history.  If the '15 team wants to be considered the best, they'll have to at least get to a Super Bowl to do it.  A 14-2 record and early exit in the divisional round of the playoffs won't mean jack shit.  Get to the big dance, then I'll happily talk best ever.  Until then: '81 & '88 > '15.

To this point in the season, they are the best ever, without question.

[StLucieBengal]

I don't know the 81 team well enough. I was only 5.

But I am not ready to say they are better than 88 yet . But they are getting closer and closer .

[PDub80]

In terms of talent, yes. I believe that, as a whole, this is the best Bengals team ever.

The jury will be out over the next few months on the final result and ranking.

[Curtis85]

(11-07-2015, 04:11 AM)McC Wrote: To this point in the season, they are the best ever, without question.

Unfortunately there are no "to this point in the season" awards. Bengals can go 16-0 but if they don't win a playoff game or two what will every one be saying ?

[PDub80]

(11-07-2015, 10:00 AM)Curtis85 Wrote: Unfortunately there are no "to this point in the season" awards. Bengals can go 16-0 but if they don't win a playoff game or two what will every one be saying ?

I will be saying that they are 5 years into a rebuild and have their stars lined up to continue to build a champion and forge a dynasty culture. This year is not make or break. This group is forging new territory for themselves.

They can do it (in a Superbowl) this year, yes, but if they don't break through I, personally, have seen enough to be excited for the organization as a whole moving forward. The Bengals are 1st class in the NFL all the way. No question.

[GreenCornBengal]

Lets make this argument simpler.

Best regular season Bengals squad? -- Quite possibly so.

Best Bengals squad -- TBD in playoffs.

[fredtoast]

(11-07-2015, 10:00 AM)Curtis85 Wrote: Unfortunately there are no "to this point in the season" awards. Bengals can go 16-0 but if they don't win a playoff game or two what will every one be saying ?

Well unfortunately we can not see into the future, yet we still like to talk about football right now.

Our choices are talk football now or not say anything until after the playoffs are over.  I prefer to talk some football right now.

We can't really talk about how good of a QB Dalton is until he retires, but I am not going to wait for that either.

[*Awful Llama*]

(11-07-2015, 03:13 AM)Sovereign Nation Wrote: You may not be grading on a curve.  However, I will always look at the broader picture when giving out my analysis and opinion.

Tell me who do you think had the better SB victory, Eli or Peyton?  I mean Peyton beat the Bears but Eli knocked off the undefeated NE Patriots.  Then Eli beat the Patriots for a 2nd SB victory.

According to you, all 3 teams are the Best teams ever for their respective organizations.  However Eli's 1st SB has to be ranked as the BEST of the 3 teams based off of the other factors involved.

I look at what team the Bengals could face in the playoffs.  Right now we are in a race for a 1st round bye.  Now if we don't get it and have to play WC weekend and we get a banged up or inexperienced team and beat them, sure it will remove the playoff stigma, but then we would have to travel to NE or Denver and also play a strong experienced squad (unless of course the team has some key injuries), which means we could come up short.  If you were to put those teams of yesteryear in the same situation, would they be able to come up with the win?  I am guessing no, they would lose.

Even with a Bye, we could still have to contend with either the Patriots or the Broncos, depending on the seeding and who wins WC weekend.  If we were to draw a 2nd seed and get Pats or Broncos, then we could be 1 and done again.  Again, if you were to put the past teams in this situation, would they be able to come up with a win?  I am also guessing no, they would lose.  Of course this is just based off of my speculation and there is no way to know for sure.

I actually think this team is the best team ever, because it gives us the best chance to win a SB.  People talk about the maturity and how much fun everyone is having.  I agree with those, but I am also seeing a focus that seemed to be missing before.  I don't see any team knocking us out of the playoffs due to this focus.  I just don't see anyone willing to give up, they wouldn't want to hear for another year, "Yeah, but the playoffs...", and that seems to be the biggest difference in this team.

Not sure why I'd give a flying **** about Eli's Super Bowl win or anyone else, none of which is in any way relevent to this conversation.  We're talking about the best Bengal team of all time, and IN MY OPINION (since you see your opions as absolutes), an AFC Championship beats an 8-0 regular season record.

Good for you you think they're the best team ever.  High five yourself and move on.  We disagree.   This team is 8-0, which at this moment means they are guarenteed ONLY of being no worse than 8-8.  I believe an AFC championship trumps that.    Let me say it again: an AFC Championship, i.e., actually playing in the Super Bowl, beats a regular-season record of 8-0 with no guarentee of anything afterward.  And, there is no guarentee.  They could sfinish 14-2, get a bye and then lose to a Steelers Wildcard team.  Do you still consider them the best Bengal team ever at that point?  If not, then why call them that now when they haven't played a down in the post-season?

Like I told the other guy, you wanna crown their ass, then ago ahead.  I genuinely hope you're right, you're just not right yet, in my opinion. 

(11-07-2015, 04:11 AM)McC Wrote: To this point in the season, they are the best ever, without question.

As far as regular season performance at the mid-way point, I agree totally. 

[BengalChris]

(11-06-2015, 10:18 PM)fredtoast Wrote: Okay.  all of you guys who can not form an opinion until the playoffs are over can just go away until February.  No need to say anything until then.

I have an opinion, it is that this team is the best I've seen since the 1988 team. The 2009 team doesn't even come into the best ever discussion.

Best Bengals team ever? Not yet it isn't. It needs a completed season to earn that moniker.