Random Thoughts from after the game

[*PhilHos*]

0) There's no doubt that we win this game with Dalton and it would not have come down to an ending like what we just experienced.

1) That Steelers touchdown shouldn't have counted. Dude bobbled the ball between his first and second step and then dove out of bounds

2) If Gio was an established runner and didn't get the penalty, so was the Steelers receiver earlier and no penalty should've been called then.

3) Shazier should've still been called for a foul. At the very least throw the flag before deciding there was no penalty.

D) The penalty on Burfict at the end was a good call but the one on Jones was bullshit. Unless Jones punched another dude in the dick them the refs should've not called anything. Let the PLAYERS decide the outcome, not the refs.

4) I like Hill but I want him gone. Gio is better and is capable of being our main RB. Hills fumble cost us the game.

5) I hope Hue becomes a HC tomorrow and would like to see Zampese replace him.

6) Guenther has his issues but I don't want him going to another team.

7) Marvin needs to go. He's taken the team as far as he can and we need to find someone who will take us the rest of the way (maybe Bill Cowher would be interested?

8) I would love to hear the PLAYERS and coaches call out the refs for that foul on Jones but I know it won't happen.

9) I hope the Broncos embarrass Pittsburgh next week. Like 100 to -3 embarrass.

Your thoughts?

[tjcase85]

So many calls in favor of the steelers it's sickening. Refs wanted them to win. Last week on sports center they were talking about Ben vs Manning showdown...

With dalton in it would have been 56-15.

[hitchopottimus]

1) The most disappointing thing for me when it comes to the coaching isn't the "Oh noes, they lost control of the players." narrative that the media is trying to sell. It was one penalty on a football play that was unfortunate, but wasn't anywhere near a cheap shot or out of control, and one mess that I still don't have a clear idea what in the hell it was. How that turns into, "we've lost control of everyone," I don't know. What disappoints me most is the decision to put the ball in Hill's hand on the last offensive possession. In a game where the ball is slipping out of everyone's hands, the D is going for a strip, in a situation where the FG is already in hand, with a D who doesn't give up TDs, why are you running the ball with a RB that isn't known for being completely sure-handed? Take a knee, a give it to Burkhead, anything but that.

2) I hate CBS, Jim Nantz, and Phil Simms more than I ever thought possible before this game.

3) AJ McCarron is a good prospect and a good backup. He's not Andy Dalton right now, and this is Andy Dalton's team. I think it was telling that Andy injures himself trying to make a tackle after throwing an interception, giving it his all. McCarron throws an interception and then just stands there. Dalton has something special about him. I don't see it in AJ.

4) If the media and the NFL are determined to make us the bad guys, I'm about ready to embrace it. Go all Patriots Eff You to the entire league. Run up scores, be the bad boys, and generally don't give a crap.

5) The call on Burfict was the right call. The moralizing about it being a cheap shot isn't warranted, IMO. It isn't worth a suspension, like the announcers suggested. The idea that Burfict should be further punished for that, but the hit on Gio was merely "unfortunate" makes me more mad than anything.

6) I'm okay with moving on from Marvin if, and ONLY if, the Bengals have their guy to be his replacement in their back pocket. I'm not willing to move on from Marvin just to see what's out there. Better Marvin than a jump on the coaching carousel of doom. That's a sure way back to the '90s era of complete ineptidude. Can't bring myself to want Cowher.

7) I hate the Steelers.

[BonnieBengal]

(01-10-2016, 03:48 AM)hitchopottimus Wrote: 1) The most disappointing thing for me when it comes to the coaching isn't the "Oh noes, they lost control of the players." narrative that the media is trying to sell. It was one penalty on a football play that was unfortunate, but wasn't anywhere near a cheap shot or out of control, and one mess that I still don't have a clear idea what in the hell it was. How that turns into, "we've lost control of everyone," I don't know. What disappoints me most is the decision to put the ball in Hill's hand on the last offensive possession. In a game where the ball is slipping out of everyone's hands, the D is going for a strip, in a situation where the FG is already in hand, with a D who doesn't give up TDs, why are you running the ball with a RB that isn't known for being completely sure-handed? Take a knee, a give it to Burkhead, anything but that.

2) I hate CBS, Jim Nantz, and Phil Simms more than I ever thought possible before this game.

3) AJ McCarron is a good prospect and a good backup. He's not Andy Dalton right now, and this is Andy Dalton's team. I think it was telling that Andy injures himself trying to make a tackle after throwing an interception, giving it his all. McCarron throws an interception and then just stands there. Dalton has something special about him. I don't see it in AJ.

4) If the media and the NFL are determined to make us the bad guys, I'm about ready to embrace it. Go all Patriots Eff You to the entire league. Run up scores, be the bad boys, and generally don't give a crap.

5) The call on Burfict was the right call. The moralizing about it being a cheap shot isn't warranted, IMO. It isn't worth a suspension, like the announcers suggested. The idea that Burfict should be further punished for that, but the hit on Gio was merely "unfortunate" makes me more mad than anything.

6) I'm okay with moving on from Marvin if, and ONLY if, the Bengals have their guy to be his replacement in their back pocket. I'm not willing to move on from Marvin just to see what's out there. Better Marvin than a jump on the coaching carousel of doom. That's a sure way back to the '90s era of complete ineptidude. Can't bring myself to want Cowher.

7) I hate the Steelers.

Number 7 X 1000.

2:  I would assume Hue would be the guy in the back pocket.  

[BigSeph]

1. You don't run the ball on the opponents 20 yard line with 1:38 left. You kneel 3x, use their timeouts, force them to go the length of the field with no timeouts and get into the endzone.

2. You don't run the ball on the opponents 20 yard line with 1:38 left in a rainy wet game with the Steelers trying to rip the ball out 24/7.

3. Burfict got caught in a bad spot. He had to see if the catch was made, he's a LB and is taught to watch the body, he was steaming @ Antonio. If he wanted to destroy Brown he could have done a lot worse than tucking his elbow and trying to run by him.

4. The Gio hit was an obvious penalty, I've seen it called numerous times in the NFL this year. Piss poor officiating crew and that was the moment things escalated.

5. This crap about 'Andy would have won 56-15' does a huge disservice to what McCarron did tonight on the field. He stunk in the first half, had issues with the wet football, and in the 4th quarter put 2 TDs and a FG on the board. That was a gutty performance, he adapted, improved as the game went on, and there are a lot of teams with young QBs like Jameis Winston, Derek Carr, Blake Bortles etc who would be thrilled with that kind of performance out of their young QBs in their first playoff start. It's not going to be easy. Watch what happens with Bridgewater tomorrow - he's going to get rolled up and smoked. McCarron threw what should have been a game-winning TD with less than 2 minutes to go.

And his QB rating from today was higher than any playoff game Andy Dalton has ever played in (and lost). He had the Bengals within 3 kneeldowns of beating the Steelers and winning the first playoff game in years for the Bengals.

The TD to Green was his 2nd or 3rd read, and against zone coverage. Most of the criticisms lobbed against him on this board are completely irrational. He needs experience, reps, and time and he looks every bit like a perennial Pro Bowl QB in the NFL. The Bengals don't need to start him over Andy, but they have an asset that they can get value from during the offseason. Draft another QB this year to serve as Andy's backup.

6. If I were the Bengals GM/owner I would have fired Marvin Lewis with time left on the clock. I would hire a coach from the outside who would come in and show the plays that cost the team this playoff game and remind the players that they aren't just letting down the coach but they are betraying all of the hard work and dedication that every other teammate puts into each and every NFL game. Every time they are jawing with the other team, they are risking all of that hard work going down the drain because of their own selfish stupidity.

If Pacman and Burfict get upset over that tense filmroom session on day 1, I cut Pacman and bench Burfict for the 1st game.

I'd be less likely to cut Burfict because he is a baller and he won the game for the team before he lost the game for the team. But again, he was in such a tough spot and all things considered the fact that he didn't try to destroy Brown shows that he has the potential to get over his self-control issues. He needs a coach who says "this won't fly" and then actually punishes him. Not a coach who coddles him. But without doubt he was a difference-maker on the defense tonight and he put it all out there for the team.

7. The NFL needs to fine Porter and Munchak for their behavior tonight. Inexcusable. Shazier and Porter should both be suspended for the next game.

8. The NFL is turning into the WWE. Staged, fixed, teams they want to see win because they draw better crowds. The fact that Nantz and Simms commentated on that game in such a one-sided fashion, quick to dismiss the Shazier hit as perfectly legal but then jumping all over the Burfict hit, it really is approaching the level of the Kings/Lakers playoff series that cured me from caring about NBA basketball. In this game the players did not decide the outcome. The refs did. They didn't flag Shazier. They didn't flag Porter for jawing on the field. Eifert got targeted and nobody called it. A guy dove at Eifert's head on the ground and nobody called it. I don't want this to sound like sour grapes, but if the NFL had put their best officiating crew on this game, it would have been called differently.

9. Whitworth got abused early and McCarron looked like crap. Hue started calling more 3/5-step drops and the problem quickly went away. Hue should have fixed that a lot earlier than halfway through the 3rd quarter. And that 2-pt conversion playcall was the worst 2-pt conversion play in the history of sports. I don't even think Jr. High teams call such bad plays. The only way that play works is if you get a crash blitz from that side of the field, and it certainly didn't happen.

10. A lot to be excited about in the future, this is a loaded roster. What it needs is a coach who will hold the players and other coaches accountable. One that holds the refs accountable. One that loses his freaking mind on the sidelines when his guy gets knocked out. One that loses his mind even worse when his player gets flagged for hitting someone with his shoulder. One that refuses to be the patsy in a system that seems to want the Steelers to win. One that makes his entire team leave the field while Brown is on the ground so there's not even the potential for jawing and another 15-yard penalty.