October 19, 20159 yr ^Well, to be honest, there is a lot less talent on the team the past two years than Dusty had. My problems with Dusty were never related to things like motivation or getting the team on board with his concept. Instead, I didn't like the outdated approach to the game--not understanding the importance of getting on base, never using his best relievers when it mattered most, blindly trotting out guys to play every day that had no business doing so, just because they were veterans. He manages baseball like it is still 1984, but the game has progressed a ton since then (a lot of it thanks to understanding and using advanced statistics). But if you think that the current team has anywhere close to the talent that the 2010 or 2012 teams had, I don't know what to tell you. The Reds had a run of something like 65 straight games started by rookies to end the season, which was either the most all time or since 1900 (I can't recall which). Unless those rookies are the Oakland Big 3 of 15 years ago, that is not a recipe for winning baseball.
October 19, 20159 yr Maybe, but Price lost the first half of the season too. Votto was out injured when Dusty was dumped.
October 19, 20159 yr 6-0 going into the bye week. Not much to complain about. I take back my statement before the season that I would trade Andy Dalton straight up for Jay Cutler. Nope, team is playing well. Big fan of Hue Jackson.
November 2, 20159 yr They seemed to really be feeling the nerves today, or something. But have to be happy that they could play so poorly and still beat a pretty good Steelers team on the road. This is certainly the type of game the Bengals would have lost in the past.
November 2, 20159 yr The team is 7-0 and there are still all these people out there saying they're not that good, waiting for some sort of spectacular collapse. The problem with yesterday's game, according to those people, is that we didn't blow them out. Even if The Bengals blow out every opponent by 21 points and win the superbowl, these people will still claim it was all a fluke.
November 2, 20159 yr ^No, the problem with yesterday's game is that the offense looked anemic, and Andy Dalton had a playoff-esque performance, which stands in stark contrast to the Dalton and offense of the first 6 games. It was great to beat the Steelers, and I'm really glad the defense came to play and that we are 7-0, but Andy can't struggle like that and expect to win too many games. After losing our first playoff game the past four years in a row, I think it's understandable to be cautiously optimistic yet critical of this team. They're showing that they have what it takes to get back to the playoffs so far, which is great, but until they win a playoff game, I think a lot of people are going to be a little skeptical of the Bengals- fair or not.
November 2, 20159 yr Is it possible to give Pittsburgh's D some credit for yesterday. That was a slugfest and we sent a worthy brute home to cry.
November 2, 20159 yr What was hilarious was that various sports gurus in town like Lance McAlister, etc., were predicting a high-scoring game. It's amazing how the predictions of these experts are so wrong all the time, yet they're still recognized as experts.
November 2, 20159 yr In a rivalry game like Pittsburgh and Cincinnati, most of the time you can throw out the records, especially when you are talking about the NFL. I think more than anything, Cincinnati came out rusty from the bye week, which can happen at times. They then were committing bad penalties once they got into Pittsburgh territory, shooting themselves in the foot. I was getting a bit frustrated with Hugh Jackson because it seemed they kept messing up when they were running their odd formations with 6 lineman, etc. but I digress. The key here is, the Bengals did everything they could do to lose the game, including a pick in the end zone and putitng themselves out of field goal range because of penalties, yet they still won the game. Also throw in bobbled snaps by Dalton, etc. This shows how talented this team is and how they can find a rhythm when they need to. They found it in the fourth quarter just before Dalton threw the pick in the end zone. But they continued to fight and got the ball back, drove down and scored on a quick slant to AJ Green. They then intercepted again and iced it with a field goal (I don't understand why they didn't try to go for the first down, but my guess is that Marvin Lewis trusted his defense). This team is very good, no doubt.
November 6, 20159 yr Best Bengals team I have seen since the last Super Bowl team. Might be better than that team. Very well-rounded. No apparent weaknesses.
November 6, 20159 yr Best Bengals team I have seen since the last Super Bowl team. Might be better than that team. Very well-rounded. No apparent weaknesses. People from Cincinnati who started following other teams in the 90s are pissed. They have delighted in ragging on The Bengals all these years and suddenly their own team is The Bengals.
November 6, 20159 yr Best Bengals team I have seen since the last Super Bowl team. Might be better than that team. Very well-rounded. No apparent weaknesses. People from Cincinnati who started following other teams in the 90s are pissed. They have delighted in ragging on The Bengals all these years and suddenly their own team is The Bengals. I know one of those guys from college. West side Cinci born and raised. "Huge Patriots fan." Super obnoxious.
November 6, 20159 yr Best Bengals team I have seen since the last Super Bowl team. Might be better than that team. Very well-rounded. No apparent weaknesses. People from Cincinnati who started following other teams in the 90s are pissed. They have delighted in ragging on The Bengals all these years and suddenly their own team is The Bengals. I know one of those guys from college. West side Cinci born and raised. "Huge Patriots fan." Super obnoxious. It's okay to have a second team that you follow if you have a good reason for it. For example, I know a guy whose uncle played for the Redskins, so he's always followed them. But most of these guys just pick a team out of thin air to follow.
November 17, 20159 yr There is still something missing. Why does the team fail time in and time out in prime time?
November 17, 20159 yr I honestly think the primetime thing is a coincidence. We won last week in prime time. It wasn't pretty for the first half, but we won. And honestly, we have struggled a lot of games this season and probably shouldn't have been undefeated until now. Baltimore and Pittsburgh could have beaten us already and Seattle should have beaten us. We have our flaws. This week was just an example of all of the wheels falling off. Our defense did a great job overall and held the Texans to two scores. Pretty good IMO. Eifert dropped 3 easy first downs. Dalton could have had more interceptions if the Texans' secondary could have held on to the ball. Green had a fumble on the final drive. Our offense just couldn't produce good drives. We'll pick up the pieces and prepare for next week. We've got a good Cardinals team we have to beat and then an effective Rams team. We have to win at least one of those two games and hopefully both.
November 17, 20159 yr There is still something missing. Why does the team fail time in and time out in prime time? Except for when they do win and somehow everyone forgets about it. Listening to sports fans look at one play or one game as an indicator of a trend is hilarious. The play of teams and individual players often varies wildly from game to game, often just by chance. It's like following an IPO. Its day-to-day fluctuations make no sense. If that nice Pacman return hadn't been called back or Eiffert, etc., had caught just a few of the 5+ catchable passes they dropped, The Bengals would have won that game. Also the Texas TD pass was too perfect to replicate. That was an incredibly lucky play. After Hoyer went down I was anticipating a pick-6 or the ball being knocked loose on a sack and a glorious Bengals win. In fact it's amazing that the backup QB held onto the ball when he was sacked on the last drive. There was nobody behind him to stop us from trotting into the end zone.
November 17, 20159 yr ^Jake, you have it exactly right. Catch a couple of those passes, the punt return, etc., it's a different ball game. I would add that they had too many dumb penalties like false starts, etc. when they were on 1st down. I will also say that Andy Dalton could not get off the quick pass like her normally does and the rush was coming quickly. The Texans have the best 3rd down defense in the league, and JJ Watt is the reason. They could easily pin their ears back in the front 7 and play press coverage on 1st and 15, 2nd and 11, 3rd and 8, etc. This took away the quick pass but also pressured Dalton, it was a good game plan. All of those penalties were drive killers, it seemed like they had 10 of them, really sloppy. Dalton missed a throw here or there but overall he played fairly well. Eifert had at least 3 dropped passes, and there were a couple more where the receiver didn't hold onto the ball after it hitting them in their chest and getting hit from behind. Overall, the Bengals are still in really good shape and Dalton and the rest of the offense should be better prepared for Arizona after facing a stiff defense like the Texans.
November 17, 20159 yr Best Bengals team I have seen since the last Super Bowl team. Might be better than that team. Very well-rounded. No apparent weaknesses. People from Cincinnati who started following other teams in the 90s are pissed. They have delighted in ragging on The Bengals all these years and suddenly their own team is The Bengals. I know one of those guys from college. West side Cinci born and raised. "Huge Patriots fan." Super obnoxious. It's okay to have a second team that you follow if you have a good reason for it. For example, I know a guy whose uncle played for the Redskins, so he's always followed them. But most of these guys just pick a team out of thin air to follow. A couple of my friends that are Browns fans have the Browns and have selected another team to be their "good team". One has picked the Redskins and another follows the Texans. The problem arises when their "good teams" aren't good either.
November 17, 20159 yr ^Jake, you have it exactly right. Catch a couple of those passes, the punt return, etc., it's a different ball game. I would add that they had too many dumb penalties like false starts, etc. when they were on 1st down. I will also say that Andy Dalton could not get off the quick pass like her normally does and the rush was coming quickly. The Texans have the best 3rd down defense in the league, and JJ Watt is the reason. They could easily pin their ears back in the front 7 and play press coverage on 1st and 15, 2nd and 11, 3rd and 8, etc. This took away the quick pass but also pressured Dalton, it was a good game plan. All of those penalties were drive killers, it seemed like they had 10 of them, really sloppy. Dalton missed a throw here or there but overall he played fairly well. Eifert had at least 3 dropped passes, and there were a couple more where the receiver didn't hold onto the ball after it hitting them in their chest and getting hit from behind. Overall, the Bengals are still in really good shape and Dalton and the rest of the offense should be better prepared for Arizona after facing a stiff defense like the Texans. Sure enough, right after I wrote this I overheard some guys at work making all sorts of wild assertions. Somehow these 55-60 year-olds with zero money in the bank or in retirement would have made all the right calls and made all those catches and made those picks.
November 25, 20159 yr Why does an NFL agree to lose a home game too play in London??? That's money lost to the city.
November 25, 20159 yr ^ The NFL reimburses the team and pays them what they would have made for a home game sellout, so the Bengals themselves don't lose any money, they just lose the home field advantage, but gain some exposure which I assume they think is good for marketing overseas. The city/county is the biggest loser in all of this, since the stadium that the Bengals let the public into for a few hours 10 times a year will only be open 9 times next year, instead of 10. This just illustrates that once again the Bengals organization has little respect for the taxpayers, but I wouldn't expect them to given how much of a pushover the county has been for decades now. The new lease signed last year actually allows the Bengals to play 2 'home games' in other countries every year, so I guess we should be happy it's only one (for now).
November 25, 20159 yr Although this was part of how the county was able to remove the height restriction at The Banks "It's just fate, as usual, keeping its bargain and screwing us in the fine print..." - John Crichton
November 25, 20159 yr Anyone want to go? I'm going to watch from the Northgate Mall Longhorn Steakhouse
November 25, 20159 yr Anyone want to go? I'm going to watch from the Northgate Mall Longhorn Steakhouse I heard there's a really great, drug addicted waitress there!
November 25, 20159 yr Longhorn is in London: http://www.yelp.com/search?find_desc=longhorn+steakhouse&find_loc=London
December 7, 20159 yr After the last two weeks, the Texans and Cardinals losses look a lot more like very close losses to an improving team that has our number (Texans) and one of the five best teams in the league. This Sunday will tell a lot. With the schedule down the stretch, this game IMO will really determine if the Bengals have a shot at the number 1 seed. You would like to think that they can win at San Fran and beat the Ravens (without Flacco and many others) at home. If they beat the Steelers--who many pundits (like Peter King) are talking up as a top 5 team, just with some bad luck this year--then a 13-3 record looks like a real possibility. That Monday night game in Denver could have an amazing amount on the line. (And after some of the terrible games that ESPN has had for Monday Night Football, I bet they can't wait for that one to arrive.)
December 8, 20159 yr I thought this was satire until I saw the author name, I had almost forgotten about the Dean of Cincinnati entirely! Opinion: Who Dey has a troubling history Look for the d-words: “dey,” “dat,” “dem.” What are they doing in there? The words should actually be “they,” “that,” and “them” (though, admittedly, “Who They” doesn’t quite have the same appeal). Though I studied linguistics and African American literature in college, I’m pretty sure most of us need no background in either of those things to see the relationship here: dey, dat, and dem are versions of they, that, and them typically found in Black English, or Gullah, or Creole English, or Ebonics, or any number of English dialects tracing their roots back to African language. Our beloved chant imitates Black English.
December 8, 20159 yr ^I always thought "dey" in this case was a contraction of "do they". Since the whole phrase, if grammatically correct, would be "Who do they think are going to beat those Bengals?" Also, I'm pretty sure the lyrics are "Who dey think gonna beat them Bengals". The song doesn't utilize "dem" over "them". So, I think this premise is an unfortunate coincidence that shouldn't be read into too closely. EDIT: A lot of conflicting sources stating either "dem" or "them". A video of the scoreboard during the song utilizes "dem". I still don't know if the origin can necessarily be traced back to a racist origin, but who knows. We can't even agree on how it got started or whether it came before "Who Dat", so idk.
December 8, 20159 yr About ten years ago somebody looked into the history of the Bengals chant and could not point at the exact person or time when it started. It definitely dates back to Freezerbowl/Superbowl XVII, but how much earlier nobody knows. Chances are it was simply started by somebody in the stands who moved here from New Orleans. In the 80s and 90s there was also some guy who had the most insane chant of all time...he'd wait until the crowd was pretty settled down in the third or fourth quarter, and then you'd hear it: "GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOBENGALS!"
December 8, 20159 yr I thought this was satire until I saw the author name, I had almost forgotten about the Dean of Cincinnati entirely! Opinion: Who Dey has a troubling history Look for the d-words: “dey,” “dat,” “dem.” What are they doing in there? The words should actually be “they,” “that,” and “them” (though, admittedly, “Who They” doesn’t quite have the same appeal). Though I studied linguistics and African American literature in college, I’m pretty sure most of us need no background in either of those things to see the relationship here: dey, dat, and dem are versions of they, that, and them typically found in Black English, or Gullah, or Creole English, or Ebonics, or any number of English dialects tracing their roots back to African language. Our beloved chant imitates Black English. To paraphrase the article: "Who-dey might potentially possibly sort of could be problematic, maybe, and I just want all of us to acknowledge that for a moment..."
December 13, 20159 yr Sadly you can throw a fork into the Bengals. I swear this town is cursed. I think that's why it's always not busy in the Thread compared to the Browns. We just knew something would mess something up.
December 13, 20159 yr I guess Cincinnatians have just been reminded that "On Any Given Sunday" is the NFL's standard rule of thumb. :-(
December 13, 20159 yr Second time in 10 years the QB is injured by Pittsburgh. Ugh! “All truly great thoughts are conceived while walking.” -Friedrich Nietzsche
December 14, 20159 yr McCarron looked pretty decent for coming off the bench in a huge rivalry game against the dirtiest team in football. So long as the rest of the offense stays healthy I'm not ruling the Bengals out just yet. They are absolutely going to make the playoffs, and I'm not afraid of too many other teams once they're there. The real issue right now is the secondary - they need to get healthy because the defense that played yesterday got lit up - the Steelers completed 30 out of 39 passes.
December 14, 20159 yr Likely out for the season. May be able to return in the playoffs, but the team isn't sure yet.
December 14, 20159 yr I just thought about the Bengals situation for a few minutes after my last post, and I’m far less concerned about Dalton being out for the rest of the regular season than I was. The Bengals are still second overall in the AFC, in position for a first round playoff bye (which could be huge depending on Dalton’s recovery time). Next week the Bengals play the 49ers, who just got beat by the Browns, meaning it should still be an easy win for the Bengals, even without Dalton, especially after McCarron gets a full week’s worth of practice (I think the Browns would love to have a guy like McCarron starting for them, as would several NFL teams). The weekend after, at Denver, could be a matchup between two backup quarterbacks to determine who gets the bye, in which case the advantage likely goes to Cincinnati, as Osweiler isn’t very good. The Ravens shouldn’t be a difficult game at home in the final week, either.
December 14, 20159 yr We were suffering from a lot of injuries during the Steelers game. The Dalton injury was just on top of a slew of other high profile players injured. I expect the Bengals to win against the 49ers and Ravens. That would leave us with a 12-4 record if we lose to the Broncos. The Broncos have a much harder schedule playing the Steelers and Chargers. If the Bengals can win the other two games, I'm not sure it will matter if we beat the Broncos to get that first week bye. If we beat the Broncos, it's almost guaranteed. Hopefully the Patriots lose out and we can get home field, but I'm not very confident that will happen.
December 14, 20159 yr How quickly everyone forgets that OSU won the national championship last year with their backup-backup quarterback. That would be like if The Bengals had to call up Jordan Palmer...right now. The dude is probably working at a call center. Obviously getting the first round bye takes on an even greater significance now. I don't really understand why the NFL schedules the bye weeks so early in the season. I think it would be better if they were centered around weeks 10-12.
December 15, 20159 yr ^Yeah, and the fact that the Bengals lost in the playoffs 3 years ago to Houston's backup QB TJ Yates. Actually, he might have been the 3rd string too, now that I think about it...
December 15, 20159 yr McCarron has a better arm than Dalton, that's for certain. But he didn't have the timing Dalton has, especially on the interception of the bubble screen and missing AJ Green when he was open between the corner and safety when they were running cover 2, I think in the 4th quarter. All that said, he does look like a nice quarterback and he is a winner, having shown that at Alabama. I can guarantee that he will play a better game against the 9ers. The Steelers are a really tough team, and he still made quite a few plays. Considering he was thrust into action, he had to have a ton of nerves and the game was probably moving really fast. Players that get thrown into the fire like that are able to learn quickly because they see their mistakes on film and most of the mistakes are "get ready of the ball faster" for the quarterback. If he would have done that, there would have been no pick 6 and he would have hit Green for another possible touchdown. Those are all first time QB mistakes. He sounds like a workaholic and I like his attitude. I don't know for the life of me why some Cincinnati media people were saying, as if making fun of him, "McCarron says he's the next Tom Brady". What in the h e double hockey sticks do you want him to say, "Look at what Johny Manziell did when he came in as a back up last year". Ha ha I mean seriously Cincinnati media, give the guy credit, he wants to be the best! And I am sure everyone in that lockerroom respected him for saying that. It takes more than one player to make a great team, which this Bengals team is. These guys will rally around him and play well, trust me. They will get to at least 12 wins and possibly 13. Then, you can look for the Bengals to trade McCarron for some high round draft picks heading into 2016 draft.
December 16, 20159 yr I am very confident that McCarron will step in and not let fans down. The playoffs are basically guaranteed. Cincinnati clinches a playoff spot with: 1) CIN win OR 2) NYJ loss OR 3) KC loss OR 4) CIN tie + KC tie OR 5) CIN tie + NYJ tie They will want the BYE even more with the Dalton injury. DEN probably loses @ PIT this weekend giving CIN the lead for the 2 seed. CIN @ DEN will be for the BYE as both have winnable games at home in Week 17. KC and NYJ /should/ win this weekend and keep PIT on the outside looking in. <fingers crossed> Problem is, PIT will win out with their schedule and get to 11-5. They will probably take NYJ place. KC should hold serve. I'm predicting: 1. NE 2. DEN 3. CIN 4. HOU 5. PIT 6. KC
December 28, 20159 yr Yep. So much for my theory above that PIT would win out. Good for the Bengals. TCB the last two games and the 2 seed is a wrap with a shot at the 1 depending on NE.
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