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- Today
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Tom Nichols wrote one of the best books I've read in the last 5 years or so: The Death of Expertise.
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We were 7-9 last year. We improved our biggest weaknesses and didn't lose anybody important. Easier schedule. We should win at least 9 games.
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7-9. Improved O-line and offense plus easier schedule. Still no playoffs. Not convinced the defense will be able to stop the pass.
- Yesterday
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It did cross my mind that we're probably better off with Marvin if the alternative is Redeemer choosing another HC.
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Even then it needs to be Mike Brown.
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I've come to accept that he is coach here until he quits or gets arrested with a dead body in his trunk.
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Yeah it's the kind of shit players say before pulling a hamstring in training camp. Shut up & do work.
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Yeah I switch between it & RS2: Vietnam. They've added ANZAC & ARVN forces since release & didn't charge for them like Battlefield etc.
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this crazy french-canadian guy?
The same Jaques sniffer who doesn't know to capitalize French-Canadian.
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I think Mixon will be seen as the offense’s best player by the end of the season.
I don’t see them winning much this year, but Mixon should be exciting.
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Who spells Lombardi with a ‘y’?
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Incredible that Mixon would say anything given his sutuation and the fact it is only his second year. Even if he had no history he hasnt proven or played nearly enough to be making comments like that.
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I typically like to switch between games with a good story to something that is like an adventure puzzle games (think Tomb Raider) to mindless FPGs.
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Got to see The Eagles on Friday - my first time - they did NOT disappoint.
Wish I had been able to see them before Glenn Frey died, but at least his son was there in his place, and he held his own. Vince Gill was also there, and he kicks ass.
Chris Stapleton opened for them. Audio was awful, but they got it under control by the time the Eagles took stage.
Really glad I got to go, was totally worth it, even thought the venue sucked (Minute Maid Park) and it was hot inside and outside the stadium.
This is how they kick off Hotel California now - sick!
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The Bengals are not sexy
By FrenchCanadianBengalite on Jun 16, 2018, 11:08am EDT 9
The Cincinnati Bengals are not sexy.
From the number of playoff wins in recent memory as well as lombardy trophies won since the creation of the franchise (zero), to the frustrating habit of crumbling under the lights and the notions of stability and loyalty defining the Bengals philosophy, nothing immediatly jumps to mind when attempting to prove incorrect that statement. No big free agent aditions during the offseason, the same controversial head coach and an almost identical nucleus of players; the Status Quo is reigning supreme in Cincinnati, and it’s been the case for a while. Heck, not even the superstars on the roster are particularly flashy. Refrain your hatred: I too (slightly) prefer AJ’s impact on the field to Ochocinco’s trumpets and fireworks, but I’m still convinced that the latter did more to promote and popularize the team during his tenure in the Queen City than number 18 ever did. It’s not a knock at Green's talent and humility, far from it. It’s simply about the fact that even when they perform extremely well, the superstars on the Cincinnati roster generally do it without making too much noise. A good portion of the blame falls on the team lack of success and poor national media coverage, but it doesn’t change the fact that a relatively quiet behaviour on and off the field does nothing to help the attractiveness of a struggling brand. The same can be said about bad publicity, Vontaze Burfict’s recurring suspensions and overall gnarly reputation being a prime exemple of that notion.
There’s a fine line between stability and boringness, and the Bengals flirts with it so much that it’s all becoming a blur. A big, discolored, boring, orange blur that nobody in football seems to care about anymore. Absence of movement may be wise in some instances, but not when mannaging a losing sport franchise. If the team would have had accompished anything of significance in recent memory, then sure, chronical stability and a grinding, blue collar approach would still do the trick. Flashy and sexy would then appear to be nothing more than a frivolous need, and we probably wouldn’t be talking about this right now. Unfortunatly, we all know that it’s not the Bengals case.
The NFL is a business, and every team is a product. You obviously want to sell a lot of your product, being amongst the best in the game reprensenting the more effective way to do so. The more you win, the more attention and support you get, and the more you sell. If your product is not currently amongst the best, at least it can rely on past accomplishments and established grounds to continue to generate excitment. But what if you don’t have a rich, winning history? What if you’re based in a small market, are disrespected by the public and the media alike, and if the fading loyalty of the existing fanbase dont seem to be enough anymore? Well, you change your staff, adopt a new team direction and build around the best players on your roster.
But what if you’re like the Bengals : completly stuck in a surreal, year-long version of Groundhog Day? You either wait it out, or you break the piggybank and treat yourself to a makeover. Beauty can hide a lot of deeper flaws, and while it’s incredibly superficial it’s also ridiculously effective. As of right now, the Cincinnati Bengals are a cheap, unnatractive product. A makeover represents the best way to improve upon that status WITHOUT winning a lot of football games (altough that would help tremendously). I believe that the Bengals can and should try to be sexy, even without trophies to show for it.
‘’Sexiness again, what’s with this crazy french-canadian guy?! It doesn’t matter, it's football for Christ’s sake!’’
Yes, but it’s also marketing.
Teams like the Titans, Dolphins, Browns, Panthers and Jaguars (just to name a few) have all somewhat recently been the subject of makeovers. In some cases, only the colors and logos have been modified or refreshed, but some others underwent full transformations. Did it automatically transposed into winning records? Of course not, but it showed a certain form of evolution that tends to attract attention, as well as illustrating the importance of a change of image in the league. A similar argument can be made using the exemple of the Color Rush uniforms. While not everybody cared about the flashy uniforms created exclusively for thursday nights games, no one can deny the aura of excitement and curiousity surrounding the event. Yes, it eventually faded, but it goes to show that bright, new and fresh sells, even if it's just for a short period of time.
Some hardcore fans may love the current look of the Bengals, but the truth is that they’re probably the only ones. A surprisingly big number of articles and polls proves that the logo, uniforms and overall style of the Bengals are some of the worst in pro sport. The last significant changes were made a year after Marvin Lewis was hired back in ’04. That makes the current look over 14 years old and offers a sad testimony of the fact that ugliness doesn’t go away with time. A change on the outdated design is long overdue.
In an attempt to please existing fans as well as respecting the team’s tradition, the management should look at history while in the process of creating a new, original look. It dictates that the best (and by that I mean the safest) approach is to mix the old with the new, rather than attempting something too bold (I’m looking at you, Jaguars). The Bengals should keep it simple and aim for a classic look inspired by their past. Scrapping the generally unloved ‘’B’’ logo and capitalizing on a revisited version of the tiger one may be a good first step. The stripped helmet should be modified or totally replaced by something less polarizing and more complementary. Bringing up to date the 90’s jerseys in an attemp to replicate an all black version of the white Color Rush uniforms would lead to a cleaner, meaner look. The primary colors of the team would stay the same, but the focus should shift from the orange to the black and white. I know, Bengals tiger are mainly orange and the stripes are a big part of the look, but artistic liberties for the sake of appearances should prime over realistical renditions and continuity concerns when talking about brand image.
The boost of confidence that a (good) new look brings to any product is undeniable. In the case of a sport franchise, the changes would materialize into a more positive team image and happier fans -who won’t hesitate to buy the updated versions of their favorite players jerseys. The brand new swagger would also contribute to attract potential free agents, more media attention as well as more confidence from the players on the football field.
It's obvious that the changes the Bengals really needs have more to do with football operations and management philosophy than ugly jerseys. It's also unfair to judge too harshly the current edition of the team before the start of the 2018 season. However, simple aesthetical corrections certainly can’t hurt, and just a little bit of it could prove to be enough for the long time fans to suck it up a little bit more until the team starts to be a winner again. Once that state is achieved, the new look would contribute to establish the Bengals as a more respected and beloved franchise.
The chances of it happening are fairly slim though, because Mike Brown.
The current owner of the Bengals is only one of a few NFL owners who’s financial ressources comes exclusively from the earnings of the team. The Brown’s fortune is not small by any mean, but Mike Brown is notoriously cheap and it is needless to say that the changes proposed in this paper would be costly. Yes, the boost in sales created by new uniforms would cushion a part of the expenses, but Brown could end up deciding that 14 years between redesigns is not enough to justify spending that much money. Not until bigger changes forces themselves upon the franchise anyway.
A new look don’t mean a clean slate, nor does it leads to W’s on sundays. Unfortunately, unless the team makes a surprise run in the upcoming playoffs or the management staff suddently goes missing, it’s probably the closest that the Bengals can get to being relevant again.
Make the Bengals sexy, I say, and do it soon.
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Enough to get Marvin a contract extension so he is not going into a lame dick duck year.
Good for continuity.
(if necessary)
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I'm slowly working my way through Pillars of Eternity so I can play the sequel. Great fantasy RPG, like a modern sequel to the Baldur's Gate series. Beautiful scenery & extremely well-written. I don't play many RPG's but this one is exceptional.
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I tried to get into Fallout but couldn't. Last of Us 2 looks Amazing though.
Downloaded Life is Strange from a few years ago, gameplay is ok and some of the dialogue is cheesy but the story it pretty good.
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Our OT situation in general could best be described as a sniff & a promise. There's not one guy on the roster I feel at all confident about.
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Yeah I'm probably making too a big a deal out of it given the audience here.
I'm basically at a point where I'm wondering how bad all this shit will become before it starts getting better. I would not be at all surprised to see large-scale race riots this Summer.
Thing is, the people creating this situation will be the last ones to suffer, and they will only use that suffering as an excuse to do even worse.
I don't think we're at Nazi Germany levels by any means, but it's enlightening to see firsthand how a generally decent society could eventually get there.
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I think Ross could be a great receiver if the defense were not allowed to touch him
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