AmishBengalFan

Its not uncommon for CFL teams to pick up the rights to American players "just in case" they become available to play up in the Great White North. These rights almost never get exercised, though there will always be an Andre Rison or Ricky Williams or Chad Ochocinco or Andrew Hawkins who heads up north to try to resurrect their careers. But 9 times out of 10 (hell, 99 out of 100) the CFL team who holds the rights to a specific NFL player almost never gets that player. But something weird is going on in Hamilton (ON). The Tiger-Cats, who holds the rights to NFL laughingstock Johnny Manziel, has been making moves to seemingly free up room on their roster (and their salary cap) to bring that idiot up to play for them this season. The Ti-Cats have just traded away their starting QB..... Linky: https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/hamilton-tiger-cats-trade-qb-amid-reports-of-negotiations-with-johnny-manziel/

Update! Manziel has been kicked out of the CFL. Linky: https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/johnny-manziel-released-by-alouettes-for-violating-contract-cfl-bans-him-from-signing-with-other-teams/ Alouettes released him, CFL gas banned him. Nobody is talking about why....

NFL: "As of tomorrow, we're all undefeated again." (Glances at calendar) It's tomorrow. Hello, first place Bengals!

6. Congrats Pats. Now, go away... OR go get #7 immediately and THEN go away.

soccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccer soccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccer soccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccer soccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccer soccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccer soccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccer soccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccer soccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccer soccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccer soccersoccersoccer soccersoccersoccer soccersoccersoccer soccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccer soccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccer soccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccer soccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccer soccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccer soccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccer soccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccer soccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccer soccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccersoccer Isn't there tennis to be served up? Lol. PS - Thanks for the Arsenal jersey you got me for Xmas. Thierry Henry - the greatest player from the greatest team. Can never go wrong with that.

I hesitate to post this, lest LT respond with another dozen or so posts about the English Premier League, but I realize that I need to amend my previous best-guess regarding Wembley vs Spurs as the venue for the Bengals-Rams UK2019 game. The Rams are owned by Stan Kroenke, who owns Arsenal, for whom Spurs are their absolute top-hated rival. If I doubted whether the Glazers would allow the Bucs to generate a dime of revenue for Spurs, I neglected to remember that the Rams are essentially the LA version of the Arsenal Gunners... Look for Bengals-Rams to be at Wembley.

I remember fondly the 1989 season. We were off our Super Bowl high and were picked to not only return but to win it all. We came up short, but damn if we didn't have the coolest-named QBs in the league: Norman "Boomer" Esiason Eric "The Kaiser" Wilhelm Turk Schonert It lasted only one season, as that was The Kaiser's first and Turk's last, but it was fun while it lasted.

How do we do that, exactly?

For those thinking about going, the schedule won't come out until April, but it's a safe bet the game will be played in October. The earliest London game over the past 4 years was 9/24, the latest was 11/1. If I were to make a guess, I would say week 7, or October 20th. This is because the Rams are playing a preseason game in Hawaii next year, so their London trip would be one of the later games... probably 3rd of 4. This would also be consistent with the last two trips the Rams made there - playing on 10/22/17 and 10/23/16. Also, the games will be split 2+2 between Wembley and Spurs. Jacksonville is already locked in to one of the Wembley games. If the Rams win the Super Bowl, I expect they'll put them at the larger venue (Wembley holds 30K more). But if I were a betting man, I figure it's an absolute lock that we'll be at Spurs. The Panthers are making their first ever trip and will be playing Tampa. Tampa are owned by the Glazers, who also own Manchester United. I'm thinking is doubtful they would want their team playing in a venue associated with Spurs, to deny them any financial gain from the Bucs playing there. And with the Panthers making their London debut it makes sense to have them at the larger stadium. My best guess is Bengals at Rams, at Spurs, on 10/20/19.

The Bengals -did- have a bye after their Wembley trip in 2016, but it's not guaranteed. Over the last 4 seasons, the NFL has played 13 games in London. Of those 26 teams, all of them had a bye the week following EXCEPT for 4 of them: 2016: IND played JAX at Wembley on 10/2 (week 4) and hosted CHI on 10/9 (week 5) 2017: JAX played BAL at Wembley on 9/24 (Week 3) and played at NYJ on 10/1 (Week 4) 2017: BAL played JAX at Wembley on 9/24 (week 3) and hosted PIT on 10/1 (Week 4) 2017: MIA played NOS at Wembley on 10/1 (Week 4) and hosted TEN on 10/8 (Week 5) So that's 22 of 26 teams over the last 4 seasons getting a post-London bye.

Background: In nearly all non-North American sports leagues, a promotion/relegation system is employed that keeps the best teams in the top tiers and forces teams that do poorly into lower tiers. In England, the top 20 soccer clubs in the nation play in the Premiership. At the end of the season, the three teams that finish at the bottom of the standings are kicked down to the next-lower level (the "Football Championship" it's called) while three clubs from that level promote up. There are several levels of play (I've lost track, but it's in the low-teens I believe) and even brand-new clubs that meet the Football Associations minimum standards and enter at the very bottom can - after years of good play - work their way all the way to the top. Background 2: I'm NOT suggesting that the NFL implement any of the following, but I thought it would be curious to consider what the impact would have been if the league were divided into heirarchical divisions instead of geographic ones. I made several assumptions along the way, all of which I explain below, and have numbers to back everything up. Assumptions: (1) We begin in 1970 after the NFL-AFL merger. All 26 teams are lumped together into one big pile. The league will divide into two halves (upper and lower) based on the final 1970 standings. We aim to have 13 teams in each half, but there are no tiebreakers other than win-loss percentage... if two teams tie for the 13th spot in the upper half for 1971, both get in. (2) Each year from 1971 to 1973, an additional tier is added so that when play begins in 1973 there are 4 tiers. Call them what you will, I refer to them simply as Tier 1, Tier 2, etc. With 26 teams, the split would be 8-6-6-6. Once the 4-tier plateau is reached, promotion/relegation consists of 2 teams moving between adjacent tiers each season. Tiebreakers between teams in the same tier with the same record are: (a) playoff teams ranked higher than non-playoff teams, then ( use the previous year's ranking. (3) As expansion teams are introduced (2 in 1976, 2 in 1995, 1 in 1999, 1 in 2002), the new teams enter at the bottom, and the # of promotions/relegations are temporarily adjusted so that the whole league moves toward an 8-8-8-8 split. For example, in 1976, the expansion Seahawks and Buccaneers enter in Tier 4, but that would have overloaded that tier with 8 teams if the 1975 promotion/relegation scheme were not adjusted. So after the 1975 season, instead of 2 teams moving between tiers in both directions, the scheme is temporarily adjusted so that only 1 team relegates from Tier 2 to Tier 3 while 3 promote from Tier 3 to Tier 2, ditto the Tier 3/Tier 4 movement. Head spinning yet. Don't worry. It doesn't have to make sense to you as much as it did to me. 1970 - Bengals go 8-6 0.571. Tie with Kansas City for 11th-best in the NFL. Move to Tier 1 (of 2) for 1971 1971 - T1 Bengals 4-10 0.286. Tied for dead last in T-1 with Giants. Giants win tiebreak based on better 1970 record (9-5 vs 8-6). Drop to Tier 3 for 1972 1972 - T3 Bengals 8-6 0.571. Tie with Giants for 2nd place, but lose tiebreak to Giants (NY still ranked ahead based on better 1970 record). Remain in T-3, but avoid dropping to new T-4 for 1973. 1973 - T3 Bengals 10-4 0.714. 2nd place, promote to T-2 1974 - T2 Bengals 7-7 0.500. Good enough for 2nd place within underperforming T-2 teams (Rams 10-4, Lions 7-7, Packers 6-8, 49ers 6-8, Chiefs 5-9). Promote to T-1. Woo hoo! 1975 - T1 Bengals 11-3 0.786 but only 5th place (Steelers 12-2, Vikings 12-2, Rams 12-2, Raiders 11-3, Bengals 11-3, Dolphins 10-4, Cowboys 10-4, Redskins 8-6). We remain T-1 1976 - T1 Bengals 10-4 0.714 and 6th place (Raiders 13-1, Vikings 11-2-1, Cowboys 11-3, Rams 10-3-1, Steelers 10-4, Bengals 10-4, Lions 6-8, Bills 2-12). We stay again. 1977 - T1 Bengals 8-6 0.571 and 7th place (Cowboys 12-2, Raiders 11-3, Rams 10-4, Vikings 9-5, Steelers 9-5, Redskins 9-5, Bengals 8-6, Cardinals 7-7). We relegate to T-2 1978 - T2 Bengals 4-12 0.250 and 8th place (Dolphins 11-5, Patriots 11-5, Oilers 10-6, Browns 8-8, Bears 7-9, Lions 7-9, Cardinals 6-10, Bengals 4-12). We relegate to T-3 1979 - T3 Bengals 4-12 0.250 and last place again (Chargers 12-4, Seahawks 9-7, Giants 6-10, Packers 5-11, Cardinals 5-11, Bengals 4-12). The slide continues as we relegate to the bottom tier (T-4), but at least the Cardinals have been keeping us company for a few years! 1980 - T4 Bengals 6-10 0.375 and 3rd place (Bills 11-5, Chiefs 8-8, Bengals 6-10, 49ers 6-10, Cardinals 5-11, Saints 1-15). We hang in T-4 1981 - T4 Bengals 12-4 0.750 and 2nd place (49ers 13-3, Bengals 12-4, Jets 10-5-1, Giants 9-7, Cardinals 7-9, Saints 4-12). Our first Super Bowl trip only gets us a bump-up to T-3, but at least we're not alone (49ers in same fix). 1982 - T3 Bengals 7-2 0.778 and 2nd place (Redskins 8-1, Bengals 7-2, Browns 4-5, 49ers 3-6, Chiefs 3-6, Colts 0-8-1). Two years two promotions, hello T-2! 1983 - T2 Bengals 7-9 0.438 and 7th place (Redskins 14-2, Lions 9-7, Broncos 9-7, Vikings 8-8, Patriots 8-8, Bills 8-8, Bengals 7-9, Oilers 2-14). Two wins away from promotion, and only one away from staying, we relegate to T3 for 1984 I'll not plug EVERY season into this thread. Here's a summary of the highlights: We spend 1984-1988 in T-3, earning promotion to T-2 with our 12-4 Superbowl season We spend 1989-1991 in T-2, never really competing for promotion, then fall to 3-13 and drop (with Cleveland) to T-3 In 1992 the wheels fall off and a 5-11 season drops us to T-4 We spend 1993-1997 in T-4 and only a 7-9 season plus a tiebreak over Atlanta sees us crawl up to T-3, but we get slapped back down to T-4 after a 3-13 mark in 1998 We stay in T-4 until after Marvin gets here. Then things start to improve: 2003 - T4 Bengals 8-8 0.500 and 3rd place. (Panthers 11-5, Cowboys 10-6, Bengals 8-8, Bears 7-9, Redskins 5-11, Texans 5-11, Lions 5-11, Cardinals 4-12). Not bad for a team that finished dead last in the lowest tier the year before. We remain in T-4 but things look better. 2004 - T4 Bengals 8-8 0.500 and 2nd place. (Chargers 12-4, Bengals 8-8, Texans 7-9, Redskins 6-10, Lions 6-10, Cardinals 6-10, Bears 5-11, Browns 4-12). Promotion! 2005 - T3 Bengals 11-5 0.688 and 2nd place. (Jaguars 12-4, Bengals 11-5, Chargers 9-7, Vikings 9-7, Bills 5-11, Raiders 4-12, 49ers 4-12, Saints 3-13). Promotion! 2006 - T2 Bengals 8-8 0.500 and 4th place. (Jets 10-6, Chiefs 9-7, Jaguars 8-8, Bengals 8-8, Titans 8-8, Falcons 7-9, Dolphins 6-10, Buccaneers 4-12). We hang around. 2007 - T2 Bengals 7-9 0.438 and 7th place. (Packers 13-3, Chargers 11-5, Jaguars 11-5, Steelers 10-6, Titans 10-6, Bears 7-9, Bengals 7-9, Falcons 4-12). Relegation. 2008 - T3 Bengals 4-11-1 0.281 and 7th place. (Panthers 12-4, Ravens 11-5, Falcons 11-5, Redskins 8-8, Saints 8-8, Bills 7-9, Bengals 4-11-1, Browns 4-12). Relegation. 2009 - T4 Bengals 10-6 0.625 and 2nd place. (Cardinals 10-6, Bengals 10-6, Texans 9-7, 49ers 8-8, Raider 5-11, Browns 5-11, Lions 2-14, Rams 1-15). Promotion For the 2010 season, your division standings look like this: ^ = Will promote next year - = Will remain next year v = Will relegate next year ? = Promotion/Relegation status uncertain (#) = Ranking last year - used for tiebreak Tier 1 13-2 - New England (8) 11-4 - Pittsburgh (11) 10-4 - Philadelphia (5) 9-6 - Indianapolis (1) 9-6 - Green Bay (7) 8-6 - San Diego (2) 6-9 v Tennessee (16) - Relegated 5-10 v Dallas (6) - Relegated Tier 2 11-4 ? New Orleans (3) - NO promotes with win OR BAL loss OR CHI loss 11-4 ? Baltimore (12) - BAL promotes with win OR CHI loss 11-4 ? Chicago (22) - CHI promotes with win AND EITHER NO or BAL loss 10-5 - NY Jets (14) 9-6 - NY Giants (17) 5-9 - Minnesota (4) 4-11 v Denver (19) - Relegated 2-13 v Carolina (18) - Relegated Tier 3 12-3 ^ Atlanta (13) - Promoted 9-6 ? Tampa Bay (30) - TB promotes with win OR JAX loss 8-7 ? Jacksonville (23) - JAX promotes with win AND TB loss 7-8 - Miami (21) 6-9 - Seattle (26) 5-10 - Arizona (9) 4-11 v Cincinnati (10) - Relegated 4-11 v Buffalo (24) - Relegated Tier 4 10-5 ^ Kansas City (29) - Promoted 7-8 ? Oakland (25) - OAK promotes with STL loss 7-8 ? St Louis (32) - STL promotes with win 6-9 - Washington (28) 5-10 - Houston (15) 5-10 - San Francisco (20) 5-10 - Cleveland (27) 5-10 - Detroit (31) The 2011 alignment would look like: T1: NEP PIT PHI IND GBP SDC *NOS *BAL T2: TEN DAL *CHI NYJ NYG MIN ATL *TBB T3: DEN CAR *JAX MIA SEA ARI KCC *OAK T4: CIN BUF *STL WAS HOU SFF CLE DET *-Based on current standings, may change So, if the NFL used a system like this, we would be in the bottom tier heading into 2011. Shocker!

Jeebus, they keep running into frame.... how many kids does Whit have?!? None of them look like Philip Rivers, do they?

Getting back on topic. Pumpkie

2018 Another crappy year, but the Bengals still managed to finish mid-pack in the Tier, buoyed by even crappier performances by the Broncos, Giants and Cards - the latter two of whom ended up getting relegated. 2019 sees the Stripes starting the year in the 7th (of 8 ) spots, marking them as pre-season favorites to get bumped out, especially with the Rams climbing into the Tier having earned promotion from T-3 with their league-best 13-3 record. The Chiefs end up claiming the overall championship, finishing alone atop T-1 at 12-4. The Clowns improve from 0-16 to 7-8-1, but they remain in the bottom Tier, missing promotion by 4.5 games. Tier-1 p12-4 - Kansas City (8) - Overall Champions p11-5 - New England (1) p10-6 - Dallas (13) p10-6 - Seattle (14) p9-7 - Philadelphia (4) 9-6-1 - Pittsburgh (2) 7-9 v Atlanta (9) - Relegated 6-9-1 v Green Bay (19) - Relegated Tier-2 p13-3 ^ New Orleans (5) - Tier Champion, Promoted p10-6 ^ Baltimore (16) - Promoted 8-7-1 - Minnesota (3) 6-10 - Detroit (15) 6-10 - Cincinnati (21) 6-10 - Denver (25) 5-11 v NY Giants (31) - Relegated 3-13 v Arizona (18) - Relegated Tier-3 p13-3 - LA Rams (7) - Tier Champion, Promoted p11-5 - Houston (29) - Promoted p10-6 - Indianapolis (30) 7-9 - Washington (20) 7-9 - Carolina (25) 6-10 - Buffalo (12) 5-11 - Jacksonville (10) - Relegated 4-12 - Oakland (22) - Relegated Tier-4 p12-4 - LA Chargers (17) - Tier Champion, Promoted p12-4 - Chicago (28) - Promoted 9-7 - Tennessee (11) 7-8-1 - Cleveland (32) 7-9 - Miami (23) 5-11 - Tampa Bay (26) 4-12 - San Francisco (24) 4-12 - NY Jets (27) - Dead Last The 2018 overall rankings (used for 2019 tiebreakers) would be: Overall: 1 p13-3 New Orleans (5) 2 p13-3 LA Rams (7) 3 p12-4 Kansas City (8) 4 p12-4 LA Chargers (17) 5 p12-4 Chicago (28) 6 p11-5 New England (1) 7 p11-5 Houston (29) 8 p10-6 Dallas (13) 9 p10-6 Seattle (14) 10 p10-6 Baltimore (16) 11 p10-6 Indianapolis (30) 12 p9-7 Philadelphia (4) 13 9-7 Tennessee (11) 14 9-6-1 Pittsburgh (2) 15 8-7-1 Minnesota (3) 16 7-8-1 Cleveland (32) 17 7-9 Atlanta (9) 18 7-9 Washington (20) 19 7-9 Miami (23) 20 7-9 Carolina (25) 21 6-9-1 Green Bay (19) 22 6-10 Buffalo (12) 23 6-10 Detroit (15) 24 6-10 Cincinnati (21) 25 6-10 Denver (25) 26 5-11 Jacksonville (10) 27 5-11 Tampa Bay (26) 28 5-11 NY Giants (31) 29 4-12 Oakland (22) 30 4-12 San Francisco (24) 31 4-12 NY Jets (27) 32 3-13 Arizona (18) And the 2019 alignment will be: T-1: NOS/01 KCC/03 NEP/06 DAL/08 SEA/09 BAL/10 PHI/12 PIT/14 T-2: LAR/02 HOU/07 MIN/15 ATL/17 GBP/21 DET/23 CIN/24 DEN/25 T-3: LAC/04 CHI/05 IND/11 WAS/18 CAR/20 BUF/22 NYG/28 ARI/32 T-4: TEN/13 CLE/16 MIA/19 JAX/26 TBB/27 OAK/29 SFF/30 NYJ/31

Also, looking at the dudes flying around the country for interviews, each team's ownership philosohpy, the relative pedigree of the candidates and the "prestige" of the positions, my guess is: Flores to Packers McCarthy to Browns Caldwell to Jets Campbell to Cardinals Munchak to Dolphins Bieniemy to Buccaneers Pagano to Broncos Taylor to Bengals Kinda in that order. I could be wrong.

Okay, I'll go with Zac Taylor Ratbirds 16-15

Wow, that didn't take long: Linky: https://www.bengals.com/news/bengals-sign-andrew-brown-to-reserve-future-list

Josh Kenny McKennydaniels Ratbirds 16-15 ---guess I need to make another pick, lol---

Say what you will about Jason La Canfora, but the man should spell-check the name of folks he's writing NFL articles about.

SI thinks differently: Linky: https://www.cincinnati.com/story/sports/nfl/bengals/2018/11/29/sis-orr-bengals-would-have-top-job-opening-if-marvin-lewis-fired/2148979002/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter This was from last week, before the Packers let McCarthy go. The ranking of the other seven projected coaching vacancies were: Cincinnati (see above) NY Jets - Another job where ownership seems to have taken more of a pragmatic view. Christopher Johnson has taken the reigns from his brother, Woody, to rave reviews. He gave Todd Bowles room to work, and though it didn’t work out, I’m not sure Bowles will have much to complain about on his way out. You’ll walk into a job that has a promising but relatively blank canvas at quarterback (Sam Darnold) and a boatload of cap space. Cleveland - Dorsey seems like one of the better general managers to work under and the young talent on this roster is insanely good. This is both the attraction and the drawback: If you’re good, you could easily reach the playoffs in your first two years with a boatload of stars still on their rookie deals. If you’re not good, the Browns will find someone else to elevate Baker Mayfield. Baltimore - A good mix of young talent and a quarterback in Lamar Jackson who provides some exciting possibilities for your offense. Another ownership group that seems patient, and the football world has nothing but rave reviews for incoming GM Eric Decosta. Green Bay - Fun for the right coach, but difficult for someone who may not be used to a quarterback that pushes back and likes to run the show. Having Aaron Rodgers for the remainder of his prime is the best part of this job, but also comes with myriad stresses. Dig into Packer teams over the past decade and you’ll find that it takes a brain surgeon type to match wits with the franchise quarterback. Arizona - You have a good, young quarterback who can develop into something special and a great receiving back. The defense has some pieces, too. The division is loaded, but the roster rebuild should buy a good coach some time to tinker. Denver - An old roster that is going to be plucked apart. Starting over (again) at the quarterback position. A demanding, Super Bowl-winning personnel head in John Elway. This job can be one of the best in the NFL if things are going your way, but it can get tense pretty quickly when the losses stack up. Tampa Bay - You’re likely starting over with a new QB or thrust into the middle of a blind evaluation on Jameis Winston before his fifth-year option is up. Outside of Mike Evans, O.J. Howard and Cameron Brate, are you salivating to work with the assembled personnel? And do you feel you can make headway in a very good NFC South? You guys think I should polish off my resume? I've got 30 years coaching and personnel management experience. I was drafted HoFers Jerry Rice, Dan Marino, and many others. I've got three World Championships under my belt, just went 11-2 and set the league record for offensive scoring, and my wife makes some awesome fried chicken.

Fixed.

Thank god that's over. Even tho we just slipped into 2nd place, we're still in a playoff slot whether we played tonight like we deserve it or not. Now, back to Sunday 1pm starts. Under the radar. Bring on the Bucketheads.

Kansas City is known to bend over backwards for their visitors... They're so open. So warm and inviting. So willing to take you in and hold you tightly. Great Googly Moogly.

Not that we have reason to live in the past, but if anyone wants to relive that day in 2003 when Marvin, during his rookie season, oversaw the Bengals' return to relevance: https://forum.go-bengals.com/index.php?/topic/81364-flashback-2003-bengals-vs-undefeated-chiefs/