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I need a long pass to Diggs...make it happen!

I often wondered how much the opposite was true regarding the fondness of eachother. At times Lewis seemed to love Chad, but just as often that coach merely tolerated him.

AACCCKKKKKK!

If it's any consolation, I heard she was looking up an awesome Amish Fried Chicken recipe to show her appreciation to the family for going to the game.

Houston, GB, Detroit, Buffalo

SUPER BOWL CHAMPS! (Hmmm, I guess that should be a question mark)

I'm somewhere in between you and T-Dub/Spicoli on this subject...I like to be like Switzerland :)...but I will say that PFF may be just fine as "A SOURCE" for a player's talent evaluation and hence why it has NFL and college subscriptions, but some people seem to think it is "THE DEFINITIVE SOURCE"...BIG difference. Lots of other things need to be considered, game context, team context, heart/passion, performance when game is on the line, and like SheBengal says things like football/game IQ, leadership, etc. I'll use Sam Hubbard as an example. He's not a guy that shows up on the stat sheet like Trey does and prolly doesn't have great numbers on PFF and he's been said to be an under-performer in another thread here and maybe would even be cut if on another team. That's just udder BS in my mind...his value goes way beyond sack numbers and PFF grades...I sure as hell don't want to lose him. OLine is another glaring PFF example...maybe a player has a diminished PFF grade because of the team/game context dictates that he play next to one of worst linemen in the league, or because the coach is using a scheme that doesn't match the skillset of the players. I'm not saying that's always the case, just citing examples of how PFF grades and stats can be very deceiving. "Lies, damn lies, and statistics" -Mark Twain

Not really disagreeing with your opinion of PFF, but disagreeing with your reasons. I'm definitely no fan of PFF, but it seems to me if they were just making it up, then the they'd have "invented" a better grade for Stroud. More likely scenario is that there are actually algorithms but they simply don't tell the whole picture. IMHO it's got to be stat based somehow obviously, but stats don't tell the whole story. PFF grades may be PART of the evaluation, but not the only thing, and arguably not always the most important piece either. I'm always drawn to players with heart, in-game passion/attitude, and results when it really counts, i.e real-world context...stats/algorithms/combineNumbers/etc fail miserably in many of those cases...sometimes they are in sync but often times they do not.

Still can't believe how far the Eagles fell at the end of this season. Before the season started, I put money on a Bengals/Eagles Super Bowl match-up...interestingly DraftKings still shows it as an "Open" bet so there must still be a chance, right? Anyway, at least the Bengals have some reasonable excuses for not getting to the SB.

Honestly I feel the same...don't like either whiney Harbaughs...but I also want the AFCN to show their strength and they are the least hated of the three...sure wish it was us representing of course...hopefully next year.

If all 3 of those teams lose it would make for a very productive weekend indeed. Go Other Teams!!! Still deciding how far I want the Ravens to survive...mixed feelings.

I was wondering about this...I watched the brief locker room interview with Reader thingy and my interpretation was the "not as bad" was based on him simply being thru it before and not necessarily because the injury was less severe than last time. Here's hoping its both!

IIRC, Chad and Boomer were the latest ROH recipients for 2023.

Stealers #1 on do NOT win...or even make it to the playoffs at all for that matter. #1 most hated by a country mile. Screw Cleveland...but conflicted about the Ravens since I wouldn't mind the AFCN showing strength. Give me Lions/Bills in the end with Lions winning it all.

Are you 100% sure that the Bengals even had Ragnow ahead of Price on their big board? Also, there are thousands of examples of the lower draft pick working out better than the higher draft pick, maybe just as many as vice-versa. Tom Brady anyone? Selectively quoting the past can result in conveniently making whatever point you want. I still say the draft is a crap shoot, especially with the Bengals draft record. If we were talking the #1 pick versus the #32 that would be different IMHO.

I don't watch much college football anymore...so... Watching the games tonight, I see more creativity in offensive play calls than what I'm used to seeing in the NFL. Some very interesting and intriguing plays...mis-directions, lots of movement, impressive creativity...some successful, some not so much, but still intriguing. So my question to all you college football gurus out there...is this normal for college football or is it just the teams that are playing tonight??? While I'm at it, what's with the college punt formation where there's a line of 3 guys right in front of the punter? Seems like blocking at the line would be more effective, i.e. block before the defenders can get up a head of steam? I can see having one safety valve, but 3?

As much as I hate the teams in our division, I do share this sentiment. The AFCN is the toughest division in the NFL so it makes sense that winning the SB would solidify that as long as its not the Stealers (just spit up in my mouth a little). I like the Lions to win the SB too...I spent alot of time in Detroit and watched Ford Field being built, RedWings fan, so there's that too.

The DCB is simply inherent in my fandom DNA at this point after enduring so many years of it...sorry. Agree it may not be applicable the same way it was back in the dark days, but to me it is still a thing. If for no other reason than the Bengals are not in the playoffs, lost the last couple games in disappointing fashion, and a win against CFT would be a "gee we ended on an encouraging up note to give us hope/momentum/marketingSpin" during the off-season. Yeah, the "see what they have" is not what I was referring to and the preseason analogy doesn't really fit for me either. I'm thinking more about the skill positions and letting the younger guys who do have a future here get some valuable real in-season game experience and some real stats to boot. I want to watch Chase Brown be the feature back for an entire game...I want to watch a whole game where WR's don't include Chase, Higgins, and Boyd...I especially want to see Yoshi play an entire game as a featured WR. I'm not opposed to letting AJ QB. I want the coaches to spend the week developing a game plan with those players as key personnel for the entire game. That doesn't happen in preseason games where players are rotated ad-hoc between promising rooks and future insurance salesmen playing against other future insurance salesmen with little, if any, game plan involved. I agree with you on the draft stuff. I get Jaime's (and others) point, I respect his (and others) viewpoint, I don't dispute their "fandom", and arguably it is the smart and logical thing to do to improve the team going forward. However, at least to me, sports should be about competing, passion, and always playing to win. I simply don't like the idea of "tanking for a better pick" regardless of how much sense it makes on paper. You play the game to win...it's sports...it's a game...it's "Any Given Sunday". Drafting is still a crap shoot in my opinion regardless of draft position, especially with the Bengal's luck/past at the positions of need, so the difference between 14 & 17 (or whatever) is not really a concern to me.

There are also a number of individual and team "milestones" up for grabs in this game (Team winning record as you said, Mixon near 1000 yds, Chase near 100 receptions, etc)...not to mention the beloved annual dead cat bounce. That said, I'd like to see the young guns get some enhanced playing time.

Crazy ending...wow!

I don't think her getting a divorce moved the dial any for you. (sorry, couldn't resist)

"Can you even imagine the implosion that this is gonna cause over at Go-Bengals.com?"

Yeah, I really hate that part too...my biggest wish every season, regardless of how good or bad we are, is that we beat the Stealers. The fact that Pickens had his best game ever was also a kick in the balls...so he'll be a f-ing hero now after being a media devil earlier in the week...uggghhhhh.

I guess we'll see...I'm more confident about beating the Chiefs then I was about beating the "nothing to lose, everything to gain, pissed off due to losing streak, division rival, always tough against us, and their super bowl" Stealers. Honestly before today, I thought the hardest game to win of the remaining three would be against the Stealers. Their injuries and lack of expectations just seemed to give them more focus and drive...kinda like it did for us the previous few weeks.

Interestingly, that's exactly how I felt the previous 3 games during the winning streak with Jake. I guess it depends on what side of the fence you're on. Being a Bengals fan has always been a cruel roller coaster ride, even during the dark days with annual dead cat bounces.