Bleeds Orange

Things will have to really fall apart for Zac Taylor to be fired. Another 9-8 or better and he stays.

She must have a really great personality? 🤷‍♂️

I'm a bit surprised at the ticket prices this year, especially coming off two 9-8 seasons. For the lowest priced tickets, the ones at the very top of the stadium, the Bengals are asking $258 for the Lions game. Seats in 104, to compare apples to Amish's apples, are listed at $510. The lower-priced games such as the Jets are $138, and $306 in 104. Again, these are the asking prices from the Bengals, not resale. I haven't checked in a year or two, so maybe they've been these prices for a while? Anyway, they make the prices for the season tickets look like a bargain.

I don't know who could look at these and decide that the one on the left looks better than the one on the right. This has driven me crazy from Day One. I think I recall reading when they came out that Elizabeth Blackburn was the decider on this and didn't want any "panels" on the uniform, opting instead to have all stripes independently "float", if that makes sense. Regardless of the intention, it was the one big fail in these.

This isn't really "2025 Bengals related", but in the sense that it's in anticipation of the 2025 survey by The Athletic, I guess it kinda is... All the negativity being directed at Bengals management got me thinking about how much optimism there was following the 2021 and 2022 seasons, as reflected in the fan surveys conducted by The Athletic. It really seemed like the franchise had turned the corner. It will be interesting to see how much these survey results differ this year. I suspect much of the 2022 goodwill has been pissed away. https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/4672101/2023/07/10/bengals-fan-survey-results/

This was my favorite style of helmet depiction the league ever did for the teams as a whole, but it was strange that the Bengals logo on these (and the other versions) was so much larger than the one on the actual helmets. It never made sense.

It's funny how they put "Denver at Denver", "Buffalo at Buffalo", etc. rather than just "at Denver" and "at Buffalo". 😄 And then at the bottom went on to clarify that "AWAY GAMES IN BLACK". The ones at Denver, Buffalo, Dallas, etc. were away games. It's interesting to see some 2:00 start times, but I don't understand the "prevailing Cincinnati time" thing. It looks like the road games are listed in the time for that city? Surely the Denver game didn't kick off at 10:00am Mountain Time. Anyway, one 4pm start and everything else at 1:00 or 2:00 or whatever. Back before the NFL aired games six nights a week and three times on Sunday.

I saw their betting line at 10.5 wins somewhere yesterday, and that seems about right.

It's like I tell my young adult children and others I advise: Get. It. In. Writing. I don't know what the Bengals told him and they may very well be reneging on a promise they made. Or it could be that the promises were vague and Trey just heard what he wanted to hear. My guess is that Trey let his love of the franchise/city/teammates/whatever cloud his judgment into thinking that he was a part of the Bengals "family" and he would be taken care of, even without those assurances being in writing. He is now learning that it is a business and he's dealing with people who value the bottom line more than personal relationships with their employees. And again, I'm just speculating, not assuming who's right or wrong. Either way, a written contract, signed by both parties, trumps everything else. We can speculate that the Bengals aren't honoring their verbal assurances. We don't have to speculate that Trey is isn't honoring his, because their is a contract with his signature on it.

What I'm seeing. Keep it private. 😐

I just can't find it in me to have sympathy for an athlete who signed an agreement to play with a team for a given amount in a given season and is now threatening to not honor that agreement. I also am turned off when these things get brought to the public through the media. It seems childish. Can someone explain to me why he's right here? Go has covered it all really well, but it would seem that sitting out the season would be a big losing proposition for him in more ways than one.

Living nowhere close to Cincinnati growing up in the late 70s and early 80s and being unable to get these in person, I'd mail a letter of request to the Bengals and they'd send me one in the mail each year. Did it with the Reds, too, along with requests for ticket order brochures. 😄

I'll be curious to see the "last 5 years" numbers after 2020 is rolled off and 2025 is added. It would seem the Bengals will be among the leaders at that point. I think I saw on Twitter that the Bengals are guaranteed to be on the road for Week 1 because of the Reds hosting the Mets and again Week 3 because of a Rod Stewart / Billy Joel concert at Paycor in Week 3 on Saturday night. It was explained that stage setup would prevent a Thursday game that week, as well. Could the Reds not play the Mets at 1:00 and then the Bengals host a SNF game at 8:00, or would that be a logistical mess? I assume the latter.

Mainly because the team needs someone ready to start and be effective NOW, and I think Ratledge is more proven and more ready to fill that role in 2025. While Fairchild may eventually surpass him, he may need some time. That being said, my opinions are formed more by the consensus of what I read and less by my expertise, so there's that. 😀

I voted C and Carter. I think he was the best value pick (for the point in the draft taken) that they made. I think passing on Tate Ratledge in the 2nd round will haunt them, but I certainly hope I'm wrong.