A Rock

I get that, but "very comfortable" is laying it on a little thick.

Well, he's certainly right about the slow starts and the beating themselves factor. I still love Burrow, but I'm baffled by a few things. How is he, "very comfortable", with the offensive line? I struggle to remember a pocket collapsing so quickly, so often. They finished the last few games last year averaging about 6 sacks a game, then start the first two games averaging 6.5 sacks per game. With a new o line! The NFL average is around 1.7 sacks per game. Baffling. Seemingly everything they're doing early is exacerbating the problem. They look lost and this is when the plays are scripted. It seems like Joe has to use nearly the whole play clock to audible everyone into position for a no gain draw up the middle, but nobody seems to notice Parsons unaccounted for multiple times on pass plays? I'm not without hope. I bought into the idea that is was just knocking off the rust in game one. Dallas was much tougher. I honestly don't even know where most of the blame would go, but I'm just hoping they turn it around and it's a moot point.

It's like this team lives to give the other team the most dramatic, last minute wins possible. COMPLETE ineptitude early, followed by inexplicable domination, followed by the inevitable failure to grab the brass ring. I'm honestly dumbfounded. What a drag to burn an hour and a half with disgust, then another hour and a half of hope and elation, just to get the old heart ripped out again. I'm beyond game criticism at this point. I just hope they get their shit together so I can enjoy watching football.

To the most despised division rival. Seems we dodged a number of bullets last year, and though there is superior talent on this team, I'm quite reticent about Zac and the hierarchy. I still can't believe someone in the booth overhead wasn't instantly in Zac's ear telling him to challenge the non touchdown call. That's just standard operating procedure these days. After some research, I've realized that having only one top notch long snapper active on game day is pretty standard. I find it hard to believe that a 3rd string tight end can't be bothered to become highly proficient as a backup at a critical position, but I digress. What I really can't wrap my mind around is Zac's reaction to losing in such a clownish manner. Right after the game his comments regarding the non challenge were something to the effect of, "that's a tough part of the field for me to see." When asked about Wilcox's slow snap on the extra point and high snap on the field goal, he stated that Mitchell practices that, "all the time." Then later in the week he'll sort of come around with something like, "that was a mistake, that's one you'd like to have back." That initial, it's not my fault, there's an explanation mind set is worrying. I'm guessing there's no one higher up putting the screws to him either. This team has pleasantly surprised me many times of late. Really hoping Taylor developes more of a shark like mind set. It can make all the difference. I think it might have last Sunday.

Uggggghhhhhhh!!!!! Too much blame to go around. I know they definitely didn't play well enough to win, but raw talent gritted it out, and Joe threw Chase would definitely should have been the game winner on the last play of regulation!!! This had me bouncing off the walls with euphoria, only to have my heart ripped out and put on puree in my blender a minute later. All because we enter an NFL season with only one guy on the roster capable of a long snap? C'mon Taylor. This is the WORST kind of loss. They fight back against all odds for a miracle, then piss it away with a backup being unprepared. Ouch.

I think logically he should perform very well this year, for all the reasons you've listed above. I'm REALLY hoping your right in fact, because a Lombardi will more than erase his faults from last year. The problem is, pro football is wildly unpredictable for many reasons, not the least of which being injuries. The planets really lined up for this team last year resulting in a Super Bowl run, which is pretty bizarre considering how awful the pass protection was. The skill players made great plays on must have it downs. The defense made key stops and got turnovers with playoff games on the line. It was glorious for this franchise after such a postseason drought with so much heartache, but luck was with us for the most part too. Can't count on that, we need to be even better this upcoming year to get another shot at it. Hopefully Carman is a contributor to this. I know my next take here is pretty childish, but it's hard not to blame him for basically coming up one play short of an NFL championship. Him, Adeniji, and Prince. I know Carman is young, but a college graduate hired for millions to play in the NFL should be maniacally prepared to prove himself. Maybe there's something in his personal life that hampered that? Either way, winning cures all. Let's go Bengals! Let's go Carman!

I think Hurst is the sleeper this year. He's a rock solid pass catcher who's biggest downside, as far as I can tell, was ending up on teams with Mark Andrews and Kyle Pitts.

True, and I credit the defense more than anything else for the postseason wins. More accurately, he shamed the franchise into being proactive in free agency where there was a GLARING need.

He has nothing to prove with me. He and the defense put the team on their backs last year, and took us on an improbable run culminating in an AFC championship and so close to a Lombardi it still hurts. Unfortunately, we don't get to pick up where we left off last year, and you can't take anything for granted in this league. I feel like Burrow did something truly remarkable last year though. He shamed the franchise into becoming active in free agency. With him playing so well behind a bad o line, it became a huge topic in the football world, and they kinda had no choice but to finally address it. He showed huge courage a year after getting his knee shredded, and has nothing to prove with me. I'm looking forward to seeing what he can do with some protection. No longer feeling like a single postseason win is almost too much to hope for. A championship is a legitimate hope for this fan base now. Another truly remarkable thing he did last year.

I agree with everyone on here stating he should be innocent until proven guilty, and certainly not tried in social media before court. That's ridiculous. But ridiculous is the world we currently live in. Someone on a ladder to the top of that world needs to be INTELLIGENT. This was a very dumb move for many reasons, not the least of which is having his reputation torpedoed. Now we have to wonder if the totality of the accusations are true. Add in he hasn't played particularly smart, had to be told it's important to show up to camp in shape, and I'd understand if Bengal brass wanted to part ways. That sucks cause I DON'T know exactly what he did, and I think he could develop into a much better player.

We'll see moving forward with the improved o line, but we had plenty of need to check down to a RB during the playoff and Super Bowl run.

I saw nothing but upside with Chris Evans when they drafted him. The major gripe was he hadn't played enough, but as far as I could tell it was related to scholastic issues which he rectified. Just more tread on the tires for a swiss army knife type back. He didn't get a lot of touches last year, but he did average 4.5 yards per carry and over 10 yards per catch, with 2 touchdowns. Surprised they didn't use him a little more.

Last year I was just hoping and praying we'd finally win a playoff game. This year I'll be disappointed with anything less than a championship. I know that's wildly premature, and pro football is a wildly unpredictable sport year to year, but this hope is based on two things. Firstly, and obviously, my heart is with the Bengals. I deeply enjoy watching this team succeed. Secondly, I think on paper we're the team to beat. We had a glaring deficiency that caused us to come up just short last year, and the front office dealt with it immediately. That is DIFFERENT. The unstoppable force that is Burrow and Chase is winning out over the unmovable object that was the front office's ineptitude. It's truly remarkable for us long time fans. The three new o linemen and our new tight end are all solid pickups and they're talking like they've all bought in already. Hope they grab anybody else they can and have a good draft. I'd like to see this team start crushing other teams like the early to mid 90s Cowboys. Why not? This fanbase deserves it.

I feel strangely a little worried about being disappointed by this, like she'll be wearing Jets gear on Monday morning after they lose. Lol

Seattle was a head scratcher in 2021. Mixon's 42 catches were over half as many as Metcalf's 75. They just refused to get him seriously involved for almost the entire season. I started wondering if it might have even been something personal, Metcalf is a pretty immature teammate at best. Didn't hear much though, and now Wilson is gone.