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A Rock

BENGALS FANATIC
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Posts posted by A Rock

  1. 1 hour ago, Le Tigre said:

    I have always been amazed at the Logan’s Run-style fear of “old” players at 30. I mean, does the player suddenly shrivel up like the Wicked Witch of the West at midnight of their 29th year..or head off to Carousel? 
     

    I found this compilation of “old” players—who were still Pro Bowlers long after the erstwhile 30-year expiration date interesting

     

    https://www.sbnation.com/nfl/2019/7/23/18700752/nfl-best-season-oldest-players-by-position

     

     

    It's crazy. They could just renew on Carousel. Now they're finished forever. Why do they run?

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  2. 1 hour ago, Jamie_B said:

     

    I mean Jamar is getting to that point as far as running his mouth too, if were being honest.

    That's true. This might not annoy everyone, but it annoys me. Nothing screams louder than a ring. That needs to be the mindset. It's leadership's job to instill the message that being a clown, particularly an obnoxious one, does nothing to help the mission.

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  3. Well, passing on LaPorta was a mistake. Monster pickup for the Lions. Best run blocker of any rookie at any position by the way. But hey, Murphy should show flashes of being mediocre for a while to come. Sorry to be sarcastic and bitter, but articles like this tend to do that to me. Others on here post about the delinquency of duty at the top end of this organization and I'm right there now. We kind of walked ass backwards into Burrow as a no brainer first overall and consequently Chase as well at six, I believe the following year. They certainly set the league on fire coming within a whisker of a ring with the worst Oline anyone can remember. They've acquired a number of pieces to try to fix that problem, but follow through (depth, gelling, development, etc.) just....IDK. Always almost there. So back to the tight end. We need what? O line, D line, defensive back, tight end, and maybe running back. My bitter money is on another short term, "cost effective" tight end showing flashes of mediocrity. Come on Bengals, prove me wrong. 

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  4. 1 hour ago, BlackJesus said:

    If we could get Bowers in the draft go for it (a true playmaker). 

     

    Otherwise, might as well just bring back Sample and Hudson and use the money elsewhere. 

    Yeah, if I never hear "cost effective" and Bengals in the same sentence again, it'll still be too soon. Mindset. From the top down. Scratch and claw for as many true playmakers as possible, and see the "cost effective" guys for what they are. Average guys who should be playing their ass off to stay on the squad. 

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  5. 2 hours ago, Le Tigre said:

    The statement of “with or without (Burrow), they should never have looked as bad as they did (at times)”, speaks volumes. 
     

    To some extent, yes/no. The NFL is not only presently geared as a QB-driven league, but also where no one or two teams are totally dominant any longer. They have—by hook or by crook—achieved what they have wanted for decades: complete parity. Not that there aren’t “good teams” and “bad teams”…it’s that the canyon differences are dramatically narrowed. 
     

    The Bengals are not a “great team” any more than the Rats are…overall. Any given season, the propensity for a CFT or HOU can come out of the back to equal the “great teams” is there on a yearly basis. This didn’t exist 25 years ago. 
     

    The best the Bengals can do is retool…hope their oft-injured QB can piece 2021 together consistently…get leads and hold leads…and meander as best possible in a similarly tough division and conference. 
     

    Easy, right? 
     


     

    Yep, and the trade off used to be, you'd stick with your team through the miserable times and it felt all the better when it was your team's time to dominate. Teams like the Stealers (barf), Niners, Patriots were maniacal and took full advantage when they were great. Our franchise was never like that back in the day. Couple of serious runs at it in the 80's. Even the Bills, who are 0-4 in the big dance, did it four years in a row. They were definitely dominate, just couldn't close. Probably had no real shot against the Cowboys, but should've beat the Giants, and are probably the only franchise with a bigger "close but no cigar" legacy than us in the Super Bowl. Now this era has passed us by, and "did the Bengals overachieve" while finishing last in their division, is presented as a serious question for debate. Injuries happen every year. It's professional football. Every great play, player, and win along the way is fantastic. Analysis has always been fun, and still is. But for my old school money, the correct mindset has always been, unless you win the Lombardi, the season has ended in failure. An underachievement. Like you said, times have changed, and I'm not holding my breath for this mindset to take hold from Mike Brown down through the janitor. Unfortunately, luck will probably be a greater factor, and everyone seems to sort of unconsciously accept this.

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  6. 14 hours ago, BlackJesus said:

    I get that Zac is great at the "Camp Counselor" persona ... But I would rather he looked at this more with his brain than his heart. 

     

    Next year's run to the SB starts right now ... so he should make decisions with that in mind. 

    It should be ingrained in his heart and brain that the only thing that matters is a Lombardi. The franchise is 56 years old. No Championships. The fanbase has seen everything else multiple times by now. Maniacal focus on a ring, moral victories be damned. It's not possible to prove or quantify, but petty trash talk on social media or in the press never seems to benefit us.  Just get pissed (to the right degree) when we get beat and/or play poorly, and focus entirely on fixing it. 

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  7. I would prefer 6 straight wins and a Lombardi. LOL. That would be beyond a Festivus miracle, for sure. I think we're plummeting a bit, and I don't see a way out. With Bates and Bell the D was legit bend don't break, with timely big plays and turnovers keeping us right there. Now they're just....bad.  Can't scheme, can't even tackle. There's always hope with the offense. We just got humiliated in Pissburgh but still put up about 400 yards of offense. The formula? The D putting us way behind. Jake making bad decisions in severe catch-up mode. And of course, Zac Taylor. I think we had a 2nd and 1 at the Pissburgh 9? Something like that. Couldn't convert and came away with zero points. They just can't impose their will for a yard and/or Zac dials up some low percentage/risky plays. I think we gave away the Houston game in similar fashion. First and goal at the Houston 7, under 2 minutes to play, down by 3, and we came away with a field goal while only burning about 25 seconds! That is almost impossibly bad game management. I like Zac's personality, but I never have confidence in his decision making. 

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  8. Feeling pretty damn bitter. I never used to understand when people would post about management and ownership, but I get it now. Ultimately, that's where change starts. Like many of us, I entered this season with high hopes. We're supposed to be among the cream of the crop in the NFL now. We're not there. Some bitter observations (and these are true with or without Burrow, and sometimes they're even worse with Burrow). We cannot manufacture a yard on demand. We absolutely telegraph our intentions on offense (this is actually worse with Burrow). Our defense can't get off the field when we have an opponent in an obvious passing situation (3rd and long, etc.). Whenever we get some serious momentum on offense, Zac just kills us with some inexplicable play calling. These things have been true win or lose. They've been present even the last couple of years when we've had great success. We came up one play short on either side of the ball in the Super Bowl, and one play short on either side of the ball in the AFCC game. A lot of magic went our way with timely turnovers though, and that is not something to build a defense around. Without Bates and Bell, our D is starting to break before it can bend. If nagging issues with coaches and players persists and serious change isn't at least attempted, that's on management and ownership.  

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  9. On 12/19/2023 at 7:22 AM, PatternMaster said:

     

    Amen, brother...it's 3rd and 1 and the Bengals are moving the ball and Zac wants to get cute, just run the ball with Mixon twice for a first down if you have to. When he calls a game like it's a must-win game he's good, when he's having success he gets too silly with the play calling. He tends to overcomplicate things at times when it is unnecessary, football is a simple game, so there is no need to make it harder than it needs to be. 

    He loves doing it at the worst times. When there's the most to lose. Like being at the craps table with a compulsive gambler. Zac we actually won back the rent money, can you believe it? Zac's response, let it ride on hard eight!!!

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  10. The Eagles were 4 point favorites Monday night. You'd probably get 3.5 or 4.5 points if you took the Hawks depending where you bet. Philly was up 4 points when the Hawks needed to mount a 92 yard drive to go ahead. Metcalf had a couple amazing catches, the second one being particularly incredible as Lock dropped it right into the bucket with TIGHT double coverage on DK.  The game winner to Njigba with 30 ticks left was one of the most spectacular pass/catches I have ever seen. The financial implications of that drive were huge, but unless the NFL is using holograms, I don't think those plays were fixed. No phantom calls either. Just trying to offer some perspective here. Yes, we get hosed sometimes. As a Bengal fan it can feel like a conspiracy (to me anyways) sometimes because we're about 30+ years overdue on a rightful Lombardi trophy. When I put that emotion aside though, I don't buy it. When the Chiefs get a bs call their way, that's ironclad proof the entire enterprise is corrupt. When a bs non call costs them a game (Scantling), or a heads up correct offsides costs them a game, we just sweep it under the rug? Don't get it wrong. I despise the Chiefs and when a bs call goes their way I'm enraged. Some of you will think it's naive, but yes, I believe refs just f up sometimes. I sincerely hope this franchise gets a ring in my lifetime, and this particular narrative will be a lot less prevalent to Bengal fans.

  11. Two things. Zac has got to stop killing drives with nonsense. The domino effect is real. We lose rhythm, momentum, time of possession, and points with that garbage. Keep moving the sticks! Speaking of moving the sticks. Lou has got to dial up tighter coverage when we've got em 3rd and long. Particularly when they're on their side of the field. Conceding about twice as much underneath space as we should.

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  12. I like his quote about it being one game and that he's very paranoid about just falling off after that. It's important to be very confident, but also always contain a certain desperation for winning ( a pure repulsion to losing) as a driving force. The flip side on the same Championship coin of character. Nice hearing someone in the franchise talk this way. It seems I was definitely wrong about this guy.

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