Coley Harvey: Has the Bengals' Super Bowl window closed?

[oldschooler]

For this Season? Well, yeah. But the way I see it, it is wide open and will remain that way for quite some time ...

 

(Video in the link)

http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=14621895

 

[Le Tigre]

Yep...totally slammed shut for all time. 

Just like the Stealers, right Coley?

[|High School Harry|]

Thank you, Coleyobvious.

As obvious as a Cleveland cook out.

BTW... E-Nun-Ciate.

[Hooky]

There's no way they go to the playoffs ______ times in a row.

[Jamie_B]

Closed? No, but depending on how FA shakes out we may take a step back and have to reload a few positions.

[|High School Harry|]

Not being Debbie Downer but so many changes in the coaching ranks has to have some effect as far as changes in scheme and strategy.  Getting away from Hue's shotgun passing (w it occasional draw) and under center run schemes, all the jumping around pre snap and taking for-freakin'-ever to get the damn play off.  So will we have under center drop back run fakes added, some degree of hurry up or no huddle?  Hope so.  What can the new linebacker coach do with Maualuga (don't touch Burfict) and the all Joe Baggadounts linebacker corps(e)?

Personnel changes, for sure, with the addition of Ogbuehi and Fisher and this year's draftees (a linebacker, pleasepleaseplease).

The Marvin factor, too.  Last year of contract.  Is he transitioning out or being extended?  No matter how anyone feels about Marv that is going to have an impact.

I'm not looking for instant success and the orange and black brick road to the Super Bowl just yet.  Not a criticism, just it will take awhile for things to... gel (as much as I dislike that term).

[scharm]

Said this last year.     Do you see Marvin avoiding the couple regular season pitfalls that has their playoff seeding ceiling at 3? 

Then can you see Marvin coaching and winning 2 road games in the playoffs after we assume he eventually wins 1? 

Can Marvin bring home back to back division championships?  

I won't say the window is closed but I sure as hell won't believe until I see it.

[t5 Hill Runs Wild]

until lewis is gone I have no faith that this team will a playoff game .

[saphead]

Cole slaw > Coley Harvey

[Jason]

Yeah, free agency will say a lot about the window.

[UncleEarl]

Lame as hell.  Not a bad question, but his rambling statement of new coaches and FAs added nothing.  

I say no.  The core talent on this team is still in place and not all that old either.  Next season could be a rocky one with so many coaching changes.  Hard to tell how good the new coaches will be and how quickly their changes will be effectively implemented.  

The Benagls will lose a few FAs, but I doubt it will be many starters.  Either Sanu or Jones will go.  I think the starters most likely to go will be Reggie Nelson and Andre Smith.  Both players are in line for a payday, getting a little older, and the Bengals have good young players ready to step in to those roles. 

Even if they take a step back in '16-'17, they should be reloaded in '17-'18.

[mhfinks]

Consistently getting there, however, IMO if they go in 2016. They go all the way. We have to get over the edge sometime. FA and the draft will tell us what we need to know. Status quo like the last few years, or aggressive improvements. We will see, love this team, whoDey 

[|schotzee|]

until lewis is gone I have no faith that this team will a playoff game .

Then gtfo outta here.

[BengalsFanFromNY]

Doesn't matter what we do in the offseason. We already have more than most teams talent wise but our coaching doesn't know how to take advantage of it. We should be winning now and I mean in the playoffs. AJ Green needs to be hungrier and get the ball more like Julio Jones. Eifert needs to stay healthy and keep doing what he's doing. Andy has to play like he did this year, pretty much this year was great overall but what happened was the playoffs came and all of the sudden the coaching staff pulled out the tail between the legs playbook.

[Le Tigre]

Figure once  Manning is gone--this year is it--that will open up one of the top-2 seeds. If this team gets one of the top 2, they will go far. The AFC really is not that good overall. 

[BengalBaron]

News flash: we have no window until we can convince it is financially viable to have the Bengals win the Super Bowl.  

 

And, why don't we get the news articles like the Stealers do:  Vaulted Bengals will only improve with now experienced rookies and fresh experienced coaches.  Expect the Bengals to again control AFC North.

[MichaelWeston]

This article is crap and the fears about Free Agency are as well. This team is loaded if every Free Agent left and the likelihood of that happening is next to none. If at the least they get back Iloka and Jones they are Super Bowl Contenders again without any other players. They lose them they are still in the playoffs. We are talking about your 3rd receiving option on offense and a non playmaking safety. These are not stars. We will be fine. 

[Hooky]

Figure once  Manning is gone--this year is it--that will open up one of the top-2 seeds. If this team gets one of the top 2, they will go far. The AFC really is not that good overall. 

I think Osweiler could've had the same success. The Broncos D is getting it done.

[Le Tigre]

Yeah, but I am not so sure about just their defense being able single-handedly launch them into the Top 2. Os is OK, but not a game-changer.  

[Randle P McMurphy]

Lame as hell.  Not a bad question, but his rambling statement of new coaches and FAs added nothing.  

I say no.  The core talent on this team is still in place and not all that old either.  Next season could be a rocky one with so many coaching changes.  Hard to tell how good the new coaches will be and how quickly their changes will be effectively implemented.  

The Benagls will lose a few FAs, but I doubt it will be many starters.  Either Sanu or Jones will go.  I think the starters most likely to go will be Reggie Nelson and Andre Smith.  Both players are in line for a payday, getting a little older, and the Bengals have good young players ready to step in to those roles. 

Even if they take a step back in '16-'17, they should be reloaded in '17-'18.

Are you expecting any "dramatic" changes with the new coaches?  I'm not.  How many came from

"outside" the organization other than Haslett?  1 maybe 2?  I agree that we'll probably lose Reggie

Nelson, Andre Smith and one of the two between Jones and Sanu.  Personally, I won't be terribly 

disappointed if Sanu goes.  Nelson had a great year but I also think he benefited from the fact we

were able to get pressure on the opposing QB's without having to blitz a whole lot and getting a 

strong year from Adam Jones.  

[oldschooler]

Bengals: Has the window closed?

 

The Window for the Bengals
The article below by Gil Brandt, former VP of player personnel for the Dallas Cowboys (1960-'89), caught my eye. He lists six teams that have the best window to win a Super Bowl. 

The Biggest Super Bowl windows
Gil Brandt, NFL.com

4) Cincinnati Bengals

 

 

 

 

Cincinnati's snakebitten recent playoff history aside, the Bengals might be the most complete team in the NFL. They have a solid quarterback in Andy Dalton, pass-catching studs in receiver A.J. Green and tight end Tyler Eifert and a strong running-back tandem in Giovani Bernard and Jeremy Hill. And don't forget about a defense that held opponents to 17.4 points per game, making it the second-stingiest unit in the league. Dalton should come back healthy after a fractured thumb held him out of the final three regular-season games and Cincy's wild-card loss to the Stealers. He's a very good quarterback who's helped theBengals reach the postseason in each of his five pro seasons.

One thing that hurt the Bengals was their apparent inability to control their emotions in that loss to Pittsburgh, with Vontaze Burfict and Adam Jones drawing penalties that cost the team 30 yards and, basically, the game. Burfict, who has been suspended for the first three games of the 2016 campaign, will have to do a better job of managing that. Also, the team faces some decisions in free agency, with receivers Mohamed Sanu and Marvin Jones, tackle Andre Smith and a bevy of secondary members (Leon Hall, Reggie Nelson, George Iloka and Adam Jones) set to hit the market. The Bengals should prioritize Jones over Sanu and should try to get younger in the secondary, but otherwise, I think they're in pretty good shape.

My thoughts
The Bengals have become a model of NFL consistency. 
But do they have a sixth straight playoff appearance in them?
Can they reach double digit wins for a fifth consecutive season?
Since the playoff loss to the Stealers, I've heard from many that the Bengals window has now closed, that they blew their best chance to win a playoff game and win the Super Bowl.

When I started thinking about this topic, I thought of the Reds.

Losing to the Giants in the 2012 playoffs was the Reds best chance to win not just a playoff series for the first time since 1995, but win a World Series for the first time since 1990. Instead, the Reds swung and missed after leading that series 2-0 and coming home. Sure, they got back to the playoffs again in 2013. But by that point they had faded to 3rd place in the division and into what turned out to be a one game Wild Card loss to the Pirates.

Sure, the Reds made the playoffs three times in a four year period, and back-to-back playoff appearances for the first time since The Big Red Machine (1975-76). But few wanted to admit the reality of the situation at the end of 2013. The window had closed on the Reds. Dusty Baker was fired and Shin-Soo Choo left in free agency. The opportunity to bring another championship was effectively over. Done. Sadly, it took the organization until the trade deadline of last season to accept that fate.

Have the Bengals reached the point of the window being closed? 
Are they getting closer to that point? Is the window still open?

Everything was going the Bengals way in 2015. They started 8-0, Andy Dalton was working on a career year and the team had stayed healthier than any team in the NFL. But then, opportunities for a number one seed and a bye slipped through the Bengals hands with a home loss to Houston, Dalton breaking his thumb, and a 14-0 lead slipping away at Denver on MNF.

Despite all of that, the Bengals were less than 90-seconds from ending the playoff curse with lead over the Stealers at PBS. Then disaster hit. 

Reasons to believe the window is still open:
*The main core pieces are all under the age of 30:
Andy Dalton (28), AJ Green (27), Tyler Eifert (25), Carlos Dunlap (26) and Geno Atkins (27). And we can add in Giovani Bernard (24), Jeremy Hill (23), Dre Kirpatrick (26) and Darqueze Denard (24).
*The Bengals have developed and settled into a plan for scouting, drafting and developing. There is a same page vision shared throughout the organization.
*Two OL draft picks (1st, 2nd rounders) wait in the wings.
*Hue Jackson left, but new offensive coordinator Ken Zampese takes over an offense he's been a part from the start with Dalton and company.
*The odds say the Bengals are certainly due to win a playoff game.
*The Bengals change in approach to the practice week, with modalities has been a major boost to the overall season long health of the team. The players believe in the process.

Reasons to believe the window has closed/is closing:
*15 free agents, including impact starters at wide receiver and in the secondary. 
*5 departures from the coaching staff: Hue Jackson, Vance Joseph, Matt Burke, Mark Carrier, Jay Hayes.
*Logic says the Bengals won't avoid injuries to the extent they did in 2015.
*Adam Jones, their best secondary player, is a free agent. Even if he returns, his play at the age of 32 figures to begin to decline.
*Vontaze Burfict will miss the first three games of the 2016 season due to suspension.
*Area scout Greg Seamon's departure to Cleveland leaves a hole in the scouting department, at a crucial time.
*The roster will not feel the same collective contract urgency of 2015, when 15 players were playing for new contracts.
*Only two current NFL teams have active playoff appearance streaks of more than the Bengals five: New England, Green Bay.
*The Pittsburgh Stealers and Baltimore Ravens, decimated by significant injuries last year, should be healthy and better in 2016.
*The schedule isn't easy, including the likes of New England, Denver, Philadelphia, NY Jets.
*The season schedule will be disrupted by an October trip to London to face Washington.
*If it hasn't happened to this point, what reason is there to believe Marvin Lewis can take the Bengals to the next level?

We will discuss the topic tonight at 7:05 on Sports Talk

How do you view the Bengals window to win a Super Bowl?

•  
   
• Still open

   
   
  

  58%
•  
  Closing

   
   
  

  30%
•  
  Closed

   
   
  

  12%
•  
   

 

Select your option and vote!

This is not a scientific poll and is for entertainment purposes only. The results of this poll are not valid for awarding prizes.

Looking at the history of sustained winning: 

Active consecutive playoff appearance streaks:
7 seasons: Patriots, Packers
5 seasons: Bengals, Broncos  
4 seasons: Seahawks 
3 seasons: Panthers 
2 seasons: Stealers, Cardinals
1 season: Redskins, Chiefs, Vikings Texans 

Most consecutive 10+ wins seasons, all-time:
16 seasons: 49ers (1983–98)
13 seasons: Patriots (2003–15)
9 seasons: Colts (2002–10)
7 seasons: Cowboys (1975–81)
6 seasons: Dolphins (1970–75), LA Rams (1973-78)
5 seasons: Stealers (1972–76), Redskins (1983–87), Bears (1984–88), Eagles (1988–92, 2000–04)

Read more: http://www.espn1530.com/onair/lance-mcalister-7818/bengals-has-the-window-closed-14329952/#ixzz3z57c1Roh

[RhodeIslandFan]

We can bitch and mown all we'd like. This was our window. It'll be tough making playoffs next season. That damn fumble! Ugh!

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[Le Tigre]

Someone gets to win the division.  Are you saying it will be the Stealers?

[oldschooler]

We can bitch and mown all we'd like. 

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We just got 13 inches of snow here in Wisconsin. I ain't mowing nothing.

Plenty of bitching and shoveling though.

This is a pic of me shoveling my driveway. About 3 more days and I should be done.

 

 

[|Lucid|]

We just got 13 inches of snow here in Wisconsin. I ain't mowing nothing.

Plenty of bitching and shoveling though.

This is a pic of me shoveling my driveway. About 3 more days and I should be done.

 

 

 

ROFL> That's hilarious!