The Official Championship Games thread

[scharm]

Quitters never prosper!

Marvin Lewis is a quitter?     After watching and enjoying the remainder of the NFL playoffs there is no fucking reason even with a back up QB that the Bengals couldn't be in this Superbowl.

I wish Marvin would start some fucking prospering.

[saphead]

We were a Denver win away from the fucking 1 seed. That fateful Monday night in Denver was everything. 

The Bengals led that motherfucker 14-3. 

 

[|schotzee|]

Maybe he should have Andy 

Marvin Lewis is a quitter?     After watching and enjoying the remainder of the NFL playoffs there is no fucking reason even with a back up QB that the Bengals couldn't be in this Superbowl.

I wish Marvin would start some fucking prospering.

Maybe if he had AJ start shouting Omaha...I think that means somebody get open.

[|Elflocko|]

We were a Denver win away from the fucking 1 seed. That fateful Monday night in Denver was everything. 

The Bengals led that motherfucker 14-3. 

 

The loss to Houston was worse IMO... 

[Jamie_B]

The loss to Houston was worse IMO... 

Yep. We were the better team, we had no business losing to Houston.

[scharm]

The Bengals haven't lost to a non-playoff team since Cleveland Nov 2014.   It's just so damn annoying.

Beat the Broncos last year.   Had them on the ropes again this year.    Played very good against Arizona.   Last we saw Carolina, tied them through some buffoonery of our own.    Of course we know the Pittsburgh Steeler struggles.   No way the Bengals should be 1-4 against those Steeler teams, but we are.

Time and time again Marvin's team's find a way to lose big primetime and playoff games.   Just dumb as hell that there is no hot seat for the head coach after so many big failures on the big stage.

But hey!  We are going to draft!  Any free agent we lose we need anyway.   Any free agent we sign is the answer.   Of course this annual trip to the wild card round is something we should expect to continue on for forever and it's just a matter when the league decides to let us win it or we catch lightening in a bottle. 

[Jamie_B]

For me it reminds me of when the Bulls used to always lose to the Pistons and once they got over that hump they became the Bulls everyone remembers.

 

We just have to get past the Pistons. I really feel like most of it is mental.

[scharm]

For me it reminds me of when the Bulls used to always lose to the Pistons and once they got over that hump they became the Bulls everyone remembers.

 

We just have to get past the Pistons. I really feel like most of it is mental.

Reminds me of the Houston Oilers under Warren Moon.    Good/Great teams in the regular season but found every possible way to lose in the playoffs.   Eventually the team passed it's prime and collapsed in on itself and off to Nashville they went. 

Considering how good those Oiler teams were and nobody ever or rarely talks about them outside their fanbase.   That's what will happen to these Bengals is what I fear. 

[Jamie_B]

Reminds me of the Houston Oilers under Warren Moon.    Good/Great teams in the regular season but found every possible way to lose in the playoffs.   Eventually the team passed it's prime and collapsed in on itself and off to Nashville they went. 

Considering how good those Oiler teams were and nobody ever or rarely talks about them outside their fanbase.   That's what will happen to these Bengals is what I fear. 

Marvin Schottenheimer

[scharm]

Marvin Schottenheimer

Worse.   At least ole Schotty could get to a Conference Championship. 

[Le Tigre]

We were a Denver win away from the fucking 1 seed. That fateful Monday night in Denver was everything. 

The Bengals led that motherfucker 14-3. 

 

Defense didn't hold that lead. But then, allegedly much like Andy and ML, they do not show up at the right time either.  

[ArizonaRising]

Yes, Palmer played like hot garbage. Still, down 17-7 and Patrick Peterson muffs/fumbles that punt trying to pull some hero bullshit at midfield with 5 min left in 2nd quarter really was the backbreaker (along with Carson Delhomme's int festival). Could have been going into halftime with a little momentum and only down 3 or 7. Then the Panthers go right down and make it 24-7 immediately. And then the idiotic Carson pick at the end of the half. Could have been an entire different ballgame. Maybe we need to get a QBOF yesterday.

[oldschooler]

 

 

[oldschooler]

 

 

[oldschooler]

Perspective of a diehard Bengals fan while watching Carson Palmer crumble in the NFC Championship game

By Kyle Phelps  @KylePhelps92 on Jan 25, 2016, 1:24p 

 

I feel bad for the Cardinals, I really do. I would like to see the many well deserving members of the Arizona Cardinals find success. That includes people like Larry Fitzgerald, Bruce Arians, John Brown, and Patrick Peterson, all of whom are some of the most genuine and hard working guys in the NFL and deserve to be rewarded for their efforts.

I can't say the same about Carson Palmer. Don't get me wrong, I understand why he left the Bengals. In 2011, he was facing the prospect of having to go through a total franchise rebuild following a 4-12 season in 2010. If he wanted to win a Super Bowl, he felt his best chance was with a different team. On top of that, there were rumors that he and his family were being harassed by fans at his house. But, the fact of the matter remains: he was 31-years-old at the time and it was hard to imagine the Bengals really getting another serious shot at the playoffs with the current roster makeup. But, the abruptness of his decision was insulting and, ultimately, ill-advised. Many share this opinion, and many do not, but Bengals fans haven't shied away from expressing distaste for him since his departure from Cincinnati.

 

For a variety of reasons, he demanded a trade and threatened to completely retire if he didn't get what he wanted. He made good on that threat, too - never showing up to training camp, preseason, or the first games of the regular season. It was looking like the Bengals were content with not rewarding his temper tantrum and letting him retire. However, a combination of an incredible start to the season from Andy Dalton (6-2) as well as a blockbuster trade offer by then-Raiders' head coach, Hue Jackson, saw Palmer shipped to Oakland in exchange for a first round draft pick in 2012 and a conditional pick that turned into a second round pick the Bengals used on Giovani Bernard.

Personally, I rooted for him to succeed in Oakland. Sure, he left in the middle of a contract that, when signed, was the biggest contract in NFL history. Sure, he quit on his team for his own personal gain. But, everything worked out for the Bengals in the end and we all began to move on and adjust to life with Andy Dalton. Carson Palmer had one of his best statistical seasons the following year in Oakland, although the team clearly needed a bit more work for them to get to the point where they were a real competitor in the league.

Had that been where things ended, I would have been on his side. What actually happened was, he quit on the Raiders, too. Derek Carr had the Raiders going this year, but an on-board Carson Palmer could have given that franchise the jolt they needed. Instead, he quit on his second team in three years and joined the Arizona Cardinals in the 2013 offseason after two years spent with the Raiders.

Once he got to Arizona, he talked about how much of a struggle it was to "take on an owner" and how much it would mean for him to "beat the Bengals". You know, the team that  made him the No. 1 overall pick, gave him the biggest contract in NFL history (to that point), and gave him the trade that he asked for when he decided that he didn't like it in Cincinnati anymore.

Meanwhile, the Bengals have doing just fine without him, actually they've had their best five consecutive seasons in franchise history since he left. They played his Raiders in 2012 and gave him the walloping that should have been expected (34-10; Palmer sacked four times). The picks acquired from the trade turned into Dre Kirkpatrick and Bernard, and you could also attribute the Kevin Zeitler pick to the deal as the Bengals had multiple first round picks that year. All three of those players have turned into key players on the team. The team went from a time with nearly no playoff appearances, to consistently making the playoffs every year behind a quarterback that loves giving back to the community.

 

All the while, it wasn't until this January that Palmer finally won his first playoff. That game came against a reeling Green Bay Packers team in the Divisional Round of the playoffs this season, and Palmer threw two poorly advised interceptions that nearly gave the Packers the drive to come from behind and win it in overtime. They held on, but primarily because Larry Fitzgerald did what Larry Fitzgerald does so well - he shredded the secondary, making catch after catch.

At this point, I was thinking, "is he really going to whine and quit his way to a Super Bowl?" "Are the Bengals really so bad that they wasted a Super Bowl caliber quarterback?" Then, the Cardinals ran into the Panthers, and Palmer did what Palmer did so many times with the Bengals, he choked. Despite being sloppy, he got it done against the Packers. From my perspective as a Bengals fan, I didn't want to see him show us up or get away with acting like a spoiled child in the Conference Championships.

Palmer stepped onto the field in the NFC Championship game where the Cardinals were facing off against the Panthers and was ineffective for the first quarter. He recorded a touchdown in the middle of the second quarter to bring the Cardinals within 10 points, but then he proceeded to turn the ball over six times. Yes, SIX. That's the Carson Palmer we all remember, right? He could put up the big numbers in the regular season, but he just didn't have "it" under the big lights. Sure, the Bengals have struggled under the big lights, too, but Palmer blamed his team. He blamed his ownership. He quit on the team. He quit on us. He acted like the Bengals were the problem only to discover that he was part of the problem all along.

Then, it happened. In a game where everything had gone wrong for Palmer and the Cardinals, they were staring at a 42-15 deficit and we got the icing on the cake. For the last score of the game, Luke Kuechly, who grew up in Cincinnati and was at Boston College during the time that Palmer quit on the Bengals, got the final pick-six of a game littered with turnovers and brought the score up to 49-15 for the Panthers, which is how the game ended.

It was beautiful. It was validation. It was classic Carson Palmer causing six turnovers in a Championship game while trying to go to the Super Bowl. Excuse me, while I continue on not feeling bad at all.

 

http://www.cincyjungle.com/2016/1/25/10826882/perspective-of-bengals-fan-while-watching-carson-palmer-crumble-nfc-championship

[oldschooler]

2 fans? 

 

 

 

[ArizonaRising]

Perspective of a diehard Bengals fan while watching Carson Palmer crumble in the NFC Championship game

By Kyle Phelps  @KylePhelps92 on Jan 25, 2016, 1:24p 

 

I feel bad for the Cardinals, I really do. I would like to see the many well deserving members of the Arizona Cardinals find success. That includes people like Larry Fitzgerald, Bruce Arians, John Brown, and Patrick Peterson, all of whom are some of the most genuine and hard working guys in the NFL and deserve to be rewarded for their efforts.

I can't say the same about Carson Palmer. Don't get me wrong, I understand why he left the Bengals. In 2011, he was facing the prospect of having to go through a total franchise rebuild following a 4-12 season in 2010. If he wanted to win a Super Bowl, he felt his best chance was with a different team. On top of that, there were rumors that he and his family were being harassed by fans at his house. But, the fact of the matter remains: he was 31-years-old at the time and it was hard to imagine the Bengals really getting another serious shot at the playoffs with the current roster makeup. But, the abruptness of his decision was insulting and, ultimately, ill-advised. Many share this opinion, and many do not, but Bengals fans haven't shied away from expressing distaste for him since his departure from Cincinnati.

 

For a variety of reasons, he demanded a trade and threatened to completely retire if he didn't get what he wanted. He made good on that threat, too - never showing up to training camp, preseason, or the first games of the regular season. It was looking like the Bengals were content with not rewarding his temper tantrum and letting him retire. However, a combination of an incredible start to the season from Andy Dalton (6-2) as well as a blockbuster trade offer by then-Raiders' head coach, Hue Jackson, saw Palmer shipped to Oakland in exchange for a first round draft pick in 2012 and a conditional pick that turned into a second round pick the Bengals used on Giovani Bernard.

Personally, I rooted for him to succeed in Oakland. Sure, he left in the middle of a contract that, when signed, was the biggest contract in NFL history. Sure, he quit on his team for his own personal gain. But, everything worked out for the Bengals in the end and we all began to move on and adjust to life with Andy Dalton. Carson Palmer had one of his best statistical seasons the following year in Oakland, although the team clearly needed a bit more work for them to get to the point where they were a real competitor in the league.

Had that been where things ended, I would have been on his side. What actually happened was, he quit on the Raiders, too. Derek Carr had the Raiders going this year, but an on-board Carson Palmer could have given that franchise the jolt they needed. Instead, he quit on his second team in three years and joined the Arizona Cardinals in the 2013 offseason after two years spent with the Raiders.

Once he got to Arizona, he talked about how much of a struggle it was to "take on an owner" and how much it would mean for him to "beat the Bengals". You know, the team that  made him the No. 1 overall pick, gave him the biggest contract in NFL history (to that point), and gave him the trade that he asked for when he decided that he didn't like it in Cincinnati anymore.

Meanwhile, the Bengals have doing just fine without him, actually they've had their best five consecutive seasons in franchise history since he left. They played his Raiders in 2012 and gave him the walloping that should have been expected (34-10; Palmer sacked four times). The picks acquired from the trade turned into Dre Kirkpatrick and Bernard, and you could also attribute the Kevin Zeitler pick to the deal as the Bengals had multiple first round picks that year. All three of those players have turned into key players on the team. The team went from a time with nearly no playoff appearances, to consistently making the playoffs every year behind a quarterback that loves giving back to the community.

 

All the while, it wasn't until this January that Palmer finally won his first playoff. That game came against a reeling Green Bay Packers team in the Divisional Round of the playoffs this season, and Palmer threw two poorly advised interceptions that nearly gave the Packers the drive to come from behind and win it in overtime. They held on, but primarily because Larry Fitzgerald did what Larry Fitzgerald does so well - he shredded the secondary, making catch after catch.

At this point, I was thinking, "is he really going to whine and quit his way to a Super Bowl?" "Are the Bengals really so bad that they wasted a Super Bowl caliber quarterback?" Then, the Cardinals ran into the Panthers, and Palmer did what Palmer did so many times with the Bengals, he choked. Despite being sloppy, he got it done against the Packers. From my perspective as a Bengals fan, I didn't want to see him show us up or get away with acting like a spoiled child in the Conference Championships.

Palmer stepped onto the field in the NFC Championship game where the Cardinals were facing off against the Panthers and was ineffective for the first quarter. He recorded a touchdown in the middle of the second quarter to bring the Cardinals within 10 points, but then he proceeded to turn the ball over six times. Yes, SIX. That's the Carson Palmer we all remember, right? He could put up the big numbers in the regular season, but he just didn't have "it" under the big lights. Sure, the Bengals have struggled under the big lights, too, but Palmer blamed his team. He blamed his ownership. He quit on the team. He quit on us. He acted like the Bengals were the problem only to discover that he was part of the problem all along.

Then, it happened. In a game where everything had gone wrong for Palmer and the Cardinals, they were staring at a 42-15 deficit and we got the icing on the cake. For the last score of the game, Luke Kuechly, who grew up in Cincinnati and was at Boston College during the time that Palmer quit on the Bengals, got the final pick-six of a game littered with turnovers and brought the score up to 49-15 for the Panthers, which is how the game ended.

It was beautiful. It was validation. It was classic Carson Palmer causing six turnovers in a Championship game while trying to go to the Super Bowl. Excuse me, while I continue on not feeling bad at all.

 

http://www.cincyjungle.com/2016/1/25/10826882/perspective-of-bengals-fan-while-watching-carson-palmer-crumble-nfc-championship

Friends don't let friends become Cardinals fans  Always snakebitten

[Cat]

[Cat]

[Hooky]

2 fans? 

 

 

 

And one of them had a bag of trash to throw on Palmer.