ESPN Sees Problem With The Bengals

[|High School Harry|]

ESPN believes Marvin Lewis is clouding a bright future for Bengals

Tell us something we didn’t already know. 

 

by Jason Marcum@marcum89  Jul 11, 2017, 10:30am EDT

 

Personnel-wise, the Cincinnati Bengals have a bright future ahead of them.

Much of the core of the roster is under contract for multiple seasons, including Andy Dalton (who’s signed through 2020) and A.J. Green, (who’s signed through 2019).

As good as those two are as a foundation to build around, many other key players are also under contract for the foreseeable future. Dre Kirkpatrick, Clint Boling, George Iloka, Shawn Williams, Carlos Dunlap, Geno Atkins and Vincent Reyall are signed through at least the 2018 season. 

Then you’ve got the promising crop of young guys the Bengals have drafted in recent years, including Jake Fisher, Darqueze Dennard, William Jackson III, John Ross, Joe Mixon and Tyler Boyd. All of these guys are also signed until 2018, at the earliest. With so much young talented mixed with quality veterans, the Bengals should have a nice future ahead of them. 

 

As Bengals’ roster gets younger, future gets brighter

William Jackson III and Jordan Willis’ athleticism compared to top NFL players

ESPN somewhat agrees with that notion. They just unveiled a projection of how well all 32 NFL franchises set up for the next three season. With so many of the team’s key players under contract for the next two to three years, the Bengals probably should have come in on this list a little higher than the No. 14 spot. 

However, their reasoning for having the Bengals in the middle of the NFL is actually a fair one: the coach. 

 

14. Cincinnati Bengals

 

2016 record: 6-9-1 (Third in AFC North)

AFC North future rank: second

 

Why they're here: The Bengals are laced with talent at the skill positions on offense -- A.J. Green was on pace for a 1,700-yard season before going down in Week 11 -- and still feature a defense that's consistently competitive. But the long-term future of the offensive line is a major question mark after a poor 2016 season got worse when two key contributors (tackle Andrew Whitworth and guard Kevin Zeitler) bolted in free agency. The pipeline doesn't appear to be stocked with future stars up front, either. -- Field Yates

 

Biggest worry: Is Marvin Lewis' leadership enough to get this team to register its first playoff win since he took over in 2003? He is currently 0-7 in the postseason, despite registering double-digit wins six times in 14 years and coaching a roster often among the league's best from 1 to 53. Yes, Lewis has often been saddled with coaching players who aren't the most dependable/professional, but he's going to have to win a playoff game soon to keep his job. -- Louis Riddick

 

What could change for the better: Cincy lags in front-office outlook with a No. 20 ranking, somewhat understandable now that owner Mike Brown is 81 years old. However, Brown has taken steps over the past few seasons to prepare the team for a power transfer. Katie Blackburn and Duke Tobin have assumed larger roles in the organization, with seemingly positive results. It's plausible to think this front office could be set up well for years to come. -- Mike Sando

 

It’s clear ESPN doesn’t think highly of the Bengals future due to the head coach. As you can see in the  graphic (shown below hsh), that’s the area at which ESPN believes the Bengals are weakest going forward. That 66.7 rating is tied with the Jacksonville Jaguars for the fourth-lowest ranking of any team’s head-coaching situation. 

 

It’s safe to say if the Bengals had even what ESPN views as an average coach in terms of the rest of the NFL, the ranking would be somewhere around the top 10 of this ranking, if not higher. 

 

Alas, Lewis is still in Cincinnati, so the Bengals will have to make the best out of the situation they’re in. And to be fair, Lewis has taken this franchise to heights it’s never been before with seven playoff trips in an 11-year span. He’s taken this franchise from being a bottom-feeder in the 1990s to at least being respectable for much of his tenure.

But being unable to get the Bengals over the playoff hump while coming off a 6-9-1 season makes it hard to have faith that Lewis will take this franchise to the next level. Hopefully that’s not the case and Lewis is able to help the Bengals taste playoff victory and even more this coming season.

[fredtoast]

The only people who have really claimed we have an elite roster are the guys who want to bash Marvin (or Andy a few years ago).

 

The fans who select the Pro Bowls players don't agree.  The media who select the All Pro Teams do not agree.  The NFL players who vote for the top 100 players do not agree.  And most certainly Bengal fans do not agree.  In fact Bengals fans have been known to be some of the harshest critics for some Bengal players.

 

Marvin has not had the lost talented team in most of his playoff games, but I am not saying that is an excuse for 0-7.

[Jason]

2 hours ago, fredtoast said:

The only people who have really claimed we have an elite roster are the guys who want to bash Marvin (or Andy a few years ago).

 

The fans who select the Pro Bowls players don't agree.  The media who select the All Pro Teams do not agree.  The NFL players who vote for the top 100 players do not agree.  And most certainly Bengal fans do not agree.  In fact Bengals fans have been known to be some of the harshest critics for some Bengal players.

 

Marvin has not had the lost talented team in most of his playoff games, but I am not saying that is an excuse for 0-7.

 

Fan pro bowl voting is a popularity contest.  And the Bengals have one of the smallest markets in the NFL.

 

The Top 100 is largely based on last year's performance.  When the Bengals were good in 2015 they had several players in the top 100.

[Jpoore]

ESPN believes Marvin Lewis is clouding a bright future for Bengals
Tell us something we didn’t already know. 
 
by Jason Marcum@marcum89  Jul 11, 2017, 10:30am EDT
 
Personnel-wise, the Cincinnati Bengals have a bright future ahead of them.
Much of the core of the roster is under contract for multiple seasons, including Andy Dalton (who’s signed through 2020) and A.J. Green, (who’s signed through 2019).
As good as those two are as a foundation to build around, many other key players are also under contract for the foreseeable future. Dre Kirkpatrick, Clint Boling, George Iloka, Shawn Williams, Carlos Dunlap, Geno Atkins and Vincent Reyall are signed through at least the 2018 season. 
Then you’ve got the promising crop of young guys the Bengals have drafted in recent years, including Jake Fisher, Darqueze Dennard, William Jackson III, John Ross, Joe Mixon and Tyler Boyd. All of these guys are also signed until 2018, at the earliest. With so much young talented mixed with quality veterans, the Bengals should have a nice future ahead of them. 
 
As Bengals’ roster gets younger, future gets brighter
William Jackson III and Jordan Willis’ athleticism compared to top NFL players
ESPN somewhat agrees with that notion. They just unveiled a projection of how well all 32 NFL franchises set up for the next three season. With so many of the team’s key players under contract for the next two to three years, the Bengals probably should have come in on this list a little higher than the No. 14 spot. 
However, their reasoning for having the Bengals in the middle of the NFL is actually a fair one: the coach. 
 
14. Cincinnati Bengals
 
2016 record: 6-9-1 (Third in AFC North)
AFC North future rank: second
 
Why they're here: The Bengals are laced with talent at the skill positions on offense -- A.J. Green was on pace for a 1,700-yard season before going down in Week 11 -- and still feature a defense that's consistently competitive. But the long-term future of the offensive line is a major question mark after a poor 2016 season got worse when two key contributors (tackle Andrew Whitworth and guard Kevin Zeitler) bolted in free agency. The pipeline doesn't appear to be stocked with future stars up front, either. -- Field Yates
 
Biggest worry: Is Marvin Lewis' leadership enough to get this team to register its first playoff win since he took over in 2003? He is currently 0-7 in the postseason, despite registering double-digit wins six times in 14 years and coaching a roster often among the league's best from 1 to 53. Yes, Lewis has often been saddled with coaching players who aren't the most dependable/professional, but he's going to have to win a playoff game soon to keep his job. -- Louis Riddick
 
What could change for the better: Cincy lags in front-office outlook with a No. 20 ranking, somewhat understandable now that owner Mike Brown is 81 years old. However, Brown has taken steps over the past few seasons to prepare the team for a power transfer. Katie Blackburn and Duke Tobin have assumed larger roles in the organization, with seemingly positive results. It's plausible to think this front office could be set up well for years to come. -- Mike Sando
 
It’s clear ESPN doesn’t think highly of the Bengals future due to the head coach. As you can see in the  graphic (shown below hsh), that’s the area at which ESPN believes the Bengals are weakest going forward. That 66.7 rating is tied with the Jacksonville Jaguars for the fourth-lowest ranking of any team’s head-coaching situation. 
 
It’s safe to say if the Bengals had even what ESPN views as an average coach in terms of the rest of the NFL, the ranking would be somewhere around the top 10 of this ranking, if not higher. 
 
Alas, Lewis is still in Cincinnati, so the Bengals will have to make the best out of the situation they’re in. And to be fair, Lewis has taken this franchise to heights it’s never been before with seven playoff trips in an 11-year span. He’s taken this franchise from being a bottom-feeder in the 1990s to at least being respectable for much of his tenure.
But being unable to get the Bengals over the playoff hump while coming off a 6-9-1 season makes it hard to have faith that Lewis will take this franchise to the next level. Hopefully that’s not the case and Lewis is able to help the Bengals taste playoff victory and even more this coming season.

Have they done other ones? Can u post the pats?


Sent from my iPad using Go-Bengals.com

[|High School Harry|]

9 hours ago, Jpoore said:

Have they done other ones? Can u post the pats?


Sent from my iPad using Go-Bengals.com

I'm sure they have but I do not have access.  I slopped into this while surfing Yahoo.  I think Cincy Jungle reprinted the article from SI, Yahoo reprinted and I copy and pasted from Yahoo.  I know reprints from Cincy Jungle are frowned on by some on here.  But I wanted to post something fresh rather than a "What is your favorite color" post that one of the resident trolls turns into staturbation fest and flame war.  Popcorn is expensive.

[|schotzee|]

43 minutes ago, High School Harry said:

I'm sure they have but I do not have access.  I slopped into this while surfing Yahoo.  I think Cincy Jungle reprinted the article from SI, Yahoo reprinted and I copy and pasted from Yahoo.  I know reprints from Cincy Jungle are frowned on by some on here.  But I wanted to post something fresh rather than a "What is your favorite color" post that one of the resident trolls turns into staturbation fest and flame war.  Popcorn is expensive.

Lmao! Stop buying it at the theatre! 

[omgdrdoom]

51 minutes ago, High School Harry said:

I'm sure they have but I do not have access.  I slopped into this while surfing Yahoo.  I think Cincy Jungle reprinted the article from SI, Yahoo reprinted and I copy and pasted from Yahoo.  I know reprints from Cincy Jungle are frowned on by some on here.  But I wanted to post something fresh rather than a "What is your favorite color" post that one of the resident trolls turns into staturbation fest and flame war.  Popcorn is expensive.

 

I'm not complaining that it's from Cincy Jungle or wherever the original content is from, but...

 

Did you really call an article talking about the Bengals having a good roster but lacking in coaching/front office as being "fresh"? lol?

[|High School Harry|]

1 hour ago, schotzee said:

Lmao! Stop buying it at the theatre! 

 

I guess I'll have to start buying bigger boxes.

Rarely go to the movies any more.  My lady friend, "The World's Oldest Teeny Bopper", and I usually go out to dinner, see what's playing and go home and watch Netflix for free.  Waiting for Dunkirk.  Cillian Murphy is one of my favorite actors.  Main character of Peaky Blinders, one of the best series going on Netflix that not many people watch because of the stupid name.  Hint:  Peaky Blinders refers to the caps the gang wears ... they put razor blades in the brims (peaks) and whack people in the face with them in brawls.

Oops... wrong forum ...

[|High School Harry|]

1 hour ago, omgdrdoom said:

 

I'm not complaining that it's from Cincy Jungle or wherever the original content is from, but...

 

Did you really call an article talking about the Bengals having a good roster but lacking in coaching/front office as being "fresh"? lol?

 

Tru dat...

 

Marvin Lewis ----> <---- HSH

 

Recent meeting of the Marvin Lewis Fan Club at their club house.  All members in attendance.

[|westside bengal|]

HSH can post anything he wants anytime.  The topic might not be fresh but the perspective always is!

[omgdrdoom]

Oh no complaints from me about the post. To be honest I'd really like to see this place get more activity so I don't care if it's the millionth thread or post about Marv being mediocre or not. Just pointing out that I didn't quite find "fresh" to be the most suitable word for this topic haha

 

On the topic - I disagree with Freddie's premise that Pro Bowl/AP voting and the NFL Top 100 players list should be used to define roster quality. Sure it's nice to have All Pro players and whatnot, but you can have a very good roster without multiple AP players. For example, I'd take the roster full of pretty good starters and backups over the roster of 2 elite players, lots of mediocre starters, and poor quality backups. The Bengals roster has been very good over the past few years, I'd put our 53 in the top 10 almost every year since 2013. There's a reason we won so many regular season games in that time frame.

 

We were the more talented team in at least a few of our playoff matchups. Even if we weren't, I've seen lesser talented teams win playoff games plenty of times against powerhouses in either conference. It's just crazy that Marvin has found a way to go 0-7. I don't think he deserves 100% of the blame for the playoff drought, but he surely has to be held accountable for some of the problems as that's how it works when it comes to the head coach of a professional sports team.

[|SF2|]

4 hours ago, omgdrdoom said:

Oh no complaints from me about the post. To be honest I'd really like to see this place get more activity so I don't care if it's the millionth thread or post about Marv being mediocre or not. Just pointing out that I didn't quite find "fresh" to be the most suitable word for this topic haha

 

On the topic - I disagree with Freddie's premise that Pro Bowl/AP voting and the NFL Top 100 players list should be used to define roster quality. Sure it's nice to have All Pro players and whatnot, but you can have a very good roster without multiple AP players. For example, I'd take the roster full of pretty good starters and backups over the roster of 2 elite players, lots of mediocre starters, and poor quality backups. The Bengals roster has been very good over the past few years, I'd put our 53 in the top 10 almost every year since 2013. There's a reason we won so many regular season games in that time frame.

 

We were the more talented team in at least a few of our playoff matchups. Even if we weren't, I've seen lesser talented teams win playoff games plenty of times against powerhouses in either conference. It's just crazy that Marvin has found a way to go 0-7. I don't think he deserves 100% of the blame for the playoff drought, but he surely has to be held accountable for some of the problems as that's how it works when it comes to the head coach of a professional sports team.

The reality is by the beginning of the 4th quarter in the first 6 playoff games, our team was in full choke mode.  They were being completely out coached and out played at that point.  We couldn't stop simple running plays and the offense was totally shitting themselves.  

 

The last game against Pittspuke was just disturbing on many levels.

 

Marvin was outscored 96-29 in the second half of those playoff games and keep in mind, 4 of the 7 games were home games.

[|Bunghole|]

On 7/12/2017 at 4:29 PM, SF2 said:

The reality is by the beginning of the 4th quarter in the first 6 playoff games, our team was in full choke mode.  They were being completely out coached and out played at that point.  We couldn't stop simple running plays and the offense was totally shitting themselves.  

 

The last game against Pittspuke was just disturbing on many levels.

 

Marvin was outscored 96-29 in the second half of those playoff games and keep in mind, 4 of the 7 games were home games.

THIS...plus all the injuries we seem to have had at the end of several of those seasons. Rex Burkhead, top wideout and all that...

[omgdrdoom]

10 hours ago, Bunghole said:

THIS...plus all the injuries we seem to have had at the end of several of those seasons. Rex Burkhead, top wideout and all that...

 

I'm not saying we didn't have a lot of key injuries or anything that year because we obviously did, but...

 

The whole "Burkhead was our top wideout!" narrative that runs around on various Bengals message confuses me. I see it all over the place and I don't get it. Rex Burkhead played 9 total snaps on offense in that WC game. He wasn't lined up at WR in all of those. I understand that the premise of the statement is pointing out how Green, Jones, and Eifert were all injured, but maybe pointing out that Brandon Tate had to play 79% of O snaps at outside WR is more telling than Burkhead playing <15% of them.

[|Bunghole|]

3 hours ago, omgdrdoom said:

 

I'm not saying we didn't have a lot of key injuries or anything that year because we obviously did, but...

 

The whole "Burkhead was our top wideout!" narrative that runs around on various Bengals message confuses me. I see it all over the place and I don't get it. Rex Burkhead played 9 total snaps on offense in that WC game. He wasn't lined up at WR in all of those. I understand that the premise of the statement is pointing out how Green, Jones, and Eifert were all injured, but maybe pointing out that Brandon Tate had to play 79% of O snaps at outside WR is more telling than Burkhead playing <15% of them.

I know he wasn't, it's a joke. He did however make the most of those snaps he did get. But like you said, just having to line him up out there at all and Tate and Lafell be your starting group is pretty bad.