Arkansas Bengal Posted October 5, 2023 Report Share Posted October 5, 2023 Mike Bass Special to The Enquirer USA TODAY NETWORK mbass@mikebasscoaching.com This cannot be happening to you. The Bengals cannot be this bad. You expected better than this. Everyone did. You feel angry or frustrated, confused or disappointed. “Not great so far but not yet time to overreact,” @kerlsburgers posted on X (ex-Twitter). “People on reddit are calling for (Zac) Taylor's head. That's how you turn this team into the Bears.” Welcome to the favorite game show of disgruntled diehards everywhere: “Whom Do You Blame?” This is the code of the fan. You want an answer. Keep it simple. You want an obvious scapegoat. When you highly identify with your team, when a loss is personal and even reflects on you, you are more prone to deflect blame to outsiders, such as officials and the league. But if those “external” forces don’t fit? You as fans can level down and fault the coach or owner. “They certainly are more likely to blame them than the players,” Dan Wann, the esteemed researcher on sports fan behavior, explained in an email to me. “Coaches and owners are external to the people performing the athletic event. And they are easy targets for players. It's easy to cope with team losses by blaming management. That way it's not on the players.” Which brings us to our favorite game-show spinoff: “Whom Do You Trust?” Fans trust players like Joe Burrow You trust the players, especially Joe Burrow. You identify with them. You care about them. You wear their jerseys, you seek their autographs, you watch them play for you, you are there for them, and they are your extended family. Handled right, they win. Witness 2021 and 2022. If a limited Burrow is healthy enough to play – and he and Taylor say so – then it must be the coaching. Taylor must not be adapting to this version of Burrow. The offense has devolved into one of the NFL’s worst. Blame Taylor! Lou Anarumo is a defensive whiz, so do you fault him for the lapses by his unit against the Titans? Are you ready to turn on Anarumo? Nope. Keep it simple. Blame Taylor! How about Mike Brown? Why didn’t the Bengals sign a more reputable backup quarterback who could step in for a week or two? And why didn’t they pay to fill other deficiencies? Same old cheap Bengals. Blame Brown! “Starting to realize we can’t have nice things,” @HadersX posted in our day-after-game X session. “We were Super Bowl contenders for two years, and now becoming a punchline again. Our star quarterback has injured himself, and (is) a shell of himself because of it. These types of things are ingrained in the history of our Bengals.” Sure, why not fall on old coping skills? Even when you win, you eventually lose. It is your legacy. Blame the fates! Make sense? Does any of this make sense? “Too much talent to play like this,” @ChrisSchloemer posted. Fans can't understand what is going wrong “Honestly, confused by the team on both sides of the ball,” @NaughtonArt posted. “I don’t recognize these guys. They seem flat & playing without much passion. Tough to watch .. Hope they can work together & find a way to build some momentum this week.” Last week, we considered honoring the process if the Bengals learned how to successfully reinvent themselves. Did you see any evidence of that Sunday? “Disappointed to say the least,” @bobo_j13 posted. “Think we need to change up play caller and figure out how to get chase more involved. Take notes from Miami and KC on their pre snap motions utilize the attention paid to your ⭐️. Over doubling our pass plays to run plays through 4 weeks is crazy.” Blame coaching! But wait. Burrow pointed to execution. He kept mentioning that in his postgame press conference Sunday. It was the admirable thing to do. Simple. General. Professional. True. Execute the plays that are called, and you have a chance. Of course. “We have a lot to get fixed,” he said. Blame execution! What percentage of this do you put on the players? Do you put any of this on Burrow not adapting to his limitations? (Uh-oh, did I say that out loud?) Do you dare? Your sacred cow is playing through a sprained calf. His courage is your pride. He will be the solution. “When Burrow gets right,” @bengalralph posted, “the rest of the team will follow.” Blame the calf! A healthy Burrow made everyone better Never underestimate the impact of a great quarterback. Burrow used to dictate the tempo. Burrow used to give his defense the lead. Burrow made everyone and everything better. In Burrow’s current condition, look at the state of the Bengals now. Coincidence? “Very frustrated, as the whole thing is a chain reaction,” @CoachKnox17 posted. “Love me some Joe Burrow, but that calf is messing a lot up...ie throw strength/rhythm. Add mobility issues = OL can't protect forever = the playbook gets screwed up = more 3 and outs = the D is out on the field too long.” Blame the calf! “Sad,” @brandonmariemil posted. Can you blame her for feeling that way? “Tired,” @StevenCrowtown posted. “It's getting easier to find other things to do than let this team dictate my mood every Sunday.” Can you blame him for feeling that way? “I gave up for this season,” @MassenMedien posted. Are you there already? No judgment here. You want hope. You want to stop blaming. You want to believe Taylor knows what he is doing by playing Burrow. You want a sign this is fixable. You don’t want to feel like this anymore. “Not in a good place,” @GregEvers2 posted, “but still have time to right the ship.” At least do enough to beat the beatable Cardinals, and now the Bengals are 2-3, same as last year. Even better, somehow pull out another win and enter the bye .500. Then Burrow can rest. and Taylor can more effectively recalibrate the offense. Which sounds great in theory. Or you can believe Taylor will perpetuate the mess he helped create. You have every right. If he is too slow to adapt, that is on him. He is ultimately responsible for what you see. If you blame him for doing this to you, call for his ouster. Mike Brown won’t listen, but you might feel better. Or blame Brown. Or blame the players for not executing. Or blame the calf. You can make a reasonable case for any as the prime suspect. Or blame the fates for cursing you again, if it helps. Or blame Roger Goodell. If you can’t find a reason now, odds are you will. https://www.cincinnati.com/story/sports/nfl/bengals/2023/10/05/bengals-1-3-start-must-be-zac-taylors-fault-right/71069827007/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arkansas Bengal Posted October 5, 2023 Author Report Share Posted October 5, 2023 What a stupid worthless article - I'm sorry I posted this... 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IKOTA Posted October 5, 2023 Report Share Posted October 5, 2023 21 minutes ago, Arkansas Bengal said: What a stupid worthless article - I'm sorry I posted this... Your posts are appreciated, even if one the articles you post lacks any substance whatsoever. Honestly you and Greiver are the main 2 reasons I came back to this board again. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|High School Harry| Posted October 5, 2023 Report Share Posted October 5, 2023 1 hour ago, Arkansas Bengal said: What a stupid worthless article - I'm sorry I posted this... Don't apologize. The occasional face palm and eye roll article are good reminders of what total tools some "experts" are. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griever Posted October 5, 2023 Report Share Posted October 5, 2023 1 hour ago, IKOTA said: Your posts are appreciated, even if one the articles you post lacks any substance whatsoever. Honestly you and Greiver are the main 2 reasons I came back to this board again. Well that just made my day 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Le Tigre Posted October 6, 2023 Report Share Posted October 6, 2023 Actually, it was a curious parody of what is a degree of reality. Or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|High School Harry| Posted October 6, 2023 Report Share Posted October 6, 2023 15 hours ago, IKOTA said: Your posts are appreciated, even if one the articles you post lacks any substance whatsoever. Honestly you and Greiver are the main 2 reasons I came back to this board again. Add Membengal to the list. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatternMaster Posted October 6, 2023 Report Share Posted October 6, 2023 16 hours ago, IKOTA said: Honestly you and Greiver are the main 2 reasons I came back to this board again. Being that I'm the MJ of this board, I feel a certain type of way about that...My post rating backs up my assertion of my greatness. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatternMaster Posted October 6, 2023 Report Share Posted October 6, 2023 So according this guy, the HC isn't responsible for the win-loss record of the team...I guess that's the fan's responsibility...what editor signed off on this drivel? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arkansas Bengal Posted October 6, 2023 Author Report Share Posted October 6, 2023 14 hours ago, Griever said: Well that just made my day Ditto! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IKOTA Posted October 6, 2023 Report Share Posted October 6, 2023 1 hour ago, High School Harry said: Add Membengal to the list. For sure. All those who posted tweets and articles and other tidbits of info. You’re the reason I came back. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IKOTA Posted October 6, 2023 Report Share Posted October 6, 2023 41 minutes ago, PatternMaster said: Being that I'm the MJ of this board, I feel a certain type of way about that...My post rating backs up my assertion of my greatness. Enjoy your posts very much Smoov. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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