Kind of hard to believe it will be 3 straight season without a playoff birth considering how wide open the AFC North is currently.

Starting to have a Blake, Pickens, Scott feel to it albeit we have no Corey Dillon on the team.

I guess I fell into the Katie and Troy Blackburn trap after our miraculous playoff run a mind blowing 5 years ago. We snuck into the playoffs that year with. a 10-7 record and caught lightning in a bottle. Afraid those days are over.

I can’t believe it has been 4 years since we could be called good or great.

2 hours ago, SF2 said:

Kind of hard to believe it will be 3 straight season without a playoff birth considering how wide open the AFC North is currently.

Starting to have a Blake, Pickens, Scott feel to it albeit we have no Corey Dillon on the team.

I guess I fell into the Katie and Troy Blackburn trap after our miraculous playoff run a mind blowing 5 years ago. We snuck into the playoffs that year with. a 10-7 record and caught lightning in a bottle. Afraid those days are over.

I can’t believe it has been 4 years since we could be called good or great.

I think we all had hope that Katie would do things differently. But as Red says in The Shawshank Redemption "Hope is a dangerous thing".

Remember some 10 years ago Katie said 'running an NFL team is hard".......even harder when you dont give yourself enough resources to do the job. We saw that with the contract negotiations this past offseason - they literally paralyzed the whole front office and they still paid more than they would have if they had addressed it earlier. Thier 'business model' is not built for winning football games, plain and simple. It is built for milking the NFL system. I would like to call them stubborn but it is far more than that. They would KNOW what the good teams do to stay competitive. So really, they are just constantly giving the middle finger to the fanbase.

They really need to blow this thing up, starting with the front office. Get a better personnel guy in there, regardless of whether you call him a GM. Double the scouting staff. Go big on rebuilding the defense. Can they get Matt Patricia to lead it? I'm ambivalent on Zac and the offense. It is kind of stale but it's also pretty productive.

They have the hardest piece to get, a franchise QB. If this offense had a 25th ranked defense they'd be in first place in the AFC North

If its any consolation the Cheifs are fighting for their playoff lives. I'm not sure they make it.

26 minutes ago, Jamie_B said:

If its any consolation the Cheifs are fighting for their playoff lives. I'm not sure they make it.

Yeah, it’s not… 😐

NFL teams can be turned around in a couple of years. They can also fall apart in that time too.

The last impact player the Bengals drafted after round 1 was Higgins in 2020. Chase Brown is a good player and DJ Turner is good too. That's about it for the last 5 drafts.

A competent front office could turn things around quickly, given we have Burrow, Chase, and Higgins. But winning football games or even titles, isn't their top priority.

7 hours ago, SF2 said:

Kind of hard to believe it will be 3 straight season without a playoff birth considering how wide open the AFC North is currently.

Starting to have a Blake, Pickens, Scott feel to it albeit we have no Corey Dillon on the team.

I guess I fell into the Katie and Troy Blackburn trap after our miraculous playoff run a mind blowing 5 years ago. We snuck into the playoffs that year with. a 10-7 record and caught lightning in a bottle. Afraid those days are over.

I can’t believe it has been 4 years since we could be called good or great.

You fell into the trap.

Tibor has always called it for what it is.

Stupid fans praised Mike Brown after the SB run. He's still as stupid and cheap as hell.

And his dumbass daughter isn't much better.

Rinse and repeat.

8 hours ago, SF2 said:

Kind of hard to believe it will be 3 straight season without a playoff birth considering how wide open the AFC North is currently.

Starting to have a Blake, Pickens, Scott feel to it albeit we have no Corey Dillon on the team.

I guess I fell into the Katie and Troy Blackburn trap after our miraculous playoff run a mind blowing 5 years ago. We snuck into the playoffs that year with. a 10-7 record and caught lightning in a bottle. Afraid those days are over.

I can’t believe it has been 4 years since we could be called good or great.

And we were top 5 in cap space coming off that year.

1 hour ago, sparky151 said:

NFL teams can be turned around in a couple of years. They can also fall apart in that time too.

The last impact player the Bengals drafted after round 1 was Higgins in 2020. Chase Brown is a good player and DJ Turner is good too. That's about it for the last 5 drafts.

A competent front office could turn things around quickly, given we have Burrow, Chase, and Higgins. But winning football games or even titles, isn't their top priority.

It's almost unbelievable how bad they have drafted. I know the draft is a crap shoot and everyone has busts and it's hard to draft consitantly well blah blah blah... But it has to be just as hard to not to draft hardly anyone that's good. Like statistically impossible almost. Ehhh..at least they are profitable.

8 minutes ago, gupps said:

It's almost unbelievable how bad they have drafted. I know the draft is a crap shoot and everyone has busts and it's hard to draft consitantly well blah blah blah... But it has to be just as hard to not to draft hardly anyone that's good. Like statistically impossible almost. Ehhh..at least they are profitable.

100%. It’s mind blowing how bad they have drafted and “developed” on D. Marvin and Zim knew college talent… Duke and crew clearly don’t.

To Duke’s credit, they nailed FA 5 years ago with Tre, Hilton, Chido, Bell, Reader, etc. but they haven’t since. And if you can’t hit with either FA or the draft, you’re screwed… which is what’s happened.

But fear not, our crack personnel staff of 5 (6?) is gonna absolutely nail this next one. After all, It’s not about having more voices, it’s about having… the right voices. Right, Duke?

P.S. we will go to war… with what we have! (ducks).

Tobin is brutal

9 hours ago, Jamie_B said:

If its any consolation the Cheifs are fighting for their playoff lives. I'm not sure they make it.

After 10 playoff appearances in a row, 7 straight AFC Championship games, and 3 Lombardis in 6 years.., no.

Chiefs are a good organization ill admit but during their run they got more calls than the cheatriots did during their run and we were cheated in tr AFCCG that pthey beat us and their division absolutely sucked during their run too 6 easy wins a year until the last two yesrs the Broncos have improved the chargers not so much due to injuries this year

I was kinda hoping that I'd login today and see that something big happened. Maybe we got a new popcorn guy or maybe they got new mops for the cleaning staff. Perhaps a coaching change. Maybe they fired the assistant water boy coach. IDk anything. But of course nothing.

1 hour ago, SF2 said:

After 10 playoff appearances in a row, 7 straight AFC Championship games, and 3 Lombardis in 6 years.., no.

And one never knows how the NFL sees the benefit of the “comeback Chiefs” in marketing?

But it’s blatantly obvious the favorite children will be Buffalo. The sales job has begun already

16 hours ago, texbengal said:

100%. It’s mind blowing how bad they have drafted and “developed” on D. Marvin and Zim knew college talent… Duke and crew clearly don’t.

To Duke’s credit, they nailed FA 5 years ago with Tre, Hilton, Chido, Bell, Reader, etc. but they haven’t since. And if you can’t hit with either FA or the draft, you’re screwed… which is what’s happened.

But fear not, our crack personnel staff of 5 (6?) is gonna absolutely nail this next one. After all, It’s not about having more voices, it’s about having… the right voices. Right, Duke?

P.S. we will go to war… with what we have! (ducks).

Yes, but the reason Duke had to go out and get all those FA's was because the team had drafted badly. Building a competitive team means you have to be good at the drfat, develop well, land some FA's to fill holes/gaps and also hit on a few UDFA's. And you have to do it consistently. Could add that you have to manage the cap well - keep the players that are working out and ditch those that don't.

Other then our top 5 picks, it truly looks like our good picks are random hits as our baseline is missing.

When the Eagles won the SB last year, did they not have 2 or 3 rookies playing starting minutes? We have the same but the worst D in the league...enough said.

12 hours ago, Le Tigre said:

And one never knows how the NFL sees the benefit of the “comeback Chiefs” in marketing?

But it’s blatantly obvious the favorite children will be Buffalo. The sales job has begun already

The league is not dumb. It is a money making machine so it will promote what and whom it has to make money. I am sure the NFL loved the Taylor Swift shit in the last few years - easy money being made off her being in the KC wife's box. Move camera to TS everytime Kelce touches the ball.

2 hours ago, I_C_Deadpeople said:

Yes, but the reason Duke had to go out and get all those FA's was because the team had drafted badly. Building a competitive team means you have to be good at the drfat, develop well, land some FA's to fill holes/gaps and also hit on a few UDFA's. And you have to do it consistently. Could add that you have to manage the cap well - keep the players that are working out and ditch those that don't.

Other then our top 5 picks, it truly looks like our good picks are random hits as our baseline is missing.

When the Eagles won the SB last year, did they not have 2 or 3 rookies playing starting minutes? We have the same but the worst D in the league...enough said.

Sure, totally agree - FA should be add-ons to your roster, complementary pieces… not guys who will be cornerstones in your turnaround. They caught lightning in a bottle and it’s unlikely to happen again.

Teams don’t let good guys hit the market, typically. Especially not mid to late 20 year old guys who can play. To expect that to happen again is a fool’s errand.

If you’re a draft and develop team, they have to hit on premium picks and they clearly haven’t. That’s the part that sucks… if Duke stays, you’re putting your trust in a guy to build a winning D roster via the draft, and he’s shown you that post-Marvin and Zim, he’s failed miserably. No reason to think that will change.

2 minutes ago, texbengal said:

Sure, totally agree - FA should be add-ons to your roster, complementary pieces… not guys who will be cornerstones in your turnaround. They caught lightning in a bottle and it’s unlikely to happen again.

Teams don’t let good guys hit the market, typically. Especially not mid to late 20 year old guys who can play. To expect that to happen again is a fool’s errand.

If you’re a draft and develop team, they have to hit on premium picks and they clearly haven’t. That’s the part that sucks… if Duke stays, you’re putting your trust in a guy to build a winning D roster via the draft, and he’s shown you that post-Marvin and Zim, he’s failed miserably. No reason to think that will change.

Agreed, nothing will change if no changes are made. Clealry the team is as bad at college draft prospect scouting as it is FA scouting. Bad combo.

15 hours ago, Catfish Bob said:

I was kinda hoping that I'd login today and see that something big happened. Maybe we got a new popcorn guy or maybe they got new mops for the cleaning staff. Perhaps a coaching change. Maybe they fired the assistant water boy coach. IDk anything. But of course nothing.

I was waiting for a new locker room.

21 hours ago, tibor75 said:

You fell into the trap.

Tibor has always called it for what it is.

Stupid fans praised Mike Brown after the SB run. He's still as stupid and cheap as hell.

And his dumbass daughter isn't much better.

Rinse and repeat.

It's not stupidity. It's greed, entitlement, and ego. Their goals are not what we'd like them to be as fans, that's all. I see a family of billionaire nepo babies desperate to convince everyone (including themselves) that they somehow deserve it and have earned their station. The NFL is just a circus to them, & though that's becoming closer to the truth every year, they also like to act as though they're above it all while the rest of the league feeds them and takes advantage of their bad decisions.

They're kind of like the hog farmer insisting they don't smell anything outside.

21 hours ago, gupps said:

It's almost unbelievable how bad they have drafted. I know the draft is a crap shoot and everyone has busts and it's hard to draft consitantly well blah blah blah... But it has to be just as hard to not to draft hardly anyone that's good. Like statistically impossible almost. Ehhh..at least they are profitable.

It's not random, it's commitment to a poor process. Bengals brass used to brag about how many players they had drafted were still in the league somewhere. So Adeniji and Zach Carter were good picks by that metric. I think Carman is still on a roster somewhere.

The irony is that Paul Brown's descendants like to think of themselves as "football people" when PB was a wheeler dealer in ways that would make his son and grandkid's heads explode.

20 hours ago, texbengal said:

100%. It’s mind blowing how bad they have drafted and “developed” on D. Marvin and Zim knew college talent… Duke and crew clearly don’t.

To Duke’s credit, they nailed FA 5 years ago with Tre, Hilton, Chido, Bell, Reader, etc. but they haven’t since. And if you can’t hit with either FA or the draft, you’re screwed… which is what’s happened.

But fear not, our crack personnel staff of 5 (6?) is gonna absolutely nail this next one. After all, It’s not about having more voices, it’s about having… the right voices. Right, Duke?

P.S. we will go to war… with what we have! (ducks).

Only Hendrickson and Reader were expensive signings from the 2021 FA class. You could add Eli Apple as well. This past year our big outside FA additions were Slaton and Burks. Not much to write about there. Patrick and Risner are depth pieces who are ok.

Bengals are allegedly committed to drafting and developing players but then can't do so better than their competitors. That's a recipe for failure.

1 hour ago, texbengal said:

Sure, totally agree - FA should be add-ons to your roster, complementary pieces… not guys who will be cornerstones in your turnaround. They caught lightning in a bottle and it’s unlikely to happen again.

Teams don’t let good guys hit the market, typically. Especially not mid to late 20 year old guys who can play. To expect that to happen again is a fool’s errand.

If you’re a draft and develop team, they have to hit on premium picks and they clearly haven’t. That’s the part that sucks… if Duke stays, you’re putting your trust in a guy to build a winning D roster via the draft, and he’s shown you that post-Marvin and Zim, he’s failed miserably. No reason to think that will change.

Yeah, if some day 3 pick doesn't pan out, you can replace him with a free agent journeyman. It's missing on high picks like Carman, Murphy, Jenkins, etc which hurts. Knight looks likely to continue the trend.

1 hour ago, T-Dub said:

It's not stupidity. It's greed, entitlement, and ego. Their goals are not what we'd like them to be as fans, that's all. I see a family of billionaire nepo babies desperate to convince everyone (including themselves) that they somehow deserve it and have earned their station. The NFL is just a circus to them, & though that's becoming closer to the truth every year, they also like to act as though they're above it all while the rest of the league feeds them and takes advantage of their bad decisions.

They're kind of like the hog farmer insisting they don't smell anything outside.

Actually, the hog farmer doesn't. They become accustomed to the smell.

1 hour ago, UncleEarl said:

Actually, the hog farmer doesn't. They become accustomed to the smell.

Right. They're still knee deep in pig shit, though, being the point.

1 hour ago, sparky151 said:

The irony is that Paul Brown's descendants like to think of themselves as "football people" when PB was a wheeler dealer in ways that would make his son and grandkid's heads explode.

He also spent 10 years coaching high school teams & turning bad programs into consistent champions, then another 5 at the college level. 15 years of proven coaching and team-building experience before he ever went to the pros. His descendants have done none of that.