2011 NFL Thread: The Lazarus Season - Part 5

[SuperBatman]

Damn the AFC West is so sad Almost any team can win that Division now. SD Oakland and KC are 4-4 Denver is a game behind at 3-5.

 

[JewishHobbit]

Glad to see Cincy pull out a win! I'm worried starting next week but I'm hoping this newer team ends up being the type who plays up to their opponant no matter how crappy or great they are. I'm not holding my breath over the next few weeks but I have high hopes regardless.

 

[Darthphere]

Meh. I wouldn't be. The Bengals first half schedule was beyond weak. Their second half, not so much. They barely edged past a mediocre team. Imagine what Baltimore and Pittsburgh will do to them (both of whom they play twice) and Houston should give them a run for their money. 8-8 is still very possible for this team.

Honestly, I feel bad for you guys. Marvin Lewis has just justified another extension which means next year will be another slump. Jay Gruden needs to be in the driver's seat. But as long as tickets continue to be sold, Brown will change nothing.

Calm down. Boom knows that I mean nothing bad by it. Just as he knows that I sympathize with the Bengals because they are for all intents and purposes the Pittsburgh Pirates of the NFL.

Nah, you do this every time something positive happens with the Bengals. The year they won the division and went 6-0 within the division you could not give them an ounce of credit.

 

[Genesis 1.0]

Alex Spanos: "Rivers is having an off year & pressing a little too much."

Pretty much what I've been saying for weeks now. An excellent QB having an off year.

 

[Sith Scotti]

Oh my . Big win for the Giants . They are a cardiac arrest team but man Eli is as good as anyone with 2 minute drives

 

[Matt]

Nah, you do this every time something positive happens with the Bengals. The year they won the division and went 6-0 within the division you could not give them an ounce of credit.

And I was right, wasn't I? Exactly what I said would happen, would happen.

 

[Dr. Evil]

Sigh....during an NFL recap on the radio, one of the radio guys said that the Chargers got "Peprah Sprayed" by the Packers.

 

[Genesis 1.0]

Wow, NBC just has the worst pregame show.

 

[Darthphere]

And I was right, wasn't I? Exactly what I said would happen, would happen.

How were you right because they sucked the next year? You play to win the game and all that jazz. What happened after was irrelevant. You acted like the other teams just went into the game and just let the Bengals win. You didn't give them any credit for winning those games just like you can't give them credit now with your "soft schedule" reasoning.

 

[Dr. Evil]

Wow, NBC just has the worst pregame show.

Fits in well with 90% of their programming.

 

[Matt]

How were you right because they sucked the next year? You play to win the game and all that jazz. What happened after was irrelevant. You acted like the other teams just went into the game and just let the Bengals win. You didn't give them any credit for winning those games just like you can't give them credit now with your "soft schedule" reasoning.

Umm, I didn't give them credit because they didn't deserve it. They were a mediocre team who won all of their games but one by one touchdown or less. They went one and out in the playoffs and won the AFC North in an off year with a 10-6 record. Not exactly inspiring. And this year they do have a soft schedule and are barely edging out mediocre teams. Of course, by arguing with you, I am giving you exactly what you want, so good day sir.

 

[Kane52630]

Well...I'm hoping the Ravens win in spite of Matt.

 

[Darthphere]

Umm, I didn't give them credit because they didn't deserve it. They were a mediocre team who won all of their games but one by one touchdown or less. They went one and out in the playoffs and won the AFC North in an off year with a 10-6 record. Not exactly inspiring. And this year they do have a soft schedule and are barely edging out mediocre teams. Of course, by arguing with you, I am giving you exactly what you want, so good day sir.

 

[Matt]

Well...I'm hoping the Ravens win in spite of Matt.

I don't think that they will, but I think they will make get the Wildcard spot and beat Pittsburgh in the play-offs.

 

[Ironfan72]

I can see the soft schedule arguement, but that said the teams Cincy played were not all that bad, Bengals beat the then undefeated Bills, they lost two really close games one at Denver where Cincy had a chance at the end and a really ugly defensive slugfest with San Francisco 13-9, at the end of the day these are still NFL teams the Bengals are beating, and no one gave them a chance in heck to be in this position, even early on before the season started, espn and local sports talk shows were saying how bad a year it looked for Cincinnati, even saying Cleveland would beat them twice garanteed, now look Cleveland is no where near as good as early season projects had them and the Bengals are tied for first place.
Now that said, yes, they have to play Baltimore and Pittsburgh twice and Houston, does this mean the season is over, what happens if Cincinnati goes out and splits with Both Baltimore and Pittsburgh and beats Houston, what excuse do people have then to say they are not that good, will that happen, who knows, buy winning breeds confidence and they believe they can compete, as a fan thats all I hope for, especially since all the experts wrote the Bengals off before the season even started.

 

[Boom]

Guess I'll jump back in here.

Matt does have a point. The next five weeks are going to be absolutely brutal, and will be the true test for this team. I mean look at this:

Steelers
Ravens
Browns
Steelers
Texans

Take out the Browns (who still have a chance to beat us, mind you), and you've got four extremely difficult games right there. A lot of Bengals fans are jumping on the "playoff bandwagon." I'm not so quick to do so.

Still, a win's a win, and even Matt's realism isn't going to bring me down tonight. So don't worry about that .

 

[Ironfan72]

Don't get me wrong, I am not on the playoff bandwagon either, that is a brutal schedule, guess as a fan, to see that this team is better than I had hoped and having a better season than I expected makes me happy is all, no, they could easily fall apart, its the NFL after all, these are great teams, and will be a good measuring stick on where they are and where they need to go.

Guess I'll jump back in here.

Matt does have a point. The next five weeks are going to be absolutely brutal, and will be the true test for this team. I mean look at this:

Steelers
Ravens
Browns
Steelers
Texans

Take out the Browns (who still have a chance to beat us, mind you), and you've got four extremely difficult games right there. A lot of Bengals fans are jumping on the "playoff bandwagon." I'm not so quick to do so.

Still, a win's a win, and even Matt's realism isn't going to bring me down. So don't worry about that .

 

[Boom]

They're certainly doing better than I expected. I pegged them at 4-12 at the start of the season.

Honestly, I'm very concerned about our secondary. Coverage has been terrible, and pass rushing has been nonexistent. While we've been able to hang in there and pull off some wins in spite of it, teams like the Ravens and the Steelers are going to have a field day with our secondary.

 

[SpideyInATree]

Ravens looked way too good on that first drive. Come on Steelers you need to step it up!

 

[Ironfan72]

They're certainly doing better than I expected. I pegged them at 4-12 at the start of the season.

agreed, 4-12 was about what alot of people were looking at for this team, so the fact they are doing better than expected and getting more positive attention nationally is a nice bonus, but as we are Bengals fans we know that Mike Brown still owns the team and will screw something up,lol.
That said, Andy Dalton has been a great addition and is growing and learning, he shows the tools a QB needs to compete in the NFL, and the receivers they have including Caldwell and Simpson, guys who are just now living up to their potential as well as Grissom and Green and Shipley makes a nice core of young talented offense, now they will need to look at their running back situation in the off season, and maybe draft a running back and add more depth on the defensive side, so they have a bright future.

 

[Boom]

Yep.

Still, you have to take the Bengals year-by-year. No sense in hoping for a dynasty while Mike Brown's running the show .

 

[Venom'sDad]

Steelers
Ravens
Browns
Steelers
Texans

I can see them winning three of those games, including a split with the Steelers.

 

[SpideyInATree]

Missed field goal! Gotta love it! Now come on offense lets get something going and bury these Ravens!

 

[kane9321]

Winning the NFC West is like being the world's tallest midget.

not funny

 

[Poeman]

-Three touchdowns passes by Andy Dalton.
-No fumbles.
-No interceptions.
-First five-game winning streak in 22 years.
-Dalton the first rookie QB in franchise history with a 6-2 start.

Minus the atrocious play by our secondary, I'm in a very good mood .

Bengals are the future and dont worry about that secondary, im sure they will draft one of LSU's corners