Bengals vs. Phillies

[WVRed]

Finally got to watch most of a full game.

I don't think it matters who is the QB right now, whether it is Palmer or Fitzpatrick. Nobody is going to do well with as many sacks as were taken today. Fitzpatrick may actually have an advantage over Palmer in that he has mobility. Palmer would have been a lamb being led to the slaughter in this one.

That being said, Bratkowski might be the most predictable and conservative offensive coordinator in the league. I'm convinced that with what little I know about football that I could run plays on defense that would beat the Bengals. When they ran on third down in OT I thought my head was going to explode. Not to mention running Cedric Benson (a power runner) east to west instead of north to south. Overall mismanagement.

The defense is the lone bright spot on this team. It has taken some time, but I believe Zimmer has earned his keep.

On the other side, not to sound like Rush Limbaugh, but would anybody else agree Donovan McNabb is the most overrated QB in the league?

I'm hoping for two to three things this offseason:

1.Marvin goes or gets a GM to take the load off. I can go with either one.

2.Bratkowski absolutely has to go. I can't stand to watch another week of this playcalling.

3.Get back to basics in the draft and invest in offensive and defensive lines. Build up in the trenches before anything else.

[Reds4Life]

What offense? The Bengals 'O' is pathetic. When they lost Carson Palmer they lost any semplance of an 'O'.

Personally, I don't understand why Palmer doesn't admit his arm is damaged and get the surgery that he most likely needs. At least work on next year Carson since you are no help to this hapless team in '08.

Rem

Yep. If he would have had the surgery already, which he should have, he'd be working on rehab now and could be 100% by the start of next season. There is no reason for him to wait, this team isn't going anywhere this year so the idea he could jump in and "help" is totally pointless.

[Hoosier Red]

If the time back from a surgery is roughly 12 months, than now, later or a month ago doesn't really matter. If the doctors are right and rest will take care of it, than surgery would have been a bad idea dont ya think?

[remdog]

If the time back from a surgery is roughly 12 months, than now, later or a month ago doesn't really matter. If the doctors are right and rest will take care of it, than surgery would have been a bad idea dont ya think?

No. No one has said what the surgery would be or what the recovery time would be.

Waiting out the rest of the season is fruitless since he's not going to help the Bengals, who are simply beyond help. However, by doing so you are also throwing in the towel on the '09 season if recovery time is a year. So, in effect, you are looking at '10 as the next time Palmer has a chance to help this team. If you take care of the problem early and recovery time is say, 6-9 months the '09 season isn't down the toilet already.

Rem

[blumj]

On the other side, not to sound like Rush Limbaugh, but would anybody else agree Donovan McNabb is the most overrated QB in the league?

I didn't see this game, but his attempts at running a hurry-up offense are literally comical. How can he still be that bad at it?

[camisadelgolf]

On the other side, not to sound like Rush Limbaugh, but would anybody else agree Donovan McNabb is the most overrated QB in the league?

McNabb is certainly up there, but if Matt Cassel keeps going like he has been, he will make Tom Brady look average. Some people argue that Brady's the best quarterback in the NFL, even above Peyton Manning due to the quantity of Super Bowl rings, but I'll take Palmer over Brady any day.

I would nominate Ben Roethlisberger, too. I also think it's a matter of time before Tony Romo implodes.

[SunDeck]

3.Get back to basics in the draft and invest in offensive and defensive lines. Build up in the trenches before anything else.

Football is funny. On the one hand it is enormously complex (although that seems to be lost on the Bengals and Bratkowski), and on the other hand it is tremendously simple.

The object of the game is to push the other team towards their own end zone and to prevent from being pushed towards your own end zone. You can't do either of these unless you control the line of scrimmage. You can't pass if your offensive line doesn't protect your quarterback. You can't run if your linemen don't create holes in the other team's line. You can't stop a team if you can't plug up the holes and push the pocket towards the passer.

Let's draft some cornerbacks!

[WVRed]

McNabb is certainly up there, but if Matt Cassel keeps going like he has been, he will make Tom Brady look average. Some people argue that Brady's the best quarterback in the NFL, even above Peyton Manning due to the quantity of Super Bowl rings, but I'll take Palmer over Brady any day.

I would nominate Ben Roethlisberger, too. I also think it's a matter of time before Tony Romo implodes.

I'll maintain that Tom Brady is a system quarterback, similar to Kurt Warner with the Rams during their Super Bowl run. You will have the numbers, but its ultimately a reflection on the coach orchestrating the plays.

Once teams started finding out how to disrupt the system, Warner became a below average QB. I believe the same will ultimately happen with Tom Brady.

[camisadelgolf]

I'll maintain that Tom Brady is a system quarterback, similar to Kurt Warner with the Rams during their Super Bowl run. You will have the numbers, but its ultimately a reflection on the coach orchestrating the plays.

Once teams started finding out how to disrupt the system, Warner became a below average QB. I believe the same will ultimately happen with Tom Brady.

I'm not saying I disagree with you, but how do you explain Warner having the best QB rating in the NFL this year?

[WVRed]

I'm not saying I disagree with you, but how do you explain Warner having the best QB rating in the NFL this year?

I think he has made some adjustments and has bonafide weapons that he hasn't had since the days in St Louis.

I'd be interested in seeing Marshall Faulk, Torry Holt, and Isaac Bruce's numbers in Warner's Super Bowl year compared with Edgerrin James, Larry Fitzgerald, and Anquan Boldin at the end of the season.

I kinda knew that would come up. My point was after he was knocked out and people figured out how to disrupt Martz's system, Warner collapsed and it took going to Arizona to get it fixed.

[Sea Ray]

That being said, Bratkowski might be the most predictable and conservative offensive coordinator in the league. I'm convinced that with what little I know about football that I could run plays on defense that would beat the Bengals. When they ran on third down in OT I thought my head was going to explode. Not to mention running Cedric Benson (a power runner) east to west instead of north to south. Overall mismanagement.

I agree. He needs to go but he's not the only OC who calls plays like that. Did you catch the end of the Browns game last night? With less than a minute remaining with the Bills only needing a FG to win it, they throw a nice pass which gets them to about the 35 yd line. Then they proceed to run the ball three times, gaining maybe a total of 3 yards and then their kicker just barely misses the long FG. Game lost and likely out of the playoff hunt. That was Bratkowski-like indeed.

[Sea Ray]

Exactly.

The fact that the Bengals haven't made Carson have the surgery yet is just example number 1,000,000 of why this franchise is completely pathetic with no hope of being anywhere close to contender status.

Just totally pathetic from top to bottom.

Things in medicine are not always so cut and dried. I don't think it's a given that he needs TJ surgery. Remember when Barry Larkin partially tore his elbow ligament in the All Star game skills contest? He had to sit out the rest of the year but he didn't need surgery. I think Carson's injury is similar to Barry's.