People can be bitter all they want about the Steelers/Ravens' success, but enough with the 'same old Bengals' crap. This is a new decade.
People can be bitter all they want about the Steelers/Ravens' success, but enough with the 'same old Bengals' crap. This is a new decade.
I agree with you and have posted similar thoughts in this thread. But to play devil's advocate, this team won a division title 2 years ago. I am not sure why limping to a .500 record two years later is somehow acceptable.
Despite what many people keep saying, MANY past Bengals teams showed a lot of heart and made dramatic comebacks against the Ravens and Steelers. In 2009, Carson Palmer led the team in a game very similar to this one at Baltimore, except they were able to win. (He also led the team to a thrilling come-from-behind win over Pittsburgh at home.) I swear, sometimes I think I'm the only Bengals fan who remembers that 2009 happened. All these comments along the lines of "past Bengals teams would have folded when down 17!" just aren't true at all about many recent teams, or really most of Marvin's teams, IMO.
In any event, I will continue to feel good about this team as long as they keep winning the games they are supposed to win, and that includes Cleveland this week. That is the type of game they absolutely can't lose, and the pressure will really be on, and I will have no problem calling the team a major disappointment if they lose. This is really the first must-win game of the year.
This theory is absurd. For one, Pete had already been long disgraced when that vote happened. If he did put some sort of sports curse on the city, it would have happened when he was banned from baseball. But that happened in August 1989; the Reds won the World Series not 1.5 years later. (Pete watched that World Series from a jail cell, if I recall.) And even given your date of February 1991, the Reds have had some success since then, and have won a playoff series since then.
It's obvious to me that only one team in this city is really cursed, and it's the Bengals. And it's equally obvious that they are cursed as a result of ending the career of Bo Jackson, who was probably the greatest athlete in American history, but whose career was sadly cut short by the Bengals. (We didn't end his career totally, but he was never the same.) That was in 1990. The Bengals didn't make the playoffs again until 2005, when they lost to their most hated rivals in one game. And again in 2009 they lost in Round 1 in embarrassing fashion. They have simply never been the same since they ended Bo's career, and I'm pretty sure the Sports Gods will make sure they never will be.
2009 seems like a distant memory doesn't it. 2009 was a fun year, with a lot of dramatic comebacks. But to me its really the different directions that the teams are going. The 09 team did it with a bunch of vets, smash mouth football, with a good but aging defense. This team is doing it when no one expected anything of them, their best players are young, very young, and the team should be trending in the right direction. Oh and throw in an offensive game plan that isn't stagnant based upon what worked 3 years ago.
The Bengals absolutely need to win the Cleveland game. They can afford 2 more losses on the schedule and make the playoffs. I do think the Bengals will beat the Ravens at home, even if the Ravens are going full bore, but I really would like to see that game not matter.
If you have a losing record at Reds games, please stop going.
They were explaining on Sportstalk after the game that the Horsecollar rule doesn't apply to a quarterback who is in the pocket. Which makes sense(sort of) because the reason a horse collar tackle is so dangerous is if a runner is running one direction, and gets yanked in the other direction it causes whiplash. Not as severe if a person is stationary and gets pulled down that way.
What I didn't understand was the announcers saying Dalton made a bad decision by chucking it there. One thing I've always thought was that the Intentional grounding penalty wasn't severe enough. The penalty is that essentially the other team is awarded a sack. So from where Dalton was,completely wrapped up, it's not like he was going to get anything anyway. Might as well chuck it in the general direction of the receiver and see if you get lucky with a no call.
Periara had more to say about the call courtesy of Bengals.com
The Johnson rule wasn't what upset me yesterday. It was the fact that there was not enough evidence to overturn it. I looked at the replay over and over again with CBS and could not say with 100% certainty that his hand came off the ball.“Gresham was going to the ground to complete the catch, but he had complete control of the ball in his right hand before the ball hit the ground,” Pereira wrote. “I do agree that the ball moves slightly when it hits the ground, but in this case Gresham kept his right hand on the ball the entire time. The ball will always move, which is why referees are told never to use that terminology. You either maintain possession or you lose possession, which means your hands come off the ball.
In the end, it’s all about judgment. But you need absolutely indisputable evidence to overturn a ruling on the field.”
If you have a losing record at Reds games, please stop going.
Not to harp on the calls but I also noticed on the Gresham "non TD" call that Kyle Cook gets his helmet ripped off by a Ravens' player. Shortly after the snap, you see his helmet go flying in the air about 3-5 yards yet no hands to the face or unnecessary roughness penalty? It was 3rd and 2 and would have extended the drive.
Somewhat unrelated, but when was the last time any NFL team had back-to-back drafts as successful as the Bengals' 2010 and 2011 drafts, especially without any extra picks?
Andy Dalton, AJ Green, Jermaine Gresham, Carlos Dunlap, Jordan Shipley and Geno Atkins?!? WOW.
Go BLUE!!!
Something to note:
Of Dalton's 12 interceptions, two were intended for Simpson and Gresham, three for Green, and SEVEN for Caldwell.
I agree it looks promising. But I guess I've been 'Bungalized' too much over the years. Whenever this team has high expectations, they always seem to cave. Looking back, it's kind of hard to believe the Bengals only went to the playoffs twice with Palmer as their QB.
Cheers to hoping Dalton and Co. bring an end to that next season.
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