2012-2013 Bengals Discussion

[Wonderful Monds]

All I can say is, Maurice Jones-Drew would've looked really nice the past few games. It's a shame they couldn't have done anything about that while it was still an issue.

[cincrazy]

For those that want Marvin gone, be careful of what you wish for. Things could very well get much worse.

[MWM]

It's no coincidence that they never are good 2 years in a row. They get close and only need a couple of improvements, then they go backwards. I'm convinced this is exactly what Mike Brown wants. I don't think he really wants sustained success very much. He's content to have a year like last year every few years to keep people just interested enough to get enough people to show up so that he makes a profit. He's perfectly content to tease every once in a while just to keep people off his back.

[Redsfaithful]

I'm convinced a Mike Brown psychological study would be interesting. It's clear that winning isn't his number one priority, it's sucking as much money out of the franchise and out of the region as possible, and he's actually good at that.

How do you grow up as Paul Brown's son and then not have a desire to win? Did he dislike his father? Or is he stuck on the way his father did things, and that doesn't work in the modern NFL?

Then again, for how much he is revered, Paul Brown was a bit of an idiot too. He wouldn't promote Bill Walsh and tried blocking him from getting on anywhere else in the league as a head coach. So the dominant head coach of the 80s ends up in San Francisco instead of Cincinnati.

Really, with football the Bengals pretty much get what they deserve from the way they have been run by the Brown family, it's just a shame Cincinnati has to be hurt.

[Dom Heffner]

Originally Posted by MWM

It's no coincidence that they never are good 2 years in a row. They get close and only need a couple of improvements, then they go backwards. I'm convinced this is exactly what Mike Brown wants. I don't think he really wants sustained success very much. He's content to have a year like last year every few years to keep people just interested enough to get enough people to show up so that he makes a profit. He's perfectly content to tease every once in a while just to keep people off his back.

Easy schedule gets them a playoff berth, then they get a tough one because they made it. Then it's easy because they go 3-13.

They're a C+ organization. Just blah.

[camisadelgolf]

Mike Brown strikes me as a puppet for his lawyers, who are probably friends of his in his eyes. He's known as being very loyal, and it's to a fault.

[Sea Ray]

Originally Posted by Dom Heffner

Easy schedule gets them a playoff berth, then they get a tough one because they made it. Then it's easy because they go 3-13.

They're a C+ organization. Just blah.

The schedule isn't their problem this year. They're losing to teams like the Browns/Dolphins. They're just a bad team

[mdccclxix]

That Dalton INT that he didn't mean to release was surmountable, but I think will be remembered as some sort of marker of his legacy unless he can guide them back to the playoffs. Will be tough considering they've got a loss to all 3 North teams now.

The problem is likely the coach who has rarely been able to win a big game (regular season or playoffs) in all his years here. The underdog card has never even helped them. It's time for Marvin to join the front office and hire a new voice. In fact, I'd like to see it happen during this bye week, lol.

I really like the continuity factor of keeping Lewis, but he's not inspiring enough excellent play. He's also not always shown he can start the right guys, or bench them soon enough. Bench Ray M. Now. Should have benched Chad in 2009. Should have been playing Dunlap perhaps earlier. Taylor Mays should never have been traded for. The Law Firm was a questionable every down back. Etc.

The team has a lot of great picks too, so I really do like Lewis, but he's got some odd holes in his overall profile. Use his strengths in the FO, IMO.

[mdccclxix]

Sucks that there is room in the budget, but Joseph was let go. Also sucks that Kirkpatrick is injured. To me, he looks awfully scrawny, so I hope he's not a wilting flower like Chris Perry. There were questions about his game that may not ever be answered, either.

[RiverRat13]

Originally Posted by mdccclxix

Sucks that there is room in the budget, but Joseph was let go. Also sucks that Kirkpatrick is injured. To me, he looks awfully scrawny, so I hope he's not a wilting flower like Chris Perry. There were questions about his game that may not ever be answered, either.

Joseph wanted out and was going to leave via free agency unless the Bengals made a substantially larger offer than anyone else.

[traderumor]

All the annual sinister explanations for Mikey and the Bengals inconsistency, when it is really as simple as them reaching their level of competency with their existing personnel and management team. Some seasons the pointy end pigskin bounces their way for whatever reason, others their real talent level comes to roost. Portraying it as an evil plot by the owner during the tough seasons is always good for a little chuckle, I guess.

[MWM]

Evil plot? No one said that. He is incompetent and just doesn't care.... that's different.

[Benihana]

Letting Johnathon Joseph leave set this organization back at least 3 years.

That was the single worst, most inexplicable move of this hapless franchise of the decade.

[Stray]

I had no problems with letting Joseph leave. At that time he was very prone to injury and Leon Hall was the durable CB. The kinda money it would have taken to keep Joseph here made it an easy choice at the time imo. There was no way to know Hall would miss a year and Joseph would stay on the field.

I think Kirkpatrick will be a good fit once he gets healthy and we work him in.

[Benihana]

Originally Posted by Stray

I had no problems with letting Joseph leave. At that time he was very prone to injury and Leon Hall was the durable CB. The kinda money it would have taken to keep Joseph here made it an easy choice at the time imo. There was no way to know Hall would miss a year and Joseph would stay on the field.

I think Kirkpatrick will be a good fit once he gets healthy and we work him in.

Sorry but I completely disagree. You don't let above average starters (let alone borderline Pro Bowlers) leave your team in the NFL, unless someone offers them an insane amount of money you just can't afford to match (and you have someone ready to replace them). In this case, the Bengals had neither.

As a result, they were forced to spend a first round pick on replacing him this year, when they could've taken a WR or RB that would have much improved the offense. With a difference maker at one of those two positions (and JJ on the field), this team is 5-1 and likely playoff-bound. Not to mention, last year's team likely advances farther than it did.

Instead last year was one-and-done, this year is a likely bottom 10 (if not bottom 5) finish in a year where they should challenge for the division crown, and the drudgery continues. It is the most inexcusable decision by a franchise that is full of inexcusable decisions.