2012-2013 Bengals Discussion

[PickOff]

No way the Bengals make the playoffs at 2-2 down the stretch, and 3-1 is no guarantee either. A few weeks ago I was about to stop watching them for the year, but they pulled me back in. I can't remember the last time the Bengals have looked so good in this many games in a row. That said, I am preparing for disappointment more than I am the playoffs.

[Stray]

Short of losing to the Eagles, nothing down the stretch is going to be a huge disappointment for me. Rebounding the way they have to play some meaningful December games was a huge accomplishment.

Those losses to Miami and Cleveland will be the killer if we can't get in.

[Sea Ray]

The problem is the injuries are starting to pile up. Just as Sanu started to fill a void, he goes down. Marvin Jones has a horrible game and now he's not practicing due to "illness".

Ced Peerman also fills a need out of the backfield and he went down last week. Now Nugent has a muscle pull of some sort so now they've reportedly signed another kicker.

Dre Kirkpatrick gets a few snaps under his belt and now he's out with a concussion.

This is all on top of losing Scott, Cook and a couple other starters before the year even began. You need good health for a borderline team to make the playoffs and we don't have that by any means

[traderumor]

Originally Posted by PickOff

No way the Bengals make the playoffs at 2-2 down the stretch, and 3-1 is no guarantee either. A few weeks ago I was about to stop watching them for the year, but they pulled me back in. I can't remember the last time the Bengals have looked so good in this many games in a row. That said, I am preparing for disappointment more than I am the playoffs.

Have you looked at the standings? 2-2 would get them 9-7 and the only team in front of them is the Steelers. 3-1 gets them 10-6, which is pretty much a sure thing because I don't think the Steelers will top it.

[medford]

It depends upon who the 1 loss is to. 3-1 w/ a loss to the steelers and they're just about done for. That means the Steelers would have to lose 2 of their other 3 games (since they would own the tie breaker w/ the Bengals) against San Diego, @ Dallas & Cleveland.

3-1 w/ a win over the Steelers, but a loss to the Ravens brings up a question. For division race, it goes head to head, then record w/n the division. Is the record w/n the division a tie breaker should the Steelers & the Bengals be the only 2 teams involved? If so, under that scenerio, the Steelers would hold the tie breaker (3-3 in division vs the Bengals 2-4) The Steelers would then have to win all of their other 3 games to set up a tie.

3-1 w/ a loss to either Dallas or Philly w/ the Steelers losing only to the Bengals would I think give Cincy the edge. They'd split head to head, they'd have the same division record (if that mattered), but that would give the bengals 5 AFC losses, while the Steelers would have 6 (they have 5 AFC losses today, a loss to the Bengals would be #6)

If the Bengals go 3-1, the Colts just about have to go 1-3 for the Bengals to jump them. The Colts have 3 AFC losses to the Bengals 5, 4 losses total. If the Bengals lost to the Eagles or Cowboys, but won the rest, that would give them 6 losses total, 5 vs AFC teams. I believe the Colts only have AFC teams left, so any losses will be vs AFC teams. If they ended up tied w/ 5 AFC losses, a Indy win @ KC would give them the edge in common opponents (4-1 vs the Bengals 3-2). If they lost to KC, then they'd end up tied in that and the next would be strength of victory. I'm not sure who would win that one, but if the Colts lost to KC, and ended up 2-2, that would mean they'd have to have at least 1 win over Houston which may give them the edge overall.

So while there are a ton of possibilities out there, I'm thinking the Bengals either need to go 4-0, 3-1 w/ a win over Pittsburgh and Baltimore at a minimum, or either Pittsburgh or Indy need to collapse and go 1-3 or 0-4 over the final stretch.

Which brings me to my last point, the NFL really needs to do away w/ these "play the same team twice in a 3 week stretch" I know the Ravens failed in their bid to sweep the steelers, but they got to play Pittsburgh twice in 3 games w/o toothlessraper. That's a huge leg up on the rest of the division (or should have been) that could have been avoided if they had played them once early in the season and once late in the season. If Houston wins this weekend, they'll have the 1 seed locked up prior to playing Indy twice in 3 weeks to end the season, which means Indy could get the same team twice w/ nothing to play for, and a possibility to play a 3rd time in the playoffs, so why show them anything of substance to game plan for. They really need to spread out these division games 1 1st half, second in the second half.

[Redsfaithful]

Originally Posted by Sea Ray

The problem is the injuries are starting to pile up. Just as Sanu started to fill a void, he goes down. Marvin Jones has a horrible game and now he's not practicing due to "illness".

Ced Peerman also fills a need out of the backfield and he went down last week. Now Nugent has a muscle pull of some sort so now they've reportedly signed another kicker.

Dre Kirkpatrick gets a few snaps under his belt and now he's out with a concussion.

This is all on top of losing Scott, Cook and a couple other starters before the year even began. You need good health for a borderline team to make the playoffs and we don't have that by any means

Gresham didn't practice today also.

Honestly though, for it being December, most teams have health issues this bad or worse. The Bengals have been healthier this year than they have most recent years.

Losing Sanu hurts tremendously though, he was really key to getting the offense rolling. They are back to not having anyone but AJ getting open.

BJGE needs to have a huge week this week. Philly's backup running back ran for like 170 yards against Dallas next week, there will be holes. And Dallas has a terrible offensive line which matches up perfectly with Cincinnati's defensive strength. I feel pretty good about Dallas, not because they are a bad team, but just because I think the Bengals match up well with them.

[top6]

The bottom line is the Bengals control their own destiny entirely--even if they lose to Dallas or Philly. If the Bengals beat EITHER Dallas or Philly, and then beat Pittsburgh and Baltimore, they make the playoffs.

However, if the Bengals beat Philly, Dallas and Pittsburgh, but lose to Baltimore, and Pittsburgh wins its other 3 games, then Pittsburgh would get the wild card spot over the Bengals (assuming Baltimore and Indy don't collapse, in which case there are ways both Pittsburgh and Cincy can make it).

All of these scenarios can be figured out here:

http://espn.go.com/nfl/playoffs/machine

Bengals actually have a not-all-that-improbable path to the division title. Baltimore plays the Giants, Denver and Washington. If they lose two of those games, and the Bengals win out, then the last game of the year is for the AFC North title. Of course, the changes of the Bengals beating Pittsburgh are pretty slim, so I'm not getting my hopes up.

[New York Red]

Originally Posted by Redsfaithful

Gresham didn't practice today also.

Honestly though, for it being December, most teams have health issues this bad or worse. The Bengals have been healthier this year than they have most recent years.

Losing Sanu hurts tremendously though, he was really key to getting the offense rolling. They are back to not having anyone but AJ getting open.

BJGE needs to have a huge week this week. Philly's backup running back ran for like 170 yards against Dallas next week, there will be holes. And Dallas has a terrible offensive line which matches up perfectly with Cincinnati's defensive strength. I feel pretty good about Dallas, not because they are a bad team, but just because I think the Bengals match up well with them.

Totally agree about the loss of Sanu. As soon as it looks like we've got a serious weapon opposite of AJ, boom, he's out for the season. Just like earlier when Bernard Scott came back. He breaks off a long run, just what we needed at the time, and boom, he's injured again and out for the season.

[Redhook]

Originally Posted by medford

Which brings me to my last point, the NFL really needs to do away w/ these "play the same team twice in a 3 week stretch" I know the Ravens failed in their bid to sweep the steelers, but they got to play Pittsburgh twice in 3 games w/o toothlessraper. That's a huge leg up on the rest of the division (or should have been) that could have been avoided if they had played them once early in the season and once late in the season. If Houston wins this weekend, they'll have the 1 seed locked up prior to playing Indy twice in 3 weeks to end the season, which means Indy could get the same team twice w/ nothing to play for, and a possibility to play a 3rd time in the playoffs, so why show them anything of substance to game plan for. They really need to spread out these division games 1 1st half, second in the second half.

Very good point. I agree 100%.

[Ohayou]

[Stray]

Weird situation going on with the Cowboys at the moment. Totally unconfirmed Twitter reports saying one of their players is in jail for manslaughter and one of their practice squad players is the victim.

The guy in jail is apparently Josh Brent. Some were saying that police showed up to the team plane before it could leave for Cincinnati. I have no idea what's going on.

[Redhook]

Originally Posted by Stray

Weird situation going on with the Cowboys at the moment. Totally unconfirmed Twitter reports saying one of their players is in jail for manslaughter and one of their practice squad players is the victim.

The guy in jail is apparently Josh Brent. Some were saying that police showed up to the team plane before it could leave for Cincinnati. I have no idea what's going on.

http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/d...wn-dies-120812

Another sad story. That's too bad.

[Tony Cloninger]

Originally Posted by Redhook

Very good point. I agree 100%.

Like the NFL knew that was going to happen?

[cincrazy]

Originally Posted by Tony Cloninger

Like the NFL knew that was going to happen?

It's not hard to imagine a scenario where it would happen. It makes no sense playing a rival twice in three weeks.

[RiverRat13]

Leaving too many points on the field again.