Bengals v. Squealers err... Stealers... err... Steelers

[remdog]

According to an article in Wednesday's Enquirer "Opponents' average field position starts at about the 31-yard line."

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.d...T02/710310315/

Rem

[GAC]

Sometimes it seems the Bengals go into a prevent offense.

I really think the loss of Henry really hurt this offense far worse then some may want to realize. And I think one could go further and say the same for Thurman and Pollack on the defensive side.

[RedFanAlways1966]

Originally Posted by remdog

According to an article in Wednesday's Enquirer "Opponents' average field position starts at about the 31-yard line."

We must remember this includes all the times Kyle Larson punts from around midfield and we all groan as another punt flies into the endzone for a touchback at the 20. Coffin corner? Not!

Drives me crazy.

[Screwball]

Originally Posted by WilyMoROCKS

Speaking of which, what is the opponent's average starting position when the Bengals kick the ball off to them? It feels like it's about the 39 or so.

I think it's more like the 30 or 31. But yeah, they basically employ the swiss cheese coverage strategy on kickoffs. Punts too for that matter.

[remdog]

Originally Posted by RedFanAlways1966

We must remember this includes all the times Kyle Larson punts from around midfield and we all groan as another punt flies into the endzone for a touchback at the 20. Coffin corner? Not!

Drives me crazy.

The quote from the Enquirer was from a section of the article where they were discussing kickoffs. Punting was seperate so I tend to think that the 31 yardline figure is solely related to kickoffs.

Rem

[RedFanAlways1966]

Originally Posted by remdog

The quote from the Enquirer was from a section of the article where they were discussing kickoffs. Punting was seperate so I tend to think that the 31 yardline figure is solely related to kickoffs.

Rem

Okay, I stand corrected! I, like the others, am surprised by that. As sad as it sounds... I am usually happy if the kickoff return is stopped before the 40 yard line.

[remdog]

Well, it's not all good ----the same article points out that the Bengals kickoff return teams' average starting point is the 26.5 yardline so the Bengals are losing about 5 yards for every kickoff exchange, on average.

Rem

[traderumor]

Originally Posted by WilyMoROCKS

That decision demoralized the entire team, stadium, and fanbase.

Honestly, I would not have criticized Marvin had they gone for it there, ran a HB dive, and somehow were turned back. I would respect Marvin for his guts and his belief in his supposedly vaunted offense. I think his team and the majority of fans would feel likewise.

Uh-huh, why would you say anything different? 35+ years of experience with fandom and 5 years of experience with this board tell me otherwise. Monday Morning QBing has been around as long as there have been fans of football, and its fun and all, but some folks seem to take their decision making ability way too seriously. Now, with message boards like this, we have every day personnel experts too, who can put together sports franchises better than the best of the best, not to mention, "I've said they suck since day 1." It is always easy to be a critic from the sideline, much less to do others' jobs better if given the opportunity. Which is the rub isn't it, most can sit and say "I could do better" knowing they will most likely never have to prove it.

Ok, rant over, all can resume telling us how it should be done.

[Cedric]

Originally Posted by traderumor

Uh-huh, why would you say anything different? 35+ years of experience with fandom and 5 years of experience with this board tell me otherwise. Monday Morning QBing has been around as long as there have been fans of football, and its fun and all, but some folks seem to take their decision making ability way too seriously. Now, with message boards like this, we have every day personnel experts too, who can put together sports franchises better than the best of the best, not to mention, "I've said they suck since day 1." It is always easy to be a critic from the sideline, much less to do others' jobs better if given the opportunity. Which is the rub isn't it, most can sit and say "I could do better" knowing they will most likely never have to prove it.

Ok, rant over, all can resume telling us how it should be done.

That's not the rub. Why have a sports website if you can't debate certain decisions about an organization? Was I supposed to support Bruce Coslet or Dave Shula simply because they coached in the NFL?

Some people on here coach at the high school level and probably could coach at higher levels if they had luck or family ties. I've followed the sport since basically my birth. I think I have a right to debate Marvin and his consistent mismanagement of the draft and decisions with the clock. And I debate issues as they approach, not after. I don't know how you could judge when I or others debate Marvin and his decisions. Usually his are so obviously wrong that I'm yelling from the stands before the next play is even ran. Nobody here is saying they would be a perfect coach.

I never said I'm right or forced my opinion on others. I throw it out there and see what others think. And honestly I could do a better job with clock management than Marvin could. Dave Shula wasn't as bad as him on that.

[BuckeyeRedleg]

Originally Posted by traderumor

Uh-huh, why would you say anything different? 35+ years of experience with fandom and 5 years of experience with this board tell me otherwise. Monday Morning QBing has been around as long as there have been fans of football, and its fun and all, but some folks seem to take their decision making ability way too seriously. Now, with message boards like this, we have every day personnel experts too, who can put together sports franchises better than the best of the best, not to mention, "I've said they suck since day 1." It is always easy to be a critic from the sideline, much less to do others' jobs better if given the opportunity. Which is the rub isn't it, most can sit and say "I could do better" knowing they will most likely never have to prove it.

Ok, rant over, all can resume telling us how it should be done.

And you continue telling us how it should be done on a message board.

I don't see anything wrong with what WillyMo said and I would be shocked if 90% of the entire Bungle fanbase felt the same way. It was a gutless call. And I don't need to be an NFL coach to feel that way.

Some of us here like to rant about the sport itself. Some of us here like to rant about the people ranting. Wild wacky stuff these internet boards are. People with opinions. Hmmm.

[traderumor]

Originally Posted by BuckeyeRedleg

And you continue telling us how it should be done on a message board.

I don't see anything wrong with what WillyMo said and I would be shocked if 90% of the entire Bungle fanbase felt the same way. It was a gutless call. And I don't need to be an NFL coach to feel that way.

Some of us here like to rant about the sport itself. Some of us here like to rant about the people ranting. Wild wacky stuff these internet boards are. People with opinions. Hmmm.

Yes, people have opinions. Not all opinions are equally valid, regardless of the subject, and the medium that they are expressed. The rant has nothing to do with the subject of how a message board should run, it just humors me to watch all the folks act as if being an NFL football coach is a result of luck and family connections, as Ced put it, and that the hundreds of decisions made by folks in these types of jobs are as plain as the nose on their face.

Why, apparently its so easy, even a caveman could do it. It just gets tiresome to see coaches and front office people get thrown under the bus by folks wearing shirts with someone else's name and number on them when adversity hits an organization that was headed in the right direction.

Of course, there are probably a few posts a minute going up all over the country that say Jim Tressel doesn't know what he's doing...and you betcha the first time a mediocre or losing season comes along, the masses will be proclaiming him idiot of the year.

[BuckeyeRedleg]

There are many on this board that did not think this organization was heading in the right direction and made such comments about Marvin's apparent weaknesses before the season even started, so I think it's a little unfair of you to take the position of "the complainers come out only when the poor coach and organization is facing adversity."

I think there are bad "head" coaches out there that stumble into blind luck and land a head coaching job only to hang around a few years until they are exposed. That's right, I said it. There are coaches out there that are not cut out to be head coaches for whatever reason. Marvin Lewis appears to be one of these guys. I say that as an opinion. Why? Because, based on my observation of the past few years, Marvin Lewis is utterly clueless as a head coach. That doesn't mean he wasn't decent as a position coach or D-coordinator, but as a HEAD coach, he is in way over his head. I don't need to be an ex-NFL head coach, the league commissioner, or to have stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night to make such a claim. It is that obvious to me.

One last thing. Marvin Lewis and Jim Tressel are about as far apart as they come. Calling Tressel an idiot after one bad year would not be in the same universe as calling Marvin an idiot. I understand you are trying to make a point, but I think you have stretched it a bit.

[WMR]

Originally Posted by BuckeyeRedleg

There are coaches out there that are not cut out to be head coaches for whatever reason. Marvin Lewis appears to be one of these guys. I say that as an opinion. Why? Because, based on my observation of the past few years, Marvin Lewis is utterly clueless as a head coach. That doesn't mean he wasn't decent as a position coach or D-coordinator, but as a HEAD coach, he is in way over his head.

PAGING Dick LeBeau, PAGING Dick LeBeau, Mr. LeBeau, please pick up the white courtesy phone.

[traderumor]

Originally Posted by WilyMoROCKS

PAGING Dick LeBeau, PAGING Dick LeBeau, Mr. LeBeau, please pick up the white courtesy phone.

Yea, LeBeau and Marvin have very similar records, right?

BTW, Buckeye Redleg, I also did not think the Bengals did anything to improve themselves in the offseason and have also questioned Marvin's current approach. But I am not willing to totally dismiss the job he did to bring this franchise out of the dark ages because of a downturn. Perhaps he has hit a ceiling, but am not willing to turn a bump in the road into the bus running over the man. Of course, I also recommend keeping stocks for the long haul instead of always trying to make a quick buck, so maybe that has something to do with our totally different outlooks on the job someone is doing over a period of time.

[WMR]

Are you talking as head coaches?

Let's compare the team talent-level and penny-pinching nature of lil Mikey during their respective durations at the helm.