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Bengals @ Steelers Game Thread


HoosierCat

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There’s no doubt Pitt is terrible right now. OTOH so are we. My guess is they’ll run all over us when we aren’t making Rudolph look like Montana. Both teams are dead ducks this year but at least Pitt is getting a look at a potential Ben replacement. We’re getting a look at, Auden Tate I guess? Yay?

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3 hours ago, COB said:

All the Bengals need is 5 new linemen, 3 new linebackers, 1 new corner, 1 new tight end, and we’ll be fine.  Almost there.

Not far from the truth but this isn’t the SEC or college football where you have to stack  3 or 4 years of recruiting classes.

It’s the NFL and the Bengals are so far from the elite teams it’s a mountain of players away and hard to find.

However to get in the mix for a wild card weekend.  Eh, closer than we think. 

My take away so far is the Bengals aren’t good but not embarrassing bad like a couple other teams.  However until you find a QB/defense that can compete with Brady/Mahomes, what’s the point? 

Watching Chiefs play and New England feels like they are another 10 years away.

I almost feel like.  Beat everyone in the division once.   Have a bunch of less than 1 TD losses.  Secure a top 5 and top 35 pick.  Perfect season right now.  

Really kicking ourselves taking a Center over Lamar Jackson.  What a fucking cluster and he looks like a high end playmaker in your division for a while. 

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10 hours ago, AMPHAR said:

Auden Tate looks like a player to me.  Not sure it’s bad that’s he’s making plays against that defense in his first start.  

 

Oh, he’s definitely a good player and I like watching his emergence. It’s a good thing. But is he the key we’re going to build around for a playoff run? I would doubt that.

i guess what I’m trying to say is, compare what’s been done this year to what Marvin Lewis did when he came in in 2003. The Bengals immediately went out and got active in free agency (!) signing guys like Thornton, James, Hardy and of course, who can forget Carl Plowed? The starting D was completely overhauled, and while the O was left mostly intact, they drafted Palmer, so you could see that the other side of the ball was going to get the same treatment in 2004. That set them up for the 2005 playoff run.

This time, we got the new head coach, but then they did jack in FA and have rolled out basically the same team as last year. It has the same gaping holes at OL and LB, and while there’s some fresh talent like Tate and Phillips being developed, it’s at the edges. Their choices were either to blow it up, or go all out to fix the aforementioned holes. They didn’t do either. (And yes, the Jonah Williams injury bit them in the butt, but even so, he alone wouldn’t fix all the issues on the line.) So I am left wondering, what’s the plan? It doesn’t feel like there is one.

i wish I could say this upset me, but I’m pretty numb to it at this point.

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I think it’s pretty clear they tried to improve the line but have massively struck out. 

A lot of the moves made for the line were done in the short term to extend the possibility of Marvin winning a playoff game. 

Today any young player showing promise only digs them out of that hole faster. 

Fans aren’t going to see a plan when the team is losing.  

 

 

 

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I was excited when they hired Marvin and drafted Palmer, I felt there was hope on the horizon, and was excited about watching this team again.

I was also excited about a new head coach hiring of Taylor, until they did absolutely nothing else to change the team. If they are going to suck then please suck while rebuilding a team with the new head coach. 

Is Dalton really there future QB? I'm guessing the answer is no, so maybe it's time to play Finley see what he is (I'm sure nothing great, but you never know) so come the draft you know which way to go. 

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That was partial luck that Marvin came in while holding the #1 pick.  Taylor was handed the #11 pick with too many holes to fill.
If not that, maybe they didn't care for any of the QB prospects. I hated Dwayne Haskins as an NFL QB even though I love my Buckeyes.

Palmer was an easy choice for Marvin and the Bengals and I don't think they had many options outside of going with Dalton, who wouldn't cost them a ton this season.
Completely ignoring the LB corps and partially ignoring the o-line was a huge mistake on their part and there wasn't a single person here who wasn't calling for just that.
We got a first round pick who got hurt, Bobby Hart (yuck), and that dude that wasn't good enough to make Buffalo's terrible o-line.
For linebackers we got the rookie Pratt, who wasn't even on my radar.  Oh, can't forget the Drew Sample pick either.

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I'd like to start seeing Finley in instead of Dalton when we are down 2 scores or more (or up by 2 scores or more, hahah!) in the late third qtr or after......basically treat this season as a long "is Finley a quality starter in 2020" analysis. Finley to be told to treat each such situation as if it is a 0-0 ballgame and simply get valuable in-game snaps/experience

all linemen (and Pratt) with 4 or fewer seasons under their belt need to get plenty of snaps as well, season them for 2020

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I don’t like the Steelers.  Just seems like they have a lot of fan boys in the media that cover for them.

That said, many many times the Bengals have had a chance to send them down. 

Usually the Bengals blow it and the Steelers squeak some life into their miserable season. 

Feels like that kinda game.  Steelers need to get on the right track and here come the slump buster Bengals. 

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3 hours ago, HoosierCat said:

Green ruled out for the game. At this point may as well shut him down for the year. No reason to put more wear and tear on him. Play the young guys.

I have always loved and appreciated the professionalism of AJ. Just a hell of a player and an amazing role model for others to emulate.

That being said, it might be time to move on. No reason to pay him top tier money when he’s been hurt so much. If he gets healthy enough to play, maybe trade him to get more than comp pick compensation. There’s always teams desperate enough.

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It will come down to whether the FO is ready to pull the plug on the Andy Dalton era. I think, if the rest of the season goes as badly as the first three weeks and they end up in position to take a stud QB prospect, they’ll pull the trigger. They could emulate 2003 and let the noob learn from the side line while Dalton and a franchised AJ saddle up for one last rodeo. Or just let AJ go, deal Dalton, and ride the new kid.

But if the dead cat bounces and they end up with 6 or 7 wins and outside the blue chip QB zone...well, remember they clung to Palmer long after it was clear he was done and only moved on because Carson straight up quit. In which case they extend the aging core of the team and I’d bet it wouldn’t end well.

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1 hour ago, Stripes said:

I think Jonah Williams, if he is event decent, is enough to make a big difference on offense.

I don’t think the Bengals are that far away. One competent linebacker and one more lineman could make a 3-4 win difference IMO.

I think they’re on the cusp of being mediocre. Really, the Hawks and Bills games could have gone either way and odds are with the lineup of equally bad teams ahead, the coin flip comes up our way a few times. And that’s what worries me. They still need a lot of work to be anything like playoff caliber IMHO but they could very easily win their way out draft position to get the players they need.

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