Stripes

I wonder if they intend to stick with “Commanders”. The new ownership seemed interested in another change at first.

I already shared two of them. Aaron Donald significantly outplayed Quinton Spain in the Super Bowl (2 sacks). Chris Jones significantly outplayed Cordell Volson and Max Scharping in the AFC Championship Game (2 sacks). These incidents ended deep playoff runs short of a Lombardi Trophy. The Bengals' best hopes in both games were effectively dashed on individual plays made by those two players (though they played well the entire game). The offense underperformed in both games (20 points and 305 yards; 20 points 309 total yards) despite fielding comparable skill talent and the same quarterback to the current team. You could also include the narrow playoff victory over the Titans when Jeffrey Simmons annihilated the IOL (3 sacks) in a losing effort if you can see beyond just W and L. Any assessment of play must inherently be subjective, but the offense's statistical outcomes are factual. Sack totals are factual. Cordell Volson, Cody Ford, and Lucas Patrick represent, on paper, comparable guard play to what those teams sent into the postseason, and those teams did so hampered by injury. That is, the current Bengals' guards resemble prior guard units after suffering injuries and resorting to depth. Lucas Patrick brings starting experience (so did Max Scharping). Cordell Volson is Cordell Volson. Cody Ford is worse than good Alex Cappa. He might be comparable to the injured Alex Cappa from 2024. Thus, I project a reasonably high probability (not certainty, but high enough probability to view this as a serious problem) of history repeating itself against strong IDL competition in a playoff game. This is not necessarily applicable to ALL opponents, but it's applicable to enough opponents. Chris Jones still exists. Travis Jones and Nnamdi Madubuike are in Baltimore. Cameron Heyward is in Pittsburgh. Suppose they get to Super Bowl 60. Jalen Carter is in Philadelphia. DJ Reader and Alim McNeill are in Detroit. Vita Vea is in Tampa Bay. This list is not exhaustive. Alright, now I really need to be done here. I shouldn't have even responded to this. You can choose to accept that a Bengals fan can have this concern without being "emotional", or you can continue to pretend only one fair opinion can exist. I leave that to you.

Logan Woodside is back on a one year deal. S U P E R B O W L

Yep, plenty of time for the Reds to Red. We've just begun. Hopefully a little early winning allows Francona to assert himself in the clubhouse and build a little winning culture.

Agreed. I don't want them to reach for any position group and end up with another Billy Price. That's what I mean by "digging a hole". If the draft falls the wrong way, they're going to be up shit creek at edge rusher/DE or guard, and I think it will be their fault. Thankfully, this draft seems reasonably strong at both positions, so there may be decent overlap between best player(s) available and positions of need. Hopefully it works out.

I will make one more post in this ridiculous exchange and then leave it alone. I am sure nobody else wants to read this conversation. First and foremost, I have to mention: The facts are the guard play has been less than average, IMO. - AMPHAR I really hope I don't need to explain why this sentence does not work. Read it again. Consider in particular the second word and the last "word". Anyway, more importantly: Yes, the Bengals "can" win the Super Bowl. They "can". It's a possibility that exists. That's what "can" means. There is some unknown probability that is non-zero of the outcome "Bengals win the Super Bowl". I suspect that probability is quite low, but also better than a decent proportion of NFL team's probabilities to do the same. Any number I put to that probability would be completely meaningless, but I'll do it anyway to illustrate what I am saying (if somehow this wasn't already clear assuming the most generous possible interpretation of good faith). Suppose the Bengals have a 3% probability of winning the Super Bowl. They "can". It's possible. If you take the Vegas Super Bowl odds for the Bengals (+1800), that roughly translates to a projected 5% (not a factual value). They "can". I believe that number would meaningfully increase if the guard position is meaningfully addressed. Maybe it jumps up to 9% or 10%. Again, the numbers are meaningless, but this is the concept. I believe shoring up that glaring weakness would help the Bengals to avoid one of the more obvious means of losing a playoff game down the line (leaning on their elite offense which underperforms because the opposing IDL eats Volson, Ford, and/or Patrick for lunch). I don't think the same applies to most position groups on the roster. They're either already great or they're good enough that an upgrade would not represent the same significant improvement in odds. I would assess the edge rushers much like I assess the guards (and I would place slightly more importance on them than the guards). Thus, in my view of the matter, the Bengals' Super Bowl chances hinge meaningfully more on upgrading certain position groups than on others. Guard and edge rusher are the big two for me. If they don't draft a solid player at either of those positions, I believe their Super Bowl prospects will be meaningfully diminished. They "can" still win it, because they have high-end talent that theoretically could make up for the deficit. But it would foolish to lean on that prospect, because "can" is the world's least useful word. That's what I am describing as "digging a hole" -- as of right now, we're in the diminished state. I am not sure that we had to be here, but we are here. There's still time to change that, either by spending a reasonably high draft pick on IOL or signing a capable IOL after the draft (they've given no indication of interest in doing the latter, but I would accept it all the same). On to "facts": It is a "fact" that the Bengals fielded a top ten offense in 2024 (as measured by yardage and points). It is a "fact" that the Bengals won five playoff games with questionable guard play. It is a "fact" that the Bengals lost two playoff games with questionable guard play, including a Super Bowl. It is not a "fact" that having won playoff games before with questionable guard play means their guards are good enough to win playoff games now (they're not even the same guards). This is a projection. It is not a "fact" that the Bengals guard problems will lose them a playoff game. This is a projection. I project that it could lose them a playoff game, and the probability is higher than I would like. It is not a "fact" that the Bengals' top ten offense in 2024 translates to a top ten offense in 2025. This is a projection. I tend to agree with this projection. It is not a "fact" that the Bengals' successfully fielding a top ten offense would mean the guard position cannot represent a "hole that has been dug". This is an invalid argument by non sequitur. The conclusion must follow from the premises. It doesn't. The offense can be awesome, have bad guards, win one or two playoff games despite their bad guards, and then lose their last playoff game because of their bad guards. All of those outcomes can exist together. I cannot imagine making a more emotionless argument than this. This is a robotic printout of an academic treatise. Onlookers were snoring halfway through it.

To be very clear: It is perfectly okay to have more faith in the guard position as it stands than I have. It is completely unjustifiable horseshit to accuse other Bengals fans of lacking objectivity because they have significant questions about the guard position. Learn how to write a post and express your perspective without engaging in completely unnecessary, underbaked, terrible insults of people who don't agree with you.

This is nonsense. IOL is not fine? You agree? We agree? If it's not fine, then it's a hole. Hello? McFly? Half the league "can" win the Super Bowl. "Can" is meaningless crap. Joe Burrow is good enough to carry an average roster into deep playoff runs. He is not the holy messiah, however. They lost to the Rams when the IOL faceplanted against Aaron Donald. The lost to the Chiefs when the IOL faceplanted against Chris Jones.

9-8 and one game out of first place. The starting pitching looks great.

Put another way, much more succinctly: Boasting a top 10 offense does not guarantee winning playoff games when the offense has a glaring hole waiting to be exploited by strong defensive opponents.

You are absolutely not demonstrating "objectivity" in your process. You are instead demonstrating a bizarre urge to protest the prevailing views of Bengals fans (because you don't like to stand with prevailing views). Your argument is nonsense. My favorite baseball team won 90 games and made the playoffs. They lost in the playoffs because their questionable bullpen was eaten alive by postseason-caliber batting. The bullpen is not a problem; keep doing what you're doing. My overall dining experience was positive, but the dessert may have given me food poisoning. The dessert is not a problem; keep doing what you're doing. Nine out of ten times, the crack pipe has sent me flying on a high. The other time I went into cardiac arrest. It's generally working, keep doing what you're doing. The Bengals are very clearly stronger on offense than they are on defense. I don't think anyone is going to question that assertion. That doesn't mean the offense is without a clear weakness, however, and it definitely has questions at guard. There are presently three candidates to start: - Cordell Volson, who has never been very good and was benched in 2024 - Cody Ford, who has not been a regular starter since his second season (2020 with Buffalo). He's decent for depth, but I can't imagine even you are comfortable with him starting in an AFC Championship Game against a playoff-level interior defensive line. - Lucas Patrick was a good pickup, and I have said as much before. I think he could even surprise some people as a starter if that's where he ends up. That's an optimistic view, however, and not one that should inspire such absurd confidence as you are presently displaying. If two of the above players start, then it could absolutely bite the Bengals in the ass (especially during a playoff run). It's not a guarantee, and they could surprise. Who knows. But to suggest it's not "objective" for fans to view this group with doubts is itself a ridiculous and subjective notion. Can they win the Super Bowl as currently constructed? Sure. Joe Burrow exists. That's a completely stupid thought process though that adds little value to any dialogue. The objective is to maximize the probability of ending there, not to have any probability at all.

I am generally pretty opposed to emphasizing need over talent too much in a draft. However, this time the Bengals have really backed themselves into a corner. I am not sure how they can justify not taking both a guard and an edge rusher somewhere in the first three rounds. It doesn't leave them much space to play with for someone like Judkins.

Naturally, the 3-7 Reds take two from the 8-1 Giants to get back into something barely resembling a "hopeful" 5-7 start.

The Bengals hosted Jack Sawyer (edge, Ohio State). I knew they'd take interest in him. He kind of checks every Bengals box -- high-pedigree school, just won the championship, good size I am not an OSU fan. I think college football sucks balls. Normally, I roll my eyes at people begging for the OSU-Bengals pipeline, but I am on-board this time. I think he's been underrated by mock drafters. I hope he's there in the second round, and if he is I think they take him (barring an edge in round one instead).

I’d love to have Risner. We’re going to do squat until the draft.

That's the dumbest quote I have ever seen from Katie Blackburn, or maybe second to her communication with Whitworth (that one is hearsay). Trey may well need to can it, but STFU Katie. What are you doing.

Certainly don’t blow a first round pick on a RB, but I think a bruiser like Skattebo later could make sense. The short yardage woes are the real problem. First three rounds, please give me any defenders and OL in any combination.

Maybe if we all behave ourselves at church, Myles Murphy will record one (1) quarterback sack.

I saw that Geno Atkins will be eligible for the HOF next cycle. Are we ready for a few decades of complaining on Geno's behalf? I know I am.

Looking forward to taking care of the Trey Hendrickson extension so we can shift focus to next year’s Trey Hendrickson contract dispute.

Rapien is a doofus. Liscow is kind of a dick, but he is definitely not a clickbait artist (that criticism is pure laziness).

Nobody is obligated to be upset, of course. I do think it’s a problem to prioritize the avoidance of dead money in future years over the ability to build a team this year when 1) the cap will only continue going up and 2) Joe Burrow is in his prime right now. It’s ultra-conservative to a degree that is rarely observed elsewhere in the league (for a reason).

That's pretty much it, yes. Goodberry even halfway called it "embezzlement". It's not great. For every step "forward" toward modernity, they mask an entire faceplant back into ultra-cap conservatism and, if I am harsh enough in my assumptions, cheating the team and its fans. These subtleties may have worked before mass social media and before there were 47 daily podcasts, but people catch on these days.

I’m just glad to get a damned guard, and Patrick’s track record looks pretty decent. Now sign Scherff anyway.

A bit of a bummer to have less cap space contrary to expectation, but it should ease the load down the road.