ArmyBengal

Funny, but no chance Mike Brown is a stoic. When thinking in that light, he refuses to see how he could turn obstacles into opportunities. Going against the allowance of private equity demonstrates that perfectly. That is an absolute opportunity that he simply views as an obstacle. The obstacle is the way.

Pretty much. I was exposed to it first in the military and had I put it into practice then, it would have helped more. Then it kept popping up here and there, before getting a heavy dose in my master's program that finally stuck. It always fascinated me that thoughts from thousands of years ago could still be very much applicable today. I wish it would have stuck when I was a younger man, but glad it finally did. I will wear my "Nerd" badge with honor !!

Well Greg, as much as I get irritated by the Bengals and the stupid decisions they make which lead to what we saw Sunday I'm reminded of my love of Stoicism. I don't control the Bengals decisions, I don't control the coaches play calling and I don't control the players executing the game plan. I do love football and enjoy watching to no end. I'd rather have it than not. It's how you respond to what is. That is all we control. Take Sunday for example. I could have thrown my remote at the TV, but instead I got up and cut circles into my yard when mowing. My TV survived another Bengals game and now my neighbors all have commented about the grass and the design that really does look good. "Not merely to bear what is necessary, but love it"

Couldn’t agree more. The lack of a running attack is problematic. I don’t usually say this but a dynamic running back should be considered early in the 2025 draft. While coaches aren’t on the field making plays, Anarumo is failing. Mightily. While not having elite talent at all three levels, he has enough that the defense should be good enough to produce a win when the offense puts up 25+ points.

I also took a look at the draft, since they claim to build the team through that process. Coach Zac took over in 2019 and has made 51 total picks. The # of picks per round are as follows: 1st- 6 2nd- 6 3rd- 7 4th- 10 5th- 5 6th- 10 7th- 7 Of those 51 picks, 30 are still with the team and 10 of those represent starters at their position. I'm not sure what that looks like for all teams claiming to hold a philosophy of "building through the draft" but that's less than 50% of the starters coming from the draft during Zac's tenure as head coach. The Myles Murphy and Dax Hill picks have really hurt this team, especially when considering the defensive woes. The team needs those two to perform at the talent level suggested by their draft ranking and them not doing that contributes greatly to the problems. Is it the players? The scouts? The coaches and schemes? Maybe a combination, but those hurt. My take away when considering all those numbers is that this team should be taking more chances to move up in the draft, taking a shot at better quality players. I get you need to round out rosters, but it's hard to build a quality roster when nearly 63% of your draft picks come from the 4th round or later. That number is staggering to me. EDIT: The Bengals have gotten 2 pro bowl players out of those picks.

Ok, ok, the Bengals. Draw your own conclusions. I'm just reporting... We are playing a last place schedule this year. Many thought it to be fairly easy sledding. We won 3 games against teams that have 5 combined wins. Through 8 games, the teams they've faced are a combined 30-31. On the offensive side of things... Burrow is #7 in total passing yards, #4 in completion percentage, #3 in passing TD's, and #1 in QBR. He's only thrown 3 INT's, but has been sacked 19 times which is the 9th highest QB in the league. Are the sacks his fault? The o-line? Good defense? I don't know, but he's still taking sacks. We don't have a RB on the roster in the top 25 total yards. Neither Brown nor Moss are averaging even 45 yards per game. Neither are in the top 30 in picking up rushing first downs. Brown has 4 TD's which is 15th in the league. Ja'Marr leads the league in yards. No other Bengal WR places in the top 50. Ja'Marr also leads the league in TD's. Higgins and Iosivas both have 3 which is tied for 18th in the league. Ja'Marr also places 4th in the league in YAC and receiving 1st downs. The offense ranks #8 in passing, #28 in rushing, and #13 in total offense. They are also the #10 scoring offense, #9 in the red zone and 3rd downs. On the defensive side of things... Wilson and Pratt are #3 and #6 respectively in total tackles. You have to go to 75 and beyond before finding another Bengal defender. CTB and Stone are the next two top tacklers, but I use the word "top" with a grain of salt. Trey comes in at #5 in the league in sacks. You have to go all the way down to #99 before finding another Bengal defender with a sack. Bell, Pratt, Hubbard, ADG, Stone, and CTB each have a single INT. Doing the advanced mathematics, that's 6 total. The defense ranks #21 against both the pass and the run and #23 in total defense. They are also #20 in scoring, #27 in red zone, and #24 in 3rd down defense.

I have a large swath of grass in the middle of my horseshoe driveway. Yesterday, I decided to drive my lawnmower into the middle, engage the blades and proceeded to cut in circles from the inside out. Oh my God I cannot wait to see what really cool ideas will jump in my head this coming Sunday for grass cutting and yard maintenance !!

Just realized the Bengals are 0-4 at home. But hey, we are just two games back and there’s plenty of football to play. Thing is, while that may be true, this team is not a contender. I really hope they lose. Just sad.

You simply can’t have the talent this team does and look this bad. There’s just no excuse. They aren’t even enjoyable to watch. I dropped off early to mow the grass. My time was well spent doing something other than watching this team play. I hate all of our coaches. All of them. Here’s to hoping they continue to lose in the hopes of burning it all down. I’d be all in for trading Higgins, but he’s been hurt for two seasons now. The leaves in the yard won’t be gathering this year. Sundays have just opened up !!

Can we please see some targets for Burton? I mean Jesus pretend you drafted this guy in the 3rd round?

Good job Chuck !!

Never fails to disappoint. Good luck Kenny !!

Forgot this was the white helmet game. Fun to go to that game just for the changes they make around that theme. Won’t be there, just saying is all…

Nothing says fill an open hole like grabbing one of the least athletic people you can find. Good luck young man !!

I still have no idea what to expect from this team. While I like a division road win against the Browns, it doesn’t mean shit regarding this game. I have thought I knew things about this team only to see them get shitted on. Can we get the offense back that was losing games, now that the defense isn’t a complete travesty? If I see one more game where the offense looks timid and scared to be aggressive, my TV isn’t going to make it through the season. Quit being such a bitch Zac and attack.

Yes, the refs need to do a better job clarifying what is and is not an "uncatchable" ball. Is it uncatchable because it was clearly over thrown or thrown out of bounds, or because the receiver was impeded? On the non call for Chase, he was clearly impeded and that should have been a flag. That being said, I don't complain about flags all that much. I too, thought it was a solid win. Could have been prettier? A bigger margin? Sure. However, whenever you can go on the road against a division rival and walk out with a win, that's a good thing. Just look to keep improving. Like all offenses don't have a Lamar Jackson, not all defenses have Myles Garrett. Although, I thought they did a great job containing Garrett on the day as well. Another win. They also held the savior Nick Chubb to 22 yards and a TD, with a 2 yard average. Another win. Focus on the Eagles, win that game and get the team back to .500 for the season.

I cannot/will not take any credit, as I failed to mention the bottle of Eagle Rare I had sitting on the table next to me for the game. However, this served as a multi-purpose approach. #1. My back was killing me as I was on my feet all Saturday evening entertaining people at a birthday party. #2. Just in case the Bengals shit the bed against the Browns yet again, nothing would get thrown at my new TV. #3. Do I need a reason? It's just really good... Oh yeah, the dog is doing well.

After they fucked up my Atkins mojo, there will be no jersey wearing until further notice. Instead I hit the recliner, grabbed a blanket and dozed off in between plays. Pretty much how every Sunday should be.

Must be a dog thing going on. Had a vet visit which put me out nearly $400. Good thing I like that little bastard because a bullet is much cheaper.

See previous post about his spleen falling out. LMAO !!

I get and agree with all about how the Bengals have fared against the Browns. My point is Chubb would not be my biggest concern. That begins and ends with stopping Myles Garrett.

Adams hasn't been anything close to pro bowl in 4 years. He's done. If you kick the tires on him, his spleen might fall out.

Another consideration is that the lease doesn't expire until 2026, with the Bengals able to implement 5 two year extensions if I read that correctly. I have no idea how all of that is considered when planning something of that magnitude.

Then there's also the talk about how much the state may or may not be willing to chip in on costs for the two cities as well. Again, don't care, but that conversation has been out there for a little bit since renovation conversations started. Yeah, keeping it under 2 billion will be a struggle IMO. I also don't know how long the builders, city, team, etc expected PayCor to last when it was planned, but Riverfront was almost 30. Seeing as how we are 6 years out from there, maybe that's the best plan. Do minor things to keep Paycor up, while planning out. Who knows? I do like the speculation.

I'm just talking from the what if's perspective, not what I think has a chance in hell of happening. "IF" they wanted to take the approach of of building a new domed stadium (they won't) I'm good with that. "IF" they wanted to work on connecting that with a restructured downtown (they won't) I'm good with that. "IF" they wanted to work public funding into the above thoughts (THEY WOULD) I'm good with that as well. If nothing comes of it, I couldn't care less. Again, I'm one of the ones who likes going to football games in the elements. If it's a matter of arguing the point, I will leave that to others here more interested than I.