COB

One possible upside: Assuming Trey is essentially quiet quitting on the Bengals: Maybe this will force the front office to change their ways. As it is now, they use leverage more than any other team in the league. Whatever little issue this, they don’t care. They’re going to win and they don’t care about the morale issue, the fan backlash, none of it. Players have one final trump card: force me to play out the last year of this deal, tag me, whatever. I’ll just have a mysterious hamstring issue and limp to the bank every week. The Steelers used to do this stuff. But after they tagged Leveon Bell the second time, dude straight up sat out the whole season. I think it had a huge effect on that team. They had beaten the Chiefs in the playoffs the year before, but they haven’t won a playoff game since. I think they noticed the effect it had on the team and they are now way more careful in how they do business.

Badly bruised ego.

I’m not a fan of Trey. I don’t know much about his injury. At first we heard hip, then sports hernia (where’d we hear that again?) and I recall some other thing too but I can’t remember what it was. A lot of vague bullshit, which is probably what has Zac annoyed. If you can piss off the ultimate player’s coach, Zac Taylor, you have accomplished something.

Someone named Conor Orr for SI, in a column commenting on the Steeler fans booing their team, coach, and 4th quarter psyche up song: “Moments after Steelers fans booed the playing of Styx’s “Renegade”—the fans’ rallying song and cultural benchmark as to what year most of them think it still is, based on hairstyle and general aesthetic…”

Man, Jim Nantz really wants Buffalo to get this rushing record.

Steelers vaunted d-line just getting pushed backwards as Buffalo pushes Allen into the endzone for a TD. Next best thing to watching the bengals win.

Stephen A.Smith sounds like he posts in here.

The Ravens looked horrible. The other guy always has something to do with that, but it was more than that. Lamar was way off with his throws.

Last night Jason Garrett was so much better than Collinsworth it wasn’t even funny. In the first quarter he mentioned that our defense was improving over the last couple games, I laughed though when he prefaced those nice comments with the following: “We can’t overstate how badly this Cincinatti defense has played throughout most of this year, uh, they’ve been the worst in virtually every category.”

Same. It was not great, at all. They will find a new gimmick for the after game thing, based on how it played out tonight.

Lamar didn’t look like himself at all. Great to see this defense develop. And Burrow only took a few series to start feeling it.

That play calling from the 2 was not good. Your qb hasn’t played in like 8 weeks. Run the ball.

I saw that and laughed. They were like, “He’s a hammer,” ie he can’t run anymore.

Brady’s perma-whine accent has officially driven me insane.

Yea this game is dullsville.

Startling Event: the bengals flight to Baltimore was delayed five and a half hours, which, and friends, there is no way this can be a coincidence, is the exact length of time I plan to spend today continually eating mashed potatoes.

On Burrow playing: He’s a football player coming off injury, like hundreds of others. I don’t agree with the philosophy of sit him since we’re not headed to the playoffs. A lot of games are played by teams not headed to the playoffs. It’s part of NFL life. If he’s healthy and not rushing it, he should play. If he’s in a game and the game is out of reach either way, pull him and put depth guys in. This is something I see teams ignore. Game over? Pull your starters and get the JV in there, they need it and they deserve it.

Yea I think most everyone knows this. It’s not the position they draft that this dude is objecting to, it’s the player(s) they pick. Repeatedly.

Someone named Matt Fitzgerald who writes for strype hype wrote a piece blasting our personnel decisions on defense, and finished with the following: “This is what happens when you try to outthink the room and are an arrogant purist about your draft big board. You sabotage your football team.” Absolutely ruthless summation of the FO’s drafting philosophy.

RB could get scary. If Perine can’t go, or if he’s significantly hobbled, it’s pretty much all on Chase. Good, he can deal with it, he seems to want the workhorse role. But if he gets dinged or knocked out of the game, we’re in trouble. I’m most concerned about any backup being able to pick up blitzes in the pass blocking role. An unblocked, full speed Roquan Smith getting Burrow from the blind side? Forget it. Bring out the cart.

He just threw another. 3 in the first half.

Kyle Hamilton may not play, couldn’t practice today. Lamar playing but he’s pretty banged up.

Purdy is on MNF throwing picks like he’s got a suspicious prop bet laid down somewhere.

Same. Dude brought the heat!

I think Pratt is a hyper emotional player. He had definitely mentally checked out at the end of his time here. He’s just one of those people, temperamental. Things have to be right for him.