What's the Call on Wins?

[chrishcovga]

So I can safely count you out of the "In Marvin We Trust" camp? Don't worry bfs68, I'm about ready to join you there.

I'd say any defense and any coach who drafted two young stud linebackers and lost both, possibly forever, after one year, would likely have to deal with the consequences for some time. I think ML came here with a great plan which has been temporarily circumvented by circumstances that no one could have forseen. Let's remember guys, ML got us to 11-5 with Pollack and Odell as rookies and I'm thinking if we had those players in '06, we would have easily made the playoffs and would be legitimate SB contenders today.

I do, however, take issue with the way Marvin is allowing our defense to be coached.

This is not Vietnam where you hide behind a tree and react to what you see. This is the NFL, you have 100 yards to defend and the best way to do it is to agressively crawl up the opponent's asses.

Marvin should be demanding that the defensive staff teach the players to defend the field aggressively.

They are not and that is surely on Marvin.

Give this man a Beer !!

I can't stand our defensive philosophy. We have 3 cornerbacks that excell in coverage. Have speed, and decent enough hands to consistently get turnovers, so why the hell do we play this off-technique all the damn time ???

I want our corners to press !!! Push the receivers around. Deltha still runs in the 4.4's , Hall and Joseph run in the 4.3's . Let these guys play aggressive.

I mean don't they practice against one of the NFL's best receivers in Chad ???

[BengalszoneBilly]

So I can safely count you out of the "In Marvin We Trust" camp? Don't worry bfs68, I'm about ready to join you there.

I'd say any defense and any coach who drafted two young stud linebackers and lost both, possibly forever, after one year, would likely have to deal with the consequences for some time. I think ML came here with a great plan which has been temporarily circumvented by circumstances that no one could have forseen. Let's remember guys, ML got us to 11-5 with Pollack and Odell as rookies and I'm thinking if we had those players in '06, we would have easily made the playoffs and would be legitimate SB contenders today.

I do, however, take issue with the way Marvin is allowing our defense to be coached.

This is not Vietnam where you hide behind a tree and react to what you see. This is the NFL, you have 100 yards to defend and the best way to do it is to agressively crawl up the opponent's asses.

Marvin should be demanding that the defensive staff teach the players to defend the field aggressively.

They are not and that is surely on Marvin.

Give this man a Beer !!

I can't stand our defensive philosophy. We have 3 cornerbacks that excell in coverage. Have speed, and decent enough hands to consistently get turnovers, so why the hell do we play this off-technique all the damn time ???

I want our corners to press !!! Push the receivers around. Deltha still runs in the 4.4's , Hall and Joseph run in the 4.3's . Let these guys play aggressive.

I mean don't they practice against one of the NFL's best receivers in Chad ???

Grab a cold and frosty one yourself Chris. Both of you members have it this problem on the head IMHO.

[Bobcat Bengal]

So I can safely count you out of the "In Marvin We Trust" camp? Don't worry bfs68, I'm about ready to join you there.

This is not Vietnam where you hide behind a tree and react to what you see. This is the NFL, you have 100 yards to defend and the best way to do it is to agressively crawl up the opponent's asses.

Cincinnati killer gerbils

[HoosierCat]

CHFF sez...4-12.

http://www.coldhardfootballfacts.com/Article.php?Page=1582

[membengal]

CHFF sez...4-12.

http://www.coldhardfootballfacts.com/Article.php?Page=1582

That's sobering.

And I think unlikely. But I can't completely rule it out either.

[Stripes]

And this is why the geniuses over at CHFF think the Bengals will suck (yes, I know they provided more sound reasoning than this).

CINCINNATI SUCKS BECAUSE:

They’ve taken a bad uniform and made it progressively worse. Cincy's original uniforms were basically the Cleveland Browns’ unis with a little more red in them. This was supposedly thanks to coach Paul Brown’s desire to beat his former team at their own game in any way. Then, all of a sudden, there were stripes on the helmet and on the uniform, and on the pants, and oh! the humanity. Now, it’s the worst of all worlds – a orangy-red jersey that reminds you of puking, stripes on the helmet, a zubaz-like stripe on the pants and a weird new font. Even Ocho-Cinqo can’t make that thing look good.

[HoosierCat]

Actually, the weakest part of the CHFF piece isn't even the crack about the unis, but this line in the summary:

Their defense was quite poor by any measure a year ago, and they’ll be facing a tough slate of offenses this year – the NFC West, plus the tough North teams. They made no move to improve anything, and their hope of getting LBs David Pollack and Odell Thurman back came up snake eyes.

The defenses indeed stank last year, but no, as a matter of cold, hard football facts, the Bengals are not facing a tough slate of offenses this year, a point I've made repeatedly. And outside of Pitt and St. Louis (and the Bengals, of course), the offenses of the AFCN and NFC West range from average to abysmal.

And yes, we didn't get Pollack or Thurman back. But Myers looks like a definite upgrade over Fat Sam on the d-line, and I think even the most skeptical Bengals fan can hope for improved play by Madieu, Deltha and JJoe.

In the end, I still think the Bengals fall short of the postseason, but 4-12 seems pretty far-fetched. At absolute worst I think they win 6 to 7 games.

[Jet23]

Actually, the weakest part of the CHFF piece isn't even the crack about the unis, but this line in the summary:

Their defense was quite poor by any measure a year ago, and they’ll be facing a tough slate of offenses this year – the NFC West, plus the tough North teams. They made no move to improve anything, and their hope of getting LBs David Pollack and Odell Thurman back came up snake eyes.

The defenses indeed stank last year, but no, as a matter of cold, hard football facts, the Bengals are not facing a tough slate of offenses this year, a point I've made repeatedly. And outside of Pitt and St. Louis (and the Bengals, of course), the offenses of the AFCN and NFC West range from average to abysmal.

And yes, we didn't get Pollack or Thurman back. But Myers looks like a definite upgrade over Fat Sam on the d-line, and I think even the most skeptical Bengals fan can hope for improved play by Madieu, Deltha and JJoe.

In the end, I still think the Bengals fall short of the postseason, but 4-12 seems pretty far-fetched. At absolute worst I think they win 6 to 7 games.

[Jet23]

Oops! I am just blown away. How can anyone look at the schedule and not see a minimum of 10 wins. Every year at least one team is either over or under-rated based on the preseason. Remember the sexy Arizona playoff pick? I will admit that I am concerned, given some of the question marks. But, I do believe that the team has improved with the addition of Myers & Hall. Even more importantly is guys like Peko, Brooks, Bluto, Andrews, Whitworth have another year under their belts.

If the OL can stay relatively healthy, Palmer could have a monster year. A couple of key injuries could turn any playoff contender into a 6 - win team. However, I just do not see how anyone can predict that. And these Cold Hard Facts boobs will throw anything against the wall in hopes that something will stick. What a bunch of clowns!

[Kazkal]

The real problem is that they've lost soo many 1st and 2nd round picks over the last 3 years.

How is it their fault chris perry and Pollack are always banged up? neither of them had bad injury history before they were drafted.Kenny irons had slight injury history but he was able play through it the only player really could be blamed is ignoring odell thurmans character issues....

[BengalszoneBilly]

How can anyone look at the schedule and not see a minimum of 10 wins.

With the way I've watched the defense play last year and in pre-season, that would be me. To win CONSISTENTLY in the NFL, it takes BALANCE! At the moment the Bengals appear to have so little of it that short of screwing on training wheels do they have any hope of getting it. Better defense...better record.

[Bobcat Bengal]

The real problem is that they've lost soo many 1st and 2nd round picks over the last 3 years.

How is it their fault chris perry and Pollack are always banged up? neither of them had bad injury history before they were drafted.Kenny irons had slight injury history but he was able play through it the only player really could be blamed is ignoring odell thurmans character issues....

It's no one's fault.

I'm actually siding with Shula....because its true.

[ArmyBengal]

I agree, take a look at how many top choices are going to be starting on defense this year... For a team that puts all their eggs in "Building through the draft" you have to count on those players being there and when they go down, you are in a world of hurt.

Pollack and Thurman are HUGE in respect to our defense and Chris Perry and Irons take away the pass catching speed back to compliment our offense. If we have those guys playing, this team is VERY different.

WHODEY !!!

[HairOnFire]

Put me down for a weak ten.

Weak because I haven't seen any evidence that this team is going to catch a break on the injury front, and because so many young and inexperienced players are the key to improvement. That said, last season produced eight wins despite being a perfect demonstration of a worst case scenario. And most telling, our lingering frustration was the result of our firm belief that more wins were not only possible, but would have resulted if only a play or two had more positive results.

As for this season being worse than last year, anything is possible. That said, the offense should be capable of winning 5 or 6 games without any help whatsoever from the defense.....yet I'm quickly reminded that the mostly unloved Bengal defense was responsible for as many wins last season as the much heralded offense.

[GhostBluff]

dude.

Heres my summary, and i'm usually close..

In my opinion we should lose no mare than five.

Looking at the schedule, I see teams that don't compare to us.

The teams that are possible L's:

Ravens. s**tsburg Steelroids. Patriots. Jets. Ravens.

Now in worst case scenerio, we could lose to the jets. LOL..

which would put us at 6 L's which is considerable better than last year by two.

Now, its not entirably about Wins And Loses. Its about the playoffs.

I checked the schedule for the Ravens and s**tsburg,

Ravens schedule is MEDIOCRE, harder than ours that is, by far. but not too hard, SOME worry there not much.

s**tsburg schedule is is fairly easy.. just about as easy as ours.

So i'm looking for another s**tsburg and begals showdown for Division champs this year.

BUT MY Predicition is: WHO DEY PLAYOFFS BABY.

get ready to buy those playoff tickets on e-bay haha.

[GhostBluff]

Also, this all depends on D-FENCE of course.

God I hope they dont pull that sh*t they did with the chargers last year.....

[Wisk]

Throwing in my 2 cents....

Tempering my enthusiasm after a TERRIBLE preseason. The offense looks like they need to get on the same page. Too many injuries at key positions. Suspensions of Thurman and Henry will hurt badly. I am lowering my expectations from 11 to 9 wins this season and believe my beloved Bengals stock my drop even lower. Looking forward to seeing how they come out in the Monday Night Opener to solidify my opinion though.....

[BengalszoneBilly]

Wow...10 or more is the run away favorite. I hope you guys are right of course, but right now I just can't see anything better than 8.

I wasn't far off. I should have been a little more pessimistic and I would have nailed it!

[HoosierCat]

Wow...10 or more is the run away favorite. I hope you guys are right of course, but right now I just can't see anything better than 8.

I wasn't far off. I should have been a little more pessimistic and I would have nailed it!

Hey, you were closer than the "cold hard football facts"! Balit wins the division... :lmao:

[BengalszoneBilly]

The other Winners leading off with the Grand Champion "BengalChamps":

I am definately getting desperate. I picked 7 wins because we are not better than last year.

Guys, sorry for the pesimism. But I've felt enough blind homerism in past seasons. In trying to look objectively, I just dont see improvement.

Kudo's Champ. How about doing a course here in constructive pessimism during next pre-season?

After watching tonight's game live in person, I cannot give this team more than 8 wins. Apparently Las Vegas agrees, with an over/under of 8.5. Carson is not sharp. The line is damaged goods. Chad has his head up his a$$ with two straight games with false starts. Defense is still a sieve in the secondary. I can barely fined one thing to be optimistic about. The only player to flash this preseasn is Chris Freekin' Henry! The Saints played with noticeably more speed and pop on both sides of the ball. What is going on? Dare I say it... has Marvin Lewis lost this team? I have officially hit the panic button.

8-8 with mediocre Marvin

I'm just not sure where this team has improved from last year. It's possible they've actually managed to get worse.

I'll reserve judgement for another couple weeks but yeah, right now I'm leaning toward 7 to 9 wins.

[BengalszoneBilly]

Of course I won't omit the list of losers...

I call 10-6 at worst but I really do think we can go 12-4.

I've been saying 10-6 (plus or minus one on either side), and I will stick with that.

MY Predicition is: WHO DEY PLAYOFFS BABY.

get ready to buy those playoff tickets on e-bay haha.

I dont care if they never win another preseason game again. The preseason is for getting the rust off and that alone. Doesn't bother me at all. 11-5 and division champs.

11-5, AFC North Champions, 3rd seed in the conference

That's 10 and 6 the way I see it.

10-6. I believe we are the same team as last year and two of the four bad bounces that curtailed our season last year won't occur this year. That's what I believe anyway.

Put me down for a weak ten.

I am like many of you who said they will win at least 10 games. I think 10 is the absolute least amount that they will win. Carson is now completely healed and more confident. I also think that Chad will have even better statistics this year. I don't think the Bengals will have any problems winning their division!

Adding this one pains me, but I must be fair...

TAKE A BREATH ALREADY !!! 10+ wins still isn't out of the scope of possibility at this time...

[BengalszoneBilly]

And with the 23rd pick in the April 2008 NFL draft, The Cincinnati Bengals select...........

Here's the one prediction out of this thread that the Bengals really improved upon!

[ArmyBengal]

Ok, lets say for the sake of argument that we lose both games to Baltimore, and Pittsburgh, that's 4. We lose to Seattle and New England, that's 6. Between 2 with Cleveland, the Chiefs, the Jets, the Bills, the Cardinals, the Titans, the Rams, the 49er's, and the Dolphins, where do you honestly think we are losing 3 more ?? That's "IF" we lose all those others I mentioned to begin with (Which I don't see happening)... If you honestly believe we are going to get swept by the Steelers and Ravens, we have bigger concerns !!! I think the outlook proposed by some of you guys is a little on the, uncalled for, bleak side of things. Maybe I'm an optimist in all of this, but this was certainly not the attitude held by the majority of you when the schedule was released. I know things have taken a few changes, but so much so that we went from a possible 11-5 to a 7-9 record ?? I'm sorry, I just can't agree with that. I will be more than happy to come back and say how wrong I was, but I would prefer to remain hopeful as opposed to thinking who we will take with the first pick of the draft next year...

WHODEY !!!

Ok, being a man of my word ---> I WAS SO WRONG !!! The scary part is, I was dead on with just how wrong I was !!!

F*CK !!!

WHODEY !!!

[BengalszoneBilly]

Ok, lets say for the sake of argument that we lose both games to Baltimore, and Pittsburgh, that's 4. We lose to Seattle and New England, that's 6. Between 2 with Cleveland, the Chiefs, the Jets, the Bills, the Cardinals, the Titans, the Rams, the 49er's, and the Dolphins, where do you honestly think we are losing 3 more ?? That's "IF" we lose all those others I mentioned to begin with (Which I don't see happening)... If you honestly believe we are going to get swept by the Steelers and Ravens, we have bigger concerns !!! I think the outlook proposed by some of you guys is a little on the, uncalled for, bleak side of things. Maybe I'm an optimist in all of this, but this was certainly not the attitude held by the majority of you when the schedule was released. I know things have taken a few changes, but so much so that we went from a possible 11-5 to a 7-9 record ?? I'm sorry, I just can't agree with that. I will be more than happy to come back and say how wrong I was, but I would prefer to remain hopeful as opposed to thinking who we will take with the first pick of the draft next year...

WHODEY !!!

Ok, being a man of my word ---> I WAS SO WRONG !!! The scary part is, I was dead on with just how wrong I was !!!

F*CK !!!

WHODEY !!!

At least one guy manned up! Kudos sir.

[HairOnFire]

Put me down for a weak ten.

Weak because I haven't seen any evidence that this team is going to catch a break on the injury front, and because so many young and inexperienced players are the key to improvement. That said, last season produced eight wins despite being a perfect demonstration of a worst case scenario. And most telling, our lingering frustration was the result of our firm belief that more wins were not only possible, but would have resulted if only a play or two had more positive results.

As for this season being worse than last year, anything is possible. That said, the offense should be capable of winning 5 or 6 games without any help whatsoever from the defense.....yet I'm quickly reminded that the mostly unloved Bengal defense was responsible for as many wins last season as the much heralded offense.

(((Shrug)))

The Homer in me predicted ten wins, while the Moe in me acknowledged many of the problems. Sadly, the Nelson in me couldn't see the coming disaster on the injury front, especially at LB.

Ha-ha! (Points finger)

One last thought. This season was marginally worse than the prior year in number of wins, but I still insist the 8-8 campaign was more frustrating. All of the missed opportunities had me constantly in the mood to break things....while this season mostly made this viewer feel helpless. Thus, less rage...and more shrugging.