Did anyone hear what J. Smith said?

[redsbengalsbucks]

I actually thought for the circumstances that the defense played well enough to give the offense chances to at least keep up with NE. The offense was a let down on thier end of the game last nite.

[HairOnFire]

The D kept them in the game for a while, but the offense couldn't score enough. How often do you say that about the Bengals? lol

More often than you'd think.

[Bobcat Bengal]

The problem with the entire team is the coaching.

Don't you think it's a tad extreme to blame the coaching for the entire 1-3 start? The players can't be held accountable at all?

NOPE, If the player sucks, it's the coaches job to replace him. If his replacement sucks, you replace him too... With that said, I still blame the owner!

so who are you gonna replace with DURING the season?

all you're gonna do is complain about the player they replace the incumbent with.

It's a lose/lose in your eyes....

[agreen_112]

The problem with the entire team is the coaching.

Don't you think it's a tad extreme to blame the coaching for the entire 1-3 start? The players can't be held accountable at all?

NOPE, If the player sucks, it's the coaches job to replace him. If his replacement sucks, you replace him too... With that said, I still blame the owner!

so who are you gonna replace with DURING the season?

all you're gonna do is complain about the player they replace the incumbent with.

It's a lose/lose in your eyes....

All I'm saying is that I truly feel like this is a coaching problem. They are the one's that need to look back over the last 4 weeks and make some decisions... But then again, if the owner doesn't really care about losing, then what can the coaches do?

If Dallas were in this situation, you gotdamn better believe someone would be fired! Same goes with NE, Pitt, Indy, ect.

[ratmandu]

As long as the Bengals are 8 and 8 and are selling out the stadium then Ole'Mikey Boy is in football heaven !!!

Ya' see if for some ungodly reason you go to the playoffs and the Super Bowl then everybody gets a big incentive bonus on their current contracts and a substantual raise on their next contracts !!!

That is unthinkable and totally unacceptable in Mikey's world !!!

In Mikeys's perfect world 50/50 is exactly where he wants to be as that is just enough to keep the stands full and the profit stealing liability expenses way down !!!

[BengalByTheBay]

As long as the Bengals are 8 and 8 and are selling out the stadium then Ole'Mikey Boy is in football heaven !!!

Ya' see if for some ungodly reason you go to the playoffs and the Super Bowl then everybody gets a big incentive bonus on their current contracts and a substantual raise on their next contracts !!!

That is unthinkable and totally unacceptable in Mikey's world !!!

In Mikeys's perfect world 50/50 is exactly where he wants to be as that is just enough to keep the stands full and the profit stealing liability expenses way down !!!

I love how losing makes everybody lose their minds. I have heard this "conspiracy theory" before -- so, you believe that Mike Brown doesn't want his team to go to the Superbowl and win. I'm pretty certain that the gain in revenue from just about every possible source would more than offset incentive bonuses paid to the players. So, in the absence of that fantasy, exactly what other motivation is there to intentionally keep your team from being successful? I think the truth is a little more direct. It's hard to win in the NFL and this team is, at turns, bad at making some decisions and often unlucky. What percentage of each is a legitimate subject for debate, but IMO no team would intentionally try to play poorly with the possible exception of when the season is essentially lost and there is the prospect of a higher draft pick. Oddly, in my experience, relatively few teams even do that.

[ratmandu]

Ah.......h No !

You are talking about an owner who complained publicly that the Bengals lost money playing in the playoffs and Super Bowl !

He stated flatly that post season play was always a revenue losing and highly unprofitable financial disaster for the Bengals.

You are talking about an owner who did not want to send the BenGals cheerleaders to the away playoff games and Super Bowls to save airfare and other non-profitable BenGal travel expenses !!!

That sir is no conspiracy theory !

That's a fact !!!

[ShulaSteakhouse]

As long as the Bengals are 8 and 8 and are selling out the stadium then Ole'Mikey Boy is in football heaven !!!

Ya' see if for some ungodly reason you go to the playoffs and the Super Bowl then everybody gets a big incentive bonus on their current contracts and a substantual raise on their next contracts !!!

That is unthinkable and totally unacceptable in Mikey's world !!!

In Mikeys's perfect world 50/50 is exactly where he wants to be as that is just enough to keep the stands full and the profit stealing liability expenses way down !!!

I love how losing makes everybody lose their minds. I have heard this "conspiracy theory" before -- so, you believe that Mike Brown doesn't want his team to go to the Superbowl and win. I'm pretty certain that the gain in revenue from just about every possible source would more than offset incentive bonuses paid to the players. So, in the absence of that fantasy, exactly what other motivation is there to intentionally keep your team from being successful? I think the truth is a little more direct. It's hard to win in the NFL and this team is, at turns, bad at making some decisions and often unlucky. What percentage of each is a legitimate subject for debate, but IMO no team would intentionally try to play poorly with the possible exception of when the season is essentially lost and there is the prospect of a higher draft pick. Oddly, in my experience, relatively few teams even do that.

Of course he wants to win, he just isn't willing to do what other franchises do, in order to get there.

He'll milk the 2005 season for 10 more years, as will his excuse-makers.

It's easier to do that and hope a lucky season comes along once in a while.

[Jet23]

Before the stadium was built, Mike Brown told Bob Bedinghaus that the ideal situation would be for a team to lose the Conference Championship game. That way they can maximize profits without having to cough up the Super Bowl expenses and additional player salaries. Other than Bill Bidwell, I can not see another Owner making that statement. It just illustrates how the guy thinks. Again, this is a guy that would not trade a dollar for a win. Sad but true.

[HairOnFire]

Of course he wants to win, he just isn't willing to do what other franchises do, in order to get there.

Well, let's be perfectly honest. Even if promised more money free agent after free agent has refused to play in Cincinnati. That's the harsh reality of attempting to build a team with players who aren't fond of the idea of living in Porkopolis or Hilltucky.

To be perfectly fair, it's been claimed by many that free agents would come to Cincy if grossly overpaid, but that's only a theory.....one built on the premise that a single gesture would fundamentally change something. Obviously it wouldn't, but many "demanding" fans have been known to appreciate the occasional blatant empty gestures as a sign of goodwill. (Practice bubble. Figurehead GM. etc.)

Best alternative to the harsh reality? Refuse to continue overpaying for the free agents you already have....replacing each good but not great player with two or three lesser players who bring veteran experience.

[BengalByTheBay]

Ah.......h No !

You are talking about an owner who complained publicly that the Bengals lost money playing in the playoffs and Super Bowl !

He stated flatly that post season play was always a revenue losing and highly unprofitable financial disaster for the Bengals.

You are talking about an owner who did not want to send the BenGals cheerleaders to the away playoff games and Super Bowls to save airfare and other non-profitable BenGal travel expenses !!!

That sir is no conspiracy theory !

That's a fact !!!

But your theory breaks down if the team plays 8-8 forever. Presumably, there will be no consistent sellouts. The reason there are sellouts through the past few years is that a new coach was hired, who immediately took the team out of losing seasons and has not had a losing season (yet), and the team went to the playoffs with an 11-5 record. At some point that lustre will wear off if some success is not repeated. So, going 8-8 won't do it. There would have to be some good seasons to keep people interested. What you're really saying is that Mike Brown has figured out the perfect balance of keeping people interested while not spending any money. Again, that's not entirely true because he had to spend money on the things that get people interested in the first place and those "things" (Carson Palmer, etc.) have to perform at least decently. All I'm hearing from this board is that everybody's pissed....and you're all likely to be the hardest core of Bengals fans. So, I can see a day not too far away when everybody jumps ship and the sellouts stop. If so, Mike Brown's evil experiment has failed.

The fact that Brown makes stupid comments about how much things cost and how much money he loses seems far more calculated to plead his case of poverty as a small market owner (which is pretty much his big mission in life) in the big, bad NFL than anything else. As for post-season play being a financial loss for the Bengals -- consider that he's talking in the 80's time frame. I hardly think that there's any real loss involved in owning an NFL team right now. Certainly, there is tremendous revenue-producing upside to being a playoff team that other teams cannot tap.

While I find it entirely possible that Brown is personally cheap enough to try to find a way to spend nothing on the team and make more money, I find it impossible that he would actually be able to figure out how to actually do it. I believe that the current state of the team reflects him having admitted that fact to himself and making more substantial investments to improve the team and its perception. He's never going to be George Steinbrenner, but if you think that Mike Brown today is acting exactly like he was in 1992, I totally disagree. And being 1-3 has way more to do with a number of factors that are beyond Mike Brown's control than his being cheap does. But, again, winning glosses over everything and losing exposes everything.

[damiancasey]

Ah.......h No !

You are talking about an owner who complained publicly that the Bengals lost money playing in the playoffs and Super Bowl !

He stated flatly that post season play was always a revenue losing and highly unprofitable financial disaster for the Bengals.

You are talking about an owner who did not want to send the BenGals cheerleaders to the away playoff games and Super Bowls to save airfare and other non-profitable BenGal travel expenses !!!

That sir is no conspiracy theory !

That's a fact !!!

But your theory breaks down if the team plays 8-8 forever. Presumably, there will be no consistent sellouts. The reason there are sellouts through the past few years is that a new coach was hired, who immediately took the team out of losing seasons and has not had a losing season (yet), and the team went to the playoffs with an 11-5 record. At some point that lustre will wear off if some success is not repeated. So, going 8-8 won't do it. There would have to be some good seasons to keep people interested. What you're really saying is that Mike Brown has figured out the perfect balance of keeping people interested while not spending any money. Again, that's not entirely true because he had to spend money on the things that get people interested in the first place and those "things" (Carson Palmer, etc.) have to perform at least decently. All I'm hearing from this board is that everybody's pissed....and you're all likely to be the hardest core of Bengals fans. So, I can see a day not too far away when everybody jumps ship and the sellouts stop. If so, Mike Brown's evil experiment has failed.

The fact that Brown makes stupid comments about how much things cost and how much money he loses seems far more calculated to plead his case of poverty as a small market owner (which is pretty much his big mission in life) in the big, bad NFL than anything else. As for post-season play being a financial loss for the Bengals -- consider that he's talking in the 80's time frame. I hardly think that there's any real loss involved in owning an NFL team right now. Certainly, there is tremendous revenue-producing upside to being a playoff team that other teams cannot tap.

While I find it entirely possible that Brown is personally cheap enough to try to find a way to spend nothing on the team and make more money, I find it impossible that he would actually be able to figure out how to actually do it. I believe that the current state of the team reflects him having admitted that fact to himself and making more substantial investments to improve the team and its perception. He's never going to be George Steinbrenner, but if you think that Mike Brown today is acting exactly like he was in 1992, I totally disagree. And being 1-3 has way more to do with a number of factors that are beyond Mike Brown's control than his being cheap does. But, again, winning glosses over everything and losing exposes everything.

Very good points here.

I don't believe in the conspiracy theory either. I do think that Mike Brown wants the Bengals to win - I DON'T think that he has a lot of the intangibles that separate organizations that field consistant winners from everyone else. Like comparing Klingler to John Elway. Both wanted to win but Elway had the drive and ability to make it happen. In other words - Mike is not good at managing top tier winning football organizations.

Throw in some bad luck...and here we are.

[HairOnFire]

He's never going to be George Steinbrenner, but if you think that Mike Brown today is acting exactly like he was in 1992, I totally disagree. And being 1-3 has way more to do with a number of factors that are beyond Mike Brown's control than his being cheap does. But, again, winning glosses over everything and losing exposes everything.

Dead on.

[711chad]

can someone explain why we blame chuck for everything...if you cant cover then you dont have room for the creative plays like the steelers run

[volcom69]

Ur right to a point these guys have to learn how to tackle, and how to stay in the right gaps and how to take on tackles, but i question Chucks play calling alot though to. I for one think Justin needs to shut up and play how many sacks does he and Geathers have this year, and we payed Geathers all that money for what i hardly see them even getting pressure on the qb, so instead of complaining maybe he ought to figure out a way to get to the qb to help out those poor young DBs that cant cover a reciever forever.

[CarsonCity]

The players nor the coaches are very good.

If not for the inheritance of Chad, Carson and TJ - no idea how bad this team would be the last few years.

Yep, if it weren't for all our good players, this team would be really bad. How profound!