Everyone done jumping off the bridge yet?

[fattyjay]

Yes I know everyone and their brother had this game down as one of a few precious wins, but if the first week results have taught me anything its that preseason predictions can be thrown out the window once the season begins. Who here thought the Colts would lose to the Bears, or the Chargers to Panthers, or the Lions to the Falcons? There called upsets and they will happen every week in the NFL, and even sometimes to the Bengals both for and against. Its frustrating for sure but to say the season is over after a disappointing week one loss is just ludicrous.

[agreen_112]

AAAAAAAAAgreed... Give it a few more weeks. If we go 1-3 in the first 4 games, then you can call it a busted season.

[cincyhokie]

Yes I know everyone and their brother had this game down as one of a few precious wins, but if the first week results have taught me anything its that preseason predictions can be thrown out the window once the season begins. Who here thought the Colts would lose to the Bears, or the Chargers to Panthers, or the Lions to the Falcons? There called upsets and they will happen every week in the NFL, and even sometimes to the Bengals both for and against. Its frustrating for sure but to say the season is over after a disappointing week one loss is just ludicrous.

Unfortunately, we only have the past failures of this team to go on and that leaves us with little proof that things will change for the better. Teams such as the Bears, Panthers, and Falcons have all shown proof of being able to rebound from losing and win in recent years. In fact in the last 10 years all of those teams you have mentioned have reached the Superbowl. We are not those teams and have not shown any resemblance of consistency since the 80's.

Read between the lines. This team is not a winner. Looking at other teams and hoping we can follow their path is grabbing for straws. We are not other teams and have not shown we can consistently compete in this league in 20 years. Forgive us negative fans for looking at things realistically.

[damiancasey]

Yes I know everyone and their brother had this game down as one of a few precious wins, but if the first week results have taught me anything its that preseason predictions can be thrown out the window once the season begins. Who here thought the Colts would lose to the Bears, or the Chargers to Panthers, or the Lions to the Falcons? There called upsets and they will happen every week in the NFL, and even sometimes to the Bengals both for and against. Its frustrating for sure but to say the season is over after a disappointing week one loss is just ludicrous.

The season isn't over but what can you hope for given the performance on Sunday? I'm not trying to be negative I'm trying to be realistic. The performance we saw was not that of a passionate playoff team that "had a few kinks to work out". They were apathetic, dumb, and confused.

If you want to be optimistic what you are talking about is shooting for .500. That's optimistic.

[fattyjay]

Yes I know everyone and their brother had this game down as one of a few precious wins, but if the first week results have taught me anything its that preseason predictions can be thrown out the window once the season begins. Who here thought the Colts would lose to the Bears, or the Chargers to Panthers, or the Lions to the Falcons? There called upsets and they will happen every week in the NFL, and even sometimes to the Bengals both for and against. Its frustrating for sure but to say the season is over after a disappointing week one loss is just ludicrous.

Unfortunately, we only have the past failures of this team to go on and that leaves us with little proof that things will change for the better. Teams such as the Bears, Panthers, and Falcons have all shown proof of being able to rebound from losing and win in recent years. In fact in the last 10 years all of those teams you have mentioned have reached the Superbowl. We are not those teams and have not shown any resemblance of consistency since the 80's.

Read between the lines. This team is not a winner. Looking at other teams and hoping we can follow their path is grabbing for straws. We are not other teams and have not shown we can consistently compete in this league in 20 years. Forgive us negative fans for looking at things realistically.

Well, I wasn't really comparing the Bengals to those other teams, just stating that the too thought they would most likely win their first game against an opponent who most thought would be inferior. My point was more to the fact that in today's NFL every week teams that aren't supposed to win do. And speaking to those realists I too was assuning that the Bengals would win that game, but I understand that they will lose some games that they shouldn't and win some they shouldn't. That's how the game works, that's why we are fans. If every game went exactly as predicted what would be the point of watching?

[7/11]

i expect absolutely nothing out of this team this year...it's not the 0-1 record having lost to a less talented team. upsets happen; i can deal with that and understand that.

not since the 90's have i seen any team play as lackluster as we did on sunday. it was f**king pathetic- the reverse play and the flacco speed-walk to the endzone literally made me sick to my stomach. two of our best players on defense (joseph, rivers) literally jogged after clayton and flacco. some are saying that rivers was not jogging and he was tryin to hunt him down...b.s. the last 10 yards, rivers realized nobody else was going to tackle flacco, so he kicked it up a notch and...VIOLA, he caught him in a heartbeat! the EFFORT IS NOT THERE. same play, marvin white is tied up in a block and literally stands there with the blocker until flacco passes him and then jogs away from the block....he f**king JOGGED.

joseph made plays, hall made a couple nice ones...rivers had 10 tackles. good job fellas, you're SUPPOSED to make plays. except you're supposed to do it EVERY PLAY.

ironically enough, the only guys who seemed to give effort all game were the whipping boys of the bengals in recent years: the d-line. they played with heart and top-shelf effort all game.

willie anderson said it was "night and day" when talking about the ravens practices and the bengals practices. he and rudi both laughed at the bengals organization after they were released. we're a joke of a franchise, even among players in the league.

le'ron mcclain was quoted after the game, regarding the final drive when the ravens simply walked over us to end the game: "We were all up in the huddle just ready to get to the next play, and their heads were down, just ready for it to be over with. We just started taking it to them."

the chemistry, motivation, and inspiration on this team are pathetic. where does it start? who knows, but the one constant throughout all these miserable years of fanhood in bengaldom is mike brown.

[membengal]

I see better than I hear.

When the Bengals play (and coach) like they give a damn, I will take them seriously again. There was one team on that field in Baltimore on Sunday who looked like it was a matter of life and death whether they won or not. And that team was not wearing stripes.

Unless and until this team starts to pour its heart and soul into winning, instead of just cashing paychecks, we can expect more of the same.

No heart. No will. Just showing up and going through the motions. That's what I see from this team, and have seen from this team, not just last Sunday, but the entire pre-season, and frankly, too much of the off-season (and almost all of 2007, while we are at it).

They've got huge problems, and if they do not find a way to care, and soon, this season will be sewer bound quickly. I promise you, the Titans will play like their hair is on fire, it would be nice if I could expect the Bengals to as well. Unfortunately, that is not something we can ever expect from this team. Hope for it? Sure. Expect? No.

ETA: And with the schedule in front of them, I am stunned that they couldn't muster any more urgency than they showed on Sunday. Another hallmark of a team that is spending its money, and waiting for the season to be done.

[fattyjay]

i expect absolutely nothing out of this team this year...it's not the 0-1 record having lost to a less talented team. upsets happen; i can deal with that and understand that.

not since the 90's have i seen any team play as lackluster as we did on sunday. it was f**king pathetic- the reverse play and the flacco speed-walk to the endzone literally made me sick to my stomach. two of our best players on defense (joseph, rivers) literally jogged after clayton and flacco. some are saying that rivers was not jogging and he was tryin to hunt him down...b.s. the last 10 yards, rivers realized nobody else was going to tackle flacco, so he kicked it up a notch and...VIOLA, he caught him in a heartbeat! the EFFORT IS NOT THERE. same play, marvin white is tied up in a block and literally stands there with the blocker until flacco passes him and then jogs away from the block....he f**king JOGGED.

joseph made plays, hall made a couple nice ones...rivers had 10 tackles. good job fellas, you're SUPPOSED to make plays. except you're supposed to do it EVERY PLAY.

ironically enough, the only guys who seemed to give effort all game were the whipping boys of the bengals in recent years: the d-line. they played with heart and top-shelf effort all game.

willie anderson said it was "night and day" when talking about the ravens practices and the bengals practices. he and rudi both laughed at the bengals organization after they were released. we're a joke of a franchise, even among players in the league.

le'ron mcclain was quoted after the game, regarding the final drive when the ravens simply walked over us to end the game: "We were all up in the huddle just ready to get to the next play, and their heads were down, just ready for it to be over with. We just started taking it to them."

the chemistry, motivation, and inspiration on this team are pathetic. where does it start? who knows, but the one constant throughout all these miserable years of fanhood in bengaldom is mike brown.

You know you may be right in all these things. All I saying is how about we wait to see a few more games before we throw the season away.

[cincyhokie]

If every game went exactly as predicted what would be the point of watching?

I hear what you are saying. Why watch? Good question. I find myself asking myself this more often than not as I walk home from PBS after home games.

[gregstephens]

i expect absolutely nothing out of this team this year...it's not the 0-1 record having lost to a less talented team. upsets happen; i can deal with that and understand that.

not since the 90's have i seen any team play as lackluster as we did on sunday. it was f**king pathetic- the reverse play and the flacco speed-walk to the endzone literally made me sick to my stomach. two of our best players on defense (joseph, rivers) literally jogged after clayton and flacco. some are saying that rivers was not jogging and he was tryin to hunt him down...b.s. the last 10 yards, rivers realized nobody else was going to tackle flacco, so he kicked it up a notch and...VIOLA, he caught him in a heartbeat! the EFFORT IS NOT THERE. same play, marvin white is tied up in a block and literally stands there with the blocker until flacco passes him and then jogs away from the block....he f**king JOGGED.

joseph made plays, hall made a couple nice ones...rivers had 10 tackles. good job fellas, you're SUPPOSED to make plays. except you're supposed to do it EVERY PLAY.

ironically enough, the only guys who seemed to give effort all game were the whipping boys of the bengals in recent years: the d-line. they played with heart and top-shelf effort all game.

willie anderson said it was "night and day" when talking about the ravens practices and the bengals practices. he and rudi both laughed at the bengals organization after they were released. we're a joke of a franchise, even among players in the league.

le'ron mcclain was quoted after the game, regarding the final drive when the ravens simply walked over us to end the game: "We were all up in the huddle just ready to get to the next play, and their heads were down, just ready for it to be over with. We just started taking it to them."

the chemistry, motivation, and inspiration on this team are pathetic. where does it start? who knows, but the one constant throughout all these miserable years of fanhood in bengaldom is mike brown.

You know you may be right in all these things. All I saying is how about we wait to see a few more games before we throw the season away.

I agree with your theory. I'm not going to stop watching, supporting, and even hoping. But the issues we saw Sunday are not adjustments you make during the week and next Sunday are all better. I love the team, I hope they turn it around.

I'm not going to die holding my breath.

[membengal]

It's not about the outcome, fj. It's about the effort. The desire. The intelligence. The caring.

If they gave 100% and played smart, and still lost, I could deal with that. No shame in getting beat when you have done all you can.

But the Bengals? Last Sunday? And for much of 2007? I seldom felt that way. That is what is so infuriating. And it is why this fanbase is drifting, quickly, to apathetic, once again.

That's on all of them. Players. Coaches. Ownership. If someone doesn't step forward from one of that group, and soon, demanding that it change, this is going to be beyond s**t, quickly.

I said in the prediction thread that 7-9 seemed likely, but that anywhere from 3-13 to 11-5 would not necessarily surprise me. My concern? That the effort, lack of attention to detail, and lack of apparent caring from that team last Sunday makes 3-13 far more likely.

They need to fix that. NOW. Before it is too late.

[gregstephens]

It's not about the outcome, fj. It's about the effort. The desire. The intelligence. The caring.

If they gave 100% and played smart, and still lost, I could deal with that. No shame in getting beat when you have done all you can.

But the Bengals? Last Sunday? And for much of 2007? I seldom felt that way. That is what is so infuriating. And it is why this fanbase is drifting, quickly, to apathetic, once again.

That's on all of them. Players. Coaches. Ownership. If someone doesn't step forward from one of that group, and soon, demanding that it change, this is going to be beyond s**t, quickly.

I said in the prediction thread that 7-9 seemed likely, but that anywhere from 3-13 to 11-5 would not necessarily surprise me. My concern? That the effort, lack of attention to detail, and lack of apparent caring from that team last Sunday makes 3-13 far more likely.

They need to fix that. NOW. Before it is too late.

Word

[HoosierCat]

So, fatty, in answer to your question, apparently not.

As for me, I saw what I expected out of the D. They played well enough to win. he offense was also about what I expected, given that its two top wideouts and its QB have barely been on the field together since January, its No. 1 RB hadn't played a live game in two years, and the o-line had to contend with not just a tough defense, but also the presence of a former one of their own on the other sideline telling his team what play we were going to run.

Both sides of the ball will get better. The question is, how fast?

[cincyhokie]

So, fatty, in answer to your question, apparently not.

As for me, I saw what I expected out of the D. They played well enough to win. he offense was also about what I expected, given that its two top wideouts and its QB have barely been on the field together since January, its No. 1 RB hadn't played a live game in two years, and the o-line had to contend with not just a tough defense, but also the presence of a former one of their own on the other sideline telling his team what play we were going to run.

Both sides of the ball will get better. The question is, how fast?

One would think that those factors could be handled given the fact the Ravens started a rookie QB and a rookie RB...led by a rookie head coach.

That game should have been won, no excuses.

[7/11]

i expect absolutely nothing out of this team this year...it's not the 0-1 record having lost to a less talented team. upsets happen; i can deal with that and understand that.

not since the 90's have i seen any team play as lackluster as we did on sunday. it was f**king pathetic- the reverse play and the flacco speed-walk to the endzone literally made me sick to my stomach. two of our best players on defense (joseph, rivers) literally jogged after clayton and flacco. some are saying that rivers was not jogging and he was tryin to hunt him down...b.s. the last 10 yards, rivers realized nobody else was going to tackle flacco, so he kicked it up a notch and...VIOLA, he caught him in a heartbeat! the EFFORT IS NOT THERE. same play, marvin white is tied up in a block and literally stands there with the blocker until flacco passes him and then jogs away from the block....he f**king JOGGED.

joseph made plays, hall made a couple nice ones...rivers had 10 tackles. good job fellas, you're SUPPOSED to make plays. except you're supposed to do it EVERY PLAY.

ironically enough, the only guys who seemed to give effort all game were the whipping boys of the bengals in recent years: the d-line. they played with heart and top-shelf effort all game.

willie anderson said it was "night and day" when talking about the ravens practices and the bengals practices. he and rudi both laughed at the bengals organization after they were released. we're a joke of a franchise, even among players in the league.

le'ron mcclain was quoted after the game, regarding the final drive when the ravens simply walked over us to end the game: "We were all up in the huddle just ready to get to the next play, and their heads were down, just ready for it to be over with. We just started taking it to them."

the chemistry, motivation, and inspiration on this team are pathetic. where does it start? who knows, but the one constant throughout all these miserable years of fanhood in bengaldom is mike brown.

You know you may be right in all these things. All I saying is how about we wait to see a few more games before we throw the season away.

i hear ya...we have too much talent to not have hope for a turn-around. but the way they played last sunday does not bode well for bengal optimists.

[HoosierCat]

One would think that those factors could be handled given the fact the Ravens started a rookie QB and a rookie RB...led by a rookie head coach.

That game should have been won, no excuses.

No excuses, but before you leap off the bridge, remember last year's opener. We were all pretty jazzed, right? Because we had beaten the big bad Ravens. Except that by the end of the season, it was clear that the Ravens, in fact, sucked.

It may just be the opposite this year. It's possible the Ravens may actually be a decent team. Their biggest problem on D last year was injuries, not talent. And Flacco may be one of those rare freshman QBs who gets tossed into the fire and performs well. If the Ravens end up winning 9 or 10 games and challenging for or winning the AFCN title, that puts Sunday's loss in a different light.

[7/11]

So, fatty, in answer to your question, apparently not.

As for me, I saw what I expected out of the D. They played well enough to win.[b/] he offense was also about what I expected, given that its two top wideouts and its QB have barely been on the field together since January, its No. 1 RB hadn't played a live game in two years, and the o-line had to contend with not just a tough defense, but also the presence of a former one of their own on the other sideline telling his team what play we were going to run.

Both sides of the ball will get better. The question is, how fast?

not really. we played a rookie qb, a rookie rb, an unproven o-line, and one of the worst wr units in the league. if ray rice hadn't dropped that pass in the first half or fumbled that ball in the 4th quarter, we would have gotten smoked.

[COB]

If the Ravens end up winning 9 or 10 games and challenging for or winning the AFCN title, that puts Sunday's loss in a different light.

OK, I now only have one leg over the railing. But I saw what I saw. That game was a frightening stare into the abyss.

[HoosierCat]

If the Ravens end up winning 9 or 10 games and challenging for or winning the AFCN title, that puts Sunday's loss in a different light.

OK, I now only have one leg over the railing. But I saw what I saw. That game was a frightening stare into the abyss.

Oh, no doubt. And we may indeed have seen exactly what we're going to get, in which case this season will rival '02. All I'm saying is that I'm not sure how representative Sunday's beating was. If they play as poorly on offense against the Titans, then we're in trouble.

[cincyhokie]

One would think that those factors could be handled given the fact the Ravens started a rookie QB and a rookie RB...led by a rookie head coach.

That game should have been won, no excuses.

No excuses, but before you leap off the bridge, remember last year's opener. We were all pretty jazzed, right? Because we had beaten the big bad Ravens. Except that by the end of the season, it was clear that the Ravens, in fact, sucked.

It may just be the opposite this year. It's possible the Ravens may actually be a decent team. Their biggest problem on D last year was injuries, not talent. And Flacco may be one of those rare freshman QBs who gets tossed into the fire and performs well. If the Ravens end up winning 9 or 10 games and challenging for or winning the AFCN title, that puts Sunday's loss in a different light.

It's really not the loss that people are concerned with, it was the performance. This team is coming off a very disappointing 7-9 season. They are playing a division rival with a chance to take advantage of a rebuilding team starting a rookie QB. The Bengals came out and looked like they didn't prepare or gameplan at all. Everything about the team Sunday screamed poorly prepared and poorly executed. That tells me this team is not playing together for whatever reason. It's not a good sign.

A loss is a loss. How you play in that loss is the telling factor.

[HoosierCat]

Everything about the team Sunday screamed poorly prepared and poorly executed. That tells me this team is not playing together for whatever reason.

But we do know the reason. Its because we're starting an RB who hasn't played in two years, and both our top wideouts spent the offseason being whiny beotches. The upshot of that is that our four top offensive skill players got practically no time together to get into rhythm before yesterday.

Look, after week one, our offense ranks 32 out of 32. I guarantee you it isn't going to stay there. But as was the case in too many seasons in the 1990s, they are going to have to play their way back into sync. If history is any guide, that will take 2-3 more weeks, by which time the hole they've dug may be too deep.

[damiancasey]

It's really not the loss that people are concerned with, it was the performance. This team is coming off a very disappointing 7-9 season. They are playing a division rival with a chance to take advantage of a rebuilding team starting a rookie QB. The Bengals came out and looked like they didn't prepare or gameplan at all. Everything about the team Sunday screamed poorly prepared and poorly executed. That tells me this team is not playing together for whatever reason. It's not a good sign.

A loss is a loss. How you play in that loss is the telling factor.

Exactly - I'm far more concerned with the way we looked than the score. As I said before, you need to be realistic. What we saw on Sunday wasn't a potential playoff team losing a nail-biter. What we saw was a confused, dumb, and apathetic team getting manhandled.

An optimistic prediction for this season is .500.

[walzav29]

Yeah, I'm on the ledge. It's not losing it's the way they lost. They were unprepared, outcoached, outhit, and they had no fire. This isn't Marvin's 1st season. It is obvious to me that the players have tuned him out. Which is never a good thing. You don't think it bothers players that they cut Willie and bring back Henry? Our pathetic little comeback as a franchise is over. We have to start all over AGAIN. You can tell the players don't believe. If they don't, how can we?

[cincyhokie]

Look, after week one, our offense ranks 32 out of 32. I guarantee you it isn't going to stay there. But as was the case in too many seasons in the 1990s, they are going to have to play their way back into sync. If history is any guide, that will take 2-3 more weeks, by which time the hole they've dug may be too deep.

Look, man, not trying to be an ass but...isn't what you just wrote a big reason to be concerned?

[HoosierCat]

Look, after week one, our offense ranks 32 out of 32. I guarantee you it isn't going to stay there. But as was the case in too many seasons in the 1990s, they are going to have to play their way back into sync. If history is any guide, that will take 2-3 more weeks, by which time the hole they've dug may be too deep.

Look, man, not trying to be an ass but...isn't what you just wrote a big reason to be concerned?

Of course. Concern is fine. I'm certainly concerned. However, I'm not ready to go all Hudson on the situation.