Examining our schedule

[Bearcat1975]

So, if it's opinion time... here's mine. You're pathetic.

Here's mine. You, like much of the fan base, are completely delusional. Lost in a sea of denial, rationalization, and blind optimism. Considering the latest poll here has most people thinking the Bengals will win 10-11 games, I'm not surprised my opinion isn't popular around here.

But these are the same clowns that had us winning 10-11 games last offseason too, so no surprises there either.

[HairOnFire]

I look forward to eating much crow this season.

That's hardly suprising when you consider how much s**t you're eating today.

[Bearcat1975]

I look forward to eating much crow this season.

That's hardly suprising when you consider how much s**t you're eating today.

Well that's all you bring to the table these days.

s**t.

[HairOnFire]

You, like much of the fan base, are completely delusional. Lost in a sea of denial, rationalization, and blind optimism. Considering the latest poll here has most people thinking the Bengals will win 10-11 games, I'm not surprised my opinion isn't popular around here.

So people think you're a douchebag only because you're so much smarter than everyone else?

Good luck with that.

[Bearcat1975]

You, like much of the fan base, are completely delusional. Lost in a sea of denial, rationalization, and blind optimism. Considering the latest poll here has most people thinking the Bengals will win 10-11 games, I'm not surprised my opinion isn't popular around here.

So people think you're a douchebag only because you're so much smarter than everyone else?

Good luck with that.

Most people here disagree with my opinions about the Bengals, and given the time and setting that is no surprise. But you were the resident douchebag here long before I ever joined. Don't kid yourself.

Fat, drunk, and stupid is no way to go through life, son. Get some help.

[HairOnFire]

Most people here disagree with my opinions about the Bengals, and given the time and setting that is no surprise.

I'm guessing so many people disagree with your opinions soley because you're a moron, with the current time and setting being very minor considerations.

But you were the resident douchebag here long before I ever joined. Don't kid yourself.

But I can be many things anytime I want, including a douchebag whenever the mood suites me.

By comparison, you're simply an idiot who will always be an idiot, and if you're a being douchebag, and you are, you're also easy enough to dismiss any time I choose.

Happily, right now you're serving a purpose.

[derekshank]

So, if it's opinion time... here's mine. You're pathetic.

Here's mine. You, like much of the fan base, are completely delusional. Lost in a sea of denial, rationalization, and blind optimism. Considering the latest poll here has most people thinking the Bengals will win 10-11 games, I'm not surprised my opinion isn't popular around here.

But these are the same clowns that had us winning 10-11 games last offseason too, so no surprises there either.

First of all... my vote went to the 8-9 win category. I have them going 8-8, and have said multiple times that I think the Bengals are improved... but probably not enough to make the playoffs. That's hardly blind optimism... and only slightly better than your 6-10 prediction. So stop calling me a "homer."

Secondly, last year at this time I had the Bengals going 7-9. A record they would have likely made had Palmer been there for the Cleveland, Philly, and the Jets.

Thirdly, I flatly stated that I don't have a problem with your opinion on the Bengals record. I stated that I think you're pathetic for your statements about the future holdout of A. Smith, Carson Palmer's yet to happen injury, your insistence that the Bengals should not be starting rookies, and your idea that they should handle their offseason acquisitions as if it were Madden '09.

So don't accuse me of disliking your opinion simply because you're not an optimist. Because frankly, neither am I. I just look like one compared to a bitchy little girl.

[ArmyBengal]

Trying to get back on topic:

Denver- With a new coach, new QB, and going on the road week one, I see a Bengals team with new personnel as well having the upper hand playing at home. If it were in Denver, I'd give this one to the Broncos (WIN)

At Green Bay- Green Bay is a good team and think it could be close, but being on the road, I give this to the Cheeseheads (LOSS)

Pittsburgh- We lose both games against the Steelers again (LOSS)

At Cleveland- We win both games against the Browns (WIN)

At Baltimore- We could win this, but usually split so I will stay the course with the split opinion (LOSS)

Houston- Not much to say here, but if the Bengals have gotten good production from the rookies by this time we are good (WIN)

Chicago- I'm still not sold on what Cutler will do for the Bears, but it could go either way (WIN)

Baltimore- See above (WIN)

At Pittsburgh- See above (LOSS)

At Oakland- We have NEVER won at Oakland. Until this year (WIN)

Cleveland- See above (WIN)

Detroit- Can't see this as a loss (WIN)

At Minnesota- Good team a QB away ?? On the road (LOSS)

At San Diego- Another good team on the road towards the end of the season. If they are resting guys, having the playoffs set, maybe (LOSS)

Kansas City- This team seems like it is in total rebuild mode and complete disarray to me (WIN)

At New York Jets- Playoffs could be on the line for both teams. This could be a VERY interesting game (LOSS)

So, it appears I'm thinking 9-7 as a complete guess at this point in time. Seeing as how games sometimes turn for the good or the bad, you could also make another guess that the record could fluctuate two games in either direction. While I will not sit here and predict an 11--5 record by any means, with the Any Given Sunday line of thought, it wouldn't really suprise me if that were the case either.

If nothing else, it should be an improved season that has the chances of being exciting !!! Here's to hoping so !!!

[Clackwoods]

Trying to get back on topic:

Denver- With a new coach, new QB, and going on the road week one, I see a Bengals team with new personnel as well having the upper hand playing at home. If it were in Denver, I'd give this one to the Broncos (WIN)

At Green Bay- Green Bay is a good team and think it could be close, but being on the road, I give this to the Cheeseheads (LOSS)

Pittsburgh- We lose both games against the Steelers again (LOSS)

At Cleveland- We win both games against the Browns (WIN)

At Baltimore- We could win this, but usually split so I will stay the course with the split opinion (LOSS)

Houston- Not much to say here, but if the Bengals have gotten good production from the rookies by this time we are good (WIN)

Chicago- I'm still not sold on what Cutler will do for the Bears, but it could go either way (WIN)

Baltimore- See above (WIN)

At Pittsburgh- See above (LOSS)

At Oakland- We have NEVER won at Oakland. Until this year (WIN)

Cleveland- See above (WIN)

Detroit- Can't see this as a loss (WIN)

At Minnesota- Good team a QB away ?? On the road (LOSS)

At San Diego- Another good team on the road towards the end of the season. If they are resting guys, having the playoffs set, maybe (LOSS)

Kansas City- This team seems like it is in total rebuild mode and complete disarray to me (WIN)

At New York Jets- Playoffs could be on the line for both teams. This could be a VERY interesting game (LOSS)

So, it appears I'm thinking 9-7 as a complete guess at this point in time. Seeing as how games sometimes turn for the good or the bad, you could also make another guess that the record could fluctuate two games in either direction. While I will not sit here and predict an 11--5 record by any means, with the Any Given Sunday line of thought, it wouldn't really suprise me if that were the case either.

If nothing else, it should be an improved season that has the chances of being exciting !!! Here's to hoping so !!!

Damn good post, we were almost identical in our thinking outside of that Jets game.

Something I wanted to discuss about those guys that are fighting is the situation with our Oline and Carson getting smoked checked all the time.

He has to learn to get rid of the ball sooner if he knows his line isn't doing it. I think we will be just fine however, the only real question mark I see on the line is Center, but I think that will be minimal. We have a guy that did 40 reps of 225 in their so he should be OK, if not we got a 4th rounder that blocked in a tough conference and in 2007 he led the line that was very dominant against the run.

Manning hardly ever gets sacked because he gets rid of the ball when he feels pressure, Big Ben however does get hit a lot and he still wins ball games. Carson just needs to toughen up a little bit and get rid of the ball sooner and he will be fine. His injuries have been pretty spread out if you think about it. He hadn't missed significant time prior to this season. I still stick to my 10 and 6 prediction, but 11-5 if everything falls right!

[derekshank]

Trying to get back on topic:

Denver- With a new coach, new QB, and going on the road week one, I see a Bengals team with new personnel as well having the upper hand playing at home. If it were in Denver, I'd give this one to the Broncos (WIN)

At Green Bay- Green Bay is a good team and think it could be close, but being on the road, I give this to the Cheeseheads (LOSS)

Pittsburgh- We lose both games against the Steelers again (LOSS)

At Cleveland- We win both games against the Browns (WIN)

At Baltimore- We could win this, but usually split so I will stay the course with the split opinion (LOSS)

Houston- Not much to say here, but if the Bengals have gotten good production from the rookies by this time we are good (WIN)

Chicago- I'm still not sold on what Cutler will do for the Bears, but it could go either way (WIN)

Baltimore- See above (WIN)

At Pittsburgh- See above (LOSS)

At Oakland- We have NEVER won at Oakland. Until this year (WIN)

Cleveland- See above (WIN)

Detroit- Can't see this as a loss (WIN)

At Minnesota- Good team a QB away ?? On the road (LOSS)

At San Diego- Another good team on the road towards the end of the season. If they are resting guys, having the playoffs set, maybe (LOSS)

Kansas City- This team seems like it is in total rebuild mode and complete disarray to me (WIN)

At New York Jets- Playoffs could be on the line for both teams. This could be a VERY interesting game (LOSS)

So, it appears I'm thinking 9-7 as a complete guess at this point in time. Seeing as how games sometimes turn for the good or the bad, you could also make another guess that the record could fluctuate two games in either direction. While I will not sit here and predict an 11--5 record by any means, with the Any Given Sunday line of thought, it wouldn't really suprise me if that were the case either.

If nothing else, it should be an improved season that has the chances of being exciting !!! Here's to hoping so !!!

Damn good post, we were almost identical in our thinking outside of that Jets game.

Something I wanted to discuss about those guys that are fighting is the situation with our Oline and Carson getting smoked checked all the time.

He has to learn to get rid of the ball sooner if he knows his line isn't doing it. I think we will be just fine however, the only real question mark I see on the line is Center, but I think that will be minimal. We have a guy that did 40 reps of 225 in their so he should be OK, if not we got a 4th rounder that blocked in a tough conference and in 2007 he led the line that was very dominant against the run.

Manning hardly ever gets sacked because he gets rid of the ball when he feels pressure, Big Ben however does get hit a lot and he still wins ball games. Carson just needs to toughen up a little bit and get rid of the ball sooner and he will be fine. His injuries have been pretty spread out if you think about it. He hadn't missed significant time prior to this season. I still stick to my 10 and 6 prediction, but 11-5 if everything falls right!

I don't think you can put the injury on Carson this time. In '07 the Bengals set the record for the fewest sacks in team history... but the O-Line was sub-par. I remember watching multiple games where analysts praised Carson for being willing to hurt his stats by throwing the ball away rather than taking the sack like a lot of QB's.

Even looking at last year, the only game Palmer took a lot of sacks was against the Giants. But that game was just ugly. 3 sacks from DT's... can anyone say Ghiaciuc sucks?

The O-Line was already overmatched... and they didn't show up to play that day. That was a double whammy. If you take away the Giants game, Palmer only got sacked about once a game. Fitzpatrick averaged 3.33 sacks a game. Too bad he wasn't the one playing against the Giants.

[Clackwoods]

Trying to get back on topic:

Denver- With a new coach, new QB, and going on the road week one, I see a Bengals team with new personnel as well having the upper hand playing at home. If it were in Denver, I'd give this one to the Broncos (WIN)

At Green Bay- Green Bay is a good team and think it could be close, but being on the road, I give this to the Cheeseheads (LOSS)

Pittsburgh- We lose both games against the Steelers again (LOSS)

At Cleveland- We win both games against the Browns (WIN)

At Baltimore- We could win this, but usually split so I will stay the course with the split opinion (LOSS)

Houston- Not much to say here, but if the Bengals have gotten good production from the rookies by this time we are good (WIN)

Chicago- I'm still not sold on what Cutler will do for the Bears, but it could go either way (WIN)

Baltimore- See above (WIN)

At Pittsburgh- See above (LOSS)

At Oakland- We have NEVER won at Oakland. Until this year (WIN)

Cleveland- See above (WIN)

Detroit- Can't see this as a loss (WIN)

At Minnesota- Good team a QB away ?? On the road (LOSS)

At San Diego- Another good team on the road towards the end of the season. If they are resting guys, having the playoffs set, maybe (LOSS)

Kansas City- This team seems like it is in total rebuild mode and complete disarray to me (WIN)

At New York Jets- Playoffs could be on the line for both teams. This could be a VERY interesting game (LOSS)

So, it appears I'm thinking 9-7 as a complete guess at this point in time. Seeing as how games sometimes turn for the good or the bad, you could also make another guess that the record could fluctuate two games in either direction. While I will not sit here and predict an 11--5 record by any means, with the Any Given Sunday line of thought, it wouldn't really suprise me if that were the case either.

If nothing else, it should be an improved season that has the chances of being exciting !!! Here's to hoping so !!!

Damn good post, we were almost identical in our thinking outside of that Jets game.

Something I wanted to discuss about those guys that are fighting is the situation with our Oline and Carson getting smoked checked all the time.

He has to learn to get rid of the ball sooner if he knows his line isn't doing it. I think we will be just fine however, the only real question mark I see on the line is Center, but I think that will be minimal. We have a guy that did 40 reps of 225 in their so he should be OK, if not we got a 4th rounder that blocked in a tough conference and in 2007 he led the line that was very dominant against the run.

Manning hardly ever gets sacked because he gets rid of the ball when he feels pressure, Big Ben however does get hit a lot and he still wins ball games. Carson just needs to toughen up a little bit and get rid of the ball sooner and he will be fine. His injuries have been pretty spread out if you think about it. He hadn't missed significant time prior to this season. I still stick to my 10 and 6 prediction, but 11-5 if everything falls right!

I don't think you can put the injury on Carson this time. In '07 the Bengals set the record for the fewest sacks in team history... but the O-Line was sub-par. I remember watching multiple games where analysts praised Carson for being willing to hurt his stats by throwing the ball away rather than taking the sack like a lot of QB's.

Even looking at last year, the only game Palmer took a lot of sacks was against the Giants. But that game was just ugly. 3 sacks from DT's... can anyone say Ghiaciuc sucks?

The O-Line was already overmatched... and they didn't show up to play that day. That was a double whammy. If you take away the Giants game, Palmer only got sacked about once a game. Fitzpatrick averaged 3.33 sacks a game. Too bad he wasn't the one playing against the Giants.

This is true, I think him getting beat up had as much to do with a lack of a running game than anything else. If we can pound the football this year a little bit then we will at least have a shot at keeping him healthy.

I like the fact that he was hurt last season because a lot of people in fantasy leagues are going to pass on him and I am going to scoop him up in like round 6 and then turn around and trade him for a number 1 receiver when he shows he is still a top 5 QB. (I already have Peyton manning as a keeper)

[HairOnFire]

Manning hardly ever gets sacked because he gets rid of the ball when he feels pressure, Big Ben however does get hit a lot and he still wins ball games. Carson just needs to toughen up a little bit and get rid of the ball sooner and he will be fine.

Interesting. That said, I'm not sure I agree.

Palmer has always been remarkably open when discussing his flaws and he's pretty critical of his own performance. For example, he threw for more than 4,000 yards in 2006 but admitted his technique had suffered. Throwing motion, footwork, pocket awareness, etc. Palmer then vowed to spend the offseason correcting these flaws. After the 2007 season he once again evalutes his own performance and admits openly it wasn't nearly good enough. He points out how nearly every play in the Bengal playbook dictates he immediately throw to his checkdown option after going through his first two reads, but Palmer admits he doesn't do this nearly often enough. He's too focused on the long ball. He tries too hard to make his wideouts happy. He vows to improve and points to his newly minted weapons at TE and RB. Things will improve in 2008 he says. He'll check down more.

But they didn't.

His soft handed veteran FB showed up soft everywhere, and fell injured just before the season began. His new TE flashes too much geek early on and is quickly injured. His new starting RB couldn't run the ball or for that matter....even hold onto it. So despite Palmer's vow to get better the sad reality was check down option after check down option did little more than check out when it mattered most. And that failure at the offenses skill positions probably hurt Palmer as much as a poor blocking OL.

[ArmyBengal]

Something else I just noticed and wasn't aware of until I had nothing else to do and stumbled onto it at ESPN.

While people are stating the Bengals should do much better based on strength of schedule, that game can be played for others as well...

Strength of schedule based on win/loss record

Bengals- .465

Browns- .449

Ravens- .438

Steelers- .434

In other words, we still have the most difficult schedule in our own division that we are probably the 3rd best team in. So while we may see a 9 or best case 10 win season, I don't see it being enough to get to the playoffs if strength of schedule is the topic of conversation.

[derekshank]

Something else I just noticed and wasn't aware of until I had nothing else to do and stumbled onto it at ESPN.

While people are stating the Bengals should do much better based on strength of schedule, that game can be played for others as well...

Strength of schedule based on win/loss record

Bengals- .465

Browns- .449

Ravens- .438

Steelers- .434

In other words, we still have the most difficult schedule in our own division that we are probably the 3rd best team in. So while we may see a 9 or best case 10 win season, I don't see it being enough to get to the playoffs if strength of schedule is the topic of conversation.

The reason for the difference is because when looking at the scheduled opponents, the Bengals have to play the Ravens twice (11-5) and the Steelers twice (12-4) In return, these teams play the Bengals twice, 4-11-1. If the Bengals really are improved, the difficulty of the schedules should bring the Ravens and Steelers back up.

[ArmyBengal]

Something else I just noticed and wasn't aware of until I had nothing else to do and stumbled onto it at ESPN.

While people are stating the Bengals should do much better based on strength of schedule, that game can be played for others as well...

Strength of schedule based on win/loss record

Bengals- .465

Browns- .449

Ravens- .438

Steelers- .434

In other words, we still have the most difficult schedule in our own division that we are probably the 3rd best team in. So while we may see a 9 or best case 10 win season, I don't see it being enough to get to the playoffs if strength of schedule is the topic of conversation.

The reason for the difference is because when looking at the scheduled opponents, the Bengals have to play the Ravens twice (11-5) and the Steelers twice (12-4) In return, these teams play the Bengals twice, 4-11-1. If the Bengals really are improved, the difficulty of the schedules should bring the Ravens and Steelers back up.

And if they're not, it proves even more difficult. Not to mention we went 1-5 in the Division last season.

I get your point though. Mine is, all teams in the AFCN have an easy schedule this year...

[derekshank]

Something else I just noticed and wasn't aware of until I had nothing else to do and stumbled onto it at ESPN.

While people are stating the Bengals should do much better based on strength of schedule, that game can be played for others as well...

Strength of schedule based on win/loss record

Bengals- .465

Browns- .449

Ravens- .438

Steelers- .434

In other words, we still have the most difficult schedule in our own division that we are probably the 3rd best team in. So while we may see a 9 or best case 10 win season, I don't see it being enough to get to the playoffs if strength of schedule is the topic of conversation.

The reason for the difference is because when looking at the scheduled opponents, the Bengals have to play the Ravens twice (11-5) and the Steelers twice (12-4) In return, these teams play the Bengals twice, 4-11-1. If the Bengals really are improved, the difficulty of the schedules should bring the Ravens and Steelers back up.

And if they're not, it proves even more difficult. Not to mention we went 1-5 in the Division last season.

I get your point though. Mine is, all teams in the AFCN have an easy schedule this year...

Yeah... that's kind of how it works. You play mostly common opponents. If the Bengals are improved enough to split with their AFCN opponents, the rest of the schedule is likely light enough for them to be in the discussion toward the end of the year.

If they go 1-5 in the division again... well - same s**t, different year.

[BengalPimp]

I'm saying 11-5, and should be good enough for a Division title. I fully expect Flaco to have a sophmore slump in Baltimore, and they're defense, well, they just lost their 2nd, 3rd, and 5th leading tacklers from last season (Bart Scott, Jim Leonhard, and Corey Ivy respectively) Not to mention losing corners Samari Rolle, and Chris McCallister. I think at 11-5 they might tie Pitt, or maybe(depending on tie-breaker) win the division. Cleveland is still a mess.

[Ickey44]

So, if it's opinion time... here's mine. You're pathetic.

Here's mine. You, like much of the fan base, are completely delusional. Lost in a sea of denial, rationalization, and blind optimism. Considering the latest poll here has most people thinking the Bengals will win 10-11 games, I'm not surprised my opinion isn't popular around here.

But these are the same clowns that had us winning 10-11 games last offseason too, so no surprises there either.

I don't know where you were last year around August, but there was hardly anyone here predicting even a winning season, let alone winning 10 to 11 games. IIRC, I guess 6-10 last year and I believe that was the consesus among most fans here.

I also find it hard to say, but I agree with HoF: You ARE needlessly negative about most things Bengals. Sometimes the offseason is the only time of year fans can be optimistic about their teams. Maybe you should look at a glass that's half full.

[Pidge]

I went for 8-9 wins but wouldn't be surprised if we went 6-10 even. I look forward to seeing a progression on D and an effective offense with a solid running game and not just the coaching staff dumping it all on Carson's shoulders without even giving him blocking.

If everything works flawlessly we might sneak 9-7 or even 10-6 if the planets align. However, the reality of playing 4 games against the Ravens and Steelers and life, never mind professional sports, having an all too predictable air of mild disappointment when relying on a large slice of luck I think 8-8 is a decent season for this team at this point.

This all based on my comically amateur knowledge of pro football and just my ignorant, ill-informed opinion that I pulled out of my ass. I reserve all rights to totally change my mind when someone with a better opinion expresses it.

[DesperateDerelict]

Forget Carson (well, don't forget him...you know what i mean).

Our first 5 opponents, and 8 of our first 10, employ the 3 - 4 defense. (The other 2 teams are Houston & da Bears - who will employ hybrid DE's on occasion) If the Bengals can rush for more than 120 yards / game in half of those first 10 games, we'll be respectable. If we can't, we'll suck.

I am convinced that Marvin wants to rely on Benson - Leonard - whoever to carry the offense of this team. Carson is a much better weapon when he can take shots downfield, and that won't happen unless our opponents fear our running attack. Rookie OL seem to be better at run blocking initially, and our soon-to-be-respectable defense can really use a clock-eating offense.

As long as our 2 prima-donnas (Chad OC & Bob Brat) can content themselves with winning instead of showing off, I see the glass as more than half full - 9 to 11 wins and meaningful games in December. WHO-DEY

[Spor_tees]

You may call me negative as well, but despite the newcomers on the O-line, I think it will be the single most important factor on how successful the the season is. I voted for 8-9 wins but it could just as easily be 6 or 10 wins depending on how the line turns out.

Now to touch on a couple points. First Palmer used to hold onto the ball too long but in 2007 behind a sub=par line he learned to get rid of it faster, end result, more interceptions! What's worse more sacks or more interceptions? There are only a couple things that can be done to fix this. One you get a center that is better at calling blocking audibles at the line of scrimmage when he recognizes a blitz. This is where the youth and in-experience of Cook, Santucci, and Luiges comes into play. The second thing you can do, is have your quarterback be able to check off to hot reads involving the TE, FB, or RB. Sometimes these hot reads can involve the WR too. This is why Payton Manning gets sacked so few times. He is able to just look at guys like Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne during blitzes, and they know to break off their route into something shorter. Chad and Carson would be able to build this relationship too, if Chad would ever show up for off season workouts. HA!

The last thing a team can do to take the pressure off a young, inexperienced line, is to have shorter drop backs, more draw plays, more screen passes, and run the ball more. It's a lot easier to block the guy in front of you on a run play, than to try and switch off in pass blocking when someone is blitzing or stunting. The problem with this is, Bratkowski is horrible about doing anything that varies from his playbook. He, as well as Marvin, are horrible at making adjustments on the fly, and making any changes out of halftime. The Bengals have to be one of the worst third quarter football teams in the league.

With all that said, much has been written that they have tweaked the playbook for this year, and that Carson has gotten more of a say in what goes on. Will this make things better? I sure hope so.

[COB]

As opposed to another rebuilding year while the blind homers either backpeddle or disappear altogether. Not to reappear again until the peak of Bengals Fan's Hope AKA next offseason.

I could find this depiction of Bengals fans on any Steelers message board. Where your opinion of the Bengals and their fans would be right at home, and where, let's face it, you rightfully belong.

[Bearcat1975]

As opposed to another rebuilding year while the blind homers either backpeddle or disappear altogether. Not to reappear again until the peak of Bengals Fan's Hope AKA next offseason.

I could find this depiction of Bengals fans on any Steelers message board. Where your opinion of the Bengals and their fans would be right at home, and where, let's face it, you rightfully belong.

You can keep calling me a Steelers fan. It goes right in line with the rest of your "reasoning."