Florio on drugs

[gregstephens]

Not even going to post the link, but Florio on his latest power rankings has the Bengals dropping to 10. Other curious facts? He has the Chargers bumped up to two after the Saints' loss. He has the Ravens in at 11. He has the Packers at 9.

So...we beat the Ravens twice, and are just one above them?

So...we beat the Packers head to head and are one behind them, even though the Packers lost to a team we beat twice?

So...we hang to literally the last second of the game with the team that is elevated to number two and drop three spots?

I'll have what he's having.

[membengal]

Eh, seems about right to me, greg. With the playoffs approaching, assuming we beat KC, somewhere in the 7-10 ranges is probably fair.

[skyline]

Definitely okay to me. We've lost two in a row.

How confident would you be if we were playing Green Bay or Baltimore this week? I do think we're the better team, but we don't always play like it. Plus, with our current injuries on defense, #10 seems fair.

Hopefully we'll be playing like a top 5 again by the time the playoffs arrive.

[gregstephens]

Trust me, I'm not saying we should be anywhere above seven or eight. I just don't understand the logic of these 'power rankings', and hence why I've never cared about them. But we did play a good game against the 'number two', beat the 'number eleven' twice and the 'number nine' once--the same 'number nine' that allowed 500 + passing yards to Big Ben.

I think, eight is about right, with the Ravens being about three or four behind us, the Packers being one or two behind us. And I don't even necessarily agree with the Chargers at two. Saints lost at home, but the Cowboys don't suck, and that was their only loss.

It's all bs to me.

[walzav29]

I'm glad. I hope it's a maturity thing but they always struggle with high expectations. This way they actually make the playoffs, and they will be underdogs in every game.

[jjakq27]

Trust me, I'm not saying we should be anywhere above seven or eight. I just don't understand the logic of these 'power rankings', and hence why I've never cared about them. But we did play a good game against the 'number two', beat the 'number eleven' twice and the 'number nine' once--the same 'number nine' that allowed 500 + passing yards to Big Ben.

I think, eight is about right, with the Ravens being about three or four behind us, the Packers being one or two behind us. And I don't even necessarily agree with the Chargers at two. Saints lost at home, but the Cowboys don't suck, and that was their only loss.

It's all bs to me.

Most of the time it's a matter of listing the teams in order of ranking plus or minus a few spots depending on if a team is trending up or trending down. Not so concerned at this point. The only thing that really matters is getting into the playoffs. A two game winning streak would be nice too.

[walzav29]

2 Blowouts is what I'd like to see. Passing and Running. Basically the Bears game.

[membengal]

Who give a s**t if they are blowouts or not.

I want a win against KC. Period. However that happens. A blowout would be better for my nerves, but a win above all else.

[membengal]

And don't forget. KC beat Pittsburgh. And played Baltimore damn tough in game 1 this season.

Just win.

[kingwilly]

Trust me, I'm not saying we should be anywhere above seven or eight. I just don't understand the logic of these 'power rankings', and hence why I've never cared about them. But we did play a good game against the 'number two', beat the 'number eleven' twice and the 'number nine' once--the same 'number nine' that allowed 500 + passing yards to Big Ben.

I think, eight is about right, with the Ravens being about three or four behind us, the Packers being one or two behind us. And I don't even necessarily agree with the Chargers at two. Saints lost at home, but the Cowboys don't suck, and that was their only loss.

It's all bs to me.

But Greg, the goal is achieved...you read it, and now you are miffed told us about it, and we probably all went there to read it....click-through, click-through, click-through....

Florio got his hooks in us.

It is not about reality, it is about click-throughs.

Oh, and also, I think we sit about #6-8. Circumstantially, this team played one of its tougher games Sunday and was right there. Playoff atmosphere, implications, on the road...they held it together in the worst of settings. Fox called it "Losing with Honor".

[JoePong]

All power rankings are is who someone thinks are the best teams RIGHT NOW. It doesn't matter who you beat at the beginning of the year. You could easily argue that the baltimore ravens are a better team than the bengals right now even though the bengals beat them earlier in the year. If you are just going by who has beaten who, then the bengals would have to be rated lower than teams like the Texans, Broncos, Raiders...Looking at the bengals record outside the division and against the rest of the AFC, it's tough to aruge they should be given more respect than what they already are.

[gregstephens]

Trust me, I'm not saying we should be anywhere above seven or eight. I just don't understand the logic of these 'power rankings', and hence why I've never cared about them. But we did play a good game against the 'number two', beat the 'number eleven' twice and the 'number nine' once--the same 'number nine' that allowed 500 + passing yards to Big Ben.

I think, eight is about right, with the Ravens being about three or four behind us, the Packers being one or two behind us. And I don't even necessarily agree with the Chargers at two. Saints lost at home, but the Cowboys don't suck, and that was their only loss.

It's all bs to me.

But Greg, the goal is achieved...you read it, and now you are miffed told us about it, and we probably all went there to read it....click-through, click-through, click-through....

Florio got his hooks in us.

It is not about reality, it is about click-throughs.

Oh, and also, I think we sit about #6-8. Circumstantially, this team played one of its tougher games Sunday and was right there. Playoff atmosphere, implications, on the road...they held it together in the worst of settings. Fox called it "Losing with Honor".

That's why I didn't post the link. I was trying to help you guys resist the 'clickity-clicks' that drive Florio to survive, but alas, I know, it's like watching a train wreck, isn't it?

[gregstephens]

All power rankings are is who someone thinks are the best teams RIGHT NOW. It doesn't matter who you beat at the beginning of the year. You could easily argue that the baltimore ravens are a better team than the bengals right now even though the bengals beat them earilier in the year. Looking at the bengals record outside the division, it's tough to aruge they should be given more respect than what they already are.

Your well-documented nay-sayisms aside, your argument makes power ranking all the more moot, as they well are in the first place. The Bengals lose a close member of the team, travel to the west coast, and almost pull off a very close one on the road to a team that has won 17 straight in the month of December. Somehow, because the Ravens slap around the Bears, with Jay 'Dumpster Fire' Cutler, and the fact they had to travel at the last minute due to inclement weather, they are magically that close to us, even though we own two wins over them this season.

Your argument holds no water. I can't look at those two games from Sunday and 'easily argue' the Ravens are a better team than the Bengals right now. If you can, you might be a troll after all.

[Ickey44]

To be honest, Greg, I wouldn't even rank them that high right now with the way they've played the last few weeks. They aren't playing at the level they did when they beat Pittsburgh, Baltimore, and Green Bay. This whole penalty thing started mid-season and I just don't get it. The passing game disappeared when Henry got hurt, although it made a surprise appearance this week.

Until they have consistency on offense and eliminate the penalties, this team shouldn't be in the Top 10. The defense can only do so much.

[gregstephens]

To be honest, Greg, I wouldn't even rank them that high right now with the way they've played the last few weeks. They aren't playing at the level they did when they beat Pittsburgh, Baltimore, and Green Bay. This whole penalty thing started mid-season and I just don't get it. The passing game disappeared when Henry got hurt, although it made a surprise appearance this week.

Until they have consistency on offense and eliminate the penalties, this team shouldn't be in the Top 10. The defense can only do so much.

So then you're saying the Bengals team we saw on the field Sunday is worse than the 4 or 5 ranked Bengals team we saw win, penalties and all, against Cleveland and Detroit? Not even close.

If anything, I think the Bengals should have lost more slots after the Viking loss because it was so horrendous, and actually moved up after the Charger game because they played a much better game this Sunday than last. Fox Sports has them at 5, while CBS Sports has them at 6. I think 8 is about right. I understand your arguments here, but saying they aren't even top 10 is a bit fatalistic.

[Takeo51]

To be honest, Greg, I wouldn't even rank them that high right now with the way they've played the last few weeks. They aren't playing at the level they did when they beat Pittsburgh, Baltimore, and Green Bay. This whole penalty thing started mid-season and I just don't get it. The passing game disappeared when Henry got hurt, although it made a surprise appearance this week.

Until they have consistency on offense and eliminate the penalties, this team shouldn't be in the Top 10. The defense can only do so much.

I'm partial to this "Power Ranking" list and not just because we're 6th....no really.

/>http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/powerRankings?GT1=39002

[Ickey44]

I'm not being fatalistic, that's reality. Yes the team looked the best it has since the Chicago game, but they still had 9 more penalties. I would bet we lead the league in false starts and delay of game penalties. These things are killing our drives. Also, we can't do s**t once we get to the endzone. We can't run it or pass it and we can't score anything but field goals once we get there. Until that changes, I just don't see this team as top 10.

[BengalByTheBay]

You could easily argue that the baltimore ravens are a better team than the bengals right now even though the bengals beat them earlier in the year.

Sure, and you could argue that the Carson Palmer "experiment" has been a failure and the Bengals should draft QB next year. That's the "great" thing about the internet - every douche with an opinion has a chance to publish it.

[gregstephens]

I'm not being fatalistic, that's reality. Yes the team looked the best it has since the Chicago game, but they still had 9 more penalties. I would bet we lead the league in false starts and delay of game penalties. These things are killing our drives. Also, we can't do s**t once we get to the endzone. We can't run it or pass it and we can't score anything but field goals once we get there. Until that changes, I just don't see this team as top 10.

You are dead on about the penalties. Agreed. The difference is, the team, until two weeks ago, always found ways to win basically in spite of itself. That alone made it a top five team when it was 9-3. They should finish 10-6, and 11-5 isn't out of the question. You finish with that kind of record and sweep your division, you are a top ten team.

Now, I've never suggested this team can win the Super Bowl. I've been tight lipped as to whether they can even win one playoff game. Last Sunday's Bengals can, while the Viking's Bengals probably not. I think that is where you and I converge back to a position of agreement. I think they are a top ten team, just not a team that has a realistic shot at hoisting the Lombardi.

[gregstephens]

Adding to this debate, someone posted the current AFC playoff picture that currently has the Bengals at fourth seed if the season ended today. Analyze game-to-game all you want, but that makes us fourth best in the AFC. Going to Ron's point, there is no way there are six NFC teams better than the Bengals.

[Ickey44]

But like I said before, this team isn't playing as well now as it was when it won the majority of it's games. Especially the offense. They really need to user these last two games to tune things up and eliminate the STUPID PENALTIES. If they can keep the passing attack going to go along with the run game, I think we'll be fine come playoff time.

[gregstephens]

But like I said before, this team isn't playing as well now as it was when it won the majority of it's games.

Don't necessarily agree. Nine wins. Almost blew the one to the Packers after having a big lead. Had to go to near the end of overtime to win the first one with Cleveland. Squeaked out the first one with the Steelers. Looked subpar in Cleveland II and Detroit given the opposition. The only wins we actually looked good in was Chicago, which turns out to mean nothing given how their season has been, Steelers II and both Ravens games. 5 of 9 victories were 'Cardiac Cats', closer than they should have been, or just plain ugly. If your contention is that the Bengals are playing markedly worse now than say a month or two ago, I can't agree. There has only been one game where everything jelled--Chicago. Otherwise, it's been penalties, lack of passing game, something missing.

[Ickey44]

Until the Ravens game we lead the league in redzone scoring and we weren't averaging 10 penalties a game. So, yeah, we're playing a lot more undisciplined now then we were then. We have issues now that we didn't have then. On top of that, we have injuries now we didn't have then. So, no, I don't think we're the same team we were a couple of months ago.

[JoePong]

Adding to this debate, someone posted the current AFC playoff picture that currently has the Bengals at fourth seed if the season ended today. Analyze game-to-game all you want, but that makes us fourth best in the AFC. Going to Ron's point, there is no way there are six NFC teams better than the Bengals.

Just because a team gets the #4 seed in the playoffs doesn't necessarily make them the 4th best team at one particular moment in time. It's based on an entire season. You could be the #4 seed and still be the best team in the NFL at that point in the season, or at the end of the season, or going into the playoffs. Likewise, there could be the 7 or 8 teams in the conference better than you at that particular time.

Didn't you guys ever take calculus in high school? It's like the difference between average velocity over a period of time and instantaneous velocity at an exact point in time.

[Wraith]

MSN has us ranked #23.....so we have that going for us.

/>http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/powerRankings?GT1=39002