Sick this morning

[walzav29]

The Bengals had it right in their hands, and blew it. The Bengals have to win 3 and hope for Jets to lose 2. It's so frustrating because they were 6-2. Now they've dropped 4 out of 5. They can't beat a good team. Coaching, coaching, coaching. All the scenrios are meaningless unless they win the next 3. Which is highly unlikely. At least we got a ransom for Palmer.

[cincy9275]

i feel ya. i am still f**king pissed about this one. your right marvin is a failure period! aww f**k it!

[walzav29]

I'll tell you what is going to be the back breaker. If we lose to Arizona. They are getting hot, and I'll just be disgusted if they drop that one.

[Sea Ray]

The Bengals had it right in their hands, and blew it. The Bengals have to win 3 and hope for Jets to lose 2. It's so frustrating because they were 6-2. Now they've dropped 4 out of 5. They can't beat a good team. Coaching, coaching, coaching. All the scenrios are meaningless unless they win the next 3. Which is highly unlikely. At least we got a ransom for Palmer.

So we have no chance of winning a tiebreaker with the Jets?

[BengalByTheBay]

The Bengals had it right in their hands, and blew it. The Bengals have to win 3 and hope for Jets to lose 2. It's so frustrating because they were 6-2. Now they've dropped 4 out of 5. They can't beat a good team. Coaching, coaching, coaching. All the scenrios are meaningless unless they win the next 3. Which is highly unlikely. At least we got a ransom for Palmer.

So we have no chance of winning a tiebreaker with the Jets?

I'm pretty sure we have the tie breaker with the Jets, which is why the Bengals were listed as in as a wild card before the games yesterday. That said, I agree that AZ is not a gimme and - at a bare minimum - they have to win 2 of the last 3 and hope for some luck.

[walzav29]

Two Clubs

1.Head-to-head, if applicable.

2.Best won-lost-tied percentage in games played within the conference.

3.Best won-lost-tied percentage in common games, minimum of four.

4.Strength of victory.

5.Strength of schedule.

6.Best combined ranking among conference teams in points scored and points allowed.

7.Best combined ranking among all teams in points scored and points allowed.

8.Best net points in conference games.

9.Best net points in all games.

10.Best net touchdowns in all games.

11.Coin toss.

So if I'm not mistaking. Unless we have a better record than the Jets, we'll need to beat the Ravens and have them lose against Miami. That will give us a better conference record. Shame on the Bengals for putting themselves in this position.

[Sea Ray]

So if I'm not mistaking. Unless we have a better record than the Jets, we'll need to beat the Ravens and have them lose against Miami. That will give us a better conference record. Shame on the Bengals for putting themselves in this position.

Well that's a far cry from what was posted earlier:

The Bengals have to win 3 and hope for Jets to lose 2. It's so frustrating because they were 6-2. Now they've dropped 4 out of 5. They can't beat a good team. Coaching, coaching, coaching. All the scenrios are meaningless unless they win the next 3. Which is highly unlikely. At least we got a ransom for Palmer.

Are you now saying that the Jets only have to lose one?

It goes without saying the Bengals have to run the table

[derekshank]

Are you now saying that the Jets only have to lose one?

It depends who the Jets lose to.

The Bengals and Jets currently have identical conference records... so if the Bengals beat Baltimore, and the Jets lose to Miami, the Bengals win that tie-breaker. If the Jets lose to the Eagles, but beat the Dolphins, the conference record would be tied... and the next tie-breaker (strength of victory) favors New York.

[walzav29]

I suppose we can hope the Jets just lose to Miami and we go 3-0, but that will be tricky. Lets just hope the Jets go 0-3.

[ct_bengal]

i f**kin hate the jets.

[combatbengal]

Don't count on anybody helping us!! All we can do is try to win the remaining games and see how it goes from there. What's killing us is a lack of discipline and basic fundamentals. Every kid is taught in pee wee football to fall on the ball when it’s been fumbled! Bobbie Willams took four points away from us with that stupid penalty on the one yard line! We can’t go back and change the past, all we can do is focus on the future and what we have control over. That’s the next three games!!

Let's hope that the Raiders get into the playoff so that we get two first round draft picks! We need DB's in a bad way!!

[jking191]

Pretty sure we need to win all 3, have the Jets lose 2 and the Titans need to lose 1. If we all finish with the same record now, I think the Titans win the tiebreaker. That's why we need to them to lose a game. There are other scenarios obviously, but this is the most likely.

Bengals win @Rams, vs Cardinals, vs Ravens

Jets lose @ Eagles, vs Giants, and win @ Dolphins

Titans win @ Colts, vs Jacksonville, lose @ Texans

It's farfetched, but not too wildly farfetched.

If we were to lose to the Ravens, we would need the Jets to lose all 3 of their remaining games to finish 8-8. In that scenario we would win the tiebreak over Tennessee at 9-7.

[BengalszoneBilly]

i f**kin hate the jets.

Back in the day I liked Joe Willy Namath. The dude had attitude.

[Sea Ray]

If we win all three and finish with a 10-6 record, nobody can complain. It will have been a helluva season. If 10-6 isn't good enough for the playoffs, so be it. We'll be on a roll towards next season. My problem is I doubt we're good enough to go 10-6, especially with all the injuries

[HairOnFire]

i f**kin hate the jets.

As of yesterday afternoon I f**king hate the Bengals.

But I'll probably get over it.

[volcom69]

I doubt the Jets will lose all 3 games! Hell the jets know how to win games that are on the line, and they know what it takes to make the playoffs!

[ArmyBengal]

Just keep playing with what injuries allow us and keep trying to improve.

I had them for 4 wins this season, so i'm still pretty pleased overall.

I'm also more optimistic moving into next season.

[walzav29]

Everything considered, it's a good season. But being 6-2 and breaking down this bad sucks. Ifthey finish with the same record as Tenn. we get in because of head to head. It's them damn Jets. Go Philly, NY, and Dolphins

[COB]

I took that loss harder than almost any loss in recent memory. I don't know exactly why, since I knew this was a rebuilding year, and as far as rebuilding goes, it has looked good. I'm just tired of getting kicked in the nuts every year at playoff time. 2006, 2007, 2008, and now 2011.

[HoosierCat]

I took that loss harder than almost any loss in recent memory. I don't know exactly why, since I knew this was a rebuilding year, and as far as rebuilding goes, it has looked good. I'm just tired of getting kicked in the nuts every year at playoff time. 2006, 2007, 2008, and now 2011.

I think I can tell you why. Hobson hit the proverbial nail on the head in his postgame story when he noted that after the game Marvin called the biggest of his career here, he was left talking about the same old laundry list of problems.

Settling for FGs instead of TDs in the red zone? Check.

D can't get off the field on third down? Check.

Scoring opportunities and drives killed by pre-snap penalties? Check.

Can't cover the tight end? Check, check, check.

That, at least for me, is what makes the loss so frustrating. And it's why I can't get down with the "well, they're young and rebuilding" argument. That may be true but it strikes me as beside the point, since whether they are young or old, vet or rookie, it's SSDY. And while I can't speak for anyone else, I've run out of excuses to defend it.

[walzav29]

Yeah Hoosiercat. I agree with you 100%. This wasn't a matter of no talent it was a matter of the talent not being used properly. No INT's by Dalton, and the mistakes. Dropping the fumble recovery, false start, etc........ It's another late season collapse. Which drives me nuts.

[HairOnFire]

I took that loss harder than almost any loss in recent memory. I don't know exactly why, since I knew this was a rebuilding year, and as far as rebuilding goes, it has looked good. I'm just tired of getting kicked in the nuts every year at playoff time.

Aren't we guilty of ignoring the answers to our own questions?

If judged soley as a rebuilding project this years Bengal team still earns a very high grade. But because of their early success so much more than that was not only possible, but it was there for the taking. But instead of discussing an important win we're all left to consider another close loss to a team that better deserves to go to the playoffs because it was better coached and overcame it's own critical injuries by playing smarter more disciplined football. Thus, the rebuilding project that never seems to ends enters a very familiar phase, but with one very notable difference. That being, as Bengal fans we no longer bother supporting rebuilding projects. We'll only support a winning team, and truth be told we won't bother supporting a winner until AFTER it's proved itself.

Nutshelled, it feels like we've passed the point of no return. The attendence for home games is the worst in the entire NFL, and the activity level on messageboards, where a fan can be a fan for free, is just as pathetic. And perhaps just as telling as the lack of activity is our collective mood. We no longer attempt to cheer each other up after a crushing los, the only saving grace of a fan of a downtrodden team. Rather, we attempt to top each other by being the first to write off the next season, and the next one after that, and the one after that. In fact, too many of us wear our lack of support and disinterest as a badge of pride.

Point blank, we are a hollowed out fanbase with an empty core and we just got exactly what we deserved.

[cincyhokie]

I took that loss harder than almost any loss in recent memory. I don't know exactly why, since I knew this was a rebuilding year, and as far as rebuilding goes, it has looked good. I'm just tired of getting kicked in the nuts every year at playoff time.

Aren't we guilty of ignoring the answers to our own questions?

If judged soley as a rebuilding project this years Bengal team still earns a very high grade. But because of their early success so much more than that was not only possible, but it was there for the taking. But instead of discussing an important win we're all left to consider another close loss to a team that better deserves to go to the playoffs because it was better coached and overcame it's own critical injuries by playing smarter more disciplined football. Thus, the rebuilding project that never seems to ends enters a very familiar phase, but with one very notable difference. That being, as Bengal fans we no longer bother supporting rebuilding projects. We'll only support a winning team, and truth be told we won't bother supporting a winner until AFTER it's proved itself.

Nutshelled, it feels like we've passed the point of no return. The attendence for home games is the worst in the entire NFL, and the activity level on messageboards, where a fan can be a fan for free, is just as pathetic. And perhaps just as telling as the lack of activity is our collective mood. We no longer attempt to cheer each other up after a crushing los, the only saving grace of a fan of a downtrodden team. Rather, we attempt to top each other by being the first to write off the next season, and the next one after that, and the one after that. In fact, too many of us wear our lack of support and disinterest as a badge of pride.

Point blank, we are a hollowed out fanbase with an empty core and we just got exactly what we deserved.

Alot of good points here. Based on the way (time of year, based on the previous season) season tickets are purchased, I would think next year's turnout will be better. The upcoming draft and FA should help bolster ticket sales as well. As far as this year goes, TV ratings in the greater Cincinnati are at record highs for Bengals games. However, that doesn't guarantee a shift in the attitude towards this team.

Sunday was hard, I was pissed, but I found myself rebounding around 7pm. I like this team and I am confident next season will be a good one and the offseason will be promising. At least I hope.

[HairOnFire]

Based on the way (time of year, based on the previous season) season tickets are purchased, I would think next year's turnout will be better.

Well, when you're ranked dead last in attendance there's only two ways to go. Up, or out of town. Sadly, the latter doesn't seem likely any time soon.

As far as this year goes, TV ratings in the greater Cincinnati are at record highs for Bengals games.

They're at record high levels for away games, right? I was under the impression all but one home game has been blacked out in the local market, and that single exception was probably due to the strong fan support, and willingness to travel to away games, of SteelerNation.

However, that doesn't guarantee a shift in the attitude towards this team.

Far too many people that call themselves Bengal fans do so while bragging about how they'll never support the team if it costs them one red cent. Furthermore, this messageboard is proof that most of them won't even support the team in ways that are free.

[cincyhokie]

Well, when you're ranked dead last in attendance there's only two ways to go. Up, or out of town. Sadly, the latter doesn't seem likely any time soon.

True. Again, let's see what happens with the draft when we theoretically have say the number 15th and 17th pick in the first round. Also, the Bengals made some good pickups in FA last season with Lawson and Thomas. Things can change and anything is possible. Look no further than this suprising season and the performance of Dalton and Green. Fans came back in 2004 after many saying they'd never come back. All it takes is winning. This team can do that.

Next year WILL be better all the way around.