Words from Bill Polian - Discuss

[derekshank]

What makes me more excited about this team is that you can see them setting themselves up for long-term success.

In the past, I always felt like we had a window. Especially when we brought in TO...it had the distinct smell of a "Super Bowl or Bust" type of season with no real long-term planning in mind. This year, I feel like we're seeing the start of something much more resiliant and long-lasting.

Here's hoping I'm not wrong!

This is my general feeling as well.

2010 felt very much like the Bengals were "all-in" for one season. They didn't have much of a passing game in '09... so they went out and signed Bryant, and then T.O. trying to buy a Super Bowl.

They haven't done that this year. They are getting upgrades at positions of need... but younger upgrades that should continue to grow. They are building this team to be successful for an extended period of time... not a 1-year Super Bowl run.

I'm not expecting the Bengals to win the Super Bowl... I'm expecting them to take the next step toward being a perennial winner. And the moves they are making appear to be headed in that direction. Hopefully another divisional championship and a playoff win.

[Sea Ray]

The folks on ESPN's NFL32 show this week graded the off season of several NFL teams and not only did they give the Bengals an A+ (highest grade in the division) they also chuckled that, as amazing as it is to say, the Bengal fans can look forward to 10 yrs of good football. They went on to say that this is the best young core of offensive talent that they've seen since the Aikman led Dallas Cowboys of 20 yrs ago. Steeler homer Merril Hoge couldn't believe he was saying it, hence the chuckle

[Sea Ray]

There is more reason to be optimistic this season than that one.

Anything short of "at least" a playoff victory and I will chalk up the 2012 season as a poor one.

Seriously...

You have high standards and a tough grader.

So if we win the division outright and get a first rd bye it could still be a poor season to you?

I think we have to allow for the possibility of a little bit of a soph slump and a tougher schedule. Then we'll see if Dalton, Green and Co can adjust. If they can then we know we've got something

[ArmyBengal]

There is more reason to be optimistic this season than that one.

Anything short of "at least" a playoff victory and I will chalk up the 2012 season as a poor one.

Seriously...

You have high standards and a tough grader.

So if we win the division outright and get a first rd bye it could still be a poor season to you?

I think we have to allow for the possibility of a little bit of a soph slump and a tougher schedule. Then we'll see if Dalton, Green and Co can adjust. If they can then we know we've got something

If we play well enought to earn a first round bye, only to lose, you'll be happy ??

I would chalk that up to a good season, that ended poorly. Better ??

I'm not going to allow for much to be honest. We have solid players on both sides of the ball before the draft and while the schedule may be harder, we are still playing a 3rd place schedule. This team has to get wins against the Steelers and Ravens. If they can do that, there is no reason to not get a playoff victory. None.

[Sea Ray]

There is more reason to be optimistic this season than that one.

Anything short of "at least" a playoff victory and I will chalk up the 2012 season as a poor one.

Seriously...

You have high standards and a tough grader.

So if we win the division outright and get a first rd bye it could still be a poor season to you?

I think we have to allow for the possibility of a little bit of a soph slump and a tougher schedule. Then we'll see if Dalton, Green and Co can adjust. If they can then we know we've got something

If we play well enought to earn a first round bye, only to lose, you'll be happy ??

I would chalk that up to a good season, that ended poorly. Better ??

I'm not going to allow for much to be honest. We have solid players on both sides of the ball before the draft and while the schedule may be harder, we are still playing a 3rd place schedule. This team has to get wins against the Steelers and Ravens. If they can do that, there is no reason to not get a playoff victory. None.

I'll be thrilled if we win the division and earn a bye. Such a season will be immensely enjoyable and I'll have great memories of the wins vs the Steelers and Ravens. If things don't go well in the playoffs, I'll be bummed but I'll also give the team their due for their accomplishments which will include back to back playoffs (unheard of in these parts) and begin earning a promotion from Bungles to perrenial contenders

[ArmyBengal]

There is more reason to be optimistic this season than that one.

Anything short of "at least" a playoff victory and I will chalk up the 2012 season as a poor one.

Seriously...

You have high standards and a tough grader.

So if we win the division outright and get a first rd bye it could still be a poor season to you?

I think we have to allow for the possibility of a little bit of a soph slump and a tougher schedule. Then we'll see if Dalton, Green and Co can adjust. If they can then we know we've got something

If we play well enought to earn a first round bye, only to lose, you'll be happy ??

I would chalk that up to a good season, that ended poorly. Better ??

I'm not going to allow for much to be honest. We have solid players on both sides of the ball before the draft and while the schedule may be harder, we are still playing a 3rd place schedule. This team has to get wins against the Steelers and Ravens. If they can do that, there is no reason to not get a playoff victory. None.

I'll be thrilled if we win the division and earn a bye. Such a season will be immensely enjoyable and I'll have great memories of the wins vs the Steelers and Ravens. If things don't go well in the playoffs, I'll be bummed but I'll also give the team their due for their accomplishments which will include back to back playoffs (unheard of in these parts) and begin earning a promotion from Bungles to perrenial contenders

Gotcha. I never said I wouldn't give them their due. I never said I wouldn't enjoy beating the Ravens or Steelers.

However, I don't care about back to back playoff appearances. It's meaningless. What does that earn you ??

A gold star sticky ?? A smilie face magnet for your refrigerator ?? Nothing.

It would be a poor end for a team that should have done better.

Would anyone here say that after beating both the Steelers and Ravens, on their way to a first round bye, only to go one and done would be good ??

Props given for their super good effort to that point already, are you happy ??

I'm just saying I wouldn't be. That's all.

[101Airborne]

I agree that being one and done again would be frustrating, but I think having back to back playoff appearances does give us something. I think it gives us hope! And not just the fans, but the team as well. Even if we go one and done again, it will at least keep the team hungry instead of falling back to the s**thouse and having eveyone lose heart. One of our biggest woes has been the up and down nature of our year to year winning and losing. One moment we look like all stars, the next we look like JV crap. There's no question that seeing us do better each year is optimal, but I would be estatic to see us just not regress! As other people have mentioned, this team isn't one built on a mortgaged future or a bunch of one year diva FAs, it is a team built on youth and skill, so if nothing else, we should have time to build, even if we do it slowly, even if we do it by jumping from a one and done wild card to a one and done division winner and first round bye.

As for the good press, I look at it as a fantastic thing. I don't see it turning anyone on this roster into a diva anytime soon, but if we can consistently have the feel of a team that is on the ups, it makes us more attractive to the FA market. Sure what the pundits say have no meaning on how well we actually do on the field, but it certainly doesn't hurt us when we want people to come play for us.

[princeton]

They went on to say that this is the best young core of offensive talent that they've seen since the Aikman led Dallas Cowboys of 20 yrs ago. Steeler homer Merril Hoge couldn't believe he was saying it, hence the chuckle

that's just silly. AJ Green is a special talent but otherwise it's a lot of grinders. About 10 years ago the Colts, after drafting Edgerrin James, were stupidly young and talented on offense. The Bengals might have even had a better young core earlier in the aughts.

talking heads are always looking to be able say that "this is the most _______ since ______". and they say it too often.

[Wraith]

They went on to say that this is the best young core of offensive talent that they've seen since the Aikman led Dallas Cowboys of 20 yrs ago. Steeler homer Merril Hoge couldn't believe he was saying it, hence the chuckle

that's just silly. AJ Green is a special talent but otherwise it's a lot of grinders. About 10 years ago the Colts, after drafting Edgerrin James, were stupidly young and talented on offense. The Bengals might have even had a better young core earlier in the aughts.

talking heads are always looking to be able say that "this is the most _______ since ______". and they say it too often.

Time will tell...the thing is we are too young for any definitive declarations. Green is going into his second year and while it appears he is on track to be one of the best WRs in the league guys have had breakout rookie or second years before and fell on their faces because they couldn't deal with the fame. I believe Dalton has the makeup to be a winner in this league unlike any QB we have had perhaps ever. I believe Mohamed Sanu will prove to be one of the best 2-3 WRs in this draft class and that our WR corp is more talented than I have ever seen with Green and Sanu and Jones and Shipley and Hawkins. I believe our offensive line is in great shape with alot of depth and the days of starting Undrafted College Free Agents in the interior are over. I believe the injection of Charles will benefit the offense greatly not only because of his talent but because he must be respected across the field taking defenders away for our edge players and providing competition to Gresham which will only improve HIS game which could be extraordinary. I believe BJGE will be an upgrade over Benson in both the running game and the passing game but this offense is still a marque RB away from being an elite squad. I believe with our defense our offense will have more chances and better field position than in recent years.

I believe this is a Super Bowl caliber team......

I also believe that virtually nothing has been proven on the field so....I believe I might be dead wrong about many of my beliefs.

[Stripes]

I think the positive vibes we're getting from national pundits and the negative parallels to 2010 are both completely meaningless. This team is capable of doing great things because of the talent in place, so none of us would be terribly surprised by a great season. We would never be surprised by a total collapse either because we've seen it before. I think the former is more likely than the latter, but it's all guesswork.