TJJackson Posted December 3, 2013 Report Share Posted December 3, 2013 YepThe occasional 50 yarder is ever so nice too, tho Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArmyBengal Posted December 3, 2013 Report Share Posted December 3, 2013 Two overtime losses and the game against the Bears that was WELL within their hands to win and they let it get away.I will still take where they are sitting right now and smile. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoosierCat Posted December 3, 2013 Report Share Posted December 3, 2013 I will still take where they are sitting right now and smile.From ear to ear, man, ear to ear.I mean, just look around the AFC. The Bengals are one of just five, count 'em five, teams with a winning record 3/4's of the way through the season. It's been a brutal season in the conference and Cincy has been one of a literal handful of teams to separate from the pack. And now they are one win away from yet another franchise history first: three consecutive winning seasons.If you had told me in, oh, February of 2011, with 20 years of mostly crappy football being punctuated by yet another four-win season, the league headed to lockout, Carson Palmer quitting and everything else that went on that oh so crappy winter that, in a little less that three years, we would be here -- I would have recommended you be committed to the nearest mental hospital.Yet it happened. Best damned stretch of football in team history. You bet I'm smiling. Ear to ear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gregcook68 Posted December 3, 2013 Author Report Share Posted December 3, 2013 I will still take where they are sitting right now and smile.From ear to ear, man, ear to ear.I mean, just look around the AFC. The Bengals are one of just five, count 'em five, teams with a winning record 3/4's of the way through the season. It's been a brutal season in the conference and Cincy has been one of a literal handful of teams to separate from the pack. And now they are one win away from yet another franchise history first: three consecutive winning seasons.If you had told me in, oh, February of 2011, with 20 years of mostly crappy football being punctuated by yet another four-win season, the league headed to lockout, Carson Palmer quitting and everything else that went on that oh so crappy winter that, in a little less that three years, we would be here -- I would have recommended you be committed to the nearest mental hospital.Yet it happened. Best damned stretch of football in team history. You bet I'm smiling. Ear to ear.Look what Andy inherited! A 4-12 team that self destructed with the Johnson/Owens circus! That's what I'm talking about with divas and show boats! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TJJackson Posted December 3, 2013 Report Share Posted December 3, 2013 Being the "glass half all empty" kinda guy I am, how does Dalton's road playoff winning percentage stack up against other active QBs?Joisey, have you looked up that ranking yet? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArmyBengal Posted December 3, 2013 Report Share Posted December 3, 2013 I will still take where they are sitting right now and smile.From ear to ear, man, ear to ear.I mean, just look around the AFC. The Bengals are one of just five, count 'em five, teams with a winning record 3/4's of the way through the season. It's been a brutal season in the conference and Cincy has been one of a literal handful of teams to separate from the pack. And now they are one win away from yet another franchise history first: three consecutive winning seasons.If you had told me in, oh, February of 2011, with 20 years of mostly crappy football being punctuated by yet another four-win season, the league headed to lockout, Carson Palmer quitting and everything else that went on that oh so crappy winter that, in a little less that three years, we would be here -- I would have recommended you be committed to the nearest mental hospital.Yet it happened. Best damned stretch of football in team history. You bet I'm smiling. Ear to ear.Agreed. Easy to forget he came in with an OC that had never been an NFL OC before and a rookie #1 WR.No OTA's, no camp, and Jordan Palmer leading the way.How we ever got to this point is a minor miracle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoosierCat Posted December 3, 2013 Report Share Posted December 3, 2013 Had some time today so I wrote up some capsules for two of the games with big wild card implications:Minnesota (3-8-1) @ Baltimore (6-6)At first glance, this looks like a walk for Baltimore. The Ravens are 5-1 at home; the Vikings are 0-5 on the road. The Ravens may not have the most potent offense, but Minnesota has coughed up 366 points so far this season, the most in the NFL. And while the Vikings still have Adrian Peterson, their QB of the moment is journeyman Matt Cassel, who scares precisely no one.But this could be a bigger challenge for the Ravens than it looks. Minnesota is on a bit of a roll, having gone 2-1-1 in its last four games. Cassel might be unimpressive but he has stabilized them at QB and with Peterson you don’t need a stud behind center. The Vikings are also 1-1 versus the AFCN, having lost to the Browns but beaten the Steelers.I suspect it will come down to the Ravens run defense, currently ranked a very good 6th, versus AP. If they can contain him, their average pass D should be good enough to keep Cassel (or possibly Ponder, Minny hasn’t decided yet) penned up. On the flip side, the Ravens’ offense may not be anything to write home about, but the Vikes' D absolutely stinks. Baltimore should not have a problem scoring.Ex-Bengal to watch: Big head, big hands, big bag o’ weed – Jerome Simpson comes into this game with 39 catches for 622 yards, a 15.9 yard average. He’s on pace for 52/822, which would be career highs for Costal Carolina’s finest. But he has yet to find the end zone this year. In fact, he hasn’t caught a TD since 2011. Could this week be the week?Who to root for: It depends on whether the prospect of playing the Ravens in back-to-back weeks at PBS appeals. Personally, I would rather not face a division foe in the playoffs. YMMV.Miami (6-6) @ Pittsburgh (5-7)This game is definitely for all the marbles for Pittsburgh, and just about all of them for Miami. Loss No. 8 would spell the end of the Steelers’ faint playoff hopes. The Dolphins are clinging to the 7th seed just behind Baltimore and just ahead of a four-pack of 5-7 squads (including Pitt). Despite the Richie Incognito imbroglio, the Fins have gone 2-2 since edging the Bengals in OT. The two victories came against the Jets and Chargers; the two losses to Tampa Bay and Carolina by a combined 7 points. They are 3-3 on the road this year, those three wins coming at Cleveland, Indy and NYJ. They are 2-1 against the ACFN.After being shredded 55-31 by the Patriots, Pittsburgh has gone 3-1, the sole loss being last week’s two-pointer to the Ravens. The opposition wasn’t the toughest – Buffalo, Cleveland and a wildly inconsistent Detroit – but Miami is hardly a juggernaut either. A win Sunday would wrap up a 3-1 record against the AFCE for 2013. Pittsburgh is usually solid at home, but so far this year are just 3-2 at Heinz Field.The Steelers can be run on this year, but Miami’s rushing attack is among the league’s poorest. Lamar Miller and Daniel Thomas have combined for only a bit over 800 yards. Dolphins WR Mike Wallace will no doubt be looking to put up some numbers on his old team, and while the Pitt pass defense is better than their run defense, it’s still not much more than average.The Steelers have the league’s second-worst rushing attack, but are a top-10 passing offense (out of necessity if nothing else). Fortunately for them, Miami’s run D is even worse than Pittsburgh’s. Miami has been good against the pass.Who to root for: I’m rooting for the Dolphins to stick a knife in the Steelers’ season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoosierCat Posted December 3, 2013 Report Share Posted December 3, 2013 Being the "glass half all empty" kinda guy I am, how does Dalton's road playoff winning percentage stack up against other active QBs?Joisey, have you looked that ranking yet?You would have to ask Hobs. Those were his numbers. FWIW here are road wins sorted by team for the last three seasons combined. Cincy ranks 4th. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TJJackson Posted December 3, 2013 Report Share Posted December 3, 2013 *whispers to Hoosier: it was a joke, man. 0.000.* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoosierCat Posted December 3, 2013 Report Share Posted December 3, 2013 *whispers to Hoosier: it was a joke, man. 0.000.*Does not compute. "Sense of humor" app not installed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TJJackson Posted December 3, 2013 Report Share Posted December 3, 2013 its the road PLAYOFF win-loss percentage, dudethe playoffs!/>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3-eavMSBnk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArmyBengal Posted December 3, 2013 Report Share Posted December 3, 2013 Definitely rooting for the Vikings and Dolphins. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoosierCat Posted December 3, 2013 Report Share Posted December 3, 2013 Just a note on the Steelers game, they lost their center Velasco to an achilles, so they will be starting their third center of the year against Miami. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShulaSteakhouse Posted December 4, 2013 Report Share Posted December 4, 2013 Today's factoid, via Hobs:Top 3 active QBs in road winning %1. T. Brady .6882. P. Manning .6363. W. QB Ever, Cincinnati .609That's like putting way too much weight in wins for a pitcher in baseball, especially when one of them has less than a third of the road starts the other two have probably. I have no problem with the Dalton that doesn't turn the ball over nearly as much and hits more open guys downfield. He has cut-down on his batted-down passes at least.He needs to get better, he's holding them back, not much more to say. I hope he does figure it out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.