Fight on or fork 'em?

[Stripes]

I think we already know how the staff will play it.  They'll fight on, and I don't fault them for that.  Anything less would be abysmal for the culture of the franchise.  We as fans though can decide how much emotional investment we're going to put into that fight.  The wild card is well out of reach, the AFC West is running away with both of them.  It's the division or nothing.  Where does it stand?  Remaining schedules with some guesses:

Ravens 5-4
@ Cowboys L
vs Bengals W
vs Dolphins W
@ Patriots L
vs Eagles L
@ Steelers L
@ Bengals L

7-9 or 8-8 looks likely to me.

Steelers 4-5
@ Browns W
@ Colts L
vs Giants W
@ Bills W
@ Bengals W
vs Ravens W
vs Browns W

I could see anything from 8-8 to 10-6, which will probably determine whether the Bengals have a shot at all.  The @Bills, @Bengals, and vs Giants games are probably the most questionable Ws I've given them. 

Bengals 3-5-1
vs Bills W
@ Ravens L
vs Eagles W
@ Browns W
vs Steelers L
@ Texans L
vs Ravens W

I could see as bad as 6-9-1 or as good as 8-7-1.  9-6-1 would be necessary for a realistic chance, and I struggle to imagine them losing only one of those.

I'd say they're "in it" technically, but I'm opting for fork 'em.  It's only a conversation because the division is abysmal ass salad.

[HoosierCat]

I'd say 7-8-1 is the best case scenario. I'd put my marker on 6 wins right now. But that could go down. 

[ArmyBengal]

I was listening but not paying attention to who was speaking in the pregame last night, but one of the commentators said they felt the Bengals window was closed.
They noted the losses of Jones, Sanu, Nelson, Andre Smith, along with Hue were too much for the team to replace.
I was hopeful that wouldn't be the case, but it is.

Those losses, along with some of these guys just losing steps, have proven to be massive.
Couple that with Marvin's approach that seems to be predictable and stale and I don't see a happy ending to this season.

We are still not out of the mix in the AFCN, but regardless of that fact, this is not a good overall team.
I really wish Marvin would simply step aside.  Not hating, it's just time.
I have no idea who could take on the HC job, but it's obvious a change is needed.

[COB]

Maybe Zimmer can lose out in Minny, get himself fired, and he can replace Marvin.  

[volcom69]

Yea it's time, I like what Marvin has done for this team, but if it had not happened yet then when. There was so much talent here, the coaching staff was great, the players were great, but yet he couldn't get it done, couldn't even win a playoff game.

I don't know what's going to happen either, but the team is just not fun anymore. I feel there is nothing to route for, because we all know what's going to happen, they are so predictable. 

I can see why Cowboys fans are so excited about there team, I once felt the same way about the bengals, but that is all changed. I just keep thinking maybe somebody new would generate that spark that is needed for this team moving forward, but it also scares me who Mike Brown would hire. 

Time to rebuild a good portion of this team. Thank you Marvin for all you've done, but I think your time has ended, walk away now knowing what good you have done for this team over the years. 

[rwjcgc]

Whitworth summed it up best in his comments.  Basically calling the team fool's gold by saying last year the team was able to eke out quite a few W's at the end of games in the first half of last season.   He implied that some lucky breaks were heavily involved in their wins.  They never really lined up and beat people.   This year has been more of the same except with the breaks falling the other way.

   Playoff talk is fun but to be realistic this team is very mediocre and is barely keeping its head above water.   It is time for some big changes at the top,  they have been given many, many seasons to get it done and have failed.   Time for someone else to get a chance.    Whoever is their the buck stops here guy for the important player decisions must go.   And since that guy is the owner not much is going to happen.

[AMPHAR]

Thank you Marvin, for all that you've done.    However, it's time to treat your Head Coaching career with the Bengals like it is 2:00 minutes left in the half.    Give up.

As a fan,  I would like to win the North.   However it's stale from top to bottom.    It's time to find an offensive coach to pump some excitement back into this franchise.  1 that can work the offensive favoring rules and also the media and fan base.  

Bengals won't fire Marvin.  My guess is, he will always be with this franchise in some form.   I mean, he did save it but the best championship opportunity has past.    

Win the North and then have Marvin step out of the way.    It's the most realistic.   It doesn't matter what he does because he won't get fired so I'm not cheering for them to lose based on some unrealistic dream that Mike Brown is going to turn into a Maverick shoot from the hip owner.

  

 

[HoosierCat]

So ironic last night at halftime when the Giants inducted Tom Coughlin into their ring of honor. Cincinnati could have had Coughlin back in 2003, but Tom scared the hell out of Mike Brown with all his plans for a bigger coaching staff and a professional scouting department and, well, y'know, operating like a real football organization, not "Mike & Katie's Corner Grocery." So he went to New York and won two rings, and we got Marvin Lewis and lost every postseason game we reached.

I wonder if anything has changed. I doubt it. Obviously Katie is more involved now and the old man less, but I haven't seen any evidence that the apple has fallen far from the tree. Like I've said before, I have no objections to letting Marvin go. But I also have no faith they'll get anyone better.

[COB]

46 minutes ago, HoosierCat said:

I have no objections to letting Marvin go. But I also have no faith they'll get anyone better.

Man I'm worried as hell about our next HC.  We've had 3 pretty great head-coach-in-waiting opportunities and we let all 3 walk out the door.  Why?  So we could honor some kind of Brown family concept of loyalty that everyone else in the league shoved overboard like 30 years ago.

Elsewhere you can coach a team to a Super Bowl and get fired two years later if you suck.  I can't imagine what you'd get in Cinci if you coached them to a Super Bowl.  Lifetime job security would just be a start.

Well, we've honored Marvin's turnaround job.  Now that he's hit the skids, who can we promote from within?  I'll stop venting,  but I'm straight up tired of watching Marvin and Paul (his assistant) blunder their way through one game after another.

[HoosierCat]

If the Browns go 0-16 Hue might be available...

[AMPHAR]

Coughlin basically applied for the job last night.   Don't think he wasn't talking about Cincy when he was discussing what type of job he would consider.

The Bengals are in a catch 22 with the assumption or reality that Marvin is here for as long as he wants.   He's known as a playoff loser and it is tempting to fire another shot to change it when you have AJ Green/Dalton.  So he might hang around longer. 

The biggest advantage the Bengals would have in a coaching search this offseason is you could point to having 2 legit QBs with AJ Green and Eifert vs. most open jobs the new coach is looking for a starter via the draft.

A ton of talented new head coaches flop because they can't get the QB position right soon enough to prevent Ownership from interjecting themselves.   

 

.  

 

 

 

 

 

[Walrus]

I have more or less backed Marvin for a long time (although I thought he should have resigned when Mike Brown undermined him and took #15 back). But that's ancient history and I have appreciated the steady consistency, even if it hasn't translated into post season success.

That said, stick a fork in em. Dump Marvin and find someone younger that can inject some fresh ideas and energy into a stodgy franchise. NOT COUGHLIN!

[volcom69]

The thing is if they get a new head coach, then please get rid of other coaches, the ones who have been here longer then Marvin. 

I don't think Mike let Marvin get rid certain coaches that were like his best friends, I could be wrong though. 

Time for pretty much every coach to be gone at this point! 

[Stripes]

Yeah if Marvin leaves but Alexander stays, then it's time to give up forever on anything actually changing in a meaningful way around here.

[ArmyBengal]

Yes, the new coach should have the ability to hire his own staff should Marvin actually be done.

Worry about a new coach ??  Why ??  I couldn't care less who they bring in.
It will present a new perspective, a new outlook, a new view, whatever you want to call it, it will be new.
I wouldn't even care if it meant rebuilding for a period of time.

Why keep Marvin around for another shot with Dalton and Green when we know how the story will end ??
Why not give someone with a fresh take the chance of winning with those guys ??
I would MUCH prefer that scenario than giving Marvin another shot at it.

The way I see it is, once we lost so many starters, this WAS another shot at it.
A last ditch effort hoping it held up around Dalton and Green.
Well, it hasn't.  It has regressed to a greater degree than I thought was actually possible.

 

[ShulaSteakhouse]

I'm fine with Marvin being in a personnel role - Alexander needs to retire asap.

That said, until MB passes on, I have zero hope or faith in this franchise even winning a single playoff game, he just doesn't have the desire to be anything more than "profitable and competitive."

And this year's team is going nowhere - don't care if they somehow squeaked into the playoffs, they are incapable of beating anyone good, and hold on to old players and coaches way too long for today's game.

 

 

[BengalszoneBilly]

9 hours ago, HoosierCat said:

If the Browns go 0-16 Hue might be available...

Exactly what I thought.

[Stripes]

To be honest, as much as I appreciate Hue, I don't know if I want any head coach that goes 0-16.

[BengalszoneBilly]

3 minutes ago, Stripes said:

To be honest, as much as I appreciate Hue, I don't know if I want any head coach that goes 0-16.

Remember Belicheck didn't fare well there either.