Week 13: Steelers @ Bengals

[HoosierCat]

Got (hopefully) the last yard cleanup done this weekend, though I still have burn off the last of the gas in the mower so I may give the front one more sweep if I get the chance. Cold set to settle in next weekend, I think.

Got some holiday decorations up yesterday, too. A few more to go but they’re buried in the back room. Need to grab a couple cheap wealths or fake fir garland.

Turkey is defrosting in the fridge. Trying a new brine and rub this year. Mrs. Hoosier already prepping sides.

Let’s see, what else? Oh, right! The next clown show at PBS. Bengals host Pitt. Steelers choked against Cleveland so they’ll be in a mood. Bengals had a week off so they probably forgot how to play football again and will need at least a half to remember. A win against Pitt is always cause for celebration, so here’s hoping, but I’m not optimistic. 

[ArmyBengal]

1 hour ago, HoosierCat said:

Turkey is defrosting in the fridge. Trying a new brine and rub this year. Mrs. Hoosier already prepping sides.

Now all we need is an address and time to be there my friend !!

Yeah, it would be great to see a team that really took advantage of their bye week to prep for yet another shot at "Making a run".
Something tells me this is the last shot they get, if that hasn't already happened.

In looking at the playoff standings, the Broncos are sitting at 7-5 with their bye week to come in week 14.  They are currently the #7 seed.
We also now sit a game behind both the Dolphins, then Colts with their bye week to come in week 14 as well.

Then there is us.  Needing to beat the Steelers Sunday, make a run to the last game (Steelers rematch), and hope for losses from the teams above us.
Figuratively, we aren't out of it, but just saying that when thinking about this team makes me chuckle.  How bad is everyone else?

Now I truly believe everything goes out the window should we make the playoffs, but scratching our way to #7 would earn them a road trip to Buffalo at the moment.
Obviously things can change among the teams sitting at the top, but that would be a tough ask for this team.
 

[HoosierCat]

16 minutes ago, ArmyBengal said:

Now all we need is an address and time to be there my friend !!
 

Hey you feel like driving to basically Chicago, you’re welcome!

[ArmyBengal]

39 minutes ago, HoosierCat said:

Hey you feel like driving to basically Chicago, you’re welcome!

Would be awesome, but I think the family might frown on me bailing on them for Thanksgiving.
Silly family... lol

[COB]

Pessimistic.

[ArmyBengal]

I've been called worse COB.

LOL

[COB]

I wasn’t clear, I meant I am pessimistic.  This team can only beat bad teams.  They don’t start games well and they don’t end games well.  Not a recipe for success.

[ArmyBengal]

Gotcha… couldn’t agree more

[ArmyBengal]

Oh shit son...  Apparently the season is saved.
During the bye week they brought the ping pong tables back into the locker room.
Who knew that was the solution to all the defensive and kicking woes this team has faced ??

I'll tell you what, the next time I find myself struggling with tackling some random person on the street, I'm going straight to the local rec center, picking up a paddle and wrecking some 87 year old's shit in some ping pong when he's done walking the indoor track.  After that, I'm finding the first person coming out of Kroger and fucking up their day on my way to a glorious ending to my year !!!

[HoosierCat]

10 hours ago, COB said:

I wasn’t clear, I meant I am pessimistic.  This team can only beat bad teams.  They don’t start games well and they don’t end games well.  Not a recipe for success.

Nope, but it's a great recipe for effing up your draft position!

Looking at the schedule, they have three trash opponents in the Cowboys, Titans and Browns, plus the way things are going for Pitt they'll probably be sitting starters in week 18. So four of the last six games are winnable, even for them. So while 8-9 is probably a stretch (7-10 seems more like it to me) they could easily do it.

At the moment they're already picking 10th, even at 4-7, because there are just so many bad teams this year. A 7/8 win season likely lands them in the mid-teens, once again well beyond blue-chip range.

[HoosierCat]

If you haven’t watched this year, definitely do. I love it when Joe gets aggravated! If you cant watch the whole thing definitely watch the Johnston TD breakdown starting at the 5:16 mark, its gold.

 

[ArmyBengal]

So the defense is too slow, too old, too young, too stiff, too undisciplined and/or whatever combination of any off those.

Oddly, when looking at how hey have targeted defensive positions over the past few years in the draft, I think they've done a fairly solid job at trying to shore up most of those spots.  DT, DE, CB all come to mind.  Linebackers have gone unchanged for a while and the two starting safeties were free agent pickups.  That being said, and I've said this before, they aren't getting enough out of these guys.  Granted, you aren't going to hit on every single pick you make, but hardly anyone is making an impact this season.  DJ Turner has had a much better season this year, but now he's done for the year with a broken clavicle.

Jenkins and Jackson are young and learning, but I was hoping for more than what we've seen from that duo.
Josh Newton was a captain and thought to be an above average tackler.  Where's he been?
Is Cedric Johnson incapable of matching the nothing we are getting from Hubbard?
The safety play hasn't been great either, but there have been few tweaks at that spot.  Get Battle some more consistent playing time.

Dax Hill was drafted as a safety, got moved to CB and promptly got hurt.
Myles Murphy has minor flashes but not what I was expecting from what many thought was a top ten talent that fell.

That 2022 draft class has overall been garbage this year.
No Dax Hill
CTB looks like shit
Zac Carter is gone
Volson is whatever at LG
Who knows where Tycen Anderson is?
I think Gunter retired or some shit
 

[HoosierCat]

Anderson has actually been solid on teams (9 solo tackles and 1 assist this year). Don’t know why he doesn’t get a shot on D.

[COB]

It’s creamed corn season so if you go to Golden Corral you better get there before I do (meaning I’ll eat all the creamed corn before you even arrive).

[COB]

Steelers suck, we seriously need to win this game.  That game they lost to the Browns revealed that Russel Wilson is not as great as the media would have us believe.  He looked pretty mortal.  We’ll see what he can do when he’s dealing with Hendrickson(triple teamed), Hubbard(blocked by the equipment guy), and our defensive backfield(running in random directions, sometimes AWAY from open receivers).

[HoosierCat]

2 hours ago, COB said:

We’ll see what he can do when he’s dealing with Hendrickson(triple teamed), Hubbard(blocked by the equipment guy), and our defensive backfield(running in random directions, sometimes AWAY from open receivers).

We have the 3 Stooges of defenses.

 

[HoosierCat]

3 hours ago, COB said:

It’s creamed corn season so if you go to Golden Corral you better get there before I do (meaning I’ll eat all the creamed corn before you even arrive).

Bird has gone into the brine and is chilling in the cooler in the garage…

[HoosierCat]

Tossing this in there for army first a is about Anderson.

 

[ArmyBengal]

That was solid and really my question in point that Joe did a good job explaining, in that why isn't he getting a shot at playing time?

I get how they may view him, but as Joe alluded to, it's not like it can get much worse than what we've seen to this point.

Glad to hear he's tearing it up on special teams.  Probably why I haven't heard much about him.  Those guys go unnoticed so much.

[HoosierCat]

I appreciate the bears making me feel better about the bengals today 

[COB]

Zac took notes on that bears end of game clock management.  Coming to a bengals loss near you.

[ArmyBengal]

That was the worst clock management ever. How they managed to fuck that up is beyond me. Couldn’t help but chuckle.

[COB]

Proof the NFL is the toughest sport to bet:

 

Pertinent betting info as the Steelers come to Cincinnati on Sunday:

Bengals are 1-4 at home.

Steelers are 4-2 on the road.

Bengals are 4-7 on the year and are drifting into Palookaville.  Next stop; irrelevance.

Steelers are 8-3 on the year, leading the division and are certainly a playoff team.

Bengals head coach is an uninspiring technocrat who doesn’t understand situational football.  He’s an offensive coordinator.  Face: often looks bewildered, mouth somewhat hangs open.

Steelers head coach is a poser who somehow actually gets the best out of his players.  Biggest accomplishment is kept the saddle cinched up on Ben Roethlisberger as he rode him to a Super Bowl win.   Since then he’s been posing for the cameras.  Face: eminently punchable, keep the mirrored aviators as a souvenir.

All this to point out that the bengals are 3 point favorites in this game.  Just makes no sense.  

 

[ArmyBengal]

With a home loss to the Steelers, this should be the priority of coaches to be fired...

All of them, except Darrin Simmons. 
Find a way to fire Pollack twice if possible.
Kick Lou Anarumo in the nuts.

Next step, hire the coaching staff from the movie "Draft Day" with Kevin Costner.
Getting Costner as a GM would be a bonus.  He can really work the shit out of a draft.
He just has to continue staying away from any player with Diddy as their agent.
 

 

[HoosierCat]

5 hours ago, COB said:

All this to point out that the bengals are 3 point favorites in this game.  Just makes no sense.  

Sure it does. Every good team they’ve played, Bengals have kept it close, except for Philly. Overall this year, Bengals are +1 in points (297 for, 296 allowed). It’s actually a pretty safe bet that the game will be close. Which sucks of course. This season would be a lot easier to take if they were just crap like, say, Jax or NE or Carolina. But no, they actually have a shit ton of talent on offense going to utter waste.