Week 4: Jaguars @ Bengals

[JM472]

13 minutes ago, volcom69 said:

Gesiki was open bad pass Burrow 

Burrow was bad.  The secondary was bad.  The coaching was worse.  

[TJJackson]

I think there is a great temptation to pin this loss on Burrow, and yes, he certainly contributed

But

The loss of Chase was absolutely devastating

Where was the D we saw in weeks 1 and 2?

T a c k l i n g.  Game after game after game.  Other teams tackle....why not us?

Why specifically have we not schemed to cover the TE? (For years now)

Why did we not utilize the TE more when Chase left the game?

Why was Jax getting to Newguy while only rushing 3 or 4?

Knowing that the Jax passrush is pressuring with only 3 or 4, why did we not have RBs and TEs chipping before releasing?

The officiating was horrendous all game but particularly bad no calls for DPI on the final drive

Reverse any one of these things and i think we eke out a win despite Burrows two ints....and a lot of that was on the coaching staff

The one thing i am happy about is the emergence of WRs 4 and 5.  I did not know the new kid from GA was out

Oh, and that guy Teeeeeeee was pretty good too

[volcom69]

Almost, should be the Cincinnati Almosts, because every week we say almost had them. Only if the bengals could have tackled better! Only if Burrow doesnt suck! 
 

I mean this shit is getting old. They spent so much money this offseason on some really good guys, but they didn’t fix the biggest problem from last year, they couldn’t tackle. Once again they still can’t. I don’t get it, they learned to tackle at a young age, but apparently they now forget how. 
 

They are now 2-2 and sure there season is far from over, they can go on a huge win streak. At this point forward though how much faith should I really have with this team. I’m just getting annoyed anymore. Other years I expected this. This year with the trade and all they did to improve, I thought it would be different, but I guess fool me. 

[volcom69]

Chase Brown 9 carries 10 yards, really! 
 

O-line what the hell is that? 
 

A game where Burrow was not at his best, Chase goes out Higgins going down late, you need to find a way to run the ball. 
 

I am happy though they found something in Myers, and Tinsley was not bad for just coming back. 

[HoosierCat]

They’re just not very good. They beat two teams that are a combined 0-8 after 4 weeks. They lost to a .500 Pitt team and the now 3-1 Jags — and that latter game never really felt close, did it? The Jags took the lead early and never trailed. They didn’t do anything special today. Basically they just didn’t turn the ball over and waited for Cincy to implode. And they did, like clockwork.

They’re going nowhere this year. But it will be oh injuries, oh bad luck, oh we were just one or two plays away and Zac & Co. will all get new 10 years deals in February.

[TJJackson]

I am already thinking draft

I am torn between

a LB who can cover and T A C K L E

and

An OLT who can passblock (and not take presnap penalties)

If there was an absolute bluechip safety with strong tackling available when we pick, that would certainly be a consideration as well

 

[ArmyBengal]

I just don’t care.

Only took 4 weeks this year and I’m sick of it.

[volcom69]

Zac Taylor 6-52 when trailing at the end of the 3rd quarter!

Joe Burrow 1-35 when trailing with less then 8 min left In the game. 
 

Yea Zac is only a good coach when things are going his way. When something happens or goes wrong, Zac has no idea how to fix it. 
 

Really think this team is talented and can keep up with any team, even win a Superbowl, if they had a coaching staff that could do. Clearly Zac is not that guy and probably should have moved on in like 2023! Have to be perfect to win here I guess. 

[HoosierCat]

Jamarr: concussion

Tee: adductor (hip, I’m assuming)

Bengals: screwed (I mean, they already were, just more)

[Stripes]

I think this is a good team that is .500 for four primary reasons, some of which may improve and others that won't:

1. This might be the hardest portion of the schedule. Even with Houston and TB at 0-4, I don't really think that's indicative of how difficult those matchups are.

- I think it'll get easier more often than it gets harder, but it'll do both.

2. Burrow has been turning it over at deeply inopportune times.

- This is becoming an increasingly problematic trend. If it's in his head, he needs to sort it out. QBs get the yips too. I don't think he's just fallen off a cliff, because he has been highly efficient. The turnovers themselves have been preceded by efficient, encouraging drives that just end in a disastrous thud -- he is in his little zone, and when he gets too confident he gets careless. This ought to improve, but it's who he's been since at least 2024.

3. The head coach and the defensive coordinator stink.

- This isn't going to improve. Taylor is who he is. He's still going to punt at midfield on 4th and 1 like a complete pansy. He's still going to run the ball too much on 2nd and long. He's still going to add absolutely nothing to the offensive scheme or play-design as should be expected of an "offensive-minded" head coach. I think he's a good coach six days per week, and he is a bad coach on Sunday. Golden could improve in theory, but I'm not holding my breath. He doesn't seem to have a great feel for defensive playcalling, and even in just four games opposing offenses seem to have the perfect counter-attack dialed up all too often.

4. The usual suspects from the 2024/2025 defensive crimes against humanity are still here. The linebackers are genuinely improved behind Dexter Lawrence, but they still take terrible angles and over-pursue too often. Jordan Battle has been the worst player on the starting roster, and he accounted for a staggering proportion of today's defensive lapses. He has always had his limits, but he's gotten even worse.

- I think the linebackers are on a positive trajectory, so it's reasonable to think they improve. I don't see Battle improving. He's had more than enough time to learn how to tackle a football player, and he still isn't doing it.

Then, today you can add a fifth problem: injuries are stacking up and affecting extremely important parts of the roster.

 

[volcom69]

When Cook and Dugger are both healthy I would love to see those two on the field at the same time. 
 

Not sure Golden will go for that as he is having some love affair with Battle. 

[TJJackson]

4 hours ago, JM472 said:

Burrow was bad.  The secondary was bad.  The coaching was worse.  

Welcome to Bengalszone :-)

[volcom69]

Last season the bengals went back to the drawing board and figured out how to run the ball better, and they sure did. That needs to happen now, get everyone together go back in and figure that out. I know Burrow will hate it, but in the end I really think it will help them down the road. 
 

As much as I bash the defense, other then there missed tackles, and some plays that guys were not in the right spot, they held a really good Jags offense to 22 points. If you would have told me that I would have said the Bengals would have won. 
 

Time for the offense to put this shit together! Burrow talks the talk time to put that out there. 

[Prophecy]

5 hours ago, TJJackson said:

 

If there was an absolute bluechip safety with strong tackling available when we pick, that would certainly be a consideration as well

 

There was. A First Team All-American, named  Nick Emmanwori. Yet the genius of Duke Tobin and Zac Taylor picked some steaming pile of garbage DE who never had more than 1.5 Sacks in any year of college, but had "all the measurables" and expected a coaching staff who can't coach, to develop him.

Yet...nobody is losing their jobs

[volcom69]

Think it’s time for the offense to go back to the drawing board. They are lacking for sure, making things hard, even the easy stuff looks hard right now. Zac and company have done this before, if fact it seems like almost every year they do this. The offense struggles through the first few weeks and they change things up, and usually it really helps. Will they do that this time?

The defense while I want better, has not been terrible, and has given the offense the ball back to win games. The last few seasons thats all we asked for from them and they are doing that.

I’m not ready to write the season off just yet, I mean my hopes are slipping which really sucks. Don’t have crazy amount trust with Zac at the helm, but we have seen Joe and Zac fix this offense before. We saw last season a run game which was horrific, turn it around and was one of the best in the league at the end of the year. It’s time to get back to that, time to draw up something new befofe it’s to late. 

[ArmyBengal]

Ok, not feeling better about this but I did mention prior to the game that I was more upbeat on the chances of beating the Steelers than I was the Jags, so it really isn't that surprising to me.

That being said, it's the WAY they lost the last two games that has me irritated the most.
Special teams lapses, poor play calling, poor decision making, poor on field play and no ability to change with the flow of the game.

Early in the game you saw the defense playing pretty well.  Getting pressure on Trevor and looking motivated.
Then what?  The Jags made adjustments and we kept doing the same thing hoping it would work.

That 4th and 1 punt early had me throwing food at my TV.  No shit, pretzels were all over the place.
Fucking Zac and his bitch ass with no faith in his "high powered" offense he calls the fucking plays for.
Total bitch move.  Even if you fail, you show faith in your players abilities.  I can live with that.

The injuries are pretty harsh and I don't want to downplay that, without laying it all at the feet of that fact.
No Cook in the backfield is hard.  You see his impact not being out there.  I mean, who the fuck is Yeast?
Seriously, when dudes like him (probably a good dude) are getting playing time, it's hard to be optimistic.

Burrow....  What the literal fuck dude?  Some of the worst decision making I've seen from him in a while.
How do you throw short with Gesicki wide open in the endzone at the end of the game?
Throwing over players heads wide open.  Some of the worst INT's I can remember from him.
I think it's what he has said in the past.  It's in his head.  Well get the fuck out of it Joe.  You're killing us.

I love Dexter and even Jonathan Allen.  The linebackers need to continue as Stripes said.
Jordan Battle can eat a dick.  Just the worst.  Get Dugger healthy and get him time.  He's simply a better player.
Battle will make a play to get you all amped up and then shit the bed from that point on.  Learn to tackle.

As much as I'm irritated right now, when I look at the schedule, while not beating the Ravens if nothing changes, they do have a bunch of games even a half firing team should win.  Seriously, they could go 6-1 over the next 7 games.  No one would be complaining about 8-3 at that point.  Get it right coaches.

Oh shit, just realized how hilarious those last 4 words were.

[ArmyBengal]

Funny story.

I stopped in McDonald's Sunday morning and was wearing my Burrow color rush jersey.
An older lady easily in her late 70's approached me and asked, "Are they going to win today?".
I gave it the old, "I hope so" in response and her face turned almost angry and while walking away said...

"Burrow needs to be slapped in the fucking head"

There were a bunch of people around and everyone was laughing.
Good times in McDonalds !!

[ArmyBengal]

I was going to start the Dolphins thread and I was just about to post it and my computer blinked and I lost the whole damn thing.  I'm taking that as a sign and someone else can jump in.

[gregcook69]

23 hours ago, TJJackson said:

I am already thinking draft

I am torn between

a LB who can cover and T A C K L E

and

An OLT who can passblock (and not take presnap penalties)

If there was an absolute bluechip safety with strong tackling available when we pick, that would certainly be a consideration as well

 

This is what this franchise is all about!  What about next year?? 

We're 4 games into 2026, and we're already talking about next year!!!

"EXPECT THE WORST, AND HOPE FOR THE BEST!!

[gregcook69]

23 hours ago, volcom69 said:

Almost, should be the Cincinnati Almosts, because every week we say almost had them. Only if the bengals could have tackled better! Only if Burrow doesnt suck! 
 

I mean this shit is getting old. They spent so much money this offseason on some really good guys, but they didn’t fix the biggest problem from last year, they couldn’t tackle. Once again they still can’t. I don’t get it, they learned to tackle at a young age, but apparently they now forget how. 
 

They are now 2-2 and sure there season is far from over, they can go on a huge win streak. At this point forward though how much faith should I really have with this team. I’m just getting annoyed anymore. Other years I expected this. This year with the trade and all they did to improve, I thought it would be different, but I guess fool me. 

Hey Volcom, did you watch any of the preseason games?  The second and third team defense went 'lights' out with tackling!!

this must be a rebuilding year!!

[TJJackson]

10 hours ago, ArmyBengal said:

Funny story.I stopped in McDonald's Sunday morning

I reported you to the manager of Arbys in Anderson....walking distance from that mcdonalds

Youve been banned 

[ArmyBengal]

Such is life when you have an autistic kid that has to have McDonald’s hotcakes. That joker might burn down half the city if he doesn’t get his god damned hotcakes.

Arby’s might want to reconsider that ban.

[Saintsfan1]

The defense hasn't disappointed too much outside of the Steelers game. When you hold Jacksonville to 22 points you're doing something right. I'm worried about Burrow though. It seems like he's lost his rhythm. Of course, he always starts slow, but he played much more electric at this point in 2024.

I know the OL is not great, but Burrow has not been Burrow since 2024. I do feel this game is a big test.