HoosierCat Posted December 4, 2003 Report Share Posted December 4, 2003 Nope. Uh-uh. Why even both to show up? Bengals are doomed, don't have a chance, Balti will roll...at least according to all the "experts" so far. PFW staff consensus? Ravens. Harmon forecast on sportsline? Ravens. Dan over at ffmastermind.com? Ravens. And of course Vegas is dogging us."Media darlings," Billick? Nice try. The reality is, we're the team that (so far) everyone expects to lose. And the Bengals seem to play best that way... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirkendall Posted December 4, 2003 Report Share Posted December 4, 2003 I agree, but let's look into these experts minds also. First of all, they are not Bengals fans and most haven't even covered them until this season. So there's that aspect that it's all a fluke (which we all know is not true).Also, Baltimore is 5-1 at home while the Bengals are 3-3 away. I don't think people have it out for the Bengals either, they just rely a lot on stats and historical elements that ultimately determine these non-sense picks. I know the Bengals won earlier this season against Baltimore, but against the Ravens, the Bengals are 5-10. So I can understand why they pick the Ravens, do I agree? Of course not. Plus I really don't take a grain of salt for what they say anyway. When experts are forced to cover all 32 teams with predictions, how do you think they determine their picks? I know it's not from the emotional charge that Marvin installs or the Kitna conspiracy, or the Rudi factor, nor the talk-show called Chad Johnson.I'd rather be the underdog anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redsfan2 Posted December 4, 2003 Report Share Posted December 4, 2003 Nope. Uh-uh. Why even both to show up? Bengals are doomed, don't have a chance, Balti will roll...at least according to all the "experts" so far. PFW staff consensus? Ravens. Harmon forecast on sportsline? Ravens. Dan over at ffmastermind.com? Ravens. And of course Vegas is dogging us."Media darlings," Billick? Nice try. The reality is, we're the team that (so far) everyone expects to lose. And the Bengals seem to play best that way... I liked that " media Darlings " bit too. Evidently he hasn't watched ESPN or any other sports broadcast for the last 10 years or so .............. not to mention Leno and Letterman. I know we're " doomed" and " don't stand a chance " , but I can't figure out how we're going to lose that bad only by 3 points. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoosierCat Posted December 4, 2003 Author Report Share Posted December 4, 2003 Kirk:I'd rather be the underdog anyway.Oh, me too. That's my point. But Billick and Lewis seem to be doing all they can to cast themselves in the role of underdogs, which I find amusing since everyone else seems to think they're the team to beat.Redsfan:I liked that " media Darlings " bit too. Evidently he hasn't watched ESPN or any other sports broadcast for the last 10 years or so .............. not to mention Leno and Letterman.No doubt! Has any team got its tush as throughly smooched by the media as the Ravens? HBO didn't do a series on Seattle, for example, and it wasn't a Ram or a Saint or a Bill in those draft day commercials with Carson Palmer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redsfan2 Posted December 4, 2003 Report Share Posted December 4, 2003 Redsfan:I liked that " media Darlings " bit too. Evidently he hasn't watched ESPN or any other sports broadcast for the last 10 years or so .............. not to mention Leno and Letterman.No doubt! Has any team got its tush as throughly smooched by the media as the Ravens? HBO didn't do a series on Seattle, for example, and it wasn't a Ram or a Saint or a Bill in those draft day commercials with Carson Palmer. Hadn't even thought about that aspect to tell you the truth. I was thinking more along the lines of has any team gotten its butt as thoroughly scorched as the Bengals. Nobody wrote an article that it was a shame that the Ravens drafted Boller and would therefore automatically kill his career. No one felt sorry for Billick being hired by the Ravens and saying that he should have waited or a better job either. ( both Banks shots )My personal favorite was local. Buffalo News sportswriter in pre season was saying how all the teams were talking about going to the playoffs this year. For some namely Buffalo who had spent money wisely to bolster their defense such talk was perfectly justified, but for others such as Cincinnati nothing could be more ridiculous than to think all their history could be erased by hiring a rookie head coach. I wish I had saved that so I could mail it to him with a couple pieces of bread and a jar of mustard. I think even somebody as thick as he would get the implication. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoosierCat Posted December 4, 2003 Author Report Share Posted December 4, 2003 One of my favorites is still on the espn Cincy page. Scroll all the way down to the bottom and the preseason season preview is still there, confidently asserting that we have no chance of making the playoffs. On another note: darn that Dave Goldberg! The AP sportswriter picks the Bengals in a 20-19 squeaker! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevnz Posted December 4, 2003 Report Share Posted December 4, 2003 One of my favorites is still on the espn Cincy page. Scroll all the way down to the bottom and the preseason season preview is still there, confidently asserting that we have no chance of making the playoffs. That just shows what some of those so called experts know I read all the write offs before the season started, all the rankings that had us at 30 or lower....I'm loving the fact that Marvin Lewis is making lot's of folks eat some crow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChicagoJungle Posted December 4, 2003 Report Share Posted December 4, 2003 the press was even worse after the Denver game, when everybody's favorite thing to do was bash the Bengals and feel sorry for Marvin for thinking he could turn things around.Marvin didn't give up on the Bengals and they didn't quit on him. the press is bunk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bueller Posted December 4, 2003 Report Share Posted December 4, 2003 The press hates the Ravens and loves the "underdog." Actually, I think everyone, except Raven fans, hate the Ravens. Baltimore fans love this role for some reason. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevnz Posted December 5, 2003 Report Share Posted December 5, 2003 The press hates the Ravens and loves the "underdog." Actually, I think everyone, except Raven fans, hate the Ravens. Baltimore fans love this role for some reason. I would say you're a bit off base with that one. Every where I've turned people keep saying the Ravens are gonna win the game, the Ravens have an awsome defense, the Ravens are gonna win the division...The experts love to rave on the Ravens defense when it's not even the best if the NFL....I think the Ravens get plenty of media love...They just want to think that they don't get any...play the unappreciated overlooked team role and all that, but it's simply not true. It's true that the Bengals have been getting a lot of press lately, but what do you expect when a rookie head coach takes a team that hasn't won in over 12 years and puts them at the brink of the playoffs? The league would be eating it up cause it will definately boost ratings for the Ravens game that just about everybody in the press has already given to the Ravens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
San Antonio Bengal Posted December 5, 2003 Report Share Posted December 5, 2003 Speaking of the experts, I find it interesting that several weeks ago a lot of the "experts" were picking the Bengals to win the division. Now, those same "experts" are picking Baltimore in this game. So, how can you have it both ways? (Anything can happen the last three weeks, but I'd be extremely surprised if the winner of this game didn't win the division.) I guess experts are allowed that priviledge -- to pick both ways and then they can claim that they got one right.For what it's worth Collinsworth is predicting a Cincinnati victory and he was one of the first to say that Cincy would win the division. Good to know there's someone who sticks to their choices.Don't get me wrong, people can change their minds about things, but Cincinnati hasn't lost any since the KC game which was when a lot of the experts started picking the Bengals to win the division. And Cincinnati has won on the road in California and on the road in Pittsburgh and in the last seconds of games. What more do they want out of this team to prove they can win?Of course, it doesn't matter what the experts think. We've proven them wrong before and will prove them wrong again. It feels good to be the underdog again... just a more natural feeling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirkendall Posted December 5, 2003 Report Share Posted December 5, 2003 I think the image of Cincinnati losing for 12 straight years still hasn't moved passed their forecasts. Can we really blame them? Who cares what they think anyway, we're going to win Sunday, we're going to win the division and we're going to the playoffs. That'll show them indeed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redsfan2 Posted December 5, 2003 Report Share Posted December 5, 2003 I think the image of Cincinnati losing for 12 straight years still hasn't moved passed their forecasts. Can we really blame them? Who cares what they think anyway, we're going to win Sunday, we're going to win the division and we're going to the playoffs. That'll show them indeed. That is the sticky spot isn't it ?? As badly as the media kicks us around, the one thing you have to say is that we've earned it. If the media is taking it a little easy on us at this point, I think its out of deference to Marvin Lewis. He's been around the league and has left a very good impression everywhere he's been. He's not only respected, but liked on a personal level as well. The medai types are probably thinking "Jeez I can't say that about the bungles becasue it'll sound like I'm slamming Marvin. " I'm not saying he's getting a pass, but you have to admit that the tone changed the minute the guy walked in the door. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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