rem356 Posted December 28, 2003 Report Share Posted December 28, 2003 After all this hoopla and glory surrounding the "new" Bengals, still we end the season without a winning record...nothing has changed. And for those saying, "Wait till next year"...yeah, we said the same thing when we went 8-8 with Blake and the boys in the nineties.Same old pathetic Bengals. The Browns are horrible and they came right into our house and kicked our asses all over the field. If we cant play well in a game like this, then we have no right to be in the playoffs.Horrible!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbengals1 Posted December 28, 2003 Report Share Posted December 28, 2003 ok ok we laid a big fat egg -- but dont jump off the ship just yet look how far they have come in marvin lewis "rookie year" and stay tuned alot more to come this off season Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thecrock138 Posted December 28, 2003 Report Share Posted December 28, 2003 hey everyone, my first post here...... I would like to say I agree with you for the most part, the defense sucks (200+ yards rushing to the browns!). if that can be addressed in the off-season then I dont see any reason why the bengals can't be a playoff calibur team next year. anyways it was a better season then last year.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirkendall Posted December 28, 2003 Report Share Posted December 28, 2003 Harsh words, but very true. The Bengals end the season the same as the last 12 years. Wait till next year? Yes, I've heard and preached it myself many times. But this year was different. We DO have hope, we DO have a fighting chance. Now Marvin will be able to put more guys around him that he wants, draft younger and better players on defense. Did you or anyone really expect to win the Super Bowl this year? C'mon guys, this was by definition a rebuilding year and I must admit, we rebuilt pretty damned well... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Brew Man Posted December 28, 2003 Report Share Posted December 28, 2003 kirk, agreed man, I just think we will all be a little sour about this one for awhile. To get that close and then cut our own throats is sure tough to swallow. But, if you would have told me we would be 8-8 at the start of this year, I would have taken it in a heartbeat. A 6 game improvement and a huge jump in respect around the league were great. So, it totally sucks today, but we have alot to look forward to next year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dieterfrom mason Posted December 28, 2003 Report Share Posted December 28, 2003 If Artrell Hawkins is still a Bengal next year, there is no hope. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rem356 Posted December 28, 2003 Author Report Share Posted December 28, 2003 9-7 would have not only given us a playoff shot, but probably given us a Monday night football game next year, along with the first winning record in years.How can we lay an egg on this day? Whats amazing is that we lost 3 of our last 5....not a good way to end the year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hottub Posted December 28, 2003 Report Share Posted December 28, 2003 It's no surprise why Cleveland was ready to play today... after all, they took last week off.Still, this game was a huge step backwards. Kitna, you aren't Steve McNair - throw the ball away and attempt the fieldgoal at the half! Chad Johnson, doctors have discovered a cure for dehydration - it's called water, you drink it. Corey Dillon, God love you, thanks a bunch for another last-minute distraction. I'm sure a lot of GMs in the league are just drooling to get you into their locker rooms for similar performances.Aw, why bother. I have to admit, the 2003 Bengals outperformed my expectations - I expected maybe a 6-10 season from them - if not my hopes. Maybe next year, I guess... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrishcovga Posted December 28, 2003 Report Share Posted December 28, 2003 To be honest with you,cincinnati landed a year behind my expectations.The talent that they had last year should have guaranteed a 8-8 season.Our defense has gotten progressively worse over the last 2 years after posting a top 10 finish in 2001.That doesn't make sense.Offensively our needs are few and simple.Good quarterbacks don't take a sack inside the 10 yard line with less than 10 seconds in the half.So insert Palmer.problem solved.Defensively,we have guys out of place,and that's the real reason our defense struggled.Rogers Beckett is a pretty good strong Safety,but Mark Roman doesn't have the instincts or speed to be a deep cover man.solution=pray Sean Taylor falls to 16.Kevin Hardy is not a middle linebacker.Maybe next year he plays better with a full year in this system, but he's really a strongside linebacker, and we could have used him on that side today.solution=nothing on the roster can help us there.. Either free agency, or the draft.defensive tackle.Thornton is a viable option as a down lineman,however he needs someone next to him that can push the pocket.solution=draft.NOT SAPP.Cornerback has been a weakness since the .. oh hell it's been a weakness since Ken Riley retired.Hawkins every now and then uses good technique,but mostly he's still a bengal because of his speed.He's never burned deep,however he has no ball instincts while in the air,and always plays the man.solution=DeAngelo Hall cb Virginia Tech.Tory James played well this year,but because of his lack of true corner speed,he was timid in his coverage against bigger wide receivers.solution=Dennis Weathersby ! + if not....clone Hawkins' speed onto T.James, so he can man up! That should about do it.. We hope.. oh yeah, somewhere in all of this.. find a replacement for Jeff Burris,Kevin Kaesviharn,Matt O'Dwyer,and possibly Rich Braham. p.s... Find a tight end that can block and stretch the field.. solution=Kris Wilson te Pittsburgh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rem356 Posted December 28, 2003 Author Report Share Posted December 28, 2003 We took big steps backward not just in this game, but in the month of December we were 1-3, including two blowout losses to Baltimore and St. Louis. We would have gotten killed in the playoffs.I know Kitna isnt the whole problem, but since we didnt get in the playoffs, Palmer should get his start next year in the opener, along with NO Corey Dillon. Palmer and Rudi should be named the new starters at camp.Our biggest problem is our D-Line. No push all year long and today Cleveland had an O-Line with only two guys on it that started opening day and they pushed us back all day. The draft needs to be about Defense...nothing more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoosierCat Posted December 28, 2003 Report Share Posted December 28, 2003 After all this hoopla and glory surrounding the "new" Bengals, still we end the season without a winning record...nothing has changed. Heh heh heh. Thanks, rem. I was feeling kind of down but after that belly laugh I'm much better. Nope, nothing has changed. We've only extended our best WR for basically ever, flushed half an underperforming team and half an equally underperforming coaching staff, bulked up operations, overhauled our conditioning program, and hired a head coach who took us from 2-14 to 8-8 in a single season, a feat only previously accomplished only be the likes of Bill Parcells and Ted Marchibroda. No, no, clearly nothing has changed."Blake and the boys"? Ah, yes. A totally inapt comparision. I don't think there's any danger of the continuing lack of accountability that was the signature of that era. I don't think we'll be seeing a former aging QB foisted on the team next year. And I certainly don't see another No. 1 draft pick QB bust coming in a couple of years that will set us back for seasons to come.This was a hell of a year. Period, end of statement. Sure it could have ended better -- but 31 teams won't be Super Bowl champs this year, and the Bengals came closer to getting to the big game than anyone ever thought they could, me included. And despite today's game, they're in better shape for '04 than any team in the division, including the Ravens.Only 9 months until September! Who-dey! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
halp Posted December 29, 2003 Report Share Posted December 29, 2003 9 months to sept? hell only 7 till training camp!!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AGrizzlyBaer Posted December 29, 2003 Report Share Posted December 29, 2003 guys, guys, guys this team was 2 and 14 last year i think it was a hell of year, i honestly would have been happy to watch them rebuild and win 6 games but 8 is great, next year after FA and the draft this team could be great next year! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirkendall Posted December 29, 2003 Report Share Posted December 29, 2003 I just don't want to fall into the same optimism that I had after 2001. I seriously thought 8-8 or playoffs, then 2-14 came around. It was the weakest I've been as a fan since I've started. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoosierCat Posted December 29, 2003 Report Share Posted December 29, 2003 I just don't want to fall into the same optimism that I had after 2001. I seriously thought 8-8 or playoffs, then 2-14 came around. It was the weakest I've been as a fan since I've started. I hear you, Kirk -- and frankly I see this team struggling to reach 8-8 again next year, given that a new, year-2-rookie QB starter and another defensive overhaul are likely. But such is the price of progress.And that, I think, is the real reason for optimism. Yeah, they may make changes and have them blow up in their faces -- but at least they'll be making moves and trying to improve, as opposed to the kind of "stay the course" strategy we saw a couple years ago. We saw that same ideology blow up on the Steelers this year. You can't just concentrate on holding together what worked last year, because every team is trying to improve and you don't want to be caught standing still. So we change some things that didn't work, like Hardy at MLB, and some things that did, like Kitna at QB, and hope for the best.Is there hope for the best? Yeah, I think so. We finally have a competent coaching staff, with the skeleton of a support structure, to do the work, and a front office (a.k.a. Mikey) that's staying the hell away. We're likely still a year away from the playoffs, ut that's a year closer than we were a few month's ago! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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