Who's better than us?

[The Big Orange]

As I was trolling on the Patriots board today I was trying to see what those fan thought of us Bengals...about half think we are going to the playoffs...which is probably about par for most of the fans in the NFL. A few even predicted that they would beat us in the AFC Championship game, which is exactly what I predicted.

Since most of us believe we are playoff bound this year, lets start thinking as such. Who in the AFC is our biggest competition? I think the Colts and the Patriots top the list. I think we are pretty even with the Steelers, Jets, and Chargers. I think the Ravens, Jags, and Buffalo will be a tad below us. Houston, KC, and Denver are 2 tiers down. And Cleveland, Raiders, and Miami are in the cellar.

[bengalsrz]

i dont see either the bengals or patriots making it to the AFC championship game

[ShulaSteakhouse]

I think I'm just going to keep my expectations reasonable, and enjoy the season as it unfolds (hopefully).

I've waited 15 freakin $$#$%#@ years for this, I want to enjoy every week and every game.

Right now I'm looking at the first preseason game and that's about it.

[Kazkal]

I truthfully think patriots will have to fight their way to get too the playoffs....their defense has taken many hits as there offense was never that great (above average)

I think the Colts or Chargers will end up on one side. then bengals or Steelers on the other.

[DontTakeAkili]

Reading about these expectations makes me sick to my stomach. I always got so nervous for every game, even when I knew the Bengals were overmatched. I don't know how I will be able to get through this year's games, what with REAL expectations on the team.

I'm not complaining. I don't mean that I am not happy. I think that at some point, I may have offered Satan my first born son for this opportunity. But it scares the Hell out of me, regardless.

That's why I keep telling everyone that my expectations are .500. Nice ol' 8-8. Don't rock the boat. And if we happen to be playing late into December? Then I can fake my surprise with eveyone else.

[Kazkal]

Truthfully I really could careless about bengals winning the superbowl only 1 team out of 31 will win it.... I'm more about watching good fun games till that point.even a lost can still be entertaining if good football was played though superbowl would be the icing on the cake

[membengal]

I think I'm just going to keep my expectations reasonable, and enjoy the season as it unfolds (hopefully). 

I've waited 15 freakin $$#$%#@ years for this,  I want to enjoy every week and every game. 

Right now I'm looking at the first preseason game and that's about it.

Effin' A, Shula. Sums up where I am right now perfectly.

I have waited almost half my lifetime for a camp as nice as this one before a season pregnant with possibility. August of 1990 was a long time ago...

I am just going to enjoy each non-dysfunctional day as it comes.

[Scottishbengal]

I think the Patriots will take the East with Buffalo also claiming a play-off spot.

San Diego will drop off a bit in the West allowing Denver taking the Divison.

Indianapolis will be crowned kings of the South with the possibility of Jacksonville joining them post season.

In our very own North, Pittsburgh will fall off from last year but not enough to lose the Division, our very own Bengals making a winning season and possibly a play-off spot (vying with Jacksonville). Baltimore dropping to third in the division!

[Section 310]

How can you say we are "even" with Pittsburgh? They were 15-1 last season. While I hope we can overtake them, the Bengals have more holes and

more to prove than Pittsburgh.

Baltimore is the wild-card...who knows what they will look like?? If Boller continues to suck and their D continues to age, I think they are 8-8. Ray Ray is not the player he used to be, but their secondary looks tough on paper.

Say what you will about Cleveland, but the road opener scares me. I could see the Browns coming out fired up and playing way over their heads.

[ArmyBengal]

Superbowl ?? Even with P-Burg, Indy, and NE ?? Wait, you mean to tell me we have figured out a way to stop the run overnight ?? Well HELL YEAH !!!! Superbowl here we come !!!! Now back to reality... When we decide to stop the run, we will be a dangerous team, no two ways about it. People can laugh and giggle and say what they will, but a Bengals defense capable of stopping the run equals a team very very VERY difficult to stop. I just want to see the defense make it happen. I really really do !!! Please for the love of GOD, stop the freakin run !!! Are we capable of beating those high powered team ?? Yes, but it will take a consistent effort on D and the O to continue to keep the pressure on by scoring points. We didn't see that last year. Ever hopeful !!!

WHODEY !!!

[Defender]

How can you say we are "even" with Pittsburgh? They were 15-1 last season. While I hope we can overtake them, the Bengals have more holes and

more to prove than Pittsburgh.

Baltimore is the wild-card...who knows what they will look like?? If Boller continues to suck and their D continues to age, I think they are 8-8. Ray Ray is not the player he used to be, but their secondary looks tough on paper.

Say what you will about Cleveland, but the road opener scares me. I could see the Browns coming out fired up and playing way over their heads.

It's all a matter of the Bengals improving more than the Steelers declined this season. The Bengals improved, mostly through the draft (arguably taking 3 guys with first round talent) and a little bit in free agency (DT was a definite need, SS would have been nice but there wasn't anyone who was "must-have"). The Steelers' took an injury-prone TE in the draft, and I can't think of any memorable FA acquisitions.

I agree Baltimore is the X factor. Nobody would love to see them suck more than me. But expectations for them have been from Superbowl to 7-9 season. They can have an All-pro secondary across the board, but if that 3-4 to 4-3 transition doesn't work well, ravenssuck.com is going to be the most popular website on the internet.

[CBin2k7]

I believe that as of right now the Steelers, Pats and Colts are better than us.

The Bengals are in a group with the Chargers, Broncos, Jags, Ravens, Jets and maybe Chiefs trying to get to that next level.

[TippCityRick]

I gotta agree with Big O for the most part. The Patriots have to be respected because of how they've pulled themselves out of seemingly impossible positions the last couple of years to finish on top. The Colts run right behind them, although I don't think they've done enough defensively to win the conference championship.

Pittsburgh must be counted due to their defensive intensity. Don't think we've caught them yet. Both San Diego and Denver will probebly be better than we are, but both are wild cards. San Diego made massive improvements last year . . . can they continue. Shanahan always seems to find a way to the playoffs, but not this year.

I think our main competition for the playoffs - as a wild card - will be the Jets, the Jags, and the Ravens. We must be 4-2 or better in division to accomplish our goal. I still see a winning record for the Who-Dey gang, but we'll be on the cusp of the playoffs. Again, my dream is we wrap up a playoff spot on December 24 with Takeo standing and fuming on the opposite sidelines as he gets shut out for a third consecutive year!

[DesperateDerelict]

The name of the game is . . . . IF

Playoff Teams

IF the Bengals defense improves to top 10 status, with no appreciable fall-off of last December's offense, they are among the elite AFC clubs

IF the Pats can overcome the loss of 2 linebackers and 2 coordinators, they'll be the team to beat in January.

IF the Chiefs new defense can be middle-of-the-road, they are the team to beat in the west.

If Peyton can keep the magic going, they'll be the best indoor team in the NFL.

IF Losman can get a clue, the Bills will be tough.

The biggest IF of all: IF Pittsburg can get EVERY call to go their way, and EVERY lucky bounce ala 2004, they'll erroneously be called dominant again.

Everyone else has serious warts - the Chargers will have a QB controversy by October, Raiders will be outscored 50 - 38 every week, Denver's relying on the turds DL to stop Tomlinson and Holmes, Houston STILL doesn't have an OL, the Jags always seem to have the whole team on IR, Tennessee cut everybody, Miami has no QB and Ronnie's holding out, the Jets have the weakest armed QB in the NFL and no recievers, and the Turds won't be back for 2 - 3 years, and the Ratbirds have Boller.

[derekshank]

Teams that are better than the Bengals based on what we know TODAY

New England

Indianapolis

Pittsburgh

New York

Kansas City

There are other teams like Baltimore, San Diego, Jacksonville, and Buffalo that are probably about even with us based on what we know right now, but I think we could be slotted in at 6th in the AFC right now.

Gotta agree with the previous post though... it's all based on speculation at this point. How much do the changes from one year to the next make. Recent history shows it makes all the difference in the world, so really, who knows.

[Columbusbengal]

I think I'm just going to keep my expectations reasonable, and enjoy the season as it unfolds (hopefully).

I've waited 15 freakin $$#$%#@ years for this, I want to enjoy every week and every game.

Right now I'm looking at the first preseason game and that's about it.

I agree 100% with this post!! Why skip from depression to thinking we are going to be great (leaving room only for disappointment). I still want to experience the joy of unexpected thrills if the team goes further than I expected.

[Kazkal]

How can you say we are "even" with Pittsburgh? They were 15-1 last season. While I hope we can overtake them, the Bengals have more holes and

more to prove than Pittsburgh.

Baltimore is the wild-card...who knows what they will look like?? If Boller continues to suck and their D continues to age, I think they are 8-8. Ray Ray is not the player he used to be, but their secondary looks tough on paper.

Say what you will about Cleveland, but the road opener scares me. I could see the Browns coming out fired up and playing way over their heads.

The 15-1 1998 vikings went 10-6 the very next year,(both were beat by 14-2 teams so will see this is a new year anything can happen

[kingwilly]

There are only 2 teams in my mind who I put in front of Cincy.

Pats. Until they are beat down, they are the king.

Colts. Offense will not drop off. D will get better.

Even with Cincy

SD. Tomlinson/Gates base a tough O. D is better than people think.

Denver. In a weak west, they should be OK

KC. Like a close shadow of Indy.

Pit. comes back to earth.

Cut below

NYJ. - O has no game. Martin is another year older. Pennington has no line.

Bal. - One word. Boller

Jags. - Big ? mark here. COuld really shine..or stink.

Oak. One word. Collins

Tenn. Cap hell=7 wins.

Two below

Houston. Underachieveing understatement.

Buf. One word. Losman. D will bang though.

Miami. One word. Frerrotte. Also rhymes with forgot.

Cle. D gets better. O gets worse...is that possible?

[WhoDeyHomer]

As of now I have to break them down as such

Better than us now

New England - Until someone proves otherwise

Pittsburgh - # 1 defense and rushing attack with enough passing to keep honest

San Diego - Solid in all ares on both sides of the ball, only losses to playoff teams

Nearly equivalent to us

Indianapolis - Overrated squad on the whole, no D and a creampuff schedule.

NY Jets - The Jets are a good on both sides but don't have elite personnel

Buffalo - Buffalo is rising, if Losman is OK they will be better than OK.

Baltimore - They barely make it, but if their ?'s are answered on O they are good

Below Us

Houston - Mediocre on both sides of the ball, no real elite threats.

Denver - Denver is almost equivalent to us, but Plummer at QB? get real.

Kansas City - Good O, Terrible D, doesnt look like it'll change

Jacksonville - Seem to have potential, but this team is slipping

Bottom rung

Tennessee - Rebuilding with a few solid blocks, when will we see Volek?

Cleveland - Obviously rebuilding everything.

Miami - On their way to turning things around, have a decent D to build on.

Oakland - Obvious chances to improve greatly, but will they happen, I think not.

Overall I really see the Bengals as being the # 5 team behind the division winners, but we can play with anyone and we have more room to improve that the teams above us.

[Stripes]

I say they are arranged like this:

Top Tier:

Patriots - They stand alone on the top until they show (if) this year that the offseason losses are too much.

2nd Tier:

Colts - One of the best offenses of all time to go with a opportunistic defense that can only improve from 29th last year.

3rd Tier:

Steelers - Will have some dropoff, and quite possibly a lot, but 15-1 is enough for me to rank them at least here.

Ravens - The defense is enough to carry that team on a playoff push, and the offense has a chance to be effective.

Bengals - Physical and explosive offense that matches up well with any team, to go with an opportunistic defense on the verge of excellence.

San Diego - I expect some dropoff, but a solid offense with Brees, gates, and Tomlinson should be enough to overcome any defensive shortcomings

Kansas City - Clones of the Colts with slightly less offense and slightly less defense.

Other Contenders: Jets, Jaguars, Bills, Broncos, maybe Texans, maybe Raiders

[derekshank]

Just a thought. I still agree that based on a superior defense and a great running game the Steelers must be considered the team to beat in the AFCN. However, Bettis can't go forever, and Duce is a big step down.

More than that, Big Ben doesn't have his favorite receiver in Plaxico, and Hines is holding out, claiming he's willing to sit out the entire year. And the front office has cut of negotions with him.

When Randel-El is your most experienced receiver you could be in big trouble. If Ward sits out, the Bengals and the Ravens become far and away the best teams in the the north.

If they don't have Ward, Bettis/Staley will be focused in on like Jamal Lewis has been in years past, and the team will do no better than 9-7, because no one will fear their passing game.

Meanwhile the Bengals have improved, as have the Ravens with the addition of Derrick Mason. The Steelers will take a step back even with Ward. Without him, they are middle of the pack in the AFC, and only better than the Browns in this division. Let's pray for a McCardell type situation this year!

[The Big Orange]

I think that the Ravens have only gotten better in one aspect...receivers. I think they have deterirated in several. There defense will slip out of the top ten this year and there offense will stay in the bottom 10.

Pittsburgh has definately gotten worse. I think this year they will have the weakest running game in the AFCN which will further magnify Ben Rothlsakdnlknvjabnf;jb;fn alsidfjdsoinvoijf[ifnjx[ifnxpnfo[whrzburgers' mediocrity. There defense will still be very tough, but there offense will be laughable, as bad as the Ravens...which ain't good.

I honestly think the Browns will have the second best O in our division.

[CantStop85]

We sound like a bunch of sports analysts lol

[Kazkal]

I say browns will be 2nd best O next year when hopfully they have a QB of the future not dilfer and KW back.this year I'd give it to the ravens even though boller is tossing the ball still

[CantStop85]

The Ravens have Jamal Lewis...

Quite Frankly, that's all you really need.