Are you an Optimist or a Pessimist?

[derekshank]

Other than the huge Bengals game this week, it should be obvious whether you are optimistic about the rest of the season, or worried about making the playoffs. You're optimism/pessimism will be shown in who you are pulling for to win one single game this weekend.

If Denver wins, it hurts KC's chances at the wildcard... which will be good for us if we can't manage to win the division.

However, if KC wins, it will bring Denver back to 9-3, giving us a chance at a 1st round bye.

This is a 4:15 game, so some of you will want to reserve judgment until after the Bengals/Steelers game... but go out on a limb for once!

I still say the Bengals are going to win out... so I'm pulling for KC so we can get that bye in the first week of the playoffs! (Although at 4:15 I might change my mind if we manage to lose again to the Steelers).

So... are you an optimist or a pessimist?

[AMC]

I want KC to win....Denver stills needs to play SD as well I think.

Hell, I want the AFC North and a first round bye!!!!!!!!!! Go KC...

Plus we have KC at the end, so we could clean up that mess if we need to....we don't play Denver....

[alleycat]

We should be rooting for KC. Their schedule is BRUTAL for the remainder and they will at least let another 1-2 games slip.

[membengal]

Here's why I want Denver to win:

It forces Indy to keep playing meaningful games longer into the season. And I want Indy to care when SD comes calling week 14. I don't want the Chargers in the playoffs.

[Columbusbengal]

Other than the huge Bengals game this week, it should be obvious whether you are optimistic about the rest of the season, or worried about making the playoffs. You're optimism/pessimism will be shown in who you are pulling for to win one single game this weekend.

I'm a pessimist. Plus, I am an "incrementalist" - all I want for the Bengals this year is to make the playoffs. Don't care if it's as division winner or wild card. Keep all the options viable - pin another loss on KC! (Also, if we beat Pittsburgh, it could demonstrate that we do better on the road rather than at home - so who needs home field advantage <g>)??

[AMC]

Other than the huge Bengals game this week, it should be obvious whether you are optimistic about the rest of the season, or worried about making the playoffs. You're optimism/pessimism will be shown in who you are pulling for to win one single game this weekend.

I'm a pessimist. Plus, I am an "incrementalist" - all I want for the Bengals this year is to make the playoffs. Don't care if it's as division winner or wild card. Keep all the options viable - pin another loss on KC! (Also, if we beat Pittsburgh, it could demonstrate that we do better on the road rather than at home - so who needs home field advantage <g>)??

I respect your opinion Columbus, but they have to take advantage of this situation, and not settle...I do see where you are coming from though...if home field and a bye are within reach I believe they should go for it, which they are...

[derekshank]

I personally would rather KC get in than either SD or Pit. We would own them in the playoffs.

[ArmyBengal]

This is a no brainer, it has to be KC... Any loss by another team with a better record than the Bengals is a good thing. The Colts are a mute point right now, but not the Broncos. There schedule is not the easiest and their losses coupled with Bengals wins equals good s**t happening for us !!! Go KC, beat the Broncos !!! Besides, I've never been a fan of Plummer and would love to see him cry !!!

WHODEY !!!

[jamesbrooks21]

I want KC to win....Denver stills needs to play SD as well I think.

Hell, I want the AFC North and a first round bye!!!!!!!!!! Go KC...

Plus we have KC at the end, so we could clean up that mess if we need to....we don't play Denver....

Exactly.

[buck3y3d]

I personally would rather KC get in than either SD or Pit. We would own them in the playoffs.

KC runs the ball well. We don't stop the run. I don't see where you get this from.

[skyline]

If we win this Sunday and take the division crown then I really don't care.

Still, I guess I'm a pessimist. If the Bengals should end up fighting for a wildcard spot, then I want as little of a crowd there as possible.

I don't think that SHOULD happen. I feel like we're better than the Steelers right now. But still...until we come out and prove that on Sunday, there's going to be a little voice nagging at the back of my mind.

[HairOnFire]

To answer your question....KC.

That said, once the Ravens beat Pittsburgh my whole thought process has changed. All I care about now is beating the Steelers and winning the division.

[Stripes]

Go Chiefs... We win the divsion, and snag a first round bye, then all is well in Bengaldom.

[Jet23]

Damn good question. I would like to take the easy way out and tell you to ask me at about 4:15 on Sunday. No, well then color me a glass half empty guy. I will go with Denver. Why? For the Bengals to have this great of a year and not even make the playoffs, that would be devastating. I do think the Bengals will beat Pitt, but I would not be surprised if that did not happen. Let's face it, the Steelers are a running team and we have our troubles in that area. Their backs are also against the wall and the Bengals are still a young team. I think they have been through enough to where they will respond well, but you never know with young guys. I want the last game at KC to mean absolutely nothing.

With that being said, the real competition is SD. They may be the team to knock off Peyton and the boyz.

[Kazkal]

KC so more chance of getting 2nd seed or 1st if things go sour for the colts

[TecmoFever]

KC so more chance of getting 2nd seed or 1st if things go sour for the colts

YOU ARE AN OPTIMIST IF YOU THINK WE CAN CATCH THE COLTS!! They'd have to lose four of their last five!

[derekshank]

I personally would rather KC get in than either SD or Pit. We would own them in the playoffs.

KC runs the ball well. We don't stop the run. I don't see where you get this from.

Hmm... good point, because the Chargers and Steelers suck at running the ball.

They actually have probably the worst QB of the 3 teams, and by far the worst defense of the 3 teams. All these teams run the ball well... so yes, I rather play KC.

[buck3y3d]

I personally would rather KC get in than either SD or Pit. We would own them in the playoffs.

KC runs the ball well. We don't stop the run. I don't see where you get this from.

Hmm... good point, because the Chargers and Steelers suck at running the ball.

They actually have probably the worst QB of the 3 teams, and by far the worst defense of the 3 teams. All these teams run the ball well... so yes, I rather play KC.

That is not the point I was arguing with, of course I would rather play KC than San Diego (not sure about Pitt). However, to say we would kill them is ridiculous. Trent Green is playing good football, and I believe is a much better passer than Rothleisburger. I don't think we would ever kill any team in the playoffs, except for New England, but especially not a team that runs it as well as KC.

[andybren]

The Colts are untouchable. Baring injury to Peyton, they lose no more than 1 game the rest of the regular season. Any other conversation of seeding should not even include the Colts. They're the #1 seed.

That being said, I don't see this as an optimism/pessimism question.

As I mentioned in another thread, the Chargers are a very real threat to us in the Wild Card race. They win virtually every tie-breaker with us and have a certain strength (TE) that plays to one of our worst weaknesses (Ohalete in pass coverage).

Why do I mention San Diego in response to a Broncos/Chiefs question?

Because the Chargers last game is against the Broncos. If the Broncos have #2 locked, they don't have to play their starters against the Chargers. You can talk all you want about the Bengals getting a first round bye, but if we have to play against Antonio Gates, it's all for naught.

On the other hand, the Chiefs have a tough schedule and we will have an opportunity to win the head-to-head tie-breaker when we play them.

We want the Chiefs to beat the Broncos.

[DontPushMe]

It really depends on weather or not we win against Pitt at 1. If we lose at Pitt, which would really just suck, id have to go for Denver, because my focus would go to winning the wild card. If we can beat Pitt, which i really think we can, go KC.

Looking at the cheifs schedule though, I'd be suprised if they won 2 games from here on.

If we can beat Pitt, i think we would stand a good chance at winning out. The next 3 games after Pitt is Cleveland, Detroit, and Buffalo, games we have no buisiness losing. Week 17 KC could very well already be eliminated and have nothing to play for.

[derekshank]

I personally would rather KC get in than either SD or Pit. We would own them in the playoffs.

KC runs the ball well. We don't stop the run. I don't see where you get this from.

Hmm... good point, because the Chargers and Steelers suck at running the ball.

They actually have probably the worst QB of the 3 teams, and by far the worst defense of the 3 teams. All these teams run the ball well... so yes, I rather play KC.

That is not the point I was arguing with, of course I would rather play KC than San Diego (not sure about Pitt). However, to say we would kill them is ridiculous. Trent Green is playing good football, and I believe is a much better passer than Rothleisburger. I don't think we would ever kill any team in the playoffs, except for New England, but especially not a team that runs it as well as KC.

Larry Johnson is good... but he's not Priest Holmes, so lets not act like he's unstoppable. The last few weeks he's been productive against some of the worst run defenses in football... let's see what he does against Denver.

We could do what we tried to do against Indy... we contained James (a much better back than Johnson), but Indy had too many weapons. Indy has 3 WR's that would be the #1 in KC, and if you can name a single KC WR, you are doing better than most. Gonzalez is also not having a great year. Our CB's could handle their receivers with relative ease. KC doesn't have the players to get in a shootout and win like Indy did.

Trent Green has played all season, While Big Ben has missed 4 games (I think). Trent Green has 11 TD's to Ben's 12, has 7 INT's to Ben's 4, and has a passer rating of 87.2 compared to Ben's 103.5. Green would not exploit us. Green is over the hill, and is not nearly as productive as in years past.

The Chiefs also have the 29th ranked pass defense... which plays into our style perfectly. It might not be a blow-out... but I also don't see it being very close... especially if it is played in Cincy. Our style of play matches up against them much better than either SD or Pit. KC is unable to make us pay for loading up the box, wheras Pit and SD have both proven the ability to do that.

[bengalindian]

No matter what the Bengals do on Sunday, KC winning will help. They have such a tough schedule left that they should lose their way out of the race. Though, if they are out of it come Week 17, which means they have "nothing" to play for, I'd be worried. Do we so easily forget that the Bungles seemed to play extra hard when it came to playing spoiler?

[NYBengalfan]

We beat PIT I want KC to win.

If we lose to PIT I want DEN to win.