A Message to the Fans
by Doc Scratch on Aug 21, 2011 11:57 AM EDT
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PrintI swear, the fans of the team might have the most whacked priorities of any NFL fanbase. We've been so jaded over the constant years of mediocrity and losing that we're sarcastic, bitter, and hopeless. We're part of a franchise that's so down upon itself that some have reached a point where they feel the need to berate other fans who actually ignore the bad parts and still wish for success and hold a little hope that it can be achieved, all while keeping the label of "fan of the team" themselves.
We're not that bad off. Yes, we look terrible, yes we have looked terrible, this offseason was not stellar by any means (and calling it solid or anything remotely above "par for the course" feels like a stretch). But we're not the only hopeless franchise. We're bad off right now. Guess what, so are the Panthers. Guess what, so are the Vikings. Guess what, so are the Bills. Guess what, so are the Titans. Guess what, so are the Seahawks. Guess what, so are the Dolphins. We. Are. Not. The. Only. Bad. Franchise.
The difference is, their fans still have hope. Their offseason may have sucked. The Vikes traded for McNabb and lost all their primary receiving targets outside of Harvin and Shiancoe, the Dolphins had a clusterfuck of an offseason (may have been worse than ours), don't even start me on the Seahawks, and the Panthers just went 2-14 and had to draft a franchise guy at the start of the year while vastly overpaying for players that they shouldn't have had to pay that much for. Their. Fans. Still. Have. Hope. That. This. Year. Might. Be. Good.
Not us though. Many are calling the season a wash. Some are even reveling in that prediction and are giddy to laugh at us when we're all dejected at the lost season by December. And that bothers me. Not because we have a reason to be hopeful (we don't, that's why sports is usually filled with senseless hope and deranged fans), but because those people, the people who would revel in their team's failure just for the knowledge that they were, in fact, right, are calling themselves fans.
Newsflash: They aren't.
No one who purposefully wishes for the team to fail, especially for the sake of being right, should not be considered a fan. Fans may be logical. They may see the writing on the wall and feel like the team is going to do bad. But that should not ever stop them. Regardless of how hopeless the team looks, how badly things look like they'll go, your obligation as a fan is to root for your team's success. To hope for their success and greet them with cheers when they succeed. To loyally follow the franchise through the thickest and the thinnest. This is not a friendship. When you are a fan, you are married to the team.
Act like it. If you can't do that, get out.
This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of Cincy Jungle's writers or editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of Cincy Jungle's writers or editors.
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I've been a fan of the Bengals since 1970/71
I haven’t lived in Cincinnati in over 20yrs., yet I still root for them religeously. Even die hards like myself are finding it difficult to support this team’s ownership. I love the players and coaches and our insane fellow fans but allow me to complain and seem pessimistic. I’m very frustrated (as are other fans, players,coaches) that Ownership cares less about winning than I do.
"At the very end, somebody took a dump right where I stood in the dugout every day." Dusty Baker
I too am frustrated with ownership
and find it difficult to support this team. But as a diehard fan like Doc said, you have to live through the tough times too. In 20 years we haven’t had too many good times, but sooner or later we’ll get ours. I truly believe that. When, is what I don’t know.
I believe that Mike Brown wants to win, but his way and his way only and that doesn’t work in the NFL. Sooner or later he has to see that.
It sucks to be married to a team that has no success and is always rebuilding. But it’s about trying to work it out or get out. I choose to work it out b/c it’s if you truly love something your willing to do so.
Nice right up Doc..
Also a Bengals fan since the 70's.
Have not lived in Cincy for well over 20 years. I also root for them religiously. When not at the game im at my favorite pub watching the game in my jersey. Not an easy thing to do in other towns without catching some grief. Were not the only hopeless franchise? The only team you can compare us to on your list is Buffalo, and thats just over the last 10 years. They went to the playoffs 8 times in the 90’s. Carolina has been to the playoffs 3 times since 2003. I dont think we have to go into the Bengals record over the last 20 years with Mike Brown in charge. Yes, some of those teams are in a rebuilding year, but they also don’t have Mike Brown as their owner. I agree with not purposely wishing your team to lose. But as a long time Bengals and football fan, i believe when we have a man that only understands money, Mike Brown, we have a right to bitch and moan. That don’t make me less of a fan. If Mike Brown really wants to win, he would have hired a GM by now, somebody that understands the game, not just the money.
i think you have that first line bass ackwards
some have reached a point where they feel the need to berate other fans who actually ignore the bad parts….
it should read:
some have reached a point where they feel the need to berate other fans who refuse to ignore the bad parts…
i’ve seen more than a couple cases on CJ where fans were derided becasue they refuse to drink Mike Brown’s kool-aid, but insist on living in the real world.
This team has some things going for it, and more things going against it. And fans should be able to discuss both the positive and the negative. Fans shouldn’t be attacked because they refuse to turn a blind eye to the negative.
What about "fans" that are 100% negative and only come into comment after something bad happens?
Which is what Doc is really probably referring to here? Still okay?
Change gone come mane! Trust me! Cause i Bleed tigerblood!--Jerome Simpson
after 20+ season of Mike Brown, there is probably more negative than positive with the Bengals
But if people are posting on CJ who are just using it as a way to vent and to bitch and moan, then they need to do that elsewhere. let them complain to their wife and kids :-)
Also, anybody who posts that they “want the Bengals to lose”, or posts that they “no longer are Bengals’ fans because of such & such” should probably post elsewhere.
But i see nothing wrong w/pointing out the things that the Bengals do wrong (in their eyes) like “letting J Jo go”, “no upgrade over Ced at RB”, “not trading Palmer”, “still have no safety”, “dumping Mathis”, etc…
People should be allowed to point out these poor management decisions w/o folks at CJ jumping on them and calling them “non-fans”.
I don't think that Doc was
talking about people venting. Regulars vent all the time and are still a fan such as yourself. You have had optimism in your posts in the past. I think that there are band-wagoners that come to this site and do nothing but shit on our team. Even though our team shits an egg on game-day.
We can accept criticism, but when fans post nothing but pessimistic shit and continue, it destroys our hope. Well, we don’t want that.
This is a Bengal’s blog site and are free to express what you want. But alot of us here don’t like the constant and blatant pessimistic talk. Criticism is OK ..
WHYUS has it
There’s a difference between being frustrated and venting about it and just completely bashing the team at any given opportunity.
Not okay with me
I feel like we are experiencing some of the worst fan depression in recent years due to our flash of success in ’05. Having been at the first playoff game when the unspeakable occurred, and again at the Jets Bengals two years ago, I can surely admit that I had hope for our franchise in the new millenium, and that it hurt badly to lose in poor fashion each time. A lot of Cincy folk became fans during this period of time, so undergoing a period of rebuilding and unknown names after the Carson and Chad era is not only unfamiliar, but generally unappealing to those who were in it for the Ocho jersey.
by downtowndirtybrown on Aug 22, 2011 10:23 AM EDT up reply actions
The opening post is a manifesto of a dumb consumer
Mike Brown operates a business that puts out a poor product. He does so deliberately in that he refuses to do things that are pretty standard with other organizations that put out a good product . Consumers that eschew Mike Brown’s product are smart. Consumers that recognize his commitment to screwing over consumers and choose to derive their own entertainment from his perennially piss-poor product via ragging on it are at least as smart as those who choose to wallow in futility and indulge themselves in some false sense of masochistic nobility. When the latter is taken as a demand an obligation to be enforced, it crosses the threshold of dumb consumer behavior.
by fletchersmith on Aug 23, 2011 3:45 AM EDT up reply actions
I guess I'll come back to this and actually respond.
Considering there’s a logical point actually broached here. There’s really nothing for us to do. There’s really nothing any of us can do about this team. Mike Brown sucks. Every Bengals fan under the sun understands this point quite well. But, dammit, you love this team. Why else are you here if you don’t love this team? I’m not asking you to suddenly become a sunny optimist or ignore how much this team sucks. I’m just asking some of you people stop delighting in this team’s failure. That’s senseless.
ephram I guess I feel differently - maybe
It depends on you point. I am not opposed to anyone speaking their minds. I would just hope that when they post that they have a point and a viewpoint that we havn’t heard ad nausium. We already know that MB sucks as a football man. We already know he needs to hire GM. We already know that MB is cheap. We already know that Katie isn’t all that attractive. (LOL)
Now if you want to point out that our safety play needs to step it up in both tackeling and pass coverage and discuss ways we might improve it – cool. Lets talk about it. If you want to discuss the weak part of our Oline (Livings) and if Boling might be a solution – that is cool too. If you want to discuss the impact of Dunlap on the performance of our DL or is Rivers is going to be able to retake his position or if Rey is really finding a home at MLB. Hey these are all points of discussion that we can argue about because there is a question about them.
There is a diference between being a kool-ade drinker and an optimistic fan. There is also a difference between discussing the teams weaknesses and how we can improve them from simply throwing up you hands and ranting on every negative. Most of us know all or most of the negatives and accept them. Many of us prefer to be hopeful rather than hopelessly negative.
We already know all about MB’s suckiness as an owner. I am all in favor of us giving it a rest and rooting for the team to win and in the absence of that to keep improving. I hear enough negative smack from Steeler, Browns and Ravens fans. I would be nice to come to our own board and escape from that a bit. Hell sometimes I have a hard time telling if I am on a Ravens board when I read some of this stuff.
"If we always agree, one of us is not necessary"
i don't think those teams are as bad off as the Cincy franchise
The Bengals have 9 playoff appearances since 1968, 2 super bowl appearances and 0 titiles.
The Seahawks are probably more inept as they only have 7 playoff trips and only 1 super bowl appearance with 0 titles. But they are 8 years newer than the Bengals.
The other teams crush us in playoff appearances
Vikings 26…Dolphins 22…Titans 21…Bills 17…Bengals 9
Carolina only has 4 playoffs (in 17 years). At that rate they will have 10 when they are old as the Bengals….but they drafted Cam Newton, so that should set them back a little bit :-)
I'm not talking about history.
I’m talking about the present day. Every franchise has seen its share of success, but right now, at the moment, if you were to ask me my predictions of the basement dwellers of each division, I’d tell you, right now, it’s the Bengals, Titans, Dolphins/Bills (either or honestly), Broncos, Panthers, Vikes, Redskins, and Seahawks.
i'd probably add Arizona, San Fran, Oakland and Chicago
into the realm of teams who aren’t going to be very good this year.
but just my personal opinion.
Kolb will make or break that team.
It’s just a matter of what he does. I agree with the rest, I just don’t know if they’re bad enough to be basement dwellers this year.
i'm not sold on Kolb
the guy has 11 TD’s and 14 INT’s for his career and a rating of 73. I think he got overhyped last year and didn’t live up to it, and quickly became expendable in Philly.
I think Chicago gets nailed this year by playing a much tougher schedule, having no o-line, and sir picks-a-lot at QB.
Again
Kolb will make or break that team. I never said which he was more likely to do.
by Doc Scratch on Aug 22, 2011 10:47 AM EDT up reply actions
yes, i know. i was just giving my opinion on what Kolb does
I completely agree, if he struggles so will the team.
IMHO he struggles, and so does the team.
Hopefully for Arizona, i’m wrong.
i have been very negative in regards of this season
But I’ve said they also have hope for the future. I like to think I don’t fall into the category doc is talking about. I think logical and realize that this team is more than likely screwed this season. Not meaning I won’t cheer for them every game, but I don’t expect a lot from them. I also see that this team has a group of talented players, that in a few years they have a chance of comming together and being s very good team.
by JCompton41 on Aug 21, 2011 6:37 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
Hear me out?
Doc comes over to P.O.D. sometimes, so I saw this. I’m a Lions fan. I know losing. It will get better. Maybe something drastic has to happen, but it will get better. Believe me, you guys won’t go 0-16, nobody else ever will. Our management was absolutely pathetic, and we didn’t have a single player that was worth keeping besides Calvin and Avril. You guys are going to rebuild and get better, but you will go through some growing pains, but you DO have pieces around you to build off of. The sky is still in place.
"I'm glad they made Flintstone's vitamins because I used to watch The Flintstones and go, "Man I bet you if I ate that dude, I would be healthy."
"I used to do drugs. I still do, but I used to, too."
I also review movies: Read Here
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Hello everyone and fuck Mark Sanchez count: 1
Added to the tally.
"I'm glad they made Flintstone's vitamins because I used to watch The Flintstones and go, "Man I bet you if I ate that dude, I would be healthy."
"I used to do drugs. I still do, but I used to, too."
I also review movies: Read Here
And have a twitter: Follow Me
Hello everyone and fuck Mark Sanchez count: 1
Nicely Done Doc!
Could not have said it any better if I tried. Rec’ing entire post.
The Curse of Bo Jackson: Jan 13th,1991- present day
What a waste of time berating negative fans....
Its like sweeping leaves on a windy day.
I will say what I want whenever I want. Doc Scratch is not my daddy!
Slower Traffic Keep Right!
There's a difference in being negative and what I described.
You can be negative, I never said that you suddenly had to be an optimist. But there’s a difference in seeing something look bleak and hoping you’re wrong and seeing something look bleak and hope that you’re right.
I get that....not sure anyone will change however
I take the approach to expect the worst and hope for the best with the Bengals. My friends have all tuned me out every preseason because I tout the Bengals and their potential. And get proven wrong every year. LOL
Slower Traffic Keep Right!
Great post
What were you guys thinking was going to happen this year? It’s a YOUNG team and there WILL be growing pains but this team has serious talent.
I’ve been a Dalton doubter from the start, but he is making the right reads on almost every play. The interception on the long throw…. that was the right throw. You don’t throw in those kind of conditions week in and week out anyway.
The sky is not falling guys calm down.
Carson's cheerleader
nailed it
fans of the team might have the most whacked priorities of any NFL fanbase
Agreed. I was just looking over the gamebook from last nights game and I am really excited about the Bengals defense. Last year they were really good except for a few games (vs NE, 2nd half vs BUF, etc) and often were simply amazing. The utter ineptitude of the offense, in some cases giving the opponent more points than the Bengals D allowed, makes their numbers even more impressive. Last night’s game looked like more of the same. On the 4 drives against the Bengals first team defense that didn’t start inside the Bengals 17, one ended with a missed FG and the rest ended in punts. Then the drive that started on the Bengals 10 yard line netted -3 yards and they had to settle for a FG. That’s good defense, folks, and that’s something to be excited about.
Been doing this too long to go for the ol' okey-doke
Perpetual rebuilding is bull crap. I’ve been rooting for this team since the beginning. Under Paul Brown it was a respectable if generally somewhat soft team. Under Mike Brown it’s a train wreck. People talk about mediocrity. Mediocrity is the best it ever got. It’s equilibrium state is spectacular failure. Enough of this shit is enough. The fact that we’re back to trying to find hope in a tangle of green neophytes that a decently run organization wouldn’t allow to become so severe in the first place warrants whatever cynicism people feel like expressing. What’s going on with this team is pure bullshit.
by fletchersmith on Aug 23, 2011 4:01 AM EDT up reply actions
you sure you're replying to me?
I’m not one of the masses that proclaim every offseason that the Bengals now have “one of the most talented WR corps in the league” or DL or OL or RBs or whatever nobody draft pick has everyone excited. I’m usually the downer saying “yeah, all the other teams drafted new guys too, this doesn’t make us special”. When I say I’m excited about the team it’s because of on-field results.
Lots of people cry about the defense sucking last year, hopefully it can get back to where it was in 2009, blah. That’s a load of crap. The defense last year was MUCH better than the 2009 version. In 2009 the offense somehow managed to string a TON of long drives together, giving the defense an easy job. In 2010 their job was tremendously more difficult. The offense was massively turnover prone and even when they didn’t turn it over they still weren’t scoring points. The fact that there were only 4 games all year where the Bengals lost by more than 8 points, despite having a laughably bad offense, is a testament to how good the defense was. Like I’ve pointed out before the Bengals D held Pittsburgh to 9 points, Carson Palmer threw 3 TDs, and the Bengals lost by 16. Do the math; the defense wasn’t the problem.
The Ravens were held to 10 and 13, but the Bengals offense managed 5 FGs, one TD, and a boatload of turnovers, so their record was 1-1 in that series. The Colts were spotted 14 points thanks to a pick-six and a fumble, yet still only managed 23 for the game despite 3 more turnovers from the Bengals offense.
I’m not saying the Bengals will be a good team this year, but I will go on record saying their defense will be very good. If the offense can string some long drives together and occasionally end them with points, I don’t think 6 or 7 wins is unrealistic at all.
Is that good enough? … no, but for me, as a jaded fan.. I can’t say I’ll be happy with 8-8, but I’d be pleasantly surprised. If they are competetive and win at least a couple divisional matchups, I won’t be hugely disappointed.
I kinda agree kat but,
The D numbers may suffer due to a lot of playing time if the O can’t keep them on the bench enough. The good D’s statistally generaly have an O that can sustain drives and let them rest as well as keep the opp’s O off the field. Can they be a good D? Yes, I think they can but their numbers could be skewed.
There were a lot of new things happening in the first and even the second game. In fact I can’t think of another team who has a rookie WR, new OC, new O scheme, rookie starting QB, two new LBs, a new CB, MLB in the position for the first time and rookie RT (Andre hasn’t played more than a few downs to this point) Many of the others are only 2-3 year guys as well. There are excuses and there are reasons. There are a lot of reasons for a team that can be good to play poorly in the first several games. I saw improvement in the 2nd game and if we see similar improvement Thursday night I will be content that the team is going in the right direction. When the #1’s were out there we, even with all we have going against us, made a very good team play hard. I like Dalton. I think he will get better and better. Green dropped 5 out of 6 passes thrown at him. He is better than that. For me the over/under is 6 games. Two more or two less would be equally surprising to me.
"If we always agree, one of us is not necessary"
sure..
the numbers for the D may not be great, but the numbers don’t tell the whole story. If you only look at points given up at the end of the season or total yards allowed, you’re only looking at a small part. Points given up includes those scored by the other teams defense & special teams, which was significant last year. That’s not even taking into consideration all the times an opponent got the ball deep in Bengals territory due to a turnover, a blocked punt, whatever.
My point is that if the defense plays like they did last year, the offense won’t have to do much to win games. I see your point, the better the offense is the better the defense looks, but that doesn’t change my point. The defense looked amazing in 2009 and bad last year if you only look at the season totals, but if you watch the games or even just read the gamebooks you see the defense improved from 09 to 10.
In 2009 the offense got a TON of lucky breaks. In the first game Denver won with a crazy fluke, then after that it seemed every break fell Cincy’s way. The offense wasn’t great, but they always seemed to just barely manage to keep drives going by any means possible. As I remember there was a point late in the season where they were way out in first place on number of long drives. That’s not typical Cincinnati football. If Brat was the incompetent fool everyone paints him to be (and I’m not saying he wasn’t, I don’t know) then you have to admit it has to have been luck. Benson has never been a consistent first down-machine in the NFL, and even in his best year only rarely got into the end zone. The o-line wasn’t particularly good in 09, and Palmer still wasn’t anywhere near the caliber of player he’d been back in 05. Despite all that they somehow managed to keep drives going. The line would suddenly open up a 30 foot wide hole for Benson and a WR would block downfield and he’d get 17 yards before anyone touched him. Or there’d be a defensive penalty, or Chad would make a great shoestring catch, somehow they managed to keep beating the odds and getting first downs. The defense had it easy.
In 2010 the offense sucked mightily, Palmer picked either Chad or TO as his only target for the game, the line wasn’t opening many holes, Benson got fumble prone, and despite a massive quantity of interceptions and fumbles the defense still held opponents to within reach. The defense did look bad in the first half against the Patriots, in the 2nd half against the Bills, and pretty much the whole game against the Jets and Falcons. In the other 12 games the defense was nothing short of amazing. I’ve said it before, even in this thread, but the Bengals defense held Pittsburgh to 9 points, Carson Palmer threw 3 touchdowns, and the Bengals lost by 16. That perfectly describes the entire season right there.
I am VERY excited about the Bengals defense this year. Losing Joseph hurt, and Clements is nowhere near the player Joseph is, but that doesn’t ruin the unit. Hall/Clements is a pretty solid CB duo. The Bengals won’t have the best pair of CBs in the league anymore, but they’ll still be pretty good. The safeties are of course a big question mark, and by all reports Taylor Mays doesn’t have the coverage & change of direction ability to cover Abe Vigoda successfully so I’m not terribly excited about that, but this is still pretty much the same unit that was so solid last year. There’s a lot of “if” that we can talk about and hope for, such as Dunlap proving the end of last year was no fluke, Maualuga proving he can be effective now that he’s in the middle, Peko finally living up to his contract, etc, but even without all the "if"s it’s still a very good defense that is worthy of our respect and excitement.
by indesignkat on Aug 25, 2011 10:27 AM EDT up reply actions
That was a reasonable assessment Kat
I am also excited about the D. The loss of JJ was bad but if you look at the total quarters he played versus the total quarters he missed with injury it isn’t as bad as it seems. He wasn’t worth the money he got IMO. I am concerned that Dunlap hasn’t played or practiced yet due to an injury to his knee. Maybe they are just protecting him and saving him for the regular season but maybe the injury is worse than they are leting on. The real key to a good defense is a good offense that lets the D keep from getting gassed. As Lombardi said “Fatigue makes cowards of us all.” We must also remember that we have a CB and two LBs starting who are new to the team without the benefit of OTAs. I wouldn’t expect them to be on top of everything in a Zimmer D.
I am also optimistic about the improvement of the O. Dalton is making typical rookie mistakes but he seems to be a solid QB in the making. He and Colt McCoy are similar in several ways. Benson needs to hold on to the rock but you can’t really judge him by the Jrts game – they have a very good run D. He will get 1200 – 1300 yds and 12 TDs in this schedule.
I will reply to Doc here. Yes they will be a ball control team with a decent run blocking Oline, Benson along with Shipley and Gresham it only seems natural.
With the new TE ( can’t remember his name) there will be plenty of 2 TE sets as well. I think it is possible that we can be surprisingly better than many expect. Especially later in the year if injuries don’t hurt us too bad.
"If we always agree, one of us is not necessary"
Gruden's gonna do a lot.
I’m really stoked for it. Also really stoked for football to start in general.
Damn I need a new jersey. Freaking Palmer deciding to quit a couple of months after I buy his jersey.
We're going to become a ball control offense club.
It worked in 2009. We got away from it in 2010 when we signed T.O. It’s 2011, and we’re really going to have to go back to that to ease Dalton into it. That’s why I didn’t really want Ced back but if he can go back to his 2009 form, our defense can go back to its 2009 form and when that happens, we win games. Honestly, if we can revert back to that formula—which was what mARVIN wanted to do but Brat changed—we’ll win games. I 100% believe that.
Stuck in an abusive relationship?
Bingo.
by occams_tiger_teeth on Aug 23, 2011 1:28 AM EDT reply actions
I like to stay where I'm being abused
you’re familiar with that of course
by occams_tiger_teeth on Aug 25, 2011 2:03 AM EDT up reply actions
Balderdash!
Any fan of a team that has an owner as cynical or insane as Mike Brown when it comes to claiming to care about winning football games while insisting upon sticking to a mode of operation that has yielded spectacular failure in that pursuit that engages in pollyannish wishing and hoping for some magical result within that same failed structure is as silly as the diatribe above.
I've already established this:
Sports fans are irrational. There’s no measuring stick for success or failure. That’s why they play the damn game. If people could figure out who was going to win the Super Bowl before anyone started playing, there’d be no excitement or fun in the game. Yes, I hope this team has some success this year. Why would I, as a fan of the Cincinnati Bengals, hope for their failure? Are you daft?
That was a hell of a sentence there Fletch.
Ever heard of commas and periods. It would help us understand your point. I’m just sayin.
"If we always agree, one of us is not necessary"
13 winning seasons in 42 years. It wasn't all that great before Mike Brown either.
290 wins – 382 loses – 2 ties
5 – 9 in the playoffs That is 5 playoff wins in 42 years.
2 conference championships in 42 years.
7 divisional championships in 42 years.
0 super bowl wins in 42 years.
I have been watching this team for 30 years. There are teams that have won more playoff games in 5 years than we have won in 42. I think the fan base has a right to be a little pessimistic.
so that's misleading
175 wins – 176 losses – 1 tie before Mike Brown; craptastic since
11 winning seasons in 22 years before Mike Brown, 2 in 20 since.
Before Mike Brown the Bengals could claim to be mediocre and competitive and it was legit.
by occams_tiger_teeth on Aug 25, 2011 2:02 AM EDT up reply actions
Exactly how is that misleading? 175-176-1, like I said, is not that great.
Everyone knows that we have only had 2 winning seasons and no playoff wins in 20 years under Mike Brown. What most people don’t know is what it was like before Mike Brown. I am just stating the facts of our entire history as an organization.
Here is how bad it was; The Jets have 4 playoff wins in 2 years and Paul Brown had 4 in 22 years. That’s really not that great.
If you remember our Super Bowl runs in the 80’s were both coming off of terrible previous years, and we were mediocre in between. So basically 2 fluke years accounted for all of his playoff wins.
We were mediocre under Paul Brown with a couple of really nice flashes. We have been absolutely laughable under Mike Brown which is no secret to anybody.
Tell us something we don't already know D-Day
It is an old sad song and it does not imform nor does it help. But if it helps you psycologically go ahead. We are all for you feeling better. I just never understoop why some people seem to be drawn into negativity and make every effort to drag others in with them. I understand venting but where does it end?
"If we always agree, one of us is not necessary"
"I just never understood why some people seem to be drawn into negativity and make every effort to drag others in with them"
The simple answer is “Misery loves company”. But to not strive to get out of the misery, is what I really don’t understand. I really hope some of these people don’t carry over their negativity into their everyday lives, but that’s usually how it goes. And honestly, it’s sad. To live a life, wallowing in misery and having no hope, no thanks, that’s not for me.
by Oregonbengalsfan on Aug 26, 2011 11:28 AM EDT up reply actions
There's a difference
between having hope about things one can change, and living a pie-in-the-sky life. Thinking the Bengals will ever win a Super Bowl under Mike Brown is pie-in-the-sky. Might as well hope for an eruption of chocolate sundaes from a downtown volcano, with fairy princes handing out french fries and corn dogs.
by occams_tiger_teeth on Aug 26, 2011 12:13 PM EDT up reply actions
I've already quit reading your comments and posts...
cause they bring nothing relevant to the discussion at hand. Just plain straight negativity and Bengals bashing.
by Oregonbengalsfan on Aug 26, 2011 12:22 PM EDT up reply actions
Like I told D-Day - Tell us something we don't already don't know
this same old girlish whining is simple getting pathetic. We have heard all of this before. Come up with something new and get back to me.
"If we always agree, one of us is not necessary"
Personally I couldn't be happier.
I have a wonderful life, wonderful wife and kids, and an abundance of true friends. It is amazing that someone could possibly know everything about a person from a Cincinnati Bengals sports blog. This guy is upset with his favorite team; he must obviously hate his life and everyone in it. Brilliant analysis. Nothing narrow-minded or judge-mental there.
We have so many experts who aren’t even from Cincinnati, and know nothing about what it is like here, who love to tells us it’s wrong to feel disenchanted with our team.
Then you're still missing the point.
I never once said stop being a pessimist. I never once said stop being pissed off. I made the allusion of fandom being a marriage and I’d be a fool to think that every marriage is sunshine and roses. Being disenchanted with a partner that shows signs of not really giving a damn makes a bunch of sense. The only thing this article asks people to do is to stop wishing for the failure of this team. It happened last year, when we were doing badly because people wanted to line up for Luck. It’s happening again now, simply for the sake of being right. I can’t stand that. So I said something.
by Doc Scratch on Aug 27, 2011 10:42 AM EDT up reply actions
I'm so sorry... Thank you for showing me the err of my ways...
The condescending tone of your remarks clearly show the vastness of your mental and psychological superiority to me. You have clearly exposed me for the type of person I am from reading my post. If you do not like what I have to say then why should someone as superior as yourself dignify someone such as me with a response? Someone with such great mental and psychological capacity ought to know better than to stoop to such a level.
This is all spun of of comments you made that are not entirely true.
Yeah, we only have so many playoff wins in 42 years, but You can’t say that those teams before MB were not at the least competitive. There is a big difference between now and then. The game and players all have changed. Therefore they were competitive when Paul Brown was alive. He took us to 2 SuperBowls. There are teams that can’t even say that.
How did you feel when they were playing in those games? I still remember how I felt and I felt on top of the world. Even though we lost them. Those were 2 of the best games played in SuperBowl history.
It all depends on how you look at it. If you look at it number wise, then you maybe right, but 1 under .500 and 2 SuperBowl appearences is not that bad. Combine that with the feelings you had when those teams played and the Pre-Mike Brown era wasn’t bad at all. It’s just the Mike Brown era that is laughable..
JJ has a point and to piss in everybody’s Wheaties on this site with your own opinions, makes for a really bad fan. If you don’t like the way it is then get out. Sell your fandom to the Stoolers. Plan and simple!
Really? You want to go there?
I have said plenty of positive things as well, but I guess that’s not important. I was simply giving the stats and the stats don’t lie. If you don’t like what I have to say then simply ignore it. I am sorry that I don’t live up to your idea of a Bengals fan, as you are obviously the perfect model. I actually have a life and have better things to do than argue with people on this site. People who attack others comments are pretty weak as well, so be careful judging people before you take a good look at yourself. Ask yourself why would anyone bother going through the trouble of keeping up with this team if they didn’t love them? Go root for another team, that’s real intelligent. I wasn’t even addressing you anyway, so why do you feel the need to stick your nose where it doesn’t belong? You are one of the people that I have really enjoyed on this site, so I am sorry that you feel the way you do.
If you can't find fault in your team
then there is no room for improvement.
I listen to the comments every week from one of the best high-school coaches in the state. This guy wins championships because even if he is up by 35 at half-time he looks for their mistakes and is not happy. Winners don’t except faults and winners don’t except mediocrity.
Through all of the years of losing I know that someday it is all going to be worth it when we win a Super Bowl. I want more than anything for all of the fans who have stuck with this team through thick and thin to experience that. I DVR’d the game and I am breaking down the game with my 5 month old son in my lap. I guess that is what fake fans do huh?
D-Day, I only know you from your posts.
I am glad you have a great life. Good for you. My point was that I have read all about the Bengals poor record and how much MB sucks and how the Bengals are a terrible organization and how we have had no playoff wins in 20 years and how they have a losing past and no chance in the future and that the fans are stupid for supporting the team and how we are always looking at the team with rose colored glasses and ML is a clueless coach and how our Oline sucks and how our Dline sucks and our corners can’t cover anyone and our LBs can’t tackle and how our WRs can’t catch a cold and how our plays are predictable and how the striped helmets are ugly and our cheerleaders look like 10 miles of bad road and frankly we already know their record and everything that is bad about the team because we hear it and read it here and on other boards and at the water cooler and in bars and well- everywhere. It is just getting to be a sad and sorry and boring old song. I am not going to suggest that if you are not happy being a Bengals fan go find someone else to root for. Hell, be a Bengals fan or don’t – that is your decision and your life. I don’t claim to speak for anyone else but to me it just smacks of childish whining after a while. Think what you want and post what you want. I would only ask that you don’t keep dribbling the same old negative rap as is is not informative or clever or insightful – it is just the same old boring dribble. I have read some good posts from you in the past. You are better than that.
"If we always agree, one of us is not necessary"
Well here is my take on the positive then, because I do see a whole lot of positive.
I am a believer in Andy Dalton. The kid has brains and the game is going to come to him. Smart football players win games. You can have all the physical tools, but it doesn’t matter if you don’t understand the game and how to execute.
The O-Line is looking better, even Livings had a great block on a run play against Carolina. They are keeping a young quarterback on his feet and that isn’t an easy task.
Bernard Scott looks fantastic and he looks like he has bulked up a bit. Our back-field looks great. Benson, Leonard, and Scott have all of the tools. I will take our trio of backs over just about any other teams.
I like what I see from Gruden’s play calling. He is not calling plays scared. I like the formations that he is running. His play-calling has been very competent. It is nice not having to scratch your head at the play-calling and say “what was he thinking.”
I like the fact that our receivers are blocking in the run game. I love the aggressiveness.
I love the fact that the tight-ends are being utilized and Gresham is running deeper routs.
I love that Dalton is spreading the ball around and our receivers are getting separation. The timing could be better but that is to be expected.
Manny Lawson looks like a great pickup.
Reggie Nelson is making some nice plays.
I have really liked the defensive play-calling. I believe in Zimmer.
Our young Defensive line is getting after it. Adkins and Johnson look like they have bulked up. Those two including Dunlap have got some special skills.
I have been saying that there is no reason why, if properly coached, and we play to our strengths, that we can’t win. We are loaded with young promising talent on both sides of the ball. I feel more positive of the future of this team right now than I have felt in a long, long time. We WILL win. I guarantee it. Our time is coming. It may not be this year but it is coming soon. We have a real young team and if we get it going it is going to last a long time. Every dog has its day and we will have ours.
Far out D-Day. I really enjoed reading that
It was informative and insightful and smacked of realistic optimism. With the exception of you failing to mention that Shipley (Shipley and Leonard are my personal favorite Bengals) continues to catch everything even remotely catchable, your observations almost precisely mirror my own.
Peace man. I am sorry I got kinda pissy. It just gets a bit old hearing all of the negativity over and over. Hell, I am a Bengals fan. I bleed orange and black – that is tough enough – I don’t need the extra burden of the pessimism. I propose we just move on as Bengal fan buds. I am certainly not even close to being a perfect person – I wish I was – but I fall short sometimes.
"If we always agree, one of us is not necessary"
Peace... Truce... And I apologize as well.
Shipley and Leonard were two that I wanted to mention, but I didn’t want to make the post too long, because people generally lose attention during long posts.
I have gone on record many times saying that Jordan Shipley is a extremely intelligent and gifted football player. His routes are crisp and his hands are incredible. You can obviously tell he is a coaches son because it shows in his play. He may be my favorite Bengal because he just simply suites up and does his job with consistency and reliability.
Brian Leonard is another guy that doesn’t necessarily have superior physical ability, but he is an extremely intelligent football player that executes his role to perfection. He understands the game and has amazing awareness of where he is on the field.
Give me 53 men like these two and I will guarantee you a winner.
That... all of that
Great read and mirrors my feelings almost to a T. I apologize for not handling myself as eloquently as I should have… like JJ, I just get tired of hearing all about only the bad. This team really has something going for them if it continues. No I’m not predicting Super Bowl or even playoffs, but we could very easily go better than .500, if we can play like we did against Carolina, against the higher tier teams. But even if we don’t do that well, because we are basically a “rookie” or young team, the future looks to hold some beautiful things for the Bengals.
If only Mikey Boy doesn’t screw it up.
WHO DEY!!
by Oregonbengalsfan on Aug 28, 2011 6:00 AM EDT up reply actions
I'm sorry that you took that personal
I guess that I shouldn’t had reference that to just you and your one comment on a fanpost that was meant for negative people, that wants to spoil the positive outlook of real fans. If you look, this is an fanpost that is meant for people commenting in such a manner as your original comment here. You usually do have good posts but I took the one post the wrong way on a fanpost with a title A Message to The Fans. Doc Scratch hit a topic that strikes a nerve with fans. As you can see there are over 80 long posts here. Not just simple one liners.
The comment you made to JJ, of all people, just kinda seem way too sarcastic to a fan that is probably one of the most positive fans on this site. That is why I stuck my nose in on it.
You do have a right to your opinion and finding fault with a team. So I will admit that I was wrong in addressing your post in a wrong way, but maybe making that original post on a different thread could’ve happened too. I don’t want any bad blood here and is not my intent.
42 Years and PROUD to be a BENGAL!!
I was born in Cincy. (Parents moved away when I was 11 months old). I am 48 yrs. old and have been a massive BENGAL fan for 42 yrs!! I was @ the 59 below game against San Diego. I cried at both Super Bowls(In Person) and even though they “covered” both, I would have gladly given up the “scratch” to see a win. I have lived in Florida, New York, California, Spain, Thailand, and Amsterdam and have PROUDLY worn my “Bengal Gear” every Sunday (I mean EVERY SUNDAY) since I was 6 yrs old. The 1st year they changed over to “Stripes” I bought a “Toyota Supra Turbo” and painted Orange Tiger Stripes (custom) all over that Beast and got rewarded with one of the most memorable “Super Bowl” appearances ever! (basement dwellers the previous season). Drove my “Supra” in Winter time from Florida to Michigan to Root “My Team” on. Down 20-0 @ the Half, I couldn’t have been PROUDER than to see “MY TEAM” respond the way they did in the second half. 7 years later (again, basement dwellers the previous season) I was @ home in Florida and as the “City of Miami” burned (riots in Overtown), I watched one of the most thrilling “Super Bowls” ever!! and w/o “Wilson” (hiding in a bathtub) and our most dominating “NT” ever in “Krumrie” , we were 34 seconds away from pulling it off. I had just won 10k (bengals covered) and was crying like a baby because of the Loss. What you guy’s have to realize is that we Root for “A Team”!!! And the “Teams” that I have been watching in my “Bengals Gear” every Sunday for 42 years, has always done the best they can with what they have to work with. Paul Brown is not “My Team” !! The 53 players who “Line-up” every year, “The 53” who face ridicule and harrasment (from some if not most of their own fans) “The 53” (who have nothing to do with Mgmt. decisions), those “53” are “MY TEAM” and call me crazy, but I will never be ANYTHING but PROUD to be a “BENGAL FAN”.
And not one word about what anybody else should do.....
Which is just fine. Great testimony. What would be senseless would be to try to tear that down. What is senseless is for Mr. I’m-the-president-of-the-shit to try to tell everybody else what to do. Just as free as he is to do it, others are free to say that he’s full of it and himself for doing so.
by fletchersmith on Aug 24, 2011 9:32 PM EDT up reply actions
Don't Take This the Wrong Way But
I love you.
Earn Your Stripes !
by Loyal2aFault on Aug 26, 2011 5:55 PM EDT up reply actions
Correction, I meant "Mike Brown".
I meant Mike Brown (Not Paul) is not “My Team”
I view the Bengals saga like I do good story
Sometimes it is a drama. Sometimes it is a comedy. Sometimes – okay, usually, it is a tragedy. But, it is always interesting. If they win I enjoy it. If they lose I still find it to be a collection of good individusl stories. Think about it, all good stories have villans and good guys – same here.. We all know who the villans but my favorite characters are Leonard and Shipley. Is the Bengals saga a good story? Well, we are all here aren’t we?
"If we always agree, one of us is not necessary"
Good to see you back, John
Sure. Everyone has a plan, until they get punched in the mouth - Mike Tyson
Thanks Mike & Doc
"If we always agree, one of us is not necessary"
Ahhhhh, there you are JJ
welcome back. Love your sensible rational comments. You always put a good analogy to them.
Where have you been? Did you get your business endeavors completed?
It’s been tough around here..
Hello WHYUS, my friend
I am back in the country for a while. I have a relatively large endeavor off the shore of Florida and I have been there for several months directing the project. It has to have been tough here and I have sympathy for all of the long suffering fans here on the board. But, a very smart man once told me some very true words. "The secret to happiness is not having what you want but rather wanting what you have. But, if you see the Bengals as a part of a neverending story there are always ways they entertain you and after all that is really all they are – entertainment. Personally I think it is enjoyable being a Bengals fan, particularly the interaction with the fans here on the board.
I am kind of preoccupied today with the hurricane moving over the area where I have many friends. I will spend the day waiting to hear that everything is, hopefully, okay. I am told that everything is battened down pretty well, but there is always risk.
BTW, I have heard that the President announced that the earthquake in Washington occured alond an obscure seam between the techtonic plates known as “Bush’s Fault”
"If we always agree, one of us is not necessary"
I've had many rough days personally,
My son, 6-7 months ago suddenly had a seizure and they don’t know what caused it. Numerous tests and countless days of worrying. I also spent some time off of the CJ and others, but coming back is what keep me from going insane. Hopefully he’ll be fine , but we just don’t know yet.
And the “Bush’s Fault” was clever, (haha lmao) I’m going to have to use that one…
Hope you have a safe one in the hot spot and hold on to your computer.
I will put your son on our prayer list this Sunday WHYUS
and I will personally give your son special attention in my own as well. I am very sorry you are going through this. Stay strong – he and your wife need you.
"If we always agree, one of us is not necessary"
Welcome back
2011 Year of the Red Rifle
by Throw the ball on Aug 26, 2011 4:20 PM EDT up reply actions
I'll still root for them, even though...
…it’s obvious to everyone that this franchise will most likely never, at best, get past the first round of the playoffs until Mike Brown changes his ways.
And I wish I could say I was exaggerating when I say “everyone”. A few years ago I was on a business trip in England and was relaxing in a pub one night. The sports news was on tv, and the commentators were discussing one of the soccer teams that was “…wallowing in years of futility and failure. They’re the Cincinnati Bengals of the Premier League, if you will.” I thought to myself “Well, at least we’re famous!” :)
Now thats funny.
"If we always agree, one of us is not necessary"
This is this the best OS we had
Lose JJ and we get Nate(old but solid) Rivers out we sign not 1 but 3 too take his place. High hopes for Manning (he has more sacks then all of our LB ’s combined) and T. Howard has played before. Lets not forget that Andre is in camp in shape and ready to play and i forgot the Mr Nelson
There are a lot of positives darth. Remember Dunlap hasn't even taken a snap yet
Rumor is that they are just giving him time to heal completely and are saving him for the regular season. If he comes back and gets to form quickly we can be even better. He was a beast in the second half last year and Geno is proving to be the real deal as well.
"If we always agree, one of us is not necessary"
Oh Ye of Big Faith
I am 37 years old and have loved the Bengals since the days when you almost had to be a fan in order to determine which team was which in the Battle of Ohio. Before the stripes. I lived in Pittsburgh as a child during the Stale Curtain’s heyday. I chased adult steel workers home as they drove their pickups by my house on the Monday after my underdog Bengals abused Terry, Rocky, Franco and Swann. I have cheered fanatically at Three-Rivers Stadium while Ken Anderson, Anthony Munoz, Pete Johnson, Isaac Curtis and the late Dan Ross ripped the Stale Curtain apart. I have had rare opportunity since, for cheering. I have not, will not and furthermore can not stop loving our Bengals, and I do separate Owner from Player. That being said, we have dealt with decades of futility. Which of your mentioned teams have been on a run of incompetence as long as our beloved Bengals? While I do agree that revelling in your teams failure is counterproductive(and maybe sick) I am not convinced that this is what you’re seeing and hearing. You are simply witnessing what happens when unshakeable, unwavering faith meets overwhelmingly conclusive evidence. People get tired of being wrong and in so doing aim to turn there losses into victory. If they can’t feel like winners based on the on field results, thay can still feel like winners based on their prediction. Yes, its sad. But is their any truer fan than the fan without hope who still claims his hopeless team. If you are willing to don your stripes in hostile territory, I call you a Brother in Bengaldom. Sometimes only brothers are allowed to take certain liberties. Who Dey!!!
Earn Your Stripes !
Bills fans still have hope?
That’s rough…
Hang in there, Bengals fans.
Arm chair GM. Mod/contributing writer at SBN Jets blog GGN.
GangGreenNation.com
Since people don't seem to get my point, I'll add this:
I am not ruling out pessimism. That’s just stupid. This is a fanbase so downtrodden by a terrible owner with bad management skills that quite literally scares players away that it’s impossible not to be negative a majority of the time. I’m not going to rule out negative reactions to negative actions. That’s stupid. If Michael Johnson sporadically got cut, people getting pissed off and angry is the logical action. If the Bengals lose, I’m not expecting people to be happy about it. You are allowed to be negative. I’m not saying throw that to the wind.
What I am saying is that you shouldn’t purposely wish for your team to lose, for players to get injured, for incredibly terrible little things to befall this franchise. There’s a difference between being negative and just being stupidly inane.
For example, I don’t have high hopes for this season. But I hope for victory. I hope that we win. I hope that we do things.
Contrary to popular belief...
This will be a great season!!!!!
I continue to belive we will win 10 at a minimum…
Ball control, long slow clock consuming drives, low scoring games which we win with defensive gile!
2012 - Playoff bound!!!
I don't even know the definition of pessimism.
16-0 BABY!
Managing Editor at CincyJungle.com -- SB Nation Cincinnati Bengals blog.
by Josh Kirkendall on Aug 29, 2011 12:47 PM EDT reply actions
RE:
It’s a combination of Anti-Freeze, raw cheeseburger and a Deep Purple CD.
Managing Editor at CincyJungle.com -- SB Nation Cincinnati Bengals blog.
by Josh Kirkendall on Aug 30, 2011 3:33 PM EDT up reply actions
Which Deep Purple CD Josh? Machine Head? It is my personal favorite.
"If we always agree, one of us is not necessary"
Odds
I wouldn’t bet against you!
Earn Your Stripes !
by Loyal2aFault on Aug 29, 2011 11:07 PM EDT up reply actions
Well they are still undefeated.......
and maybe a lot of teams will hand the Bengals their ass. It could happen I guess. But, they have to actually do it and they have not done it yet. These young enthusiastic players may just have something for them they don’t expect. So, until the opponents actually beat us I am going to root for and anticipate a win. Mostly though, I am going to hope to see improvemrnt this year and the addition of a few new parts where we need them. My over/under of six wins has not changed. Four wins would surprise me as much as eight would but I am still hopeful for 10 or 12 or more and until the other guys actuallly do it on the field I will remain hopeful. Win or lose it is just another chapter in a long – long – saga.
"If we always agree, one of us is not necessary"
CLUELESS
I don’t read this blog daily as most of the posts are pure fantasy, clueless really. This is another example as are most posted by JK, which should stand for Just Kidding. Long-time Bengal fan (70’s+) so I and others have the right to post any negative item they choose. When the ownership gets serious then we’ll treat the team seriously. Until they do, we will belittle them any opportunity we can. Consumers have the right to a professional product, not this team.
Do I hope they win? Sure, but it is mostly out of spite against our rivals. It is not coincidence that the best runner we ever had, Corey Dillon, got his Superbowl ring after leaving this mess.
"Do I hope they win? Sure, but it is mostly out of spite against our rivals."
Sad when you don’t hope your team wins because they are your team
by Oregonbengalsfan on Aug 31, 2011 3:07 PM EDT up reply actions
LOL
"If we always agree, one of us is not necessary"
Man.
It’s been awhile since I’ve seen the whole “I’ve been a fan for x years, so take my point seriously” thing people put before their argument because they’re insecure of the points they’re making.
I don’t care if you’ve followed this team for four years or forty, age should not matter. Anyone here is a Bengals fan, though I struggle to call you one. Anyone who roots for this team simply to spite others they hate more does not strike me as a fan at all, just rooting for the team they hate the least in the division filled with all the ones they do hate.
You have a right to feel how you want, I’m pretty sure you just shouldn’t be considered a fan for those types of sentiments. Why are you here?
by Doc Scratch on Aug 31, 2011 6:47 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
I've been a fan since 19freaking67
I’m looking forward to this season more than any in many years.
I grew up with 3 brothers. All of whom are no longer Bengal fans (one is now a Steeler).
This team will prove a lot of people wrong.
I pity the fool that takes the Bengals lightly.
"Pawtucket Patriot Beer. If you drink it, hot women will have sex in your backyard."
Lets see,- brisd, please get some counceling. You are giving us old guys a bad name
I challenge you to a duel. Bottles of Geritol from 30 paces. Memo: Just because you are old does not mean you have grown up.
"If we always agree, one of us is not necessary"
"Consumers have the right to a professional product, not this team"
Consumers also have the right to find another professional product. Fans have the right to continue cheering for their team. I suspect that you’re neither because I suspect that you don’t purchase anything the team provides and as you said, you hope they win in spite of the rivals.
Managing Editor at CincyJungle.com -- SB Nation Cincinnati Bengals blog.
by Josh Kirkendall on Sep 4, 2011 12:07 PM EDT up reply actions
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