Five Stages of Grief for Bengals Fans: Denial

Thanks for the positive posts, Its good to see how smart are writers are.

At first….I was just grateful for being there and having a chance in the playoffs

now…I am kinda pissed…we looked absolutely terrible last night…on all sides of the ball..
we played bad, bad coaching, playcalling and preperation

This goes back to my overall point on Marvin….Yes he has turned some things around with this team and had a great draft….but honestly…can you guys see him winning a superbowl? do you really? WE CAN NEVER WIN A BIG GAME….>EVER….

and arent you guys tired of this look???? I know I am…..now is the time to make a change…………….now

Marvin is out of excuses next year. We have a full offseason and plenty of draft picks to fill holes. Our offense skill positions and defense are good enough to win with. We have to address the O-Line and get a running back. After making the playoffs we will have some prime time games. It is either time for him to prove that we can win on the big stage and win a playoff game, or look elsewhere.

We were know for our great DL rotation through the season but it looked like Faneane (sp) was the only one getting rotated in. Atkins and Peko played very well but they were both on the sideline sucking oxygen.

Also, do you think they even let Crocker on the plane back. Between the bad angle on the Johnson TD, the missed pick, and the escort he gave Foster down the sideline, they better not even think of resigning him.

Why did they not get Gresham in the game until it was too late? Even the announcers were boggled by how much we has been under utilized.

They are the reason that team made the playoffs with a third string quarterback and UDFA running back. Their defense was not much better than ours.

I’m not in denial. I’m looking forward to watching our rookie QB and WR in the probowl. I can’t wait to see how free agency and the draft unfold. The team will get to experience an actual offseason of preparation. How bout the guys in the ranks like Otis Hudson, Armon Binns, Dontay Moch, Roddrick Muckelroy, Clint Boling. What of IR can come back and make a difference with the likes of Jordan Shipley, Keith Rivers, Pat Sims and Bo Scaife.

We have a ton of young talent and I think this wild card game can be looked at as a great learning experience. If you take yourself back to August, would you be happy to hear we would go 9-7 and get a wild card berth?

I just can’t be upset when it was obvious in the offseason that they were starting over to a certain extent. It’s hard to change things overnight. The foundation is set for sustained success.

We need to control the clock better and depend on our passing game a little less. Were not that far from having a solid o line. Dalton needs to read his progressions quicker and the rebuilding of our interior line through the draft and FA signings should aid his development.

Andy is a leader, peko is a real defensive leader, whit has stepped up as a leader. Who were the leaders on the 09 or 10 team? I think that’s going to be the difference in this team.

We lost to a very predictable team and left about 10 plays out there on the field.

Probably the worst part of all of this is the regression of Dalton. I hope he comes out on fire next year and doesnt turn out like Sanchez. I am no way giving up on him, but he has looked very average lately and I hope he continues to improve. Hopefully a real offseason will help too..

To throw out that kind of execution is just sad. At least we have the draft and mandatory spending coming down the line

I think everyone skipped ahead to the “anger” stage. I think we had a good season, that surpassed any/all expectations. We have a lot to look forward to and should hold our heads high. We just have to not have a let down next year, which has been typical in recent years.

I’ve had a secret concern about Dalton all season and last night he put my doubts to bed. The kid is the REAL DEAL. If he had more time he would be dangerous. Every time they brought pressure it came right over our guards. They need to get better from Guard to Guard or no matter who’s running the ball it’s not going to work. Rey really got exposed last night. When the defense plays better with a STer at middle it’s bad. Didn’t Jones lead the team in tackles a few years? Middle lber is to big of a position to not get production out of. Crocker played horrible at best. Everyone saw the dropped int and he really didn’t get run over on the td run, he just pussed out on trying to tackle Foster. One arm shoves aren’t going to do it. Almost every time they ran around the edge they got big yrds cause they ran right at Crocker. He took the worst angles I’ve ever seen. Instead of trying to force the back to the inside where you have help he bonzied right in the middle of blockers allowing the runner to get the edge. The Texan D stacked the box 90% of the game and AJ was taking it to JJ and we only tried to go deep to him once! Why? The play calling didn’t impress me at all. Hell, the only thing I know is this team is good abd with some help at a few spots can be great. Even though we lost I’m still proud of this team and it’s accomplishments.

I’m already at acceptance, this team has a great upside and should have a bright future, the scary thing about it is that we still have the same front office well capable f*ing it all up

Zimmer is a leading candidate for the Dolphins H.C. position, they are apparently moving on from Jeff Fisher

Denial of the 9-7 Bengals were really going to progress far in the playoffs when they couldn’t win key games vs. playoff bound teams even at home. They were happy to back into the playoffs and while they played well at times they just are too young and not enough weapons to compete in 2011. Maybe in 2012 they will improve but they have to play better vs. quality opponents before I will jump on the bandwagon.