Cincinnati

is starting to peak at the right time. Could it finally be their time?

 

Maybe. They knocked on the door in the 1980's quite a bit but couldn't quite get there. I am guessing that Harrison is thrilled that he left the Steelers for the Bengals when he did.

 

I can't see them winning more than 1 game in the playoffs. They are, after all, the Bengals!

 

This.

 

They will be one and done again!

 

Man I hope not. I absolutely despise that team and that franchise and I wouldn't care if they NEVER won another game. As a matter of fact, I would root for that very thing to happen.

 

Huh! The same way I feel about the Chargers. I've always kinda liked the Bengals. The way you like The 3 Stooges! I was ecstatic when Ken Anderson and his group beat Dan "Choking" Fouts to go to the SB!

 

I'm not sure about this. I think they will get the bye and get either Pats, Colts or Chiefs at home. All of those teams are beatable on the road with the chiefs the toughest draw.

 

So, why are the Bengals finally having success in the last few years? Is it Marvin Lewis? If so, what changed? Why couldn't he get it done when he had Palmer, Houshmanzadeh and CJ? I'm not really sold on Dalton as a great QB, so what's the real reason? Any ideas?

 

Improved defense and a serviceable if not stellar QB.

 

Defense, Johnson is gone, TO is gone, Whosyomama is gone, players staying out of jail, AJ Green and defense.

 

Improved health.
Those teams of the mid 00s with Palmer/Johnson/WhosYourMama were absolutely wrecked with injuries. At one point, I think one of those years they had 15 guys on IR. Similar to the current Steelers O line debacle, for years those guys couldn't catch a break on the injury front.

 

It most certainly is not Marvin Lewis. I'd give credit to DC Mike Zimmer and some better drafting. They've also cleaned out most of the troublemakers.

After losing to the Steelers tonight, wow, they are not out of the woods by any means. Yes, they have the last 2 at home- but look how Minnesota has been playing for the past month, and the Baltimore game could be for the division.

What is significant is that now Dalton is what, 3-8 v. Steelers and Ravens in his career.

 

to follow - I'll make a semi bold prediction. No playoffs in Cincy this year.

 

You better hope cinci makes the playoffs if they dont make them there is no way we can

 

Lewis deserves a lot of credit. He's solely responsible for Burfict, Z didn't want him.

 

Well, good for me, I was wrong. Still think Lewis is a tool bailed out by Mike Zimmer, who should be a HC in the NFL.

 

I think Lewis is a good head coach. Lets not forget that for many years the Bengals had the smallest scouting budget in the entire NFL. Hard to have successful drafts without spending money on scouts. Lewis was also overruled a lot with personnel decisions. I hate the Bengals, but I do think Lewis is a good coach.

 

I listen to SiriusXM a lot and Tim and Pat used to defend Lewis a lot, and the scoring thing was one of their reasons. They also mentioned how Lewis would always push hard to clean up the team but he was overruled a lot. I guess at one point a few years ago he threatened to quit if changes to the culture of the team weren't made.

 

See, that's one of the reasons why I don't like Lewis. Ultimately, the head coach sets the disciplinary tone for the team and some of that nonsense that occurred has to come off on him. I do know that the cheapskate Bengals probably would have fired him, except that they did not want to pay him the rest of his contract.

 

True, but if the ownership keeps bringing in a bunch of scumbag players that has discipline and personality issues, there's only so much you can do.

Obviously I don't know all the facts, I only know what I hear on Sirius NFL and read in sports articles. From what I've heard and read, it seems like Lewis is a good coach who was handcuffed by ownership a lot of the time.

I do think that team has turned things around and they are definitely headed in the right direction. Dalton will probably hold them back a bit though.