Low Positive

The Bengals would have never drafted Chase if Joe Burrow didn’t absolutely demand it. The entire organization was ready to draft Penei Sewell until Burrow jumped in and forced the team to pick his college roommate. It was shocking to everyone here and local radio killed them for it on Friday morning. Remember, Burrow suffered a season-ending knee injury his rookie year and the team didn’t want to Andrew Luck him. And the only reason that Higgins is still a Bengal is that Burrow demanded it this summer. The Bengals already were forced to trade a disgruntled Carson Palmer and will do anything to keep Joe Burrow happy.

I think most of us did. I try to be positive and not post my negative thoughts here because I don't see how that's constructive, but I have no idea what Beane was thinking. I'm usually very positive, but I'm at a breaking point. They got so lucky last year with turnovers. There is no way that they actually believed that they could repeat that. I don't think Beane is stupid, but sometimes it seems like he cannot see pretty obvious things. This team needs weapons, and every fan, podcaster, and national talking head knows it. But somehow, Beane and Brady disagree. They think they are smarter than everyone else, but it's becoming obvious that they are just wrong and are willing to die on that hill. The problem is that we all have to suffer because they want to prove a point. The other thing I believe is that Pegula doesn't care about winning a Super Bowl, at least if it means taking a risk that might mean that the team is not competitive for a year or two. He wants those PSLs sold and those seats full. He also won't spend the cash that Lorie and Kraft spend to circumvent the cap rules. I just don't see a lot of hope for the present or the future. I'm at a low point with my feelings about this team. Damn them for losing badly going into the bye! Sorry about the rant.

What really sucks is that they played that way and lost that game going into the bye. The game gets worse in my mind with each passing day. At this point, I think a 4-13 record is the most likely outcome. I'm not kidding. They looked like the worst team in the league on defense in the first half and the worst team in the league on offense in the second half. I can't imagine them beating the Jets at this point, never mind the Chiefs, Steelers, or Bengals. And the team went their separate ways this week to all play golf or go to the beach. Why do I care so much when they don't?

You have to pay more during the season in every sport. That's why not addressing this in the offseason was such a major mistake. As to your final point, the fact that Beane seems more concerned with cap space in 2028 than winning a Super Bowl this year tells you a lot about his sense of urgency and his job security.

The problem is that the Steelers also are shopping for a WR and are currently in a one-year SB window with A-Aron and will go all in. If the offers were at all comparable, the Fins would take the non-divisional opponent. So we would have to offer so much that the Steelers wouldn't match. I don't know what that would look like, but it probably would be a lot.

As to your last point, the current consensus "king of offensive geniuses" and "best coach in the NFL" used to have a reputation for losing big games and horrible clock management. https://www.si.com/nfl/2016/09/05/nfl-clock-management-andy-reid-homer-smith https://phillyinfluencer.com/2016/01/here-are-some-of-andy-reids-all-time-top-clock-management-screw-ups/ https://www.sbnation.com/nfl/2019/1/18/18185839/andy-reid-kansas-city-chiefs-clock-mismanagement-timeouts

He posted a picture to his Instagram of him in Highmark with a Bills logo in the background. Because he NEVER posts to IG, it seemed to signify something and the influencers ran with it.

We haven’t heard anything from the team since tuesday mornings press conferences. That’s normal for the bye week, but it has left us all stewing in anger and misery while they play golf.

If Beane is letting what people say about him online, on podcasts, and on local radio shows affect his personnel decisions, then he doesn't have thick enough skin to do the job. The only thing hs has to say about it is "circumstances changed and we're trying to do what we need to do to compete for a championship." Full stop.

You can get vascular trauma and/or strangulated hernias down there that can be very serious. Maybe some of our doctors can expound on this, but that is what i found.

I see something else. I think the Ravens are about to go on a long winning streak and be declared "back" by the NFL media. They have Bears, Fins, VIkings, Browns, Jets coming out of their bye. Then they have a HUGE primetime game at home against Cincinnati. If they win that, which I suspect they will, given that CIN can't win in Baltimore even with Burrow, they will be at 7-5 when they host the Steelers on 12/7. The Steelers go Packers, Colts, Chargers, Bengals, Bears, Bills in that same run. There is a very real chance that they lose three of those and that both teams are 7-5 when they play on 12/7. That game, which is currently scheduled for 1:00, should be flexed to primetime. I wanna see Rodgers play a primetime game in Baltimore for the division. In fact, there is a very real chance that the week 18 game in Pittsburgh will be for the AFC North and the only the division's only playoff spot. This is a long way of saying that the AFC North is the most fun division in football and that it is far from over.

I keep watching it, and I don't always know what I'm seeing, but I can't figure out what was supposed to happen.

I saw a lot of baseball games there when the Bisons were AA. It was a hole.

They're not thinking about the draft. Mike Brown's got Hendrickson on a one year deal and has an out in Higgins' deal after this year. He was all in for one year before slamming that checkbook shut again. Flacco is only to act as a bridge (a free one at that) to Burrow in December.

Looked at it again, from the endzone view. He looks at Johnson first, who doesn't turn around. If that had been a screen to him it would have worked. Then he looks back to the middle, where if Knox had just turned around he would have had the first but as you pointed out he ran right into coverage. Then he takes off because he's got a free rusher. If Knox picks up that corner blitz, the play to Johnson works for more than the first. If Knox turns around, they get the first. Everything went wrong that could.

No, I'm talking about two plays. The other one was a sack at 12:43 in the second quarter where they somehow got two free rushers while one OL (Brown) just stood there because his guy dropped into coverage. In both cases, the protection wasn't set to pick up the blitz.

The Bengals haven't beaten the Ravens since the 2022 season. Last year, they lost to them twice. You can throw records out when the Bengals, Ravens, and Steelers play each other. That's why you cannot take nearly as much from last night as people on here want to.

But then why is Dawkins standing there like an idiot with no one to block right after the snap? It happened on the 2nd quarter sack too, when Spencer Brown was standing there with his pee pee in his hand with nobody to block while two free rushers were closing on Josh on the other side of the play. Nobody from Brady to Josh Allen seems to have any idea where the blitz would come from all night. Ulbricht called one heck of a game. And just to check, I looked at key downs in both the Carolina and Washington games and I cannot find examples of them blitzing a corner and dropping a DE into coverage. Looks like they pulled it out for this game, and the Bills couldn't adjust. Too bad, because the game was winnable into the 4th quarter, and the season would feel entirely different if they had pulled that one out.

Let's take a look at the failed shovel pass play. Like so many key plays in this game, the Bills lost this one at the LoS before the snap. Here is what Josh saw just before the ball was snapped. What will happen is that CB AJ Terrell (circled in blue) will blitz, while EDGE/OLB Jalon Walker (circled in red) will drop into coverage. There is nothing to indicate that this is what will happen from how they're lined up. Obviously, nobody anticipated this, because what ends up happening is that Terrell comes as a free rusher because Knox doesn't pick him up, while Dawkins stands there with no one to block because Walker (his guy) dropped into coverage. FWIW, the play was always to Ty Johnson.

A lot of guys can't tackle Bijion Robinson. At least Cole took the correct angle and was there to make the attempt. Just like when guys get "posterized" attempting to block dunks; I don't want them to stop trying to make the play just because they failed.

Did the Browns hire Rex Ryan without telling anyone?

Duper and Clayton? Rice and Taylor in 1989 both had over 1,000 yards in 16 games under the old rules. Heck, Jefferson and Addison come close right now.

And I don't believe all that "love ya" family stuff would survive a sustained losing streak. If they lose in Carolina and to KC at home to fall to .500 with a 4-game losing streak, the wheels will start to come off this bus. I hope that I don't see that. Just as an example, two years ago the Eagles went on a season-ending losing streak after their OT victory over the Bills. They almost fired Siriani, but instead they forced him to fire his hand-picked staff. Roseman hired the new staff, and made Siriani a CEO type with little control over the offensive or defensive sceme or play callling. We all know what happened next. But that can't happen here, because our org chart is all messed up with McDermott having hired Beane. I don't know what to do, but this team feels stale and needs a shot of energy in the worst way.

Well then, he's gotta go. You can't win in this violent sport with a bunch of milk drinkers. That's probably my biggest complaint about McDermott. It's his job as an NFL head coach to manage those personalities. So when things went out of control with Diggs, that's on him. Now he wants to avoid those types of personalities, even to the point of making it a major point in draft decisions? You can't build a team like that.

I stand corrected. But the point stands. His injury came just as the Josh and he were starting to make a connection.