The Bengals should fire Zac Taylor and hire anyone else.

[catsfanbgky]

I don’t think he should be fired because they weren’t 14-2. I think he should be fired because he hasn’t done anything to help the trajectory of the franchise. Adam Gase had 3 more wins than Taylor has in the same time frame yet Gase was universally mocked as being awful.

The lone bright spot this franchise has is Burrow and we only got him because of how bad we were in year 1 and Taylor didn’t do anything to help him going into year 2. He let Pittsburgh tee off on him in the 4th quarter in a blowout game. Gross negligence. Then he gets hurt the next play. Sure, you can say that could happen on any play and that’s true. However, that’s not an excuse for doubling down on what was an awful line the year before.

I don’t know what role he had in drafting Drew Sample but that alone is almost fireable. Who drafts a blocking TE early in the 2nd round?

I don’t think you let a coach have 4/5 years in the NFL to see if he’s got it. That’s wasting Joe Burrow’s entire rookie contract. It’s imperative the Bengals are competitive while they still have Burrow for cheap. I haven’t seen anything from Taylor to suggest he’s the right guy.

I just do not see firing your coach every 2 years accomplishes anything. Just when the players get comfortable with a coach / system, bam, start all over again. The Jets had a nice finish to the 2019 season, then regressed, that is why Gase was fired. He had talent on the roster, then of course the Jets let a bunch of it walk, But what really got him fired (well nail in the coffin) was actually trying to compete and losing the #1 pick. Also, i would not base what I do with personal on the New York Jets hiring / firing practices. The fans and media there are always wanting someone fired deserving or not. They THINK they are a better franchise than reality suggest.
What IF UK would have done the same thing with Mark Stoops ? The Bengals where actually really competitive before Burrow went down, and even a few times after. I mean they where winning 9-7 at Washington when he went down. hard to really blame anyone.
W1 - Chargers L 16-13 Had a missed FG
W2 - @Cleveland L 35-30 No shame here, very comepetitive
W3 - @Philly T 23-23 Should have won, let down by the Defense
W4 - Jax W 35-25
W5 - @ Ravens L 27-3 No Shame here. Before the L could have easily been 4-0
W6 - @ Indy L 31-27 Pretty really tough at Indy. Indy is very good. No shame
W7 - Cleveland L 37-34 Once again very competitive
W8 - Titans W 31-20 Dominated a very good, playoff team. Shows you there is talent.
W9 - @ Steelers L 36-10 Losing at Pittsburgh is not unexpected, can't expect them to go there win, never do.
W10 - @Washington L 20-9 Was winning 9-7 before the disaster
W11 - NYG L 19-17 After math, they actually came out and competed.
W12 - @ Miami L 19-7 Not bad, losing to Miami OTR is no shame, they where in it. Lead at the half.
W13 - Dallas L 30-7 Bad loss, worst game of the year considering opponent.
W14 - Steelers W 27-17 Showed heart and character, bouncing back and beating a rival. Great coaching, he kept them fighting and playing when there was nothing to play for.
W15 - @ Houston W 37-31 Once again, kept fighting, and on the road, Houston played well down the stretch.
W16 - L blew put by the Ravens, end of year, gone fishing.

They kept fighting and competing, and winning some. They lost a ton of close ones, Good coaches keep teams focused and fighting, even without the starting QB.

 

[Cawood86_rivals]

They were probably favorites in only the San Diego game whatever year that was outside of the 2005 game, but like you said, Carson went down.

Dalton’s rookie year against the Texans certainly were underdogs. Next year against the Texans on the road I’m sure they were 4-6 point dogs. Colts on the road with a depleted receiving corps had to have been underdogs. Steelers without Dalton I’m sure they were underdogs as well.

Doesn’t excuse them losing all of those games, but it’s not like they were losing as heavy favorites every time.

Upsets happen all the time in the playoffs.....Lewis had 7 shots and never got one. He is a great evaluator of talent. Would be a good GM somewhere imo.

I believe 4 of those games were home games. Home playoff games. Should have found a way to win one of those.

 

[Jeff Drummond]

Upsets happen all the time in the playoffs.....Lewis had 7 shots and never got one. He is a great evaluator of talent. Would be a good GM somewhere imo.

I believe 4 of those games were home games. Home playoff games. Should have found a way to win one of those.

Outside of a small handful of teams with a unique homefield advantage, I think more road teams have won in recent years. I’ve always felt like there was way more pressure for most teams playing at home than they can handle. When a road team takes a lead in the playoffs, you can just feel the angst in the stadium. Teams get really uptight.

 

[Cawood86_rivals]

Outside of a small handful of teams with a unique homefield advantage, I think more road teams have won in recent years. I’ve always felt like there was way more pressure for most teams playing at home than they can handle. When a road team takes a lead in the playoffs, you can just feel the angst in the stadium. Teams get really uptight.

Agree with that. I wish they would have moved Lewis in the GM role. He definitely can evaluate talent.
This year, of all years will remove any type of home field advantage any team may have. Playoffs are gonna look and sound strange this year imo.

 

[numberonedad]

Bengals fired their running back coach and he was quickly hired today by Mark stoops

 

[jameslee32]

Just wanted to add that I see several bright spots besides QB. PFF's #1 ranked FS for starters. And a few ifs and buts.

I like the WR's a lot. If they keep can them, I think they have a few pieces on the lines as well. Some of them come down to staying healthy and getting re-signed.

On the OL, C Trey Hopkins will be here healthy or not. Maybe G Quinton Spain if he's signed, and LT Jonah Williams if he can play a full season. Still have to draft multiple O linemen I think. G Su'a-Filo looked good when he returned although Spain beat him out in Tenn and looks better to me. G Mike Jordan is still young @ 22 and they could use Fred Johnson as the backup T and emergency starter. Depends if they draft a LT moving Williams to RT. Current RT Bobby Hart is the weak link.

Idk if there's 8-10 better backs than Joe Mixon if he comes back and plays the way he's capable of playing and especially with an improved line.

The DL you got DJ Reader, Chrisitian Covington (unsigned) with Sam Hubbard and Carl Lawson (unsigned) on the edge as nice parts of a good rotation. Draft 2 on on the DL also with DJ and Geno Adkins hurt although Geno is signed 2 more years.

They're set with FS Jesse Bates and SS Vonn Bell for sure. They might need another corner if Trae Waynes can't get on the field but Darius Phillips is still young too, 24. Will Jackson is another guy they could keep and has value at CB.

 

[jameslee32]

I think the LB's are young and hungry with Pratt and Wilson. Bynes (unsigned) can play also but they might need a little draft help.

Something like 20 guys are a good nucleus because all won't be signed.

 

[nom de plume_rivals392166]

Outside of a small handful of teams with a unique homefield advantage, I think more road teams have won in recent years. I’ve always felt like there was way more pressure for most teams playing at home than they can handle. When a road team takes a lead in the playoffs, you can just feel the angst in the stadium. Teams get really uptight.

Before the lockdowns homefield advantage was worth at least 3 pts in Vegas.

 

[Jeff Drummond]

Before the lockdowns homefield advantage was worth at least 3 pts in Vegas.

True, in regard to the spread, but it was often a burden for home teams that earned the homefield because of the division setup and played a better team that was going on the road. I've seen it so many times. My Steelers have choked away the homefield several times over the years. We've had a better edge on the road.

 

[Cawood86_rivals]

True, in regard to the spread, but it was often a burden for home teams that earned the homefield because of the division setup and played a better team that was going on the road. I've seen it so many times. My Steelers have choked away the homefield several times over the years. We've had a better edge on the road.

Lewis really put together a good roster from 11'-15'. Had as much talent as anyone during that time. Shame they couldn't get a win or two in the playoffs during that time.
The difference for the Steelers is, they have so much playoff experience within their Org. I really believe had the Bengals won a couple of playoff games during those years, that team had a chance to legit contend for a SB title.

 

[Jeff Drummond]

Road teams 3-1 so far...

 

[nom de plume_rivals392166]

Road teams 3-1 so far...

Good point but I know Buffalo had a large crowd on hand and they won. This year with all the anomalies I don't feel comfortable in using it as proof of any overall trend. If it ever does become a legitimate trend then betting odds will reflect it as nothing is more brutally honest than the money lines are.

If you're very interested in this subject then below is a recent study that concluded homefield advantage is very real across all three major sports: NBA, MLB, and NFL.

We examined the impact of home-field advantage in the NFL, NBA, and MLB. We defined home-field advantage as winning more than 50% of the home games. Additionally, we took into consideration how season length could act as a moderator and influence the impact of home-field advantage. We collected data from the 2015 NBA and MLB seasons and the 2015 and 2016 NFL seasons to determine statistical significance. In total, we got data from 4,141 games to analyze. We found that there is statistical significance that the home team has a better chance of winning than the away team across the NFL, NBA, and MLB. We also found that season length has a significant impact on home team winning percentage.

Impact of Home Field Advantage: Analyzed Across Three Professional Sports