The Official Cincinnati Bengals Superbowl Thread

[cincygrad]

I know that he's now a super bowl winning coach so I'm not allowed to say this, but I'm really starting to think that McVay is not as great a coach as the media makes him out to be. He's a young, good looking charismatic guy with a big personality, but his coaching leaves me scratching my head a lot.

It's interesting to think about the similarities that Taylor and McVay share..... Obviously McVay has accomplished much more than Taylor, so I'm not making any direct comparison. But, I would say that, like McVay, Taylor has done a really good job of building a team concept with guys that seem to want to be in the program and play unselfish football. On the other hand, both guys do a bunch of head-scratching shit with playcalling. McVay would and should be getting killed in the media this week if they couldn't get that last touchdown.... His insistence on sticking with the run when it wasn't working stalled out a ton of drives there in the second half.

 

[Cincyfan78]

It's interesting to think about the similarities that Taylor and McVay share..... Obviously McVay has accomplished much more than Taylor, so I'm not making any direct comparison. But, I would say that, like McVay, Taylor has done a really good job of building a team concept with guys that seem to want to be in the program and play unselfish football. On the other hand, both guys do a bunch of head-scratching shit with playcalling. McVay would and should be getting killed in the media this week if they couldn't get that last touchdown.... His insistence on sticking with the run when it wasn't working stalled out a ton of drives there in the second half.

Both should hire actual OC's that can call plays - Their tendencies seem to trend negatively at times, and they fight with themselves. They need a check/balance guy if they are going to continue to be the main play-callers.

 

[cincygrad]

Both should hire actual OC's that can call plays - Their tendencies seem to trend negatively at times, and they fight with themselves. They need a check/balance guy if they are going to continue to be the main play-callers.

I think this is true and I think Taylor's play calling in crucial moments this year really demonstrates why..... He said himself about the final sequence that he was late in the clock getting the Perine call in on 3rd and 1. The RB coach asked him if he wanted Mixon in the game and Taylor knew it was too late in the clock to make the change. At the very least, putting Mixon in there might create a different look from the D.... Anyway, point being, if you are the head coach and you are balancing time management, situational calls and trying to decide on critical plays, I think its too easy to make mistakes. A guy up in the booth has a basic plan when that second down incompletion play begins.

We also saw head-scratching calls at the end of GB and SF.

 

[alf8478]

I think this is true and I think Taylor's play calling in crucial moments this year really demonstrates why..... He said himself about the final sequence that he was late in the clock getting the Perine call in on 3rd and 1. The RB coach asked him if he wanted Mixon in the game and Taylor knew it was too late in the clock to make the change. At the very least, putting Mixon in there might create a different look from the D.... Anyway, point being, if you are the head coach and you are balancing time management, situational calls and trying to decide on critical plays, I think its too easy to make mistakes. A guy up in the booth has a basic plan when that second down incompletion play begins.

We also saw head-scratching calls at the end of GB and SF.

Zac is at his worst at the worst possible times, crunch time at the end of games.

 

[DanBengalfan]

Super Bowl 2023 odds: Chiefs favored to win it all next season; Rams own third-best odds to repeat

Here's a look at who is favored to win Super Bowl LVII

www.cbssports.com

according to this, we beat the best team, and lost to the 3rd best team.

I actually believe we are better than the Rams, but I certainly wouldn't want to risk Joe B getting injured due to the dl/ol mismatch
so we're not better by much.

if we played the Rams 10 times, we beat them 5 out of 10 times.
2 times they beat us out right
3 times burrow gets injured
the other 5 we win

 

[cincygrad]

Super Bowl 2023 odds: Chiefs favored to win it all next season; Rams own third-best odds to repeat

Here's a look at who is favored to win Super Bowl LVII

www.cbssports.com

according to this, we beat the best team, and lost to the 3rd best team.

I actually believe we are better than the Rams, but I certainly wouldn't want to risk Joe B getting injured due to the dl/ol mismatch
so we're not better by much.

if we played the Rams 10 times, we beat them 5 out of 10 times.
2 times they beat us out right
3 times burrow gets injured
the other 5 we win

It's funny how much public perception is slanted by one game.... Everyone remembers the Buffalo/KC game - And for good reason. But, I don't think it actually conveys what those teams were this season. Buffalo was inconsistent and hanging by a thread with 5 games to go.... KC was nothing like they were in the prior seasons. It seems like SF is listed as a favorite every season no matter what the hell is going on with them. I mean, are we sure Trey Lance is just stepping in and beating the Cowboys, Rams, and Packers?

 

[CrashDavisSports]

This one hurts. Just saw it. Game winning TD 1 second away.

Ja'Marr got Ramsey all tangled up and blows by him as Ramsey falls down. Burrow 1 second more, Bengals win Superbowl.

 

[Cincyfan78]

This one hurts. Just saw it. Game winning TD 1 second away.

Ja'Marr got Ramsey all tangled up and blows by him as Ramsey falls down. Burrow 1 second more, Bengals win Superbowl.

That is why I was so frustrated with Hopkins on that play...he blocked - NO ONE! Straight up 4 man rush, he left Spain get his lunch money stolen by Donald - no double team on the NFL's more dominant DT...if they had a guy over him, or faking a blitz...that would have been 1 thing, but they didn't. Straight up lined up 4 dropped everyone else.

He doubles down on Donald - the Bengals win. We can talk a lot about all other plays - but on THIS play - the game was 100% within their control.

 

[DanBengalfan]

the refs still would have thrown a flag and made up a penalty.

other than that, yes, you're right.

....

The Bengals could be an offensive lineman away from being the best team in the NFL right now, in my opinion.

it's rediculous how the prognosticators are already down playing the assimilation of talent of the 2 SuperBowl teams. our team is still young, I suppose if we signed bates our odds would be better.

 

[Be Weary of Query]

I thought it was amazing. The sound system is very loud and I heard it can be fairly annoying during a regular home game, but I didn't feel it was too overbearing during the SB. I was in the upper deck on the Bengals sideline. The sight lines are incredible for being that high up and the gigantic scoreboard is basically eye-level up there so only plays like field goals, I just watched the TV.

The surrounding area sucks and there was nothing to do outside the stadium if you weren't paying up for a pregame party (which I was not willing to do after dropping money on tickets). It took about 30 minutes to get there in an Uber from a hotel that was 3 miles from the game. I probably would have walked if it were a typical LA day, but it was mid 80s. The stadium never felt hot.

Bengals fans were amazing. So many of them in town for the game. Playing against a "home" team is fairly interesting because 90% of every hotel was filled with Bengal fans.... And the bars and restaurants felt like they were all taken over by Bengals fans. Fans of LA teams have had it good (Lakers, Dodgers, USC, etc)..... Maybe its the laid back nature of the fanbase or the entitlement of being a fan of teams that win championships, but they seemed fairly disinterested in their accomplishment. Happy to have won, but no tears flowing or anything like that. If the Bengals would have won, there might have been a ritualistic suicide on the 50.

I went as well. Everything you posted I agree with 100%.

We stayed at a hotel on the Sunset strip and took a Lyft to and from the game. We walked by Domato Peko's bar on Saturday night. He was in there but the line was out the door with Bengals fans.

On Sunday morning we left in plenty of time. It took us a little under an hour to get there. Additionally:

* We went down Crenshaw Blvd to get to the game. That was surreal, considering pop culture of the 90's. We went from literal neighborhoods (with people charging $300 to park in their driveway) to the stadium. The concourse was wide open with plenty of room to get around. The stadium was top notch and beautiful.

* My buddy and I were in the 400 level in the corner of the endzone of the Jessie Bates pick and the Tee Higgins touchdown. It was a little hard to follow when the action was going the other way so I just watched that kick ass video board. On the Bengals final drive, I could have sworn that Perine got the first down on the 3rd down run. It was an 'oh shit!' moment when the board put the down and distance up...

*The Rams "fans" were nice but they acted like they just attended their niece's birthday party when we were walking out. An occasional "who's house? Rams house!" but that was really it. They were really subdued and it was really odd. We got a Lyft back to the hotel and we walked several blocks away, back towards the neighborhoods, to get picked up. Some jackass rolled up next to us and pulled a gun out, stuck it out the window and into the air. He squeezed the trigger multiple times. He said "I ran out of bullets" or something cool like that. Didn't feel threatened but was ready to bounce.

*Our Lyft driver said "these Rams fans are a bunch of phonies. I have lived here all my life and this is a Dodgers and Lakers town. Everything else, no one give a shit about." Hard to argue that sentiment based on what I witnessed after the game. The lack of enthusiasm postgame as we were leaving was unreal. We would have probably burned the stadium to the ground or something. The level of support and showing by Bengal fans was way impressive. And we were super loud. I didn't have a voice until a couple of days ago

*I was concerned about the heat based off of the forecast but I was comfortable the whole time. Again, the stadium is state of the art.

*Concessions were really well run and efficient but the food itself was lackluster.

It was a really expensive trip but I am glad that I did it. If the results of the game were different, it would have been the pinnacle of my sports fandom. The energy in the stadium is hard to quantify but it was amazing.

 

[cincygrad]

I went as well. Everything you posted I agree with 100%.

We stayed at a hotel on the Sunset strip and took a Lyft to and from the game. We walked by Domato Peko's bar on Saturday night. He was in there but the line was out the door with Bengals fans.

On Sunday morning we left in plenty of time. It took us a little under an hour to get there. Additionally:

* We went down Crenshaw Blvd to get to the game. That was surreal, considering pop culture of the 90's. We went from literal neighborhoods (with people charging $300 to park in their driveway) to the stadium. The concourse was wide open with plenty of room to get around. The stadium was top notch and beautiful.

* My buddy and I were in the 400 level in the corner of the endzone of the Jessie Bates pick and the Tee Higgins touchdown. It was a little hard to follow when the action was going the other way so I just watched that kick ass video board. On the Bengals final drive, I could have sworn that Perine got the first down on the 3rd down run. It was an 'oh shit!' moment when the board put the down and distance up...

*The Rams "fans" were nice but they acted like they just attended their niece's birthday party when we were walking out. An occasional "who's house? Rams house!" but that was really it. They were really subdued and it was really odd. We got a Lyft back to the hotel and we walked several blocks away, back towards the neighborhoods, to get picked up. Some jackass rolled up next to us and pulled a gun out, stuck it out the window and into the air. He squeezed the trigger multiple times. He said "I ran out of bullets" or something cool like that. Didn't feel threatened but was ready to bounce.

*Our Lyft driver said "these Rams fans are a bunch of phonies. I have lived here all my life and this is a Dodgers and Lakers town. Everything else, no one give a shit about." Hard to argue that sentiment based on what I witnessed after the game. The lack of enthusiasm postgame as we were leaving was unreal. We would have probably burned the stadium to the ground or something. The level of support and showing by Bengal fans was way impressive. And we were super loud. I didn't have a voice until a couple of days ago

*I was concerned about the heat based off of the forecast but I was comfortable the whole time. Again, the stadium is state of the art.

*Concessions were really well run and efficient but the food itself was lackluster.

It was a really expensive trip but I am glad that I did it. If the results of the game were different, it would have been the pinnacle of my sports fandom. The energy in the stadium is hard to quantify but it was amazing.

Agree with your recap as well.... I will say that the Rams fans were all nice. There was a lot of humor and smiles when talking football in the concourse. A few of them mentioned how nasty it can be at the game when the SF fans come down, but they all seemed to be struck by the underdog story of our fanbase so I think it was hard for them to hate us. But yeah, the disinterest in winning a championship was very odd. I'm guessing if you went out there for a Dodgers or Lakers game 7, you'd see some different shit.

I think it's funny how much people freak out about 90 degrees in LA. That would have been a pleasant summer day in Cincinnati's humidity. You're right about the stadium - It was super comfortable in there even with the weather.

 

[DanBengalfan]

Sounds nice