The Bengals Are 2-1 Stop Bitching You're Overreacting A Win Is A Win Is A Win Is A DERRRRPPPPPP

Hey.  Newsflash.  It's totally legit to be critical even in victory.  Just because a team wins a game means next to nothing without context.  If your analysis of a game involves pointing to the "W" and saying "look, we win.  we good" you are a mouthbreather.  The Bengals played poorly on offense but it didn't matter as we played a horrible team.  That means nothing.  The take away is not, "we win it's all good", but "holy shit our offense looks like ass brat should die carson needs to get better we are doomed omg omg omg".

Look no farther than this week against the Browns for a test to see how focusing on the quality of play and not the win loss columns is what matters.  If the Bengals do not get their offensive act together, do not be surprised if the Browns end their losing streak against us.  From Brian Burke via the Fifth Down Blog via Advanced NFL Stats:

What I look for is games where the model’s prediction diverges from the general consensus and try to figure out why. For example, the model has the Browns favored over the Bengals, although most experts give the upper hand to Cincinnati. I think the Browns are underestimated because they’re “supposed” to be a doormat. Plus, the Bengals’ offense has performed worse than many people probably realize.

Though with only 3 weeks to analyze, the amount of information doesn't give Brian much confidence in his predictions, he still gives the Browns a 63% chance of winning this week.  Yikes.

Smug quips like "not too many teams have to make excuses for winning like that, but I guess we do" from Marvin are a bunch of bullshit.  People aren't complaining about the win, Marvin, they're complaining about the quality of play that would have resulted in a loss against almost any other team.  So many people fall back on that logic and it pisses me off.  I'll be a happy, content fan when the team gives me reason to be happy and content.  Until that happens, check in regularly for my profanity laced vitriol.

Comments

[ghostchild]

Totally agree. Playing the way this team has through 3 weeks for an entire season will not give you a whole lot of wins...especially agains the elite teams in the league. I'd rather not ever make the playoffs than just barely back our way in only to have a more elite team stomp us down in the first round and remind us we really aren't as good as we hoped we were.

[Bengal Fan Down South]

Combine the fact that our offense is still in the offseason with the fact that the Bengals have a long history of playing down to the level of their opponent, I can totally agree with a 63% chance of losing. Infact, since I am as clairvoyant as the best of pundits, I'm willing to say we have a 75% chance of losing against a team that we should easily wipe our cleats on. Marvin is a douche. I don't want his lousy apology for winning. I want a team that looks solid on both sides of the ball like, I dont know... The Saints?

[Dan R.]

I've always said Marvin is a good practice coach - good motivator, reasonable at assessing talent, good at teaching fundamentals and techniques - but a horrible game coach. I wish we could have him coach all week, then sit him in the stands on Sunday and let a good Madden player take the headset for a couple hours.

What happened at the end of the first half last week was ... well, it's what happens when you have a dope at right tackle and a coach with clock management skills that make Art Shell look like Stephen Hawking.

[wch]

The problem with the mental concept of: 'A win is a win...' is that it is ONLY applicable in a case of an inordinary occurence taking place. Where that 'old saw' loses validity is when it is applied to a situation where mediocre and ordinary things are taking effect and one is 'just gettin' by'!

The law of averages will settle this thing -- its validity -- and that is how people need to look at it. If left to their own devices, the Bengals continuously playing like they have, my best average guess would be that they go 6-10 or 7-9 (again, this is an 'at-best' guess). Obviously this connotes that there is a problem and it NEEDS TO BE CURRENTLY ADDRESSED AND SOLVED. 'A win is a win' connotes that the level of play is nothing but a weird circumstance and that things are going fine other than these anomolies.

Let people spout off this 'A win is a win' garbage all they want but they are refusing to deal with the real-life situation.

[CurseofBoJackson]

Well stated, nothing that I can add that hasn't been said. The Art Shell to Stephen Hawking comparison is pretty funny, bravo.

[Major Payne]

To quote Marvin himself: "I see better than I hear."

I hear Marvin saying that he is not concerned about the offense, but what I see is a whole lot of crap to be plenty concerned about. Carson throws high and/or behind receivers. Chad short-arms balls. Andre Smith is getting deactivated when, as a first round pick, he ought to be starting. The line is vaguely familiar with the concept of a snap count. One of their best weapons, Bernard Scott, is hardly getting used. A missing persons alert has been posted for Jerome Simpson while Dez Briscoe enjoys the sun in Tampa.

As Marvin condescends to questions about the offense, he sure sounds plenty irritated but he never sounds surprised. He knows the questions are coming because he sees the same load of monkey poo that we do.

We've seen enough to know that if not for putrid play from Joe Flacco, this team is 1-2 right now because of the only slightly less putrid play of the Bengals offense. And while we appreciate Flacco's generosity, it doesn't negate the serious flaws we see. Teams in the back half of the schedule will not be as generous.

In commenting on the Bengals, Bill Cowher said it can be good for teams to struggle but win early because it keeps them working hard to improve rather than getting comfortable. With Bratkowski's contract extension, the Bengals have ensured that the offense will have plenty to work on for the next 3 years. With the glacial pace that they are correcting the problems with false starts, delay of game, etc. and a few more extensions for Bo-Bo, the Bengals should have that high-octane offense humming around 2025.

[VondaSHARPE31]

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