Anybody else catching some Saints flashbacks from this Bengals team? (1 Viewer)

[HouseCall]

A lot of times when you have to pay the superstar QB, the money you’d spend on impact defenders and offensive linemen gets tied up and you are forced to work with guys you draft and mid-tier free agents.

Some teams can make it work by drafting well and getting good fits in free agency and some miss and have half a competent team.

That was definitely the book on the Saints from 2012 to 2016 (with the 2013 anomaly season thrown in).

The Bengals will look back on these type seasons with the same “what if” that we all did.

 

[dutar76]

WhoDey!

 

[St.Dan]

Just now saw the video from the botched punt block return and the touchdown pass to Chase. My old eyes and mind had a flashback to 1991 watching the touchdown, as it looked like the exact same kind of pattern Michael Haynes ran to burn Toi Cook in the wild card playoff loss that year. Fans my age should remember.

 

[DaveXA]

15 yrs ago, its ancient history

So? It still counts, and we're talking about a guy who has since resurrected a flailing Broncos franchise and turned Bo Nix into a legitimately good starting QB. Would have been great if he would have stayed, but things change. Now it's next coach up.

 

[DCTransplant]

Last night, MNF showed a stat comparing Burrow to 2012 Brees. I think they said Burrow is the only QB other than Brees in 2012 that could lead the league in passing TDs and average over 300 yds a game. Can't remember if there was anything about a losing record in there. Did anyone else see that stat?

 

[DaveXA]

Last night, MNF showed a stat comparing Burrow to 2012 Brees. I think they said Burrow is the only QB other than Brees in 2012 that could lead the league in passing TDs and average over 300 yds a game. Can't remember if there was anything about a losing record in there. Did anyone else see that stat?

There was a stat where Burrow and Bengals offense lost 4 times this season while scoring 30+ points. Brees was the only other QB to do that.

 

[DaveXA]

Last night, MNF showed a stat comparing Burrow to 2012 Brees. I think they said Burrow is the only QB other than Brees in 2012 that could lead the league in passing TDs and average over 300 yds a game. Can't remember if there was anything about a losing record in there. Did anyone else see that stat?

Also, there is this, which might be what you're referring to.

 

[Saint Jack]

I think the Burrow Bengals are a step below because Brees already had a championship and legacy that was already protected.
Burrow is in danger of going into that Fouts category where you’re good enough to be remembered beyond your fanbase, but also get discredited because you don’t have the Super Bowl.

 

[Saintman2884]

I think the Burrow Bengals are a step below because Brees already had a championship and legacy that was already protected.
Burrow is in danger of going into that Fouts category where you’re good enough to be remembered beyond your fanbase, but also get discredited because you don’t have the Super Bowl.

Do you think its plausible that if the Bengals continue to struggle as a whole finishing with 7-10/8-9, or 9-8 records while Burrow puts up MVP-caliber statistical seasons over the next 2-3 seasons that maybe Joe Burrow does what Matthew Stafford did after the 2020 season and asks to be traded to a winning, competent organization and franchise after busting his arse in Detriot for over a decade and only 4 winning seasons to show for it. Matthew Stafford is still putting up great numbers and stats and is still winning at age 36 and maybe has 1-2 decent seasons left in him and he has a great chance to surpass 60,000 career passing yards before the end of this season.

If I'm Burrow, do I reach out to Stafford and ask him to keep continuing to "gut it out" and maintain faith in a cheap, frugal stubborn owner like Mike Brown and a HC in Zac Taylor, who's iffy at best in his capabilities to rebuild and re-stock this team until my early 30's or do I consider maybe asking for a trade like Carson Palmer did and eventually finding that consistent playoff success he's busting his arse to obtain right now.

Would it be smart if Burrow, at some point, if things in Cincy clearly aren't going to improve dramatically like in Detroit with Stafford, to ask for a trade?

 

[Saint Jack]

Do you think its plausible that if the Bengals continue to struggle as a whole finishing with 7-10/8-9, or 9-8 records while Burrow puts up MVP-caliber statistical seasons over the next 2-3 seasons that maybe Joe Burrow does what Matthew Stafford did after the 2020 season and asks to be traded to a winning, competent organization and franchise after busting his arse in Detriot for over a decade and only 4 winning seasons to show for it. Matthew Stafford is still putting up great numbers and stats and is still winning at age 36 and maybe has 1-2 decent seasons left in him and he has a great chance to surpass 60,000 career passing yards before the end of this season.

If I'm Burrow, do I reach out to Stafford and ask him to keep continuing to "gut it out" and maintain faith in a cheap, frugal stubborn owner like Mike Brown and a HC in Zac Taylor, who's iffy at best in his capabilities to rebuild and re-stock this team until my early 30's or do I consider maybe asking for a trade like Carson Palmer did and eventually finding that consistent playoff success he's busting his arse to obtain right now.

Would it be smart if Burrow, at some point, if things in Cincy clearly aren't going to improve dramatically like in Detroit with Stafford, to ask for a trade?

I think it’s more likely that Burrow asks to be traded for a few reasons.
2. Getting lost in the shuffle as a result of being in the same division as Baltimore and Pittsburgh.
2. Cincinnati has a earned reputation of being the cheapest organization in the League.

 

[Saintman2884]

I think it’s more likely that Burrow asks to be traded for a few reasons.
2. Getting lost in the shuffle as a result of being in the same division as Baltimore and Pittsburgh.
2. Cincinnati has a earned reputation of being the cheapest organization in the League.

Yeah, unless Cincinnati has some super great start to their season where they maybe split their divisional series with Baltimore or lose their divisional series with Pittsburgh, and somehow end their regular-season at 10-7 or 11-6 and go into the postseason with a huge, inordinate amount of momentum and they happen to get lucky or extremely fortunate late in the 4th quarter like they did @ Titans and Chiefs, particularly where they went up against a worn-down, tired and exhausted Chiefs team that had just won a heavyweight, proverbial 15-round OT game vs. Buffalo, an instant classic and IMHO, the best NFL Divisional Rd. game since 2003's 2OT St. Louis vs. Carolina nearly two decades before. That's really one of the few conceivable paths Bengals have to make it back to another Super Bowl and one most of us here at SR.com will admit, it's an extremely difficult path.

I don't see either Baltimore or Pittsburgh off a cliff over the next couple of years, especially since Steelers have a reliable veteran QB in Russell Wilson, who might've found the team to pad his career stats enough a get a few more playoff wins to earn an HOF induction if he remains there a few more years, so Cincy sort of stuck in that 3rd gear shift in the AFC North, a decent-to-good good but one that likely won't be winning 12-13 games every season due to ultra-tough competition. Cleveland, IMHO, may not be that far behind in getting some semblance of its act together, too.

Mike Brown is easily, hands down, one of the worst, cheapest, most incompetent NFL owners over the past 30+ years. The terrible "Bungles" period of ineptitude, poor quality of play from 1991-2005 is evidence not that. The only reason he's even an owner is due to genetics and being the son of a legendary, innovative former NFL HC, owner of two NFL franchises, Paul Brown. For years, he was so cheap, the Bengals were one of the few NFL teams who didn't have an actual NFL training facility and he allowed Pro-Bowlers like Corey Dillon, Andy Dalton, Carson Palmer to demand trades and walk away in disgust. Andy Dalton may be the dime store's version of Tony Romo but he was a huge, prominent factor in Cincinnati making 5 consecutive playoff berths and remaining their starting QB for nearly a decade. He also got voted to a couple of Pro Bowls. He won't be remembered as any all-time great, but if you help lead your team to multiple consecutive post-season appearances and get a few Pro Bowl nods, Dalton have to done at least something right for a while at least.

 

[Dome50]

Also, there is this, which might be what you're referring to.

I took a picture of this to send to buddies as soon as this flashed on the screen. Just perfectly encapsulates the greatness of Brees while how truly awful some of our defenses were. So frustrating. But goes to show you how much football is a team sport. It's a fascinating "what if" had the Saints just had a middling defense (like a defense ranked in the mid 20's for scoring) in those 7-9 years, what would have happened. I definitely believe we would have had 1-2 Superbowl appearances with one win.