Are the bengals the best team in the afc north?

**MMFan23** · 04-16-2012, 08:00 PM

Are the bengals the best team in the afc north?

I found an article here (http://nachmanyfootball.com/2012/04/...ture-afc-north) and it makes a pretty strong argument. Both we and the Ravens had a bad offseason, maybe they're right. Check out the article to see what he's saying.

what do you guys think?

**leachisabeast** · 04-16-2012, 08:06 PM

Just some guys opinion, honestly you can never just say who's the best team in the AFCN right now, or any division for that matter, it's all just speculation and worthless predictions. For all we know the Browns could surprise us all and win the division.

I personally don't see the Bengals finishing any better than 8-8 this year, mainly because the Bengals do this all the time, have promising seasons then follow up with 4-12 seasons. I think they will compete because it's an entirely new team, but they are still a very young team and have some very tough teams on their schedule. Their secondary is still a liability, especially with Terrence Newman back there at corner.

**HoustonRaven** · 04-16-2012, 08:07 PM

We had a bad off season?

**houstonravensfan** · 04-16-2012, 08:36 PM

"Are the bengals the best team in the afc north?"

No.

Next?

**Section 502 Raven** · 04-16-2012, 08:40 PM

i think this is a great question. i thought one of our biggest wins last year was going into cincy and winning when they had a playoff position on the line.

it depends on the qb. if he evolves and gets better they will do well. if he regresses they will be average. its interesting to see qb's regress. in baseball its the sophmore slump. i assumed the learning curve for qb's is steep so the more they play the better they get but this is not always the case.

they have lost some defensive players but they have a good defensive coordinator. they give us a hard time but they do not play pittsburg to well.

its hard to believe but i think the browns will be worse next year.

**Ravenswintitle** · 04-16-2012, 08:47 PM

Even if they won the division, could they win a playoff game?

**PGCountyRaven85** · 04-16-2012, 08:52 PM

How did the Ravens and Steelers have bsd off seasons and the draft hasn't even happened yet? D.u.m.b.

**leachisabeast** · 04-16-2012, 08:58 PM

Did the Bengals even beat a winning team in 2011 btw?

**Jeremiah W** · 04-16-2012, 09:09 PM

No, not at all.

Now if the question was are the Bengals the 3rd best team in the AFC N or are they going to be a favorite to get a wild card again, then the answer would be just as obviously yes as it was obviously no they are not the best. Win a playoff game and then we can talk about bieng maybe the, 2nd best Cincinatti kid.

**lovefootball** · 04-16-2012, 09:15 PM

Dalton will not have a good year in 2012. His secret is out and teams will now plan accordingly. If they have a soft schedule, they will win. Against quality teams they will struggle again.

**Jayc00** · 04-16-2012, 09:20 PM

Umm...No.

**TheJoeFlaccoShow** · 04-16-2012, 09:25 PM

Originally Posted by MMFan23

Are the bengals the best team in the afc north?

I found an article here (http://nachmanyfootball.com/2012/04/...ture-afc-north) and it makes a pretty strong argument. Both we and the Ravens had a bad offseason, maybe they're right. Check out the article to see what he's saying.

what do you guys think?

First off if you want people to read your article, you should probably link it properly.

http://nachmanyfootball.com/2012/04/...ure-afc-north/

Besides that the article lacks depth, any type of coherent research and was probably thrown together in maybe 10 minutes. Literally.

I would like the 30 seconds of my life it took me to read it back please.

Oh and the Bungles are not the best team in the AFC North.

**Jeremiah W** · 04-16-2012, 09:27 PM

Originally Posted by lovefootball

Dalton will not have a good year in 2012. His secret is out and teams will now plan accordingly. If they have a soft schedule, they will win. Against quality teams they will struggle again.

I do not think Dalton will struggle that much or there is a secret. The Bengals are just a slightly above average team over all though IMO. Getting Hall back and some development from Dalton and Green could be enough to push them from above average to good, but I still think they are the 3rd best franchise in the division and have not shown an ability to be consistantly good in like 20 years. Even if they were to miraculously sweep the divison again, I would pick them to lose in the playoffs again and go 6-10 the following year.

**Jeremiah W** · 04-16-2012, 09:33 PM

Originally Posted by TheJoeFlaccoShow

First off if you want people to read your article, you should probably link it properly.

http://nachmanyfootball.com/2012/04/...ure-afc-north/

Besides that the article lacks depth, any type of coherent research and was probably thrown together in maybe 10 minutes. Literally.

I would like the 30 seconds of my life it took me to read it back please.

Oh and the Bungles are not the best team in the AFC North.

I did not read the article, but found the question amusing enough to respond.

Those pesky bengals have reasons to hope again and be as optimistic about the future as they want, but not get all carried away and start making crazy claims before winning a single playoff game, or the draft and late free agency where Oz usually wins the offseason.

**wickedsolo** · 04-16-2012, 09:36 PM

I don't see how the Bengals got better and the Ravens and Steelers got worse. Its still prettying status quo at the moment.

Bengals lost some guys too and only really added Terrance Newman, Jason Allen, and Benjavarus Green-Ellis. Losing Jerome Simpson is really gong to hurt and I think we saw Andy Dalton. Start to come back down to earth a bit once teams got some tape on him.

We'll see. Nothing is set in stone at this point and there is no such thing as winning or losing the off season. Its all a wash until September.

**Ravenswintitle** · 04-16-2012, 09:36 PM

They have the luxury of two first round picks this year... will they nail it or blow it?

**leachisabeast** · 04-16-2012, 09:44 PM

Originally Posted by Jeremiah W

I do not think Dalton will struggle that much or there is a secret. The Bengals are just a slightly above average team over all though IMO. Getting Hall back and some development from Dalton and Green could be enough to push them from above average to good, but I still think they are the 3rd best franchise in the division and have not shown an ability to be consistantly good in like 20 years. Even if they were to miraculously sweep the divison again, I would pick them to lose in the playoffs again and go 6-10 the following year.

Pretty much agree with this, but I think the Bengals can only play secure football for only so long, and they will never get past the one and done stage unless they get better weapons for Dalton, to compliment AJ Green, and improve their pass protection, oh and btw a real every down back wouldn't hurt either.

Overall I think Dalton will turn into a good/solid starting QB in the NFL, if we go by his rookie season, but he is the type of QB that will need to have a solid defense, to go along with a decent run game and good receivers to succeed in the league. He doesn't have the arm Flacco or Roethlisbeger has, not very good throwing it down field and isn't blessed with the greatest amount of pocket presence. He is pretty mobile and will evade sacks, but needs to step into the pocket with more poise.

**rharris1986** · 04-16-2012, 09:52 PM

They have a quarterback who won about eight games last year as I recall. He lost both times to the Steelers and both times to the Ravens. The Bengals are the third best team in the Division and likely to remain there for a long time (until either Ben or Joe is no longer in the Division). The Ravens and Steelers own the Division - it just seems to be a toss up from year to year as to which one wins the Division and which one is the wild card.

**leachisabeast** · 04-16-2012, 10:32 PM

Originally Posted by rharris1986

They have a quarterback who won about eight games last year as I recall. He lost both times to the Steelers and both times to the Ravens. The Bengals are the third best team in the Division and likely to remain there for a long time (until either Ben or Joe is no longer in the Division). The Ravens and Steelers own the Division - it just seems to be a toss up from year to year as to which one wins the Division and which one is the wild card.

I think either team would still be better without either Ben or Joe tbh, if you put an average QB on either team they'd still probably be the two best teams in the division.

**wickedsolo** · 04-16-2012, 10:42 PM

Originally Posted by Ravenswintitle

They have the luxury of two first round picks this year... will they nail it or blow it?

I'm sure they'll choose wisely. The Bengals aren't a bad drafting team. They've had some pretty solid drafts. They just let their core players go because they won't pay them.