Post by Deleted on Dec 23, 2012 8:54:14 GMT -5
i dont need to tell you how important this game is for both teams right now. IMO it is more important for the bengals. yes the steelers have to win out to make the postseason, while the bengals just need to win this game to get in, but there is more at pressure on cincy here
if the bengals win they will go to the playoffs in back to back years for the 1st time since 1982. and the only reason it happened in 1982 was because there was a lockout that year which resulted in a 9 game season and letting 16 teams in the postseason right off the bat, so that really doesnt count for the bengals
not only that, there has been so much talk about the bengals being overated because in the dalton era they still havent beaten the steelers or ravens yet. that continues to bother me, because i know they can beat either team, but until they do, they will be viewed as overated.
here are the positives and negatives of the game
positives: QB andy dalton has had better numbers than last year with 3,313 yards, 26 tds, but 14 ints. but hes also ran for 4 tds. the bengals defense is 6th in the league. the bengals defense has allowed 12 points on average the last 6 games, which is the best in the league. the bengals lead the nfl in sacks with 43. the franchise record is 48 which they are on pace to break. a.j green is 2nd in the nfl with receiving TD's, only one behind packers james jones. the bengals run defense has only allowed 34 rush yards on average the past 2 weeks. in the last 5 games, benjarvus green ellis has had a total of 543 yards. only adrian peterson has had more yards the last 5 games. 4 out of the last 5 games green ellis has rushed for at least 100 yards. when green ellis has had at least 19 touches, the bengals are 6-0. less than that, and we are 2-6. the bengals rush offense is 11th in the league. the bengals have been 10-5 on the road the last 2 years. they are 5-2 on the road this year. a.j green is the 2nd fastest player to reach 2000 career receiving yards and green is 7th in the nfl with receiving yards right now.
negatives: dalton has been sacked 38 times, which is 3rd in the nfl. the bengals havent beaten the steelers since 2009. today marks the day of the 40 year aniversity of the immaculate reception. the steelers have the best pass defense in the league right now. TE heath miller has a career high in TD's with 8. the steelers are 10th in the league with pass offense. despite being 10-5 on the road the last 2 years, 4 of those losses were in the afc north. there only 2 road losses of the year have been in the afc north as well.
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when you break it down despite all of the postives i listed, theres still lots of advantages for the steelers. IMO we have the better RB with benjarvus green ellis compared to the steelers crowded backfield. and even though the steelers appear to have more weapons, i think a.j green, jermaine gresham, and andrew hawkins will be more explosive this game compared to brown, wallace, and miller
but if you look at the rest, the steelers have more of an advantage. roethisberger is still miles ahead of dalton, the defense seems to always play better than the bengals defense at times, and there coaching always finds a way to make the bengals coaching look silly.
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NOTES
FB chris pressley got hurt in the week 15 game against the eagles and will be out for the rest of the season. the bengals went out and signed FB john conner (no hes not the terminator). he played for the jets for 3 years. was cut in the middle of the season
WR marvin jones has jumped ahead of WR ryan whalem as the 4th WR now
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PLAYOFF PICTURE
its very simple of the bengals. win and your in. if they lose this game, they can still make if they beat the ravens next week, and the steelers lose to the browns. OR if the colts lose out and the bengals beat the ravens and win the strength of schedule tiebreaker (colts so far have the lead on the tiebreaker with 102 wins while the bengals have 100).
if the bengals do win today, and the ravens lose to the giants today, all the bengals have to do is beat the ravens in week 17 and they win the division. it could be good because that means the bengals could be playing the colts in the playoffs, which i think is the best shot for the bengals to win a playoff game. no disrespect to the colts, but because it would be andrew lucks first playoff game, i think since the bengals made it last year, we would win because its a home game and we had the experience.
on the other hand, we could end up playing balitmore instead on the road or at home which i wouldnt mind. i rather not play the patriots or broncos on the road (definitely dont wanna play the pats so i dont have to listen to pats16n0) but if we did have to play one i would rather play the broncos because we made it competitive on them the last couple of games, and we already almost beat them this year, but it was at home. dont know if they can do it on the road. it was the patriots, we would definitely get crushed
but again, it wont matter what the scenario is if the bengals dont first make the playoffs and it must start today. i want the bengals to break that 21 playoff win drought, but it wont happen unless they win today first.
PREDICTION
its funny because i said so many times this year this team had no chance to make the playoffs. i really though they would find a way to slump which they did, but somehow they climb out of the hole they dug so far in the ground eariler this season
i could be witnessing history for the 1st time in my life if the bengals go back to back playoff years for the 1st time and ONLY time in 1982 which of course i wasnt even born. i could also witness history of our 1st playoff win since 1991 assuming they play the colts in the playoffs which i also wasnt born at the time (1992 was my birth year)
it saddens me knowing im 20 years old and still havent witnessed a playoff win on the bengals. in less than 2 months i turn 21 and i dont wanna have to witness another year of no playoff wins
but like i said before, we have to win this game first. and when its all said and done, i dont even think that happens. yes we are the better team right now, but when it matters, the steeles OWN the bengals every time. and so far when it comes to predicting bengals wins or losses in a game this year, im 10-4. i hope im wrong, because if i am, i will be breaking out the champagne tonight and partying like ive never done before
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if the bengals win they will go to the playoffs in back to back years for the 1st time since 1982. and the only reason it happened in 1982 was because there was a lockout that year which resulted in a 9 game season and letting 16 teams in the postseason right off the bat, so that really doesnt count for the bengals
not only that, there has been so much talk about the bengals being overated because in the dalton era they still havent beaten the steelers or ravens yet. that continues to bother me, because i know they can beat either team, but until they do, they will be viewed as overated.
here are the positives and negatives of the game
positives: QB andy dalton has had better numbers than last year with 3,313 yards, 26 tds, but 14 ints. but hes also ran for 4 tds. the bengals defense is 6th in the league. the bengals defense has allowed 12 points on average the last 6 games, which is the best in the league. the bengals lead the nfl in sacks with 43. the franchise record is 48 which they are on pace to break. a.j green is 2nd in the nfl with receiving TD's, only one behind packers james jones. the bengals run defense has only allowed 34 rush yards on average the past 2 weeks. in the last 5 games, benjarvus green ellis has had a total of 543 yards. only adrian peterson has had more yards the last 5 games. 4 out of the last 5 games green ellis has rushed for at least 100 yards. when green ellis has had at least 19 touches, the bengals are 6-0. less than that, and we are 2-6. the bengals rush offense is 11th in the league. the bengals have been 10-5 on the road the last 2 years. they are 5-2 on the road this year. a.j green is the 2nd fastest player to reach 2000 career receiving yards and green is 7th in the nfl with receiving yards right now.
negatives: dalton has been sacked 38 times, which is 3rd in the nfl. the bengals havent beaten the steelers since 2009. today marks the day of the 40 year aniversity of the immaculate reception. the steelers have the best pass defense in the league right now. TE heath miller has a career high in TD's with 8. the steelers are 10th in the league with pass offense. despite being 10-5 on the road the last 2 years, 4 of those losses were in the afc north. there only 2 road losses of the year have been in the afc north as well.
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when you break it down despite all of the postives i listed, theres still lots of advantages for the steelers. IMO we have the better RB with benjarvus green ellis compared to the steelers crowded backfield. and even though the steelers appear to have more weapons, i think a.j green, jermaine gresham, and andrew hawkins will be more explosive this game compared to brown, wallace, and miller
but if you look at the rest, the steelers have more of an advantage. roethisberger is still miles ahead of dalton, the defense seems to always play better than the bengals defense at times, and there coaching always finds a way to make the bengals coaching look silly.
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NOTES
FB chris pressley got hurt in the week 15 game against the eagles and will be out for the rest of the season. the bengals went out and signed FB john conner (no hes not the terminator). he played for the jets for 3 years. was cut in the middle of the season
WR marvin jones has jumped ahead of WR ryan whalem as the 4th WR now
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PLAYOFF PICTURE
its very simple of the bengals. win and your in. if they lose this game, they can still make if they beat the ravens next week, and the steelers lose to the browns. OR if the colts lose out and the bengals beat the ravens and win the strength of schedule tiebreaker (colts so far have the lead on the tiebreaker with 102 wins while the bengals have 100).
if the bengals do win today, and the ravens lose to the giants today, all the bengals have to do is beat the ravens in week 17 and they win the division. it could be good because that means the bengals could be playing the colts in the playoffs, which i think is the best shot for the bengals to win a playoff game. no disrespect to the colts, but because it would be andrew lucks first playoff game, i think since the bengals made it last year, we would win because its a home game and we had the experience.
on the other hand, we could end up playing balitmore instead on the road or at home which i wouldnt mind. i rather not play the patriots or broncos on the road (definitely dont wanna play the pats so i dont have to listen to pats16n0) but if we did have to play one i would rather play the broncos because we made it competitive on them the last couple of games, and we already almost beat them this year, but it was at home. dont know if they can do it on the road. it was the patriots, we would definitely get crushed
but again, it wont matter what the scenario is if the bengals dont first make the playoffs and it must start today. i want the bengals to break that 21 playoff win drought, but it wont happen unless they win today first.
PREDICTION
its funny because i said so many times this year this team had no chance to make the playoffs. i really though they would find a way to slump which they did, but somehow they climb out of the hole they dug so far in the ground eariler this season
i could be witnessing history for the 1st time in my life if the bengals go back to back playoff years for the 1st time and ONLY time in 1982 which of course i wasnt even born. i could also witness history of our 1st playoff win since 1991 assuming they play the colts in the playoffs which i also wasnt born at the time (1992 was my birth year)
it saddens me knowing im 20 years old and still havent witnessed a playoff win on the bengals. in less than 2 months i turn 21 and i dont wanna have to witness another year of no playoff wins
but like i said before, we have to win this game first. and when its all said and done, i dont even think that happens. yes we are the better team right now, but when it matters, the steeles OWN the bengals every time. and so far when it comes to predicting bengals wins or losses in a game this year, im 10-4. i hope im wrong, because if i am, i will be breaking out the champagne tonight and partying like ive never done before
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