(5-0) Cincinatti Bangles @ (3-2) Buffalo Bills

[cima]

Re: (5-0) Cincinatti Bangles @ (3-2) Buffalo Bills

I expect Cincy to win but this is just wrong.

Seattle playing in Cincy for a 10am PST game is very different than Cincy playing in Buffalo... and lets not forget Cincy had to make a big comeback to "shred" the Hawks.

The Pats play the Bills twice a year, every year. With BB and Brady (and Rex's aggressive all or nothing attack mode on defense) it's pretty predictable that they execute a strategy that makes one of the best defenses look silly. Not to mention Cincy's offensive numbers are inflated by big games against defenses like the Raiders and the Ravens.

You've said plenty that's correct (Cincy may be the most complete team in the league, lots of offensive weapons, Dalton's playing great, defense is scary). But your logic presented in that last post is way off.

Agree to disagree, but Cincy's numbers aren't inflated. In fact to what you were alluding to, they're averaging 421 YPG but "only" put up 396 against the Raiders. They've been very consistent:

Raiders: 396
Chargers: 389
Ravens: 458
Chiefs: 445
Seahawks: 419

[muggins]

Re: (5-0) Cincinatti Bangles @ (3-2) Buffalo Bills

They'll need their TE for sure - more stats:

In what has become a weekly occurrence, opposing receivers found little room to work against Stephon Gilmore and Ronald Darby on the outside. Of the 11 passes Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota threw at either Gilmore or Darby Sunday, only five were complete for a total of 40 yards, the long gain being 11.

For those keeping score at home, Pro Football Focus has Gilmore and Darby as their No. 2 and No. 3 ranked cornerbacks in the entire NFL this season. Pro Football Focus doesn't have the definitive word on the matter, but considering Gilmore and Darby are the top two cornerbacks in the NFL in passes defended with 10 and 11, respectively, it's safe to say they are playing pretty well.

Rex Ryan likes to put his cornerbacks on an island, and these two have responded.

[wwharton]

Re: (5-0) Cincinatti Bangles @ (3-2) Buffalo Bills

Agree to disagree, but Cincy's numbers aren't inflated. In fact to what you were alluding to, they're averaging 421 YPG but "only" put up 396 against the Raiders. They've been very consistent:

Raiders: 396
Chargers: 389
Ravens: 458
Chiefs: 445
Seahawks: 419

lol, the Seahawks are the only team on that list with a defense that isn't laughable, and they are certainly a different animal on the road... on the opposite coast.

Let me be clear on what I said though. Cincy's offense is legit. On paper they are the better team and I expect them to win this week.

But these numbers, the end result of the Hawks game, and what the Pats did to the Bills have very little value in predicting how this game will turn out.

[cima]

Re: (5-0) Cincinatti Bangles @ (3-2) Buffalo Bills

lol, the Seahawks are the only team on that list with a defense that isn't laughable, and they are certainly a different animal on the road... on the opposite coast.

Let me be clear on what I said though. Cincy's offense is legit. On paper they are the better team and I expect them to win this week.

But these numbers, the end result of the Hawks game, and what the Pats did to the Bills have very little value in predicting how this game will turn out.

I see what you're saying. I brought up the Pats and bengals have the best offenses in the league and that I expect similar results. Not directly correlated but I expect similar results.

Sent from my SM-G925V

[wwharton]

Re: (5-0) Cincinatti Bangles @ (3-2) Buffalo Bills

I see what you're saying. I brought up the Pats and bengals have the best offenses in the league and that I expect similar results. Not directly correlated but I expect similar results.

Sent from my SM-G925V

That's fine if that's not WHY you think they will be similar. Personally I don't expect similar results. I think Eifert will have another big game, as will Bernard out of the backfield. I think Dalton will take a step back this week if he tries to force it to his WRs (which he might bc he's had so much success with them recently). In short, I think Cincy proves they are what you think they are by winning a tough, unorthodox game this week.

I also think (if he's really healthy enough to carry the load) that Shady will pace the Bills offense which will milk the clock enough to keep this game pretty close. Worrying about him and Taylor will be a problem. I just don't see them having enough offense against Cincy's D.

If Taylor doesn't play then I strike all of this from the discussion.

[redsrule]

Re: (5-0) Cincinatti Bangles @ (3-2) Buffalo Bills

That's fine if that's not WHY you think they will be similar. Personally I don't expect similar results. I think Eifert will have another big game, as will Bernard out of the backfield. I think Dalton will take a step back this week if he tries to force it to his WRs (which he might bc he's had so much success with them recently). In short, I think Cincy proves they are what you think they are by winning a tough, unorthodox game this week.

I also think (if he's really healthy enough to carry the load) that Shady will pace the Bills offense which will milk the clock enough to keep this game pretty close. Worrying about him and Taylor will be a problem. I just don't see them having enough offense against Cincy's D.

If Taylor doesn't play then I strike all of this from the discussion.

I think the Bengals win by 2 touchdowns, but McCoy worries me. The Bengals run D is not good. Rawls torched them last week. Shady is a lot better. Like you said though, their offense is still not great and the Bengals have a boatload of weapons on offense. I just don't see them scoring enough points to keep up with the Bengals.

[jbd345]

Re: (5-0) Cincinatti Bangles @ (3-2) Buffalo Bills

That's fine if that's not WHY you think they will be similar. Personally I don't expect similar results. I think Eifert will have another big game, as will Bernard out of the backfield. I think Dalton will take a step back this week if he tries to force it to his WRs (which he might bc he's had so much success with them recently). In short, I think Cincy proves they are what you think they are by winning a tough, unorthodox game this week.

I also think (if he's really healthy enough to carry the load) that Shady will pace the Bills offense which will milk the clock enough to keep this game pretty close. Worrying about him and Taylor will be a problem. I just don't see them having enough offense against Cincy's D.

If Taylor doesn't play then I strike all of this from the discussion.

I'm optimistic about EJ. If he starts. He looked better than last year in preseason. A half a year sitting behind Orton, and 5 games behined Taylor might have done him some good.

[SPTO]

Re: (5-0) Cincinatti Bangles @ (3-2) Buffalo Bills

The Bengals deserve to be favorites but I think some of you guys are really downplaying what the Bills can do. I don't think the defense can have another game like last week or else they're doomed. The offense needs to get off to a good start and milk the clock a bit. Having McCoy back would be huge in meeting that objective. Despite who starts (EJ or Taylor) I think the offense will be ok. If EJ is indeed starting it'll be interesting to see if he uses his legs like Taylor has done or if he'll hang onto the ball and get sacked. The first couple offensive possessions by the Bills will tell what kind of game this will be IMO.

[kingkilla56]

Re: (5-0) Cincinatti Bangles @ (3-2) Buffalo Bills

If the Bengals are truly as elite as theyve shown, this should be a near cake walk for them.

[55]

Re: (5-0) Cincinatti Bangles @ (3-2) Buffalo Bills

The Bangles?

Spoiler

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Cv6tuzHUuuk" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Spoiler

Susanna Hoffs in the mid-80s

[JayBee74]

Re: (5-0) Cincinatti Bangles @ (3-2) Buffalo Bills

You've said plenty that's correct (Cincy may be the most complete team in the league, lots of offensive weapons, Dalton's playing great, defense is scary). But your logic presented in that last post is way off.

Don't know about scary. Forgive me if some key players were injured but they did give up 362 passing yards to Joe Flacco and and 348 to Alex Smith on back to back weeks. You think they'll stop Brady, Rodgers, or even a returning Big Ben when or if that time comes?

That being said, what they did last week was phenomenal.

[SPTO]

Re: (5-0) Cincinatti Bangles @ (3-2) Buffalo Bills

Reports coming out that EJ will start tomorrow but it's not definite. It looks like a game time decision.

[cima]

Re: (5-0) Cincinatti Bangles @ (3-2) Buffalo Bills

Don't know about scary. Forgive me if some key players were injured but they did give up 362 passing yards to Joe Flacco and and 348 to Alex Smith on back to back weeks. You think they'll stop Brady, Rodgers, or even a returning Big Ben when or if that time comes?

That being said, what they did last week was phenomenal.

The D is bend but don't break and they rarely break. The D has never given up more than 2 TDs in a game yet this year and the offense is scoring 3-4 TDs/game. That's a recipe for success.

With that said, the D's tackling is atrocious and something to be concerned about. Us Bengals fans are holding out hope for the remedy to come week 8 when Vontaze Burfict is eligible to play again. He's basically our 2nd defensive coordinator, best tackler, and defensive captain. He's sorely missed and the main reason (not Zimmer contrary to popular belief) that the D has not been the same since 2013. The guy was literally everywhere, leading the NFL in tackles at 171. He led the Bengals with 114 solo tackles. Maualuga was 2nd with 52 solo tackles. People seem to have forgotten about him and we are hoping he's at least 80% of what he used to be, which is a complete unknown at this point.

[redsrule]

Re: (5-0) Cincinatti Bangles @ (3-2) Buffalo Bills

Don't know about scary. Forgive me if some key players were injured but they did give up 362 passing yards to Joe Flacco and and 348 to Alex Smith on back to back weeks. You think they'll stop Brady, Rodgers, or even a returning Big Ben when or if that time comes?

That being said, what they did last week was phenomenal.

Defense is still a work in progress. Burfict is our best linebacker and key to that group who hopefully will be ready to go after the bye week. I don't know if they'll be able to stop those guys, but I do think they can slow them down enough where the offense can compete with anybody. The Bengals have more weapons on offense than any team in football imo. Green/Jones/Sanu/Eifert receiving and then you have Hill and Bernard who are a nice tandem with Bernard being dangerous out of the backfield as well.

[wwharton]

Re: (5-0) Cincinatti Bangles @ (3-2) Buffalo Bills

Defense is still a work in progress. Burfict is our best linebacker and key to that group who hopefully will be ready to go after the bye week. I don't know if they'll be able to stop those guys, but I do think they can slow them down enough where the offense can compete with anybody. The Bengals have more weapons on offense than any team in football imo. Green/Jones/Sanu/Eifert receiving and then you have Hill and Bernard who are a nice tandem with Bernard being dangerous out of the backfield as well.

I'd take a healthy Steelers offense over Cincy. I'd take Atlanta too, but they're definitely up there. It's just not enough to say Dalton can keep doing this consistently. I actually think he can, but wouldn't bet on it just yet.

The defense has a ton of individual players that can make a difference. I wouldn't use the stats in wins to judge them too much. Game flow drives some stats. At the very least, it's more than good enough to pair with that offense.