Imagine, if you will...

[Brubaker]

Another great moment to imagine would be for one of the Bengals to go to the burn unit in Pitts & visit this young man before Sunday. I don't know if Jaden is a Bengal fan but after that he sure would be.

http://www.wsaz.com/news/headlines/T...184075951.html



Keep Jaden in your prayers.

[whodey21]

Originally Posted by Speedy Thomas 17

I'm a season ticket holder, I'll be there for the Ratbird game whatever is at stake, and I will be furious if one of our key guys gets hurt if he's on the field in a meaningless game.

Nothing whatsoever is at stake for us, but we're still planning to play everybody. After the fiasco that was our offense on Sunday, I think we should definitely run the risk of injury in favor of a tune-up.

[Omega IV]

The momentum argument is such garbage.

If it was true... why should the #1 and #2 seeds get a forced bye week? Why not expand the playoffs to 8 and make everyone play?

Jeez... This week... Houston, New England and Denver are going to play hard for that bye week. We HAVE a bye week (in theory) and we're going to risk injury against a Ratbird team that will have NO problem in taking out one of our guys?

Stupid.

If Geno Atkins rolls an ankle and breaks it next week... or if AJ Green gets dropped on his head and is out for the playoffs... EVERY Bengal fan is going to scream for Marvin's head....

...and rightfully so.

Sit the starters. Play the 2nd stringers... see what they can do. THOSE guys will be motivated as $#@! to win that game and prove their worth. And don't fool yourself... the Ravens will be resting up as well.

The ONLY thing that matters is game one of the playoffs... NOTHING ELSE.

[whodey21]

Originally Posted by Omega IV

The momentum argument is such garbage.

If it was true... why should the #1 and #2 seeds get a forced bye week? Why not expand the playoffs to 8 and make everyone play?

Jeez... This week... Houston, New England and Denver are going to play hard for that bye week. We HAVE a bye week (in theory) and we're going to risk injury against a Ratbird team that will have NO problem in taking out one of our guys?

Stupid.

If Geno Atkins rolls an ankle and breaks it next week... or if AJ Green gets dropped on his head and is out for the playoffs... EVERY Bengal fan is going to scream for Marvin's head....

...and rightfully so.

Sit the starters. Play the 2nd stringers... see what they can do. THOSE guys will be motivated as $#@! to win that game and prove their worth. And don't fool yourself... the Ravens will be resting up as well.

The ONLY thing that matters is game one of the playoffs... NOTHING ELSE.

I might have been on your side of this argument if we had looked better on Sunday. We looked awful against an injured Steeler team on a major downward trend. Before that, we looked bad against the Eagles, and before that we had a late-game meltdown against the Cowboys. We need our offense to start clicking for us to have a legitimate chance when we finally do play the "one game that matters"

[ScottishBengal]

This isn't a black and white question. A number of factors will need to be considered... For example, how beat up individual players are (some may be better to rest, while others would benefit from the match practice). How the game is going against the Ravens will play a part too. There should be a 3rd option in the poll, which is... 'A bit of both.' or 'Yes and No'

[Bengal4ever68]

Is our offense that consistent to sit starters before the playoffs? I think it's a must win. The Ravens are in the playoffs and this is a measure to see our potentail. We can beat any team in this league if we try and play 110%. The superbowl isn't that far away..1 game at a time.

[Derrick]

Originally Posted by Murphy

Do not rest your starters....if the game is secured one way or the other, take them out...sure.

Otherwise, keep your starters in there....the team needs the momentum, and the paying fans deserve a real game.

The O has a lot of things to work on. Play the way that helps the team the most. If that is giving certain players more snaps, or working the starters to improve their game. Truthfully I don't know the best plan. Sadly I am afraid Marvy doesn't either.

[Go Cards]

Voted yes, but think it should only be in limited minutes. Play the first half and then 1/2 of the 3rd quarter, maybe. Rest anyone with even minor injuries as well.

But would not be complaining too hard if they chose to sit the starters as well. Good spot to be in for week 16.

[Goose]

Originally Posted by whodey21

As fans, we have the luxury of looking beyond our next game, and discussing what will (or should) happen if we beat the Steelers and the Ravens beat the Giants. If this happens, we will clinch a playoff berth, and the Ravens will have clinched the North. Is there any point in playing our starters for the entire game?

Our team is still quite young, and could use all of the experience they can get, but we can't afford to risk any injuries, especially to our recieving corps or our backs. We should also consider how important momentum is, and weigh it against the benefits of looking vanilla against a team we may have to face in the near future. It's a similar scenario to what we faced in '09, when we played the Jets in back-to-back weeks.

If this team is peeking, why would I let my foot off the gas. You play to win this week and next you my have to go to their house and play them again. I wouldn't show them anymore than I already have.

[whodey21]

Originally Posted by Goose

If this team is peeking, why would I let my foot off the gas. You play to win this week and next you my have to go to their house and play them again. I wouldn't show them anymore than I already have.

I agree with you on this part. We need to get our offense on the same page, and the best way to do that is to go with the basics. Call simple plays, get our timing down. Keep it vanilla and fine-tune the fundamentals.

[McC]

Originally Posted by whodey21

Nothing whatsoever is at stake for us, but we're still planning to play everybody. After the fiasco that was our offense on Sunday, I think we should definitely run the risk of injury in favor of a tune-up.

Right now, the offense is riding the euphoria of making the critical clutch play at the utmost of moments. That sounds like some pretty good momentum to me.

What if the offense comes out and plays like crap? What have you gained then? Maybe no one got hurt but everyone got beat up and bruised. What have you gained there?

[whodey21]

Originally Posted by McC

Right now, the offense is riding the euphoria of making the critical clutch play at the utmost of moments. That sounds like some pretty good momentum to me.

What if the offense comes out and plays like crap? What have you gained then? Maybe no one got hurt but everyone got beat up and bruised. What have you gained there?

Then you have some game tape to try and figure out why they played like crap. And maybe playing a little bit sore isn't a bad thing, I always run a little bit better when I'm still stiff from the day before. I wonder if there's some science behind that one...