What can the Bengals learn from this years final four playoff teams?

[Karp]

If the Bengals as an organization were to use this years final four playoff teams as a case study for success, what can they come away with.

[Millz]

That our offense is quite far off from getting this team to the Super Bowl. After watching those teams that won and even teams like Seattle, this offense is not even close to their levels of play. They have tight ends that make plays when needed, their QBs were rarely getting sacked (I want to say 3 sacks total among the 4 winning teams), QBs made big plays, were able to run the ball, good gameplans, and so -on.

[IllWill]

Sometimes the best defense is a reeally good offense?

[Shake n Blake]

Hopefully Jay is watching these games. Maybe he can steal some good ideas because he seems to be low on those.

[Abspara]

That the key to success is having an offense that is ranked higher than 22nd in the league.

That the key to success is a QB who can make the clutch throws when they count and doesn't play scared.

That the key to success is a coach who can prepare and motivate his players to play lights out when it matters.

[Millz]

Originally Posted by Shake n Blake

Hopefully Jay is watching these games. Maybe he can steal some good ideas because he seems to be low on those.

Also guys like Gresham can watch how tight ends should be playing in a playoff game. And Andy can see how deep balls are thrown for completions, while the ones that pass protect can see how those teams were doing it effectively.

After thinking it over, the Texans loss showed me that the offense had a lot of issues that game from Jay to the players pretty equally.

[BigPapaKain]

Originally Posted by Abspara

That the key to success is having an offense that is ranked higher than 22nd in the league.

That the key to success is a QB who can make the clutch throws when they count and doesn't play scared.

That the key to success is a coach who can prepare and motivate his players to play lights out when it matters.

Good offenses have consistent output from their weapons.

Hard to not play scared and make clutch throws when you can't step up into the pocket.

Truth.

[Karp]

Let's mention some teams in particular. I think the Bengals could learn a lot from the Patriots as far as attention to detail, execution and game planning.

[Bull Durham]

The offense has to be addressed. You have to score points.

[bfine32]

Originally Posted by Karp

If the Bengals as an organization were to use this years final four playoff teams as a case study for success, what can they come away with.

The saying "Defense wins Championships" is out dated.

[McC]

Originally Posted by Shake n Blake

Hopefully Jay is watching these games. Maybe he can steal some good ideas because he seems to be low on those.

If it was me, I'd be the biggest copycat in the whole copycat league. If you see it work for somebody else, give it a try.

[Karp]

I noticed that Atlanta had time outs to use during their last drive. Maybe time management could be another good lesson learned. There is no excuse to be out of timeouts by the end of the 3rd Qtr.

[McC]

Originally Posted by bfine32

The saying "Defense wins Championships" is out dated.

You have to be able to score, to be sure. But the better you are at stopping people, the less you have to score. Defense will never go out of style.

[Millz]

Originally Posted by Karp

Let's mention some teams in particular. I think the Bengals could learn a lot from the Patriots as far as attention to detail, execution and game planning.

Agreed. Also Andy can learn from Flacco on throwing it deep. Marvin can learn from Mike Smith on what not to do at the end of games, even though they won (ie that timeout there & onside kick whaaat). And our o-line can watch the 49rs o-line on how to get it done.

[TD-88]

Think like a champion. Prepare like a champion. Work like a champion. Execute like a champion. You will be a champion. ™

It starts NOW. Resign the key guys. Go out and get top shelf guys. Raise the level of competition and depth.

[BengalsIronMan]

Score, score some more, and just when you think you've scored enough, score some more

[coachmcneil71]

To be painfully honest (lol...no seriously lol) I think they have started to learn a little over the past couple of years.
NE and Balt have been in the SB mix for the past 13 years so if they were gonna learn anything from those two teams a person would have to think that they have had ample time to do so.
Atlanta may get a shot or two but overall their D is the weakest one left in the mix.
SF and Seattle (even though they are out) are similar to Cincy in my opinion.
The biggest difference in those three is having a mobile QB. SF and Seattle may have better running games but Cincy did manage to run pretty well at times this season.

[ibengals]

Andy needs to be watching Tom Brady play quarterback. If you ever watch Brady, you'll know that his eyes are ALWAYS downfield, and he just has a natural feel for when the pocket is collapsing. Andy takes his 3 step drop, and he's already either letting the ball go, or fleeing the pocket. He'll get better, but most of Andy's poor throws are because he won't let the route develop.

[BigPapaKain]

Originally Posted by McC

If it was me, I'd be the biggest copycat in the whole copycat league. If you see it work for somebody else, give it a try.

The problem with that is you'll always be a step behind.

[Helldog]

Obviously our offense needs work, I don't think anyone will dispute that.

You don't need to score 30-40 points to win a Super Bowl though like some of are saying right now.

The average score of the Super Bowl champs in the past 8 years has been 25 points.

Obviously Super Bowl caliber teams have a pretty good defense to beat opposing teams with only scoring on average 25 points.

The Bengals average points per game this season....? 23 points.

[MentalRage]

Overall, I think it comes down to better game planning. Gruden's game plan to not use Green was asinine. You wouldn't see the 49ers not using Jerry Rice in a big game. Also, any sane offensive coordinator wouldn't have abandoned the run when his running back was tearing up the defense.

[IllWill]

Originally Posted by bfine32

The saying "Defense wins Championships" is out dated.

It is, in the sense that you don't need an elite defense anymore, but it still holds true. Saints winning the Superbowl comes to mind, with that pick to seal the game. Even though their defense gave up a boatload of points, they made a lot of plays that season. I guess the truer saying is "Scoring more points than the other guys wins championships", but it's too long to fit on a T-Shirt...

[Ryan Mc]

The main lesson is that the best teams are always aggressively looking for ways to improve and are not scared to make changes.

The Pats were in the Superbowl last year, but they weren't shy to add Josh McDaniels to the coaching staff during their playoff run, even though the coaches on their team had obviously been good enough to get the team a 13-3 record and the #2 offense in the league.

The Ravens were in the championship game last season, but weren't shy to fire their offensive coordinator during the season, even though at the time they were 9-4, leading the AFC North and coming off a 28-point game. Their offense has rebounded since then.

The 49ers were in the championship game last season. Didn't stop them from looking to upgrade at QB by pursuing Peyton Manning in the offseason, and then making the controversial call to stick with Colin Kaepernick at midseason even though Alex Smith had led the team to a 6-2 record and was leading the league in passer rating prior to getting injured. They wanted more big plays on offense and so they went with the younger, rawer talent.

Basically, the teams above are not scared to make the bold decisions that open them up to potential second-guessing if they don't work. We're a team that regularly says "ah, give him another year and then let's see" when a coach or player isn't getting it done.

[stenten2]

Originally Posted by Ryan Mc

The main lesson is that the best teams are always aggressively looking for ways to improve and are not scared to make changes.

The Pats were in the Superbowl last year, but they weren't shy to add Josh McDaniels to the coaching staff during their playoff run, even though the coaches on their team had obviously been good enough to get the team a 13-3 record and the #2 offense in the league.

The Ravens were in the championship game last season, but weren't shy to fire their offensive coordinator during the season, even though at the time they were 9-4, leading the AFC North and coming off a 28-point game. Their offense has rebounded since then.

The 49ers were in the championship game last season. Didn't stop them from looking to upgrade at QB by pursuing Peyton Manning in the offseason, and then making the controversial call to stick with Colin Kaepernick at midseason even though Alex Smith had led the team to a 6-2 record and was leading the league in passer rating prior to getting injured. They wanted more big plays on offense and so they went with the younger, rawer talent.

Basically, the teams above are not scared to make the bold decisions that open them up to potential second-guessing if they don't work. We're a team that regularly says "ah, give him another year and then let's see" when a coach or player isn't getting it done.

I agree. And they aren't afraid to admit something isn't working and are willing to change.

The Bengals need to be less afraid to make a mistake and be aggressive. And keep doing something until the other team proves they can stop it. Like the running game against Houston.

[Interceptor]

The defense is fine.

The offense needs a balanced attack and to be less predictable, unlike what happened in the game:
- Dalton under center with a single RB behind means RUN
- Dalton in shotgun formation = PASS