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

[D's Nuts and Bolts]

Here is what we learned from the losers.

That having a HOF best QB ever, doesn't guarantee you a SB ring,

That having a stable of "stud" WR's and a league MVP QB doesn't beat a pash rush running game, and dominate offensive line.

Having just a running game and a lame duck QB with one stud defensive player can't beat NE who has the true next guy up philosophy.

I got nothing bad to say about SEA that team is going to be darn good next year, they don't have a legit #1 let alone a #2.


The Bengals need to spend the offseason building the run game and designing an offense the uses it's players strengths.

[D.Boon]

Not to manage the clock like a total moron. Not to go conservative when converting a 3rd and 7 will ice the game.

[Utts]

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 Texans are about half an order of magnitude better than us, and the Patriots are about two orders of magnitude than the Texans.

[bengalfan74]

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.

That we need a new HC and OC.

[3wt]

Dalton needs to study how Manning and Brady prepare with their teammates and operate on the field.

The Patriots are a different team now that Ridley and Vereen have emerged. The trend that seems to be successful lately are short (5'9"), powerful RBs (215-220lbs) with a lot of acceleration and excellent receiving skills. It has made their offense very hard to defend - even without Gronk.

Patriots have been more successful since they paid enough attention to making sure their O-Line is top notch

QBs who have time make plays - and are less likely to run around like scared rabbits (which Brady did in their first loss to the Giants)

There are all sorts of things I want in this draft, but the biggest needs are making sure the O-Line is going to be solid (Center problem needs to be solved - beyond a doubt) and finding a couple of running backs who are impact players. One of them needs to be able to SKOOT.

[kevin]

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.

Not much.......Each of these 4 teams is different in their own way, and so are we.....The Patriots are a very veteran bunch for example. So are the Ravens....I like that the Bengals are a young team. As these veteran teams get old and key players retire, maybe we can be the up and coming powerhouse.....I wouldn't scrap what we do on defense or offense to try to copy these teams.....3 play-offs in the last 4 years.....This young team could be about ready to break out to the head of the field.......I hope this team works at fine tuning what they are about, and eliminates the mistakes until they are as perfect as possible in what they do.....I don't think you can throw out everything and copy these 4 teams.

If people thought the 2012 schedule looked tough....get a load of the 2013 schedule.....Road wins are always hard and of course we have Ravens, Steelers and Browns play us tough in Cleveland...add in at Detroit and Chicago and at San Diego again...at Miami....its a long hard road......As for at home in The Jungle....Ravens, Steelers and Browns...but add in Packers, Vikings, Colts and Patriots....and Jets......We better be good against this road schedule and all these play-off teams coming to Cincy.

[fortyyearfan]

Originally Posted by kevin

Not much.......Each of these 4 teams is different in their own way, and so are we.....The Patriots are a very veteran bunch for example. So are the Ravens....I like that the Bengals are a young team. As these veteran teams get old and key players retire, maybe we can be the up and coming powerhouse.....I wouldn't scrap what we do on defense or offense to try to copy these teams.....3 play-offs in the last 4 years.....This young team could be about ready to break out to the head of the field.......I hope this team works at fine tuning what they are about, and eliminates the mistakes until they are as perfect as possible in what they do.....I don't think you can throw out everything and copy these 4 teams.

If people thought the 2012 schedule looked tough....get a load of the 2013 schedule.....Road wins are always hard and of course we have Ravens, Steelers and Browns play us tough in Cleveland...add in at Detroit and Chicago and at San Diego again...at Miami....its a long hard road......As for at home in The Jungle....Ravens, Steelers and Browns...but add in Packers, Vikings, Colts and Patriots....and Jets......We better be good against this road schedule and all these play-off teams coming to Cincy.

I HAVE A STRONG FEELING we will pound the holy crap out of everyone that comes to the NASTY NATI, WE WILL MAUL THE MOTHERS AND ALL THEY GET WHEN THEY SHOW UP IS PAIN,PAIN,PAIN.They better be worried big-time about having to play Us.We are coming back with a killer attitude and take no prisoners.Its time to get it right!!! This team will come out hungry and ready.The cat attack is about to happen.

[M.W.]

Originally Posted by bengalfan74

That we need a new HC and OC.

Now that would be a fantastic start!!

[eoxyod]

Run a multiple offense (As in, no real identity. Just offense). The 49ers and Pats have 8,000 different looks they can give you. Also, make sure even your role players are ready for their moment at any point (Jacoby Jones, Shane Vereen)

[fortyyearfan]

Originally Posted by kevin

Not much.......Each of these 4 teams is different in their own way, and so are we.....The Patriots are a very veteran bunch for example. So are the Ravens....I like that the Bengals are a young team. As these veteran teams get old and key players retire, maybe we can be the up and coming powerhouse.....I wouldn't scrap what we do on defense or offense to try to copy these teams.....3 play-offs in the last 4 years.....This young team could be about ready to break out to the head of the field.......I hope this team works at fine tuning what they are about, and eliminates the mistakes until they are as perfect as possible in what they do.....I don't think you can throw out everything and copy these 4 teams.

If people thought the 2012 schedule looked tough....get a load of the 2013 schedule.....Road wins are always hard and of course we have Ravens, Steelers and Browns play us tough in Cleveland...add in at Detroit and Chicago and at San Diego again...at Miami....its a long hard road......As for at home in The Jungle....Ravens, Steelers and Browns...but add in Packers, Vikings, Colts and Patriots....and Jets......We better be good against this road schedule and all these play-off teams coming to Cincy.

A glaring point in these four playoff teams is all four have a QB that can thrown the long ball with accuracy.all four have excellent running games that get quality yards. all four use the screen play effectively.all four have two tightends that get first downs and move the chains. All four have very good defenses, except maybe the falcons.In other words they are very balanced and have excellent coaching staffs.I feel the niners are the best going in and baring something unusual happening, i see them winning it all.I believe the ravens will knock off the pats.I could be wrong, but it seems like they are a team of destity.I want the pats to win as i hate the dirty birds, but its going to be a wild game, and oh yes, all four teams have pro-bowl O-lines, and D-lines.Its how you build a team.

[Steeler Eater]

Screens, screens, and utilizing the TE.

[Old White Guy]

That our Defense could beat up on any of those four.
However our offense and our coaches needs alot of help.
So,we would lose.

[ThunderCloud]

I think we need to observe that when Tom Brady comes to the line and sees what he expected to see, he doesn't **** around with everybody in their stance forever, he takes the snap and runs the play.

Then he gets everybody ready to do it again in short order. Not always in hurry up, but he keeps that offense moving.

[schneiderman99]

Originally Posted by eoxyod

Run a multiple offense (As in, no real identity. Just offense). The 49ers and Pats have 8,000 different looks they can give you. Also, make sure even your role players are ready for their moment at any point (Jacoby Jones, Shane Vereen)

That's what I've always respected about the Patriots they seem to deal with injuries pretty well because they have players step up and fill their role perfectly. They have 3 running backs that make huge plays game in and game out.

[Jabberwocky]

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.

Two things I've noticed over the last 4 years...

Game planning to win. Tenativeness comes from playing not to lose. The Bengals, in most games, play not to lose. Have a more aggressive game plan on both sides of the ball. Which leads to...

Speed kills. Both the players' speed and the speed of the game. If you need to huddle, get in and out of it fast. Get on the ball and make the defense move around while the QB is calling signals. Huddle at the line-line up and then audible into one play, knowing you have time to change it around the 15 second mark.

Notice I didn't mention new players anywhere or new coaching styles/philosophies. The head coach needs to change his attitude because "Managing" the game may win 8-10 games a year, but it will never win in the playoffs.

[bLEEdOrangeandBlack]

That we shouldn't have been cheap and spent money on some free agent talent like say uhmmmm i dont know BRANDON MARSHALL or VINCENT JACKSON or CARL NICKS.....uggg...

[jack1953]

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.

Using the links below for total team offense and defense for 2012, you are incorrect in your ranking of the Bengal offense. Here is the breakdown of the playoff teams offensive and defensive rankings:

Team ........ Offense Rankings.... Defense Rankings
Patriots.....................1.................... ..........9
Broncos....................2...................... ........4
Redskins...................4...................... ......22
Packers....................5...................... .......11
Falcons.....................7..................... ........5
Texans......................8..................... ........10
Seahawks................ 9..............................1
Ravens.....................10..................... .......12
49ers........................11................... ..........2
Bengals....................12..................... ........8
Vikings.....................14.................... ........15
Colts........................16................... ..........21

http://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/2012/

http://www.pro-football-reference.co...s/2012/opp.htm

Interesting how these numbers played out so far with the teams that are left:

Patriots - They have the number 1 offense and a top ten defense, but also Tom Brady . He is the ONLY QB, in my opinion, that could win even with a lower ranked defense!!

Broncos - They have the best numbers with the number 2 offense and number 4 defense! What happened? Their defense played very poor and Manning made a rookie mistake at the end of the game that cost him the win!!

Redskins - Good offense but very low defense and a rookie QB. Defense wins ballgames......except for Tom Brady !!

Packers - Number 5 offense and number 11 defense. They lost to the Niners who had a lower ranked offense (11) but the number 2 defense. Between Rodgers and Manning, it proves that great QBs are not enough..............except for Tom Brady!!

Falcons - Number 7 offense and number 5 defense with a QB, after 3, count them 3 playoff losses, finally matured into a winner with a clutch game winning drive!

Texans - A good balance of offense (8) and defense (10) but had the unfortunate luck of the draw to face Tom Brady!!

Seahawks - Even though they had a top 10 offense (9) and the number 1 defense, they had a rookie QB who lost to a QB who has been there who had experience (3 previous playoff games) and matured into a winner!

Ravens - A decent balance this year on offense (10) and defense (12) and were fortunate to play a game where the Bronco defense didn't show up and Manning made the uncharacteristic like rookie mistake at the end of the game, and the Ravens are also riding on the Ray Lewis retirement high.

49ers - Good offense (11) number 2 defense, and tons of momentum . Defense wins games, but it will be very interesting to see what happens against Atlanta.

Bengals - Better balance than I realized with offense (12) and defense (8). Offense played horribly and this is also the youngest team in the league. Despite all of that they were in the game all the way and could have won it easily if Dalton hits Green in that last pass.

Vikings - Probably the best balance offense (14) and defense (15) but the balance is in the middle of the pack and they lost their starting QB for the game.

Colts - Middle of the pack offense (16) but lower end defense (21) and a rookie QB.

[ODRAB14]

That while you a good defense keeps you in games our offense is light years away at this point.

[jack1953]

Originally Posted by ODRAB14

That while you a good defense keeps you in games our offense is light years away at this point.

Light Years???

Come on the Bengals finished 12th and the Ravnes 11th, and they are going to the AFCC!! Yes they had huge help from the Bronco defense and Peyton's mistake, but it is what it is!!

[Ryan Mc]

Originally Posted by jack1953

Using the links below for total team offense and defense for 2012, you are incorrect in your ranking of the Bengal offense.....

The ranking of 22nd is based on offensive yardage, not points. Yardage is the traditional way to rank teams. Our ranking in points is heavily helped by our great defense which scored TDs on fumble recoveries and INTs down the stretch of the season and generally set our offense up with good field position when not directly scoring themselves. That's why looking at yardage gives the more meaningful picture of where our team ranks offensively compared to other teams (in our final six games we only had ONE offensive TD drive which started in our own half of the field ... when not provided with short field position by our defense or special teams our offense was totally incapable of driving the ball down the field into the endzone).

[BengalsFanSKCanada]

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.

Throw the ball into double coverage and hope the opposition DB's stand there and watch, while your wide receiver catches the ball and scores a TD?

[jack1953]

Originally Posted by Ryan Mc

The ranking of 22nd is based on offensive yardage, not points. Yardage is the traditional way to rank teams. Our ranking in points is heavily helped by our great defense which scored TDs on fumble recoveries and INTs down the stretch of the season and generally set our offense up with good field position when not directly scoring themselves. That's why looking at yardage gives the more meaningful picture of where our team ranks offensively compared to other teams (in our final six games we only had ONE offensive TD drive which started in our own half of the field ... when not provided with short field position by our defense or special teams our offense was totally incapable of driving the ball down the field into the endzone).

Regardless of how you stir the pot, the post that I made was based on the same rankings for all the teams, no matter how you split the hairs.

[Ryan Mc]

Originally Posted by jack1953

Regardless of how you stir the pot, the post that I made was based on the same rankings for all the teams, no matter how you split the hairs.

Point was that not all teams scored points the same way. Some teams rank high on your list because they were really good offensive teams. We are NOT one of those teams. We rank OK on your list because we had an excellent defense that not only scored TDs themselves, but also set our offense up with good field position when they weren't scoring themselves. I'm not splitting hairs ... you responded to a post saying we were a poor offensive team and the rankings you provided do not refute that fact.

[jack1953]

Originally Posted by Ryan Mc

Point was that not all teams scored points the same way. Some teams rank high on your list because they were really good offensive teams. We are NOT one of those teams. We rank OK on your list because we had an excellent defense that not only scored TDs themselves, but also set our offense up with good field position when they weren't scoring themselves. I'm not splitting hairs ... you responded to a post saying we were a poor offensive team and the rankings you provided do not refute that fact.

I responded with the facts Ryan. This offensive ranking wasn't just on points! The ranking system was the same for all teams. The point I was driving home was based on the OP asking what have we learned from the playoffs so far.

With the apples to apples stats, I gave my assessment of what I see and have learned.

That a stellar QB, outside of Brady, is not a guarantee, defense wins ballgames, and experience and momentum, play a huge part in the playoffs which is one reason Eli and the boys were able to upset Brady. If they played each other ten Sundays in a row, the Pats would win 8 or 9 of those games.

[Ryan Mc]

Originally Posted by jack1953

I responded with the facts Ryan. This offensive ranking wasn't just on points! The ranking system was the same for all teams. The point I was driving home was based on the OP asking what have we learned from the playoffs so far.

With the apples to apples stats, I gave my assessment of what I see and have learned.

That a stellar QB, outside of Brady, is not a guarantee, defense wins ballgames, and experience and momentum, play a huge part in the playoffs which is one reason Eli and the boys were able to upset Brady. If they played each other ten Sundays in a row, the Pats would win 8 or 9 of those games.

OK ... I can't explain myself any better than I have. Abspara said we ranked 22nd in offense. You replied to his post and said that he was incorrect in his ranking of the Bengals offense. He was in fact correct ... we did rank 22nd in offense by the traditional manner of ranking offenses.