Cincinnati at New England pre-game chatter (1 Viewer)

[Ghost Rider]

I think I am not alone in being very curious to see how this game pans out.

In one corner, you have the Bengals, a team on the rise, seemingly being held back just a tad by their QB Andy Dalton, who has been awful in three playoff games so far. They look like a championship team in every other area, but can Dalton step up and be the consistent guy they need to get to the top?

In the other corner, you have the fading Patriots, a team that has been great for well over a decade, but appears to be on the verge of slipping out of that top contender status that they have held for so long, and they are coming off an epic beat down on MNF.

My gut tells me that the Bengals are the better team and should win, but it also tells me that when this game is over, it will be one of those games that you think, "the Bengals should have won," but a few stalled drives and a bad Dalton pick or two, one of which might even go for a pick-6, will keep it close, and Brady and that pitiful offense will do just enough to eke out a 20-16 win or something like that.

 

[Braktastic]

Cincy should roll. Will they? That's why they play the game. I think they will.

Bold prediction: After his team's offensive performance in this game, all Belichick will say afterwards is "We're onto Buffalo".

 

[SeniorVBDStudent]

Dobson back from internal bench. Tyms back from suspension. Better vertical targets. Rookie olinemen in week 2 - modest improvement? Browner back from suspension - nice improvement to secondary. Brady pissed. Dark lord pissed. Whole team embarassed. Backs to the wall...at home. Lets find out.

 

[LittlePhatty]

Bengals win easily, 24 to 6.

They have a great defense, will give the Patriots trouble all night.

 

[Ketamine Dreams]

How many rushing yards for Gio and Hill?

 

[SameSongNDance]

Vegas opened with NE -1 and the line has moved to CIN -1. So essentially, they think Cincy would only be slightly favored on a neutral field. Interesting.

 

[jurb26]

Cinci is a much better team and coming off a bye. They win easily, 30-13.

Though a NE team that was just embarrassed coming home does scare me a bit.

 

[Mighty Mice]

Cinci is a much better team and coming off a bye. They win easily, 30-13.

Though a NE team that was just embarrassed coming home does scare me a bit.

I think the Bengals are significantly more talented and overall just flat better than the Patriots right now. And, the difference in rest will matter significantly IMO.

NE has the short week coming off the MNF game. Playing on the road until midnight or so on Tuesday, then having to travel home from the Midwest, NE is going to have limited rest/prep for the matchup.

Cincinnati coming off a bye week to plan and rest.

Not that NE can't win, but I would be very surprised.

 

[Stealthycat]

mad Brady is 32 of 55 passing, 380 yards and 3 TD's

will NEP win? I dunno ... Dalton might light it up too, he's due. but Brady this week is mad, Pats are mad, at home ...... I think Pats have a great chance to win and prove something

 

[Franknbeans]

I'm thinking another defensive struggle similar to last year. A field goal fest.

 

[LionOfGosforth]

mad Brady is 32 of 55 passing, 380 yards and 3 TD's

will NEP win? I dunno ... Dalton might light it up too, he's due. but Brady this week is mad, Pats are mad, at home ...... I think Pats have a great chance to win and prove something

That's about triple his per-game average and against one of the best DEF's in the league. Seems unlikely in the extreme, but the unpredictability this year is maddening so who knows? I'm benching Tom this week so he's bound to go off.

 

[Run It Up]

I'm hoping we don't see Dobson tbh. Would much rather see Thompkins, Tyms, Dola and Wright. Dobson adds very little to this offense and he's basically LaFell (who's also bad) but somehow has worse hands and route running.

 

[devouredbychaos]

I can easily see this being the game in which somehow the Pats go off and win big, 34-10. Everyone and their brother expect Cincy to win big after the Pats putrid MNF game, and it wouldn't surprise me to see a game reminiscent of the prime time Pats-Texans two seasons ago (maybe 3?)

 

[Timmay]

I think we will see a big difference in this weeks Patriots team compared to this past Monday nights team. That doesn't necessarily mean I think the Patriots will win though. Bengals are for real this year and I think they will take care of business on the road this week, but I do think it will be a close game throughout.

27-20 Bengals.

Prediction: AJ Green will have a nice game. Over 100 yards and at least 1 TD.

 

[Rubi]

Kansas City's offense just shredded the Pats D. Marvin and his coaches were watching. It's a copy cat league. Cinncy's D is a tad,no it's a lot better than K.C.'s Brady will be under pressure all night. The only thing that will keep this game somewhat close is The Bengals chewing clock and struggles in the red-zone. The Pats struggle all over the field. The Emperor can come up with a good game plan,but in the end Cinncy is just too talented for The Pats this year. Gio is licking his chops after seeing what Davis and a gimpy Charles did,and I'll go out on a limb and say A.J. Green is better than Dwayne Bowe,who looked like an all-pro last week. As far as Dalton goes,it's NOT a playoff game,nuff said. Bengals win,maybe not big,but easily.

 

[Run It Up]

Pats win the turnover battle they win the game.

 

[Dynasty Walkers]

Any given Sunday.............or Thursday.....or Monday.

 

[Boston]

If Cincy wants to take the jump from playoff contender to championship contender they need to go into Foxboro and dominate the Pats...they are talented, playing well, coming off of a bye and playing a Pats team on a short week that is just a mess right now...the Pats have a lot of holes and there is no secret as to what they are...in the past this is the type of game the Pats would silence the doubters with a big time effort but when I look at this roster (and coaching staff) I just don't know if they have it in them...I hope I'm wrong but Sunday night has a chance to get a little ugly...

 

[AuttieFootball]

This is the classic "everyone counts out the Patriots before they come roaring back" game. I hope I'm wrong (would love to see the end of the Brady era) but I've seen this movie too many times to get excited.

That said, Bengals look like a much better team both on paper and so far this season, and have had an extra week to prepare for this game. It's their Prime Time coming out party as a Super Bowl contender.

Should be very interesting.

 

[Vector]

mad Brady is 32 of 55 passing, 380 yards and 3 TD's

will NEP win? I dunno ... Dalton might light it up too, he's due. but Brady this week is mad, Pats are mad, at home ...... I think Pats have a great chance to win and prove something

Let Brady be mad. He still can't throw from the seat of his pants.

After this game he will be more mad and plenty sore.

 

[rickyg]

This is the classic "everyone counts out the Patriots before they come roaring back" game. I hope I'm wrong (would love to see the end of the Brady era) but I've seen this movie too many times to get excited.

That said, Bengals look like a much better team both on paper and so far this season, and have had an extra week to prepare for this game. It's their Prime Time coming out party as a Super Bowl contender.

Should be very interesting.

I think it's different this time around:

The o line is horrific. Can they play a little better? Yeah, but they will likely be a major weakness or the team all year.

Brady is old and his skills are in decline. He also looks like a scared little boy in the pocket. Very jittery and his accuracy on long throws is bad now.

Their wrs are one of the most underwhelming groups in the league...Cleveland might have better wrs.

Their offense was humming with those 2-te sets before Hernandez left football for gang banging.

Their run game isn't all that great BC of the o line.

I think they will get better than they have been in the first 4 weeks of the season but they won't be good let alone great. Right now they are abysmal.

I traded Brady away 2 days ago essentially for a bag of rocks. Packaged him in a trade to acquire cutler. That's how little faith I have that this year he will turn it around in a significant way.

 

[devouredbychaos]

This is the classic "everyone counts out the Patriots before they come roaring back" game. I hope I'm wrong (would love to see the end of the Brady era) but I've seen this movie too many times to get excited.

That said, Bengals look like a much better team both on paper and so far this season, and have had an extra week to prepare for this game. It's their Prime Time coming out party as a Super Bowl contender.

Should be very interesting.

Couldn't have said it better. I know everyone is downplaying this Patriots team as not being that good..but they're essentially the same team on offense this year as last year, minus the O-line, and a better defense. This team made it to the AFC championship game last season with a worse team, and while they haven't looked good lately, there's no reason they can't turn things around starting with a big game on Sunday night.

 

[Vector]

This is the classic "everyone counts out the Patriots before they come roaring back" game. I hope I'm wrong (would love to see the end of the Brady era) but I've seen this movie too many times to get excited.

That said, Bengals look like a much better team both on paper and so far this season, and have had an extra week to prepare for this game. It's their Prime Time coming out party as a Super Bowl contender.

Should be very interesting.

Couldn't have said it better. I know everyone is downplaying this Patriots team as not being that good..but they're essentially the same team on offense this year as last year, minus the O-line, and a better defense. This team made it to the AFC championship game last season with a worse team, and while they haven't looked good lately, there's no reason they can't turn things around starting with a big game on Sunday night.

Because we all know that the O-line is about the same as a punter in football.

 

[Run It Up]

Gronks healthy, Vereens healthy, Edelman looks better than he did last year.

The glaring weakness is obviously the oline, the offseason moves have turned a barely functioning oline into an oline that doesn't perform at all. Scarnecchia might have been the best OLine coach in the history of the NFL, and from all reports ive read the new guy DeGuglielmo besides having a name that is somehow even harder to spell is a complete jackass and no one on the team respects him. Huge step down, so we lose Mankins who was a turnstyle last year - but a leader, and are left with two rookies and a couple guys who are underperforming for one reason or another.

If they get any traction on that Oline, the change will be night and day.

 

[zoonation]

I can't believe the line in this game. The Pats are awful. They could barely squeak by Oakland at home. Cinci is a top AFC team coming off a bye. This will not be close.

 

[Freelove]

I can't believe the line in this game.

That's on a lot of tombstones.

 

[Kool-Aid Larry]

Vegas opened with NE -1 and the line has moved to CIN -1. So essentially, they think Cincy would only be slightly favored on a neutral field. Interesting.

vegas got no respect for cincy -- what's up?

 

[devouredbychaos]

I can't believe the line in this game. The Pats are awful. They could barely squeak by Oakland at home. Cinci is a top AFC team coming off a bye. This will not be close.

Any given Sunday. If the Pats defense shows up, it'll be a close game. Dalton isn't that good.

 

[Archer]

Expect Bengals to smash

 

[Kool-Aid Larry]

Oddsmaker: Bengals (8-1) have become “fashionable” Super Bowl betPosted by Mike Wilkening on October 2, 2014, 7:34 PM EDT

Getty ImagesThe Bengals have a bandwagon?

The Bengals have a bandwagon.

Yes, Cincinnati, one of the NFL’s last two unbeaten teams, has garnered some respect from the betting public at one of Nevada’s major sports books.

At the MGM reports, the Bengals are now 8-1 to win Super Bowl 49; only the Seahawks and Broncos (4-1 apiece) have shorter odds.

The Bengals “are the fashionable pick the last couple of weeks by far,” Jay Rood, the vice president of race and sports at MGM, told PFT on Thursday.

 

[notdarkyet]

Bengals by two scores. Im a Bengals fan, but they are simply a better team, better depth, better lines, better skill players.

 

[ratbast]

OLine and play calling are probably not going to improve for my Pats anytime soon. Im not sure McDanials can handle this situation.

The one plus I see is that Browner is now back there with Revis. I see the D gelling soon and being very strong or even dominant, but the O must be able to minimize their negative impact.

 

[Kool-Aid Larry]

Bengals by two scores. Im a Bengals fan, but they are simply a better team, better depth, better lines, better skill players.

how would you say they stack up against a team like the chargers?

 

[QuizGuy66]

Sorry can't wrap my mind around a Bengals game thread set up days before a regular season game

-QG

 

[ghostguy123]

If this game was in Cincy I would say Cincy wins 30-13.

Never underestimate Dalton's ability to BLOW.

Pats win this one

 

[Caesar]

My predictions for this game.

-Brady will throw a pick-6 from his heels while getting smacked down by Carlos Dunlap. I will say Adam jones runs it back in.

-Dalton will throw up a QB rating over 100 on mostly short passes to Gio and Sanu. 2 TDs through the air, one to AJ and one to Gio.

-The defense will sack Brady 4 times in the first half.

-Gronkowski gets another garbage time TD after being largely ineffective the entire game.

-There will be a punt return of at least 40 yards, but not for a score.

Bengals 24, Patriots 10

 

[SeniorVBDStudent]

Revis looks like a shell thus far despite the pre season hype.

 

[Tanner9919]

People were predicting a big game vs. Oakland two weeks ago - didn't happen.

same vs. Chiefs, Miami on opening day - didn't happen

'it is what it is' as they say, this NE team is a dog.their defense is soft, but it's their offensive line that is going to be the real problem here, Cincy can get after the QB..so, does this now mean a lot of two TE sets, keeping Gronk in to block more? probably.

I'm sure it will be the Edelman show again, something like 9-90, but you'd be hard pressed to find anyone who is productive in that NE offense, Brady included..

 

[Bojang0301]

Lol @ Bengals fans ever thinking they're legit. I preemptively welcome you back down to earth this weekend. Big game Marv will blow it. Two weeks off, a reeling Patriots team... Brady T's off and Patriots D buries Dalton.

 

[trogg78]

Lol @ Bengals fans ever thinking they're legit. I preemptively welcome you back down to earth this weekend. Big game Marv will blow it. Two weeks off, a reeling Patriots team... Brady T's off and Patriots D buries Dalton.

 

[jurb26]

Lol @ Bengals fans ever thinking they're legit. I preemptively welcome you back down to earth this weekend. Big game Marv will blow it. Two weeks off, a reeling Patriots team... Brady T's off and Patriots D buries Dalton.

The reason your post is most off base is because you somehow think this is a "big game." NE isn't good enough for that qualification.

 

[tombonneau]

This is the classic "everyone counts out the Patriots before they come roaring back" game. I hope I'm wrong (would love to see the end of the Brady era) but I've seen this movie too many times to get excited.

That said, Bengals look like a much better team both on paper and so far this season, and have had an extra week to prepare for this game. It's their Prime Time coming out party as a Super Bowl contender.

Should be very interesting.

I'm as big as Pats homer as you must be a hater ( @ your avatar) and I think you can get ready to gorge at the schadenfraude buffet this season. That loss on MNF was unlike any other they have suffered. Usually, a game like that is just a bad game and they rebound. But that game was more indicative of the team they are this season. They are just not good. 7-9.

I simply do not see them having the horses (or coaches) to pull off a victory. Sure they could catch a few bounces and win the turnover battle and eek out a win, anything is possible, but it is far more likely that they get thoroughly outmatched and dominated and lose 30-6.

The offense is just putrid. Randy Moss is not walking though that door. Matt Light is not walking through that door. Hell, Deion Branch is not walking through that door. The cupboard are bare.

I truly feel last Monday was the first step down to the basement for NE. I hope I'm wrong, but it all just feels too different.

 

[Bud]

Cincy will dominate the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball, not likely a "get right" game for the Patriots.

 

[gchip]

Lol @ Bengals fans ever thinking they're legit. I preemptively welcome you back down to earth this weekend. Big game Marv will blow it. Two weeks off, a reeling Patriots team... Brady T's off and Patriots D buries Dalton.

 

[zoonation]

I can't believe the line in this game.

That's on a lot of tombstones.

I hear ya. I'm still in for a K though.

 

[Spike]

Revis looks like a shell thus far despite the pre season hype.

The Pats are using him a lot like the Bucs did last year - in zone.

Don't know why they can't/won't adapt to personnel.

 

[Leonidas]

I predict that NE looks at least as bad as they did on MNF.

 

[Jules Winnfield]

This is the classic "everyone counts out the Patriots before they come roaring back" game. I hope I'm wrong (would love to see the end of the Brady era) but I've seen this movie too many times to get excited.

That said, Bengals look like a much better team both on paper and so far this season, and have had an extra week to prepare for this game. It's their Prime Time coming out party as a Super Bowl contender.

Should be very interesting.

I'm as big as Pats homer as you must be a hater ( @ your avatar) and I think you can get ready to gorge at the schadenfraude buffet this season. That loss on MNF was unlike any other they have suffered. Usually, a game like that is just a bad game and they rebound. But that game was more indicative of the team they are this season. They are just not good. 7-9.

I simply do not see them having the horses (or coaches) to pull off a victory. Sure they could catch a few bounces and win the turnover battle and eek out a win, anything is possible, but it is far more likely that they get thoroughly outmatched and dominated and lose 30-6.

The offense is just putrid. Randy Moss is not walking though that door. Matt Light is not walking through that door. Hell, Deion Branch is not walking through that door. The cupboard are bare.

I truly feel last Monday was the first step down to the basement for NE. I hope I'm wrong, but it all just feels too different.

What about Sam Cunningham, Russ Francis, or Randy Vataha? Might they walk through that door?

 

[tombonneau]

This is the classic "everyone counts out the Patriots before they come roaring back" game. I hope I'm wrong (would love to see the end of the Brady era) but I've seen this movie too many times to get excited.

That said, Bengals look like a much better team both on paper and so far this season, and have had an extra week to prepare for this game. It's their Prime Time coming out party as a Super Bowl contender.

Should be very interesting.

I'm as big as Pats homer as you must be a hater ( @ your avatar) and I think you can get ready to gorge at the schadenfraude buffet this season. That loss on MNF was unlike any other they have suffered. Usually, a game like that is just a bad game and they rebound. But that game was more indicative of the team they are this season. They are just not good. 7-9.

I simply do not see them having the horses (or coaches) to pull off a victory. Sure they could catch a few bounces and win the turnover battle and eek out a win, anything is possible, but it is far more likely that they get thoroughly outmatched and dominated and lose 30-6.

The offense is just putrid. Randy Moss is not walking though that door. Matt Light is not walking through that door. Hell, Deion Branch is not walking through that door. The cupboard are bare.

I truly feel last Monday was the first step down to the basement for NE. I hope I'm wrong, but it all just feels too different.

What about Sam Cunningham, Russ Francis, or Randy Vataha? Might they walk through that door?

No to all of the above. There will be no walking through that door by anyone who has not already walked through that door this season, with the limited exception of future signings who may eventually graduate up to door-through-walking status.

 

[devouredbychaos]

So what happens if, and it's a big IF..the Pats come out firing on all cylinders and completely win every aspect of this game and blow out Cincy? What will be said about the Patriots then? The Bengals choke in most every big game, and they've got an average at best QB. It's quite possible.