Is it possible to mention the Giants in any way, shape or form other than declaring them the greatest team in NFL history that you won't take offense to?

 

The comment about Cincinnati having a better chance against New York on the road was tongue-in-cheek because of the huge difference between the Giants home and road performance last year. I thought that would be pretty obvious, but...

 

I never said the Giants got lucky...while I didn't pick them to beat the Patriots, I said several times during the season that their team makeup was one that would be most likely to knock the Patriots off. Nobody is saying they aren't a good team...they won the Super Bowl for goodness sake.

 

And, despite the fact that they won the Super Bowl, they still lost 2 out of 3 games to Dallas last season, so anyone that feels like Dallas is better than them has something to base it on.

 

Just because I didn't bow down to the Giants and pick them to massacre the Bengals with their practice squad next season doesn't mean I'm trashing them...Geez!

 

I'm not offended by anything anyone has ever said on here about the Giants. Ever. So I'm not sure why you think I took offense to your comment.

 

There is a big difference between taking offense to something and disagreeing with something.

 

It was not obvious.

 

The Giants lost 5 games at home. 4 to playoff teams (Dallas, Green Bay, Washington, New England) and 1 to Minnesota (without Jacobs, Bradshaw and Derrick Ward). They were better on the road, but they played tough opponents at home. They didn't lose to scrubs.

 

It appears that you are offended by my comments. I'm not accusing you of hating the Giants or anything like that. I asked you a simple question, and you are freaking out. It is not a big deal at all. I realize not everyone will like the Giants. I realize most people will continue to doubt them even after one of the best super bowl wins ever.

 

Calm down. All I did was ask you why you thought Dallas and Indianapolis were tougher opponents.

Okay, 5wide you can respond to my latest post if you want, but I'm going to stop talking about the Giants in this thread right now. Sorry for getting off topic.

The Bengals will be much better (as long as they stay relatively healthy):

 

Levi, Willie, and Ghuciach(sp?) were hurt a large portion of the year(Willie for the 1st time ever).

They played with their 3rd team RB most of the year; when Rudi was healthy early, he played like the old Rudi; after he was injured, he was never the same(Perry was out all year).

They played with LBs off the street; D. Jones, Schlegel, even Ndukwe one week.

 

DEs are athletic; they must get a great DT in draft, and I would say another for depth.

LBs are a question mark, but Jeanty, Brooks, Thurman, Jones, Henderson, Schlegel will be better than last year, just for being in the system more than a couple of weeks.

Okay, 5wide you can respond to my latest post if you want, but I'm going to stop talking about the Giants in this thread right now. Sorry for getting off topic.

 

It just gets old...I make a passing comment about the Giants and it turns into three posts defending the team as if I threw them under the bus.

 

The point I was trying to make is that the NFL is by far the most competitive of the major sports...the margin for error is slim. When things click for a team and they get on a roll and catch some breaks, sometimes thats the difference between a team missing the playoffs and winning the Super Bowl (see Pittsburgh and NY Giants). It's not a knock on those teams, just a fact of life in the NFL...the Steelers won the Super Bowl and then missed the playoffs the next year. The same could happen to the Giants. And the Bengals might put things together like the Browns did this year...will they? I doubt it. But, their roster still has enough talent to work with that with a few key draft picks, staying healthy, and catching a few breaks could put them in the thick of the playoff hunt.

It just gets old...I make a passing comment about the Giants and it turns into three posts defending the team as if I threw them under the bus.

 

The point I was trying to make is that the NFL is by far the most competitive of the major sports...the margin for error is slim. When things click for a team and they get on a roll and catch some breaks, sometimes thats the difference between a team missing the playoffs and winning the Super Bowl (see Pittsburgh and NY Giants). It's not a knock on those teams, just a fact of life in the NFL...the Steelers won the Super Bowl and then missed the playoffs the next year. The same could happen to the Giants. And the Bengals might put things together like the Browns did this year...will they? I doubt it. But, their roster still has enough talent to work with that with a few key draft picks, staying healthy, and catching a few breaks could put them in the thick of the playoff hunt.

 

 

The Bengals may very well do exactly what the Browns did and play well enough to barely miss the playoffs. That would be quite a turn around from missing the playoffs by far, to barely missing them. :lol:

 

And if it gets old, don't respond. That's the easiest way to make it stop.

 

This is a message board. It is for having fun, debating, and good conversation. Some people take it WAY too seriously.

The Bengals may very well do exactly what the Browns did and play well enough to barely miss the playoffs. That would be quite a turn around from missing the playoffs by far, to barely missing them. :lol:

 

And if it gets old, don't respond. That's the easiest way to make it stop.

 

This is a message board. It is for having fun, debating, and good conversation. Some people take it WAY too seriously.

 

:thumb:Preach on brother...

 

And the Giants may very well do what the Steelers did...get on a roll, win the Super Bowl and then miss the playoffs the next season. And, since it's the NFL, neither would surprise me and that's my whole point.

:thumb:Preach on brother...

 

And the Giants may very well do what the Steelers did...get on a roll, win the Super Bowl and then miss the playoffs the next season. And, since it's the NFL, neither would surprise me and that's my whole point.

 

The Giants will be very good; Eli will play with more confidence than ever before; Kiwanuka will be back healthy; the RBs and WRs return in tact as well as the OL; if they bolster their DBs, the defense will be stronger.

 

Of course, like all NFL teams, this depends on the team staying relatively healthy.

The Giants will be very good; Eli will play with more confidence than ever before; Kiwanuka will be back healthy; the RBs and WRs return in tact as well as the OL; if they bolster their DBs, the defense will be stronger.

 

Of course, like all NFL teams, this depends on the team staying relatively healthy.

 

:thumb: They have to stay healthy.

:thumb:Preach on brother...

 

And the Giants may very well do what the Steelers did...get on a roll, win the Super Bowl and then miss the playoffs the next season. And, since it's the NFL, neither would surprise me and that's my whole point.

 

Okay. But I think the Giants are a little different than the Steelers. As was their run to the championship.

It just gets old...I make a passing comment about the Giants and it turns into three posts defending the team as if I threw them under the bus.

 

The point I was trying to make is that the NFL is by far the most competitive of the major sports...the margin for error is slim. When things click for a team and they get on a roll and catch some breaks, sometimes thats the difference between a team missing the playoffs and winning the Super Bowl (see Pittsburgh and NY Giants). It's not a knock on those teams, just a fact of life in the NFL...the Steelers won the Super Bowl and then missed the playoffs the next year. The same could happen to the Giants. And the Bengals might put things together like the Browns did this year...will they? I doubt it. But, their roster still has enough talent to work with that with a few key draft picks, staying healthy, and catching a few breaks could put them in the thick of the playoff hunt.

 

 

Again, if they stay healthy, they are not nearly as far away as most think; it has been negative every year after free agency, because the Bengals are never major players, which is the best way to remain an upper echelon team or at least a perennial playoff contender.

 

No one gives credence to how decimated they were at LB, OL, and RB last season; no team would have made the playoffs with their injuries.

Okay. But I think the Giants are a little different than the Steelers. As was their run to the championship.

 

What's different other than them beating an undefeated team? When Pitt won it, I believe they beat Indy when Indy almost had a perfect season that year...

 

 

Just because you say its very different doesn't mean it is...

The Giants will be very good; Eli will play with more confidence than ever before; Kiwanuka will be back healthy; the RBs and WRs return in tact as well as the OL; if they bolster their DBs, the defense will be stronger.

 

Of course, like all NFL teams, this depends on the team staying relatively healthy.

 

Hey, I expect the Giants to be good next year...of course, I didn't expect the Steelers to miss the playoffs the year after they won the Super Bowl either. The Giants were a 10-6 team that got on a roll and rode their pass rush to a Super Bowl victory...the Steelers were an 11-5 team that got on a roll and won the big game. Forgive me if I'm not completely sold on the Giants making that leap up to the level of New England, Indy and San Diego...teams that are virtual locks to make the playoffs every season.

 

The Giants have some questions to answer now, IMO...how do they respond to being the hunted? How will teams attack their defense after studying it for the entire off-season? Will they still have that same drive and desire after reaching the pinnacle? These are valid questions in my mind...I've seen it too many times in the NFL where everything clicks and comes together perfect for a team, they get on a roll and have a magical run. But, they don't sustain that Super Bowl level play the next season...

I'm not going to argue about the Giants anymore, this is a Bengals thread.

I'm not going to argue about the Giants anymore, this is a Bengals thread.

 

How's this for a segway?

 

The Giants will beat the Bengals in the Meadowlands, but it will be much closer than people expect.

8 to 9 wins might be enough to get them in. Bengals are as good or bad as the rest of their division. They all have similar schedules with Pitt. having the toughest. Clevelands won't be as easy as last year, and Baltimore is on the way down. Could be interesting.