Super Bowl

[MackStrongIsMyHero]

Then Wilson has not lived up to his billing many times in the face of Aaron Donald blowing up the middle of the line. It was an impressive feat to come back after an ACL/MCL tear and lead your team to the SB. I see where you’re coming from because of the media and Burrow prior to the game, but that’s not the hype I’m talking about. He is, so far, showing that he’s got it. A regression next season, and I’ll be singing a different tune.

[Hawktawk]

Then Wilson has not lived up to his billing many times in the face of Aaron Donald blowing up the middle of the line. It was an impressive feat to come back after an ACL/MCL tear and lead your team to the SB. I see where you’re coming from because of the media and Burrow prior to the game, but that’s not the hype I’m talking about. He is, so far, showing that he’s got it. A regression next season, and I’ll be singing a different tune.

I love Burrows and think he’s legit . On that last series the coach blinked , called a horrible sequence going deep on second down needing a yard . Shotgun on 4 th and 1 . Mixon on the bench . Donald stopped the back on 3rd with 1 arm reaching behind him . Still Jamar Chase had blown by Ramsay and was wide open for a TD . As it was it was remarkable how Burrows flipped the ball out . If the backs ready for it who knows . Gotta be lucky and good to win it all.

I think without Donald the Rams are a 10-7 wild card one and done considering they barely won with him. He should have been MVP. As for Russ there have been 3 NFC west teams represent the conference in the Super Bowl last 4 seasons . Meanwhile Seattle has failed to win a divisional game in 7 seasons . So yeah if Russ wants to win 3 more he better get going . . Burrows has a lot more time .

[c_hawkbob]

OK, if it's important for you to look at it that way, you're not wrong; Russ failed to live up to the hype in XLIX, no arguing that.

[Hawktawk]

There’s no proving it but I think if we got that yard we might have more than 2 Lombardis by now . It’s easy in hindsight to see the team wasn’t the same even with significant pieces were still on the roster . I forget who said it but I think Russ and PC need an exorcist .

[obiken]

OK, if it's important for you to look at it that way, you're not wrong; Russ failed to live up to the hype in XLIX, no arguing that.

Yes we can, and I always will!! The LOB started coming apart when KC demanded a huge contract and they gave into him. We traded off Max Unger and let Russ Okung go. Once KC came back and got injured, the Hawks were off paying out Max contracts to defensive players, that doomed the whole situation with Earl. We NEVER had an All Pro WR for Russ, and he carried this team for 5 years with dog-food offensive lineman. I am tired of it being laid on Russ!! The numbers do not lie. Trade Russ to the Colts, Browns, or Broncos, and see how they do! Oh better yet trade him to the 49ers and see how fast they get to the SB! Give me a break everybody!

[obiken]

There’s no proving it but I think if we got that yard we might have more than 2 Lombardis by now . It’s easy in hindsight to see the team wasn’t the same even with significant pieces were still on the roster . I forget who said it but I think Russ and PC need an exorcist .

I agree it was that loss where PC lost the locker room, after that they quit buying into PC's Tony Robbins, power of positive BS. Then people were out for themselves. I have seen a lot of Christian divorces HT, and a lot of secular ones, let me tell you a divorce from 2 good people who still love each other, but know they cannot live together are the WORST. Neither wants to be the bad guy. IF I were Hawk GM and say I was River, Cbob, or TCS, I would trade RW to the Cards for 2 first rounders, Kyler Murray, and see where the chips fall.
No matter what happens I dont think exorcism is going to help.

[RiverDog]

He had his chance to actually become "Joe Cool III" as he clearly was being hyped but didn't get it done. he had the ball with a minute and a half to go and the magic just wasn't there. Of course it wasn't all his fault, never is, but "failed to live up to the hype" is a totally legit story line.

Good game though, I enjoyed it. Congrats to the Lambs!

Agreed, but no matter who the quarterback was, they had two weeks to hype him and he was going to be the focus of the media's attention no matter how good or bad he was. IMO he hadn't done all that much to deserve the hype, so it was probably unfair to him for them to elevate the expectations like they did. He was under enough pressure as it was.

Burrow certainly didn't stink up the place, but neither did he do anything to set himself apart from the Mac Jones's and Trevor Lawrence's of the league, a class where I think he's at now.

[TriCitySam]

I like Burrow, tough competitor who played well this year even though he got absolutely hammered with sacks.....and for that reason, the Bengals are likely 1 and done. He won't live.

[NorthHawk]

The Bengals have a lot of Cap room and they could go big in FA to improve their OL which is the
biggest reason for all of the sacks. The Chiefs replaced 4 of 5 this year and other teams make
successful changes every year but the Bengals really only need to improve their right side.
That would go a long way to keep Burrow upright.

[obiken]

I like Burrow, tough competitor who played well this year even though he got absolutely hammered with sacks.....and for that reason, the Bengals are likely 1 and done. He won't live.

Thats a point! Come on didnt get it done really CBob? 70 sacks? 7 in the SB alone, lets not even count the hurries. When does anyone get it done against Aaron Donald? I think it was worse when they had Brockers! Imagine IF they had a Buckner to go with him? He is the best QB in the league, he imagine IF he had Mahomies offense. Just wait till he has an Oline, they had the worse Oline in the playoffs, by far! Its ranked 20th, and ours is ranked 25th, and we were 7-10!!

[RiverDog]

The Bengals have a lot of Cap room and they could go big in FA to improve their OL which is the biggest reason for all of the sacks. The Chiefs replaced 4 of 5 this year and other teams make successful changes every year but the Bengals really only need to improve their right side.
That would go a long way to keep Burrow upright.

Burrow was sacked just once in the first half, that coming with just 48 seconds left before halftime. The other 6 of the Super Bowl record tying 7 sacks came in the 2nd half. Up until then, the Bengals were doing a reasonable job managing the pass rush. Something else was the culprit besides the OL's performance. The Rams obviously changed something. Was it because the Bengals running game was ineffective, allowing the Rams to pin their ears back? Did they start running stunts up front that the OL/RB's/TE's didn't pick up? Did Cincy's OC not do an effective job in diagnosing the defense and get the right play calls to mitigate/take advantage of the pass rush? Or did Joe Cool not diagnose defenses at the LOS, find the hot receiver, and manage the rush by getting rid of the ball quicker?

The Rams were getting pressure by rushing 4, so it makes sense to assign quite a bit of blame to the OL. But I can't get over the fact that there was such a large difference between their 1st half performance vs. the 2nd, plus it's not the first time that the Bengals gave up a large number of sacks. Burrow was sacked 9 times by the Titans in the divisional round. IMO there were multiple problems associated with those sacks.

[Hawktawk]

Agreed, but no matter who the quarterback was, they had two weeks to hype him and he was going to be the focus of the media's attention no matter how good or bad he was. IMO he hadn't done all that much to deserve the hype, so it was probably unfair to him for them to elevate the expectations like they did. He was under enough pressure as it was.

Burrow certainly didn't stink up the place, but neither did he do anything to set himself apart from the Mac Jones's and Trevor Lawrence's of the league, a class where I think he's at now.

RD you often accuse me of being infatuated with this or that player and I might describe it different but I get pretty excited about Seahawks making great plays. It makes an indelible impression on me . I might ramble on a littel

You kind of have the opposite tendency. Burrows is Mac Jones? Hes Trevor Lawrence? Did you write that before coffee? He played In a God damn super bowl Sunday which definitely sets him apart from those 2 along with most men who played the game. Beyond that Lawrence was bad and needs a hair cut, Jones had a nice rookie year with 26-13 or something but disappeared down the stretch with a 1-4 record in his last 5 starts including a drubbing in buffalo in the WC. With the GOAT as coach BTW.
Burrows had 34 TDs and 14 picks. He had the highest completion ratio in the league, the highest yards per completion and attempts in the league, the highest completion rate vs expectation on tight throws, the highest QBR in the league despite leading the league in sacks. He had a 2 game stretch that clinched the division where he threw for 9 TDs, no picks and nearly 1000 yards in TWO games.

Why all the sacks you say? I was listening to Wyman and Bob yesterday and they said PFF had graded out the Cincy line performance Sunday and it was the worst grade of ANY LINE IN ANY GAME IN 2021 season regular or postseason. Worse than the 9 sack grade vs the Titans. Rams had an 85% win rate!!!!

Why in the second half? Did you notice the opponent? 2 hall of fame guy's still great players up front and one on the back end ? And we talked about the heat. Bunch of guys from Cincy in SoCal playing guys who live there in 85 degree heat.
Still RD Burrows had them at midfield with a chance to win. He had Chase wide open and his lineman couldn't stop Donald and still the kid somehow flipped the ball out to Perrine who couldn't catch it. Perrine's stat line 2 carries for 0 yards and couldn't keep the game alive with a ball that was on him and would have been as crazy as any SB catch if he made it. He didn't. But I see Burrows performance as more remarkable considering he had no protection whatsoever. And I didn't hear one peep about having "protection issues" getting "hit too much" I dont think we ever will out of that kid. he said hes "disappointed" in his performance and will use it as fuel.
If Burrows stays healthy which is the big if assuming he gets some linemen he will win many many games in this league and something tells me he will be back. He will own the AFC north for a while.

[RiverDog]

RD you often accuse me of being infatuated with this or that player and I might describe it different but I get pretty excited about Seahawks making great plays. It makes an indelible impression on me . I might ramble on a littel

You kind of have the opposite tendency. Burrows is Mac Jones? Hes Trevor Lawrence? Did you write that before coffee? He played In a God damn super bowl Sunday which definitely sets him apart from those 2 along with most men who played the game. Beyond that Lawrence was bad and needs a hair cut, Jones had a nice rookie year with 26-13 or something but disappeared down the stretch with a 1-4 record in his last 5 starts including a drubbing in buffalo in the WC. With the GOAT as coach BTW.
Burrows had 34 TDs and 14 picks. He had the highest completion ratio in the league, the highest yards per completion and attempts in the league, the highest completion rate vs expectation on tight throws, the highest QBR in the league despite leading the league in sacks. He had a 2 game stretch that clinched the division where he threw for 9 TDs, no picks and nearly 1000 yards in TWO games.

Why all the sacks you say? I was listening to Wyman and Bob yesterday and they said PFF had graded out the Cincy line performance Sunday and it was the worst grade of ANY LINE IN ANY GAME IN 2021 season regular or postseason. Worse than the 9 sack grade vs the Titans. Rams had an 85% win rate!!!!

Why in the second half? Did you notice the opponent? 2 hall of fame guy's still great players up front and one on the back end ? And we talked about the heat. Bunch of guys from Cincy in SoCal playing guys who live there in 85 degree heat.
Still RD Burrows had them at midfield with a chance to win. He had Chase wide open and his lineman couldn't stop Donald and still the kid somehow flipped the ball out to Perrine who couldn't catch it. Perrine's stat line 2 carries for 0 yards and couldn't keep the game alive with a ball that was on him and would have been as crazy as any SB catch if he made it. He didn't. But I see Burrows performance as more remarkable considering he had no protection whatsoever. And I didn't hear one peep about having "protection issues" getting "hit too much" I dont think we ever will out of that kid. he said hes "disappointed" in his performance and will use it as fuel.
If Burrows stays healthy which is the big if assuming he gets some linemen he will win many many games in this league and something tells me he will be back. He will own the AFC north for a while.

Burrow is the same type of quarterback that Mac Jones and Trevor Lawrence are, which is why I grouped them with each other. They're more traditional pocket passing quarterbacks vs. Mahomes, Allen, and Jackson. I regard them all with similar skill sets and at similar ages and experience levels. Burrow might have a leg up due to the Bengals' Super Bowl run, but I don't regard him as being heads and shoulders over the other two, especially Mac Jones, who had a sensational rookie season. Let's see how he does next season. You're right, the AFC North doesn't have a dominant team right now.

You're right about Cincy's OL. They suck. Plus the lack of a credible running attack really hurt them, especially in the 2nd half. I didn't like the fact that they were passing so often when they had a touchdown lead. But it's no different of a discussion that we've had over the years about Russell Wilson and our sub standard offensive line and play calling. One of Burrow's weaknesses, perhaps his major weakness, is in managing the pass rush.

[Hawktawk]

I wonder if mixon was hurt or gassed . He had some success early . On the critical series Perrine was in for his only 3 plays of the game and was tackled on 3rd and 1 by Donald with 1 arm reaching around an O lineman . As for Burrows similarity to Lawrence he is a runner . Jones is a statue . Burrows is in the middle . Not sure how you manage the rush when you literally have no line . He beat KC with 3 long third down runs on DOA pass plays . Probably the worst line play in Super Bowl history and he was right there . He’s a couple notches above average ..keep in mind when Seattle last played the Rams they scored 10 points with only 3 sacks of Russ . Russ had 17 points vs the Rams in 7 quarters this year .