Bengals at Chargers (-1.5) Pre Game Discussion (Wk 11)

[wu-dai clan]

Cover Ja'Marr and Tee.
Pressure Burrow.
Block Hendrickson.
Get the W.

[Ghost of Quacksaw]

Duh. Totally when it comes to W- L. Can we say one player or one group did a better job than another? Of course.
Herbert has excelled at no ints on the correct principal that sacks and 3 & outs are better than turnovers.That has played a role. Likewise his injured ankle.
The OL and auxiliary blockers are like a chorus line of dancing hippos. The have to be in sync. No small trick with reluctant dance partners.
It takes a lot of reps for them to move effectively with confidence and a nasty edge.Last week may have been their best game. Everybody on offense had to learn a new game. No frickin' turnovers, @ 50/50 run/ pass.
I think it's going well. 6-3 with a good chance of 10 or better Ws.

Nice synthesis, man!

[Riverwalk]

When Jesse Minter draws up his defense against the Bengals he doesn’t care which QB is better or waste a second thinking about it.

What he knows and concerns him is Joe Burrows to Jamarr Chase is the most successful passing duo in the entire NFL this year.

Chase leads in receiving yards, TD catches, receptions, and yards after the catch.

Chase has amassed those league leading stats while Tee Higgins, another WR#1 caliber receiver, hasn’t played for the past three games.

Tee Higgins is back for Sunday’s game.

[Riverwalk]

I say shoot up Macks groin so he can play.

We need max pressure on Burrows throughout the game and the B team won’t cut it. This isn’t last weeks powderpuffs.

Some might argue Chargers can afford to lose this game so keep players fresh for the rest of the season and there will be enough other games to win down the stretch.

I say, play this game like it’s the Super Bowl because a victory over the Bengals almost assuredly knocks them out of wild card contention so the Chargers don’t need as many wins the remainder of the season to get in.

[dmac_bolt]

I find it interesting the comparisions between Burrow and Herbert. Everyone seems to say that Chargers are going to win, but Cinci has the better QB. Maybe, everyone is entitled to their opinion.

The rationalization seems to be that Burrow was the better player because he has won the games over the years. Of course since they were drafted, Cinci has had a running game (till this year), and better receiving corp, better D. They then point that Burrow is carrying the team and the QB alone isn't enough to win, but Burrow keeps them competitive so the games are close.

The Chargers have had (until this year) no running game, the D had it's moments, but wasn't good or consistent. The receiving corp had it's moments, but the last time Allen and Williams were healthy for a year was when Rivers was the QB. But Herbert put up great numbers, and kept the Chargers in games, and for the most part the Chargers were competitive, and kept the games close, and the chargers would just fall a few points short every game.

So, maybe looking at it that way, the QB doesn't matter that much. Yes, QB is the most important position, but you aren't going to win unless you have a good team with a good QB. Burrow gets a lot of credit for what his team did. Herbert is probably not going to have the super-impressive box score stats, but I think the Chargers are going to win, because they are the much better team compared to Cinci.

You are right and right and right and alas perhaps wrong. Hey, thats a better average than I ever put up here, well done!

The primary Burrow Better argument seems to be he has won more games, correct. Ok that is what it is, i guess too, I don’t think it predicts future games personally.
You note during those years Burrow had a better overall team than Herbie. That is absolute fact imo and a key to a lot of wins.
You note excuses this year Burrow is not winning is his supporting team is not as good - hence proving #2 Herbie’s lament his entire career is not sufficiently factored into his cosmic rating.

but then you hypothesize that QB doesn’t matter much and here I think you’re wrong. Not in the modern NFL. It very much does. Both Burrow and Herbie are elite QBs and the difference between these two is probably not significant. but the difference between them and, say, a Jones or a Brissett or a Minshew, is monumental. A modern team cannot win with a Jones regardless how good the rest of the team is - unless the rest of the team is so overwhelming it’s like the ‘85 bears. That happens about once every 30 yrs or so.

A casual glance at the division leaders, top current WC teams, and the top QBs is strongly correlated. While you can find a couple good QBs who are on a bad team and not in the top tier, such as Burrow this year and Herbie last - you find no bad QBs in the top tier of teams at all. Teams don’t win with bad QBs. All jmo of course …

[Bolt4Knob]

I say shoot up Macks groin so he can play.

We need max pressure on Burrows throughout the game and the B team won’t cut it. This isn’t last weeks powderpuffs.

Some might argue Chargers can afford to lose this game so keep players fresh for the rest of the season and there will be enough other games to win down the stretch.

I say, play this game like it’s the Super Bowl because a victory over the Bengals almost assuredly knocks them out of wild card contention so the Chargers don’t need as many wins the remainder of the season to get in.

I think the Chargers need to be VERY smart with Mack and the injury. Shooting us is one thing but if he reaggravates it and worsens, he is out much longer. Chargers are 6-3. And yes, of the next four games, its the biggest. Not just because its the only one that matters - but from a tiebreaker and AFC conference record - this would put the Bengals really behind the Chargers tiebreaker wise. But still have to be smart

this is not a must win game. Its more a "darn good game to win though"

[sonorajim]

When Jesse Minter draws up his defense against the Bengals he doesn’t care which QB is better or waste a second thinking about it.

What he knows and concerns him is Joe Burrows to Jamarr Chase is the most successful passing duo in the entire NFL this year.

Chase leads in receiving yards, TD catches, receptions, and yards after the catch.

Chase has amassed those league leading stats while Tee Higgins, another WR#1 caliber receiver, hasn’t played for the past three games.

Tee Higgins is back for Sunday’s game.

Cincy is #4 passing YPG, #6 PPG. Good team numbers! LAC is allows 9th fewest pass yards, 1st least scoring. Better team numbers.


Every game has a life of it's own. In theory anything could happen. Cincy O vs LAC D, LAC D is by far the most consistent unit.

[Berserker76]

I think the Chargers need to be VERY smart with Mack and the injury. Shooting us is one thing but if he reaggravates it and worsens, he is out much longer. Chargers are 6-3. And yes, of the next four games, its the biggest. Not just because its the only one that matters - but from a tiebreaker and AFC conference record - this would put the Bengals really behind the Chargers tiebreaker wise. But still have to be smart

this is not a must win game. Its more a "darn good game to win though"

Agree, we are going to need a healthy Mack in the playoffs.

[jamrock]

Cover Ja'Marr and Tee.
Pressure Burrow.
Block Hendrickson.
Get the W.

Wu's keys to the game

[Velo]

Agree, we are going to need a healthy Mack in the playoffs.

Just joshing. I know the Chargers are going to the playoffs. I couldn't resist though.

[dmac_bolt]

Agree, we are going to need a healthy Mack in the playoffs.

Also agree. it’s the ol hurt vs injured. Bruises hurt, shoot it up and go. hammies are injured, play and it makes it worse.

[powderblueboy]

Has Burrow had lesser Olines than Herbert? I don't think so.

He's had decent to solid OTs all along: Jonah Williams/Riley Reif to Orlando Brown / A Mims?
Their interior vacillates between subpar to adequate.

Compare that to what Herbert has had there: 1. Tevi / Storm/ Scott, 2. Slater / Storm, 3. Salyer/Storm/Pip, 4. Hobbled Slater / Pip .... holy hell!

Who was on the inside you ask? Feeney and garbage, and then decent interior play primarily due to Linsley, and then the horror show last year.

Good God, Herbert takes a back seat to no one when it comes to wretched Oline play.

Cop cars should be descending on Raider headquarters as you read this, handcuffing TT and escorting him away for reckless endangerment.
They'd probably have a few more warrants to serve there, knowing the seediness of that organization.