What Bengals Fans Are Saying

[Prime Time]

http://forums.bengalszone.com/topic/25415-rams-bengals-pregame-chatter/

Rams @ Bengals Pregame Chatter

On to St. Louis, I guess. Time to pull out of the spin.
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The way I see it this isn't going to be an easy game by any means. The Rams are very physical, (as seen by what they did to the Ravens yesterday) and are excellent putting pressure on the QB and collapsing the pocket. Given that and the injuries incurred by our secondary yesterday, it'll be tougher than the teams records suggest.
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Maybe. The flip side of the argument is that the Rams offense is downright abysmal. Right now they're 31st in the league in both points and yards. Even Todd Gurley's legs haven't been able to raise those numbers. Case Keenum got concussed yesterday so it'll likely be back to Nick Foles Sunday. While there are no east games even our banged-up secondary ought to be able to handle that.
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On the Rams injury front, in addition to the Keenum concussion, St. Louis also lost starting RT Andrew Donnel to a knee injury yesterday. Speculation by the local press is that he's done for the year. Donnel was already subbing for initial starting RT Rob Havenstein, who was inactive with an ankle injury.
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Whilst I would fully expect Cincy to win vs St.Louis, and win fairly comfortably, I had that same expectation against Houston. I'll let the emotions from Arizona calm down afore I post a prediction but I think there will now be huge pressure on Cincy to stop the rot on Sunday and that could have an influence on the game (maybe the cause of excessive penalties like we've seen in the past 2 games)
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Bengals 49

Rams 10
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Anyway, this looks like another tough game to me that bears a lot of similarities to the matchup with Houston. I expect the Bengals to take care of business here, but they have to go and do it -- St. Louis isn't afraid of the Jungle.
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Fisher is developing a surprising reputation as a dirty coach. He can dispel that whole myth this week by just playing good old-fashioned fair football and not blitzing the crap out of our guards on every passing down. Have I mentioned that I expect them to blitz the crap out of our guards on every passing down?
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I don't see why this is surprising, he has had this wrap for years. Even as a player.
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Bengals will win the rest of their games this season. Starting Sunday. Bengals 28 Rams 10

 

[BigRamFan]

Fisher is developing a surprising reputation as a dirty coach. He can dispel that whole myth this week by just playing good old-fashioned fair football and not blitzing the crap out of our guards on every passing down. Have I mentioned that I expect them to blitz the crap out of our guards on every passing down?

So blitzing is now "dirty"? How about you watch ice dancing instead of football moron?!

 

[DCH]

So blitzing is now "dirty"? How about you watch ice dancing instead of football moron?!

Yeah... I mean, Fisher is getting a dirty rep (had one already, seems to be increasing), but blitzing the guards = dirty? WTF?

 

[Merlin]

Fisher is developing a surprising reputation as a dirty coach. He can dispel that whole myth this week by just playing good old-fashioned fair football and not blitzing the crap out of our guards on every passing down. Have I mentioned that I expect them to blitz the crap out of our guards on every passing down?

I find that quote hilarious.

Anyway. No reason to think the Bengals will lose this game. Rams are reeling from that loss to Chicago still, and their collapse in the fourth quarter (which is very non-Fisher-like btw) in Baltimore exacerbates it. Throw in some cracks showing in the locker room with Jenks' quote about the offense not pulling their weight and you have the makings of a thumping by the Bengals.

Rams are not a bad team by any stretch. But to handle them you only have to weather their defense and stop two players in Gurley and Tavon. Most good teams will be able to do all those things, and the Bengals are a good team make no mistake.

 

[HometownBoy]

So blitzing is now "dirty"? How about you watch ice dancing instead of football moron?!

People will say anything for the bountygate 2.0 narrative, even if it's stupid and unrealistic. People like narratives better than they like reality.

I already saw several blaming us for intentionally setting it up so Flacco could get rolled up on.

 

[RAGRam]

So blitzing is now "dirty"? How about you watch ice dancing instead of football moron?!

Seemed sarcastic to me.

 

[LesBaker]

The only real worry for CIN is making sure Dalton get's out healthy. Other than that this isn't even going to qualify as a "trap game" for them.

 

[Prime Time]

Jeff Fisher's defenses will knock the crap out of opposing players. I guess that doesn't fit in any longer with the flag-football mentality of the NFL these days. Too bad. Andy Dalton better have his head on a swivel because Fisher and Williams attitude about that hasn't changed. Strap on the helmet, put in the mouthpiece and bring the pain.
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http://www.chicagotribune.com/sport...h-defense-haugh-spt-1115-20151114-column.html

Dirty label on Rams coach Jeff Fisher an unfair tag
David Haugh/Reporter/Chicago Tribune

The biggest cheap shot former Bears center Jay Hilgenberg remembers Jeff Fisher delivering as a player hit him squarely in the back.

One day during the 1981 season, the Bears rookie teammates stayed after practice behind old Halas Hall as Hilgenberg was working on long snaps to the punter. Fisher stood about 45 yards away catching the punts.

A noted prankster, Fisher waited until Hilgenberg wasn't looking to throw the balls back, aiming right for his numbers. After the second or third perfect strike, a harried Hilgenberg started to go after Fisher until both players noticed somebody watching the shenanigans from a large window.

"George Halas saw us so I literally tried to walk sideways so he wouldn't see my number and know who it was,'' Hilgenberg said Friday. "Jeff got a kick out of that kind of stuff.''

NFL Competition Committee accused of creating football anarchy. Sorry, it's hard to imagine Fisher going rogue.

The Rams coach raised the ire of everyone from Vikings coach Mike Zimmer to NBC analyst Rodney Harrison after one of Fisher's players, cornerback Lamarcus Joyner, gave Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater a concussion last Sunday with a hit that resulted in a $23,152 fine.

Joyner had a running start from about 10 yards away and failed to avoid a sliding Bridgewater, landing an elbow to the helmet. The penalty was deserved, if not the potshots that followed.

Zimmer fumed, snubbing Fisher at the postgame handshake. Harrison called it "typical of Jeff Fisher-type teams.'' Fisher's football DNA went under a national microscope as the Rams prepared for Sunday's game against the Bears at the Edward Jones Dome.

"'Fish' wasn't a dirty player by any means and isn't a dirty coach,'' Hilgenberg said in defense of his buddy. "But he was coached by Buddy Ryan and our defense played on the edge in those days. So Fish's defenses do too. That's just the way Buddy taught him.''

Influenced by Ryan, who gave Fisher his first NFL coaching job on the Eagles staff in 1986, Fisher's teams became renowned for playing "to the echo of the whistle.'' His players get to the ball in a bad mood and tackle with purpose and sound fundamentals, the way they are taught.

A former seventh-round draft pick of the Bears out of USC who Mike Singletary once said would "fight you at the drop of a hat,'' the former defensive back-returner relishes coaching defenses as scrappy as he was as a player.

"I'm not defending our players; I'm defending the organization,'' Fisher said this week. "Our defense is going to play hard and fast and we're like any other defense. We're going to tackle, play hard, that's part of the game. By no means do we have any intent of injuring the quarterback.''

But in the eyes of many, Fisher lost the benefit of the doubt in any dirty-play debate when he aligned himself again in St. Louis with Gregg Williams. Williams, the former Saints defensive coordinator the NFL suspended in 2012 for his role in the bounty scandal, also worked for Fisher with the Titans from 1997-2000.

Some league observers remain uncertain where Fisher ends and Williams begins but Fisher's defenders, such as Hilgenberg, have no trouble making a distinction.

"Jeff isn't going to cross the line but Gregg Williams has proven he doesn't care where it is,'' said Hilgenberg, a WBBM-AM 780 pre-game analyst who advocated a league ban of Williams. "As a former player I don't know how you can respect that approach.''

Another former player, retired Titans Pro Bowl safety Blaine Bishop, still respects Fisher and Williams enough to speak out in his former coaches' defense during their week under siege. Bishop played for Fisher from 1994-2001, a span that included four seasons in Williams' defense, and expressed disappointment in the caustic comments of Harrison — the former Patriot who he recalled occasionally stretched the definition of a clean hit.

"I was shocked,'' said Bishop, now a host at WGFX-FM in Nashville. "Did our teams play hard for Jeff Fisher? Absolutely. But I can't say that at any time he ever told us to take somebody out with a cheap shot or would do something like that. He always did things that were above-board. I was in the locker room with him for eight seasons and nothing like that ever happened. He made sure we played hard but never dirty.''

Fair or unfair, true or untrue, affixing the "dirty" label likely sharpened the edge on a Rams defense that will be as fierce as any the Bears have played.

At this point it doesn't matter if the Rams play dirty against the Bears; it only matters if the Bears fear they might. Will Bears wide receivers be more reluctant to go across the middle? Can returner Marc Mariani concentrate on catching the punt more than getting pummeled? How quickly will quarterback Jay Cutler slide if he even decides to expose himself by running downfield?

Will the Rams intimidation play any role in Bears execution?

"We're a physical team and play fast but our mindset is never to go out there to injury nobody,'' Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald said. "Can't focus on what other people think and just play your game.''

And play it to the echo of the whistle, reputation be damned.

dhaugh@tribpub.com

Twitter @DavidHaugh
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And now a word from our old buddy, Bernie, back in 2012.
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http://www.stltoday.com/sports/colu...cle_4f714866-42b6-11e1-8a98-001a4bcf6878.html

Bernie Bytes: Are Fisher's teams dirty?
BY BERNIE MIKLASZ, Post-Dispatch Sports Columnist

In Tennessee, Jeff Fisher's teams had the reputation for playing, um, edgy football. "They played through the whistle — and then some," said our town's Dan Dierfdorf, the CBS analyst who worked many Titans' games.

We would never call it cheap-shot football, of course. That wouldn't be polite. Now, we may have accused the Titans of foul play in the past, but now that Fisher is the Rams' head coach, I'm sure we'll come up with other ways to describe Coach's approach. I'm thinking "ferocious" would fit. That sounds better than "borderline criminal violence." (Kidding, kidding.)

With a helmet nod to our pal Mike Sando, the NFC West blogger for ESPN.com, we can document the Titans' willingness to go hard after opponents. And if some of the tough hits were delivered after the whistle? Hey, mistakes happen. (Ahem.) A player going full speed can't always hear the officials' whistle. (Ahem.) They're only human, right? (Ahem.)

The fastidious Sando, who keeps track of penalties, kindly shared this information:

• From 2001-2010, the Titans led the NFL in most personal foul penalties with 163. The second-highest teams on the list for most PFs were the NY Giants and Arizona Cardinals, with 137.

Here's the breakdown ...

* The Titans led the NFL in unnecessary roughness penalties, 67.

* The Titans led the NFL in roughing the passer penalties, 46.

* The Titans were fifth in other variations of personal fouls (32) and sixth in unsportsmanlike conduct penalties (18.)

Think of the original version of the movie "The Longest Yard."

I could be wrong about this, but I do believe that the "Four Pillars" days are over. The pillars will be forcibly removed from Rams Park, and with necessary roughness.

One myth about Fisher in Tennessee is that his teams avoided penalties. That's not true. I won't bore you with the details, but in his 16 full seasons as head coach, Fisher's teams were almost always ranked somewhere in the 20s (among 32 teams) in penalties each season.

"His teams aren't dirty," Dierdorf said. "But they are in your face. They are extremely physical. A tough, bloody-your-lip football team."

Conrad Dobler would approve.

Thanks for reading ...

— Bernie

 

[LACHAMP46]

Perfect game to get Mannion some reps.....

 

[Zombie Slayer]

Can't blame their fans for expecting them to beat the Rams. This has all the makings of a beat down as I see it. The Bengals have lost two in a row and are going to want to take their frustrations out on the Rams. It may be close early, but with the lack of offense, the Rams can't hang with anyone really. Not until they show they can have some semblance of an offense.

 

[junkman]

Rams are at best a "trap" game for any opponent. A few lightning bolts from out of the blue, a Gurley run, a Tavon screen or punt return, perhaps a defensive touchdown or a few FGs off of turnovers... and the D does their part, that's the recipe for a Rams win.

If the Rams don't get any big plays, and the offense has a conservative nothing game plan which it executes poorly (that's the Rams MO now), then yeah, Rams are toast, even against a flailing drowning team like Baltimore or Chicago.

 

[snackdaddy]

If bengals fans have been paying attention to the Rams lately they should have plenty of confidence in their team this week. The Rams have such a putrid offense that 16 points should beat them most of the time.

But this is the Rams. Just when you think they're ready to go in the tank, they shock you. Never enough to put together enough wins for a playoff spot. But for one game they can put a beatdown on someone. Ask the Colts or Broncos the past couple years. And it usually comes when we've thrown in the towel.

 

[Prime Time]

More on the "dirty Rams" theme.
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http://www.csnchicago.com/bears/dirty-rams-exaggeration-guess-again-say-bears

'Dirty' Rams an exaggeration? Guess again, say Bears
By John Mullin

ST. LOUIS — The little tempest last week over whether Jeff Fisher and the St. Louis Rams were practitioners of dirty football subsided, and everything was fine going into Sunday’s meeting with the Bears, won by the Bears, 37-13.

No. No, it wasn’t.

He might have stayed to the high road during the week publicly, but players said that coach John Fox talked to the team — “preached,” according to one member of the defense — about maintaining composure and not getting drawn into shoving matches or other altercations with Rams players intent on inducing a bit of mayhem.

It wasn’t easy.

“They were trying to be a bully,” said running back Ka’Deem Carey as he was wrapped with an ice bag. “We knew that at the beginning. Man, they play so dirty. One guy was on top of me and started grinding his knee into my knee joint. I pushed him off, and the ref was looking hard at me!”

During the pregame introductions and warmups before the Bears’ destruction of the Rams (4-5), Rams players pointedly moved in the way of Bears players trying to get final work in.

“We knew what it was going to be,” said tight end Zach Miller, whose 87-yard catch-and-run with a swing pass in the first quarter was the Bears’ answer two plays after the Rams opened the scoring with a touchdown on the game's first drive. “We’re over there warming up, and they’re standing in the way of Jay and I and Alshon throwing the football.”

The Rams “did a lot of stuff,” said defensive end Jarvis Jenkins, who added that Sunday was nothing like the bloodbath between the Rams and Washington Redskins when Jenkins played for the latter in 2012. “They might do stuff in between downs, but we stayed away from that.”

 

[rhinobean]

I gue the other teams want to play touch football and play for fun! They play to win and it don't mean to be nice or namby pamby! Sheesh!

 

[jrry32]

So blitzing is now "dirty"? How about you watch ice dancing instead of football moron?!

He was joking.

 

[jrry32]

If I were them, I'd be very confident. They have a good team. We have no QB.

 

[Robocop]

the Bear's quotes lol. can their pussies get any bigger

 

[blue4]

I clicked on this intending to read it like usual, but I stopped. I just don't have it in me this week to listen to anymore opposing fans. We have no offense. We have no coach that can reliably match wits with the other defense. Williams and the d is all we have and they like to shoot themselves in the foot.

 

[Prime Time]

I clicked on this intending to read it like usual, but I stopped. I just don't have it in me this week to listen to anymore opposing fans. We have no offense. We have no coach that can reliably match wits with the other defense. Williams and the d is all we have and they like to shoot themselves in the foot.

Not saying this will happen on Sunday but Fisher and the gang have a habit of surprising us from time to time in both good and bad ways.

That said, our o-line is decimated, our second string QB had his bell rung, our D-line is weakened, players like Mason and Battle are late for meetings and can't even get to the bus on time. It's a mess.

If the Rams beat the Bengals on their home turf it will be one of the biggest surprises of all. I bet not one single prognosticator or talking head will pick the Rams to win this week.

It is indeed wearying to be a Rams fan and it shows in the lack of interest here at ROD, except for those members who only come back to say "I told you so" and the ones who say everything sucks.

 

[Prime Time]

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.co...think-were-dirty-they-need-to-look-in-mirror/

Jeff Fisher: If Ravens think we’re dirty, they need to look in mirror
Posted by Josh Alper on November 24, 2015

Getty Images

It seems like it has become a weekly occurrence this season for Rams coach Jeff Fisher to spend some time responding to accusations of dirty play from players, coaches or commentators.

This week is no different. Ravens coach John Harbaugh referenced a Rams punt that ended with the Ravens drawing a penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct.

“On that one, I saw the punter hit one of our guys dead in the back that [the officials] missed,” Harbaugh said. “I saw our guy retaliate, which is not what you want to see. Then I saw a free for all out there, which is not unusual against the team we’re playing.”

On his ESPN 101 radio show, Fisher took issue with Harbaugh’s comments. Fisher said the Ravens, who had 10 accepted penalties and two unaccepted personal fouls, were the wrong team to suggest that others are crossing the line.

“I’m kind of intrigued by some of the stuff — and I can’t verify it — but the insinuations or whatever of, that we were a dirty team coming out,” Fisher said. “Then I’ve got plays I’ve got to send the league office where their players are hitting us in the mouth after plays. With fists. It was allowed in the game because it wasn’t called, and I’m not complaining.

We played hard. … But we’re a dirty team and they’re hitting us two or three seconds after the play is over, and they hit Tavon [Austin] out of bounds? We had six penalties and they averaged about 5 yards apiece. … They need to take a look in the mirror.”

Reputations stick, so it’s not likely to be the last time that Fisher is in a position to defend his team from accusations of dirty play. Should the team’s losing streak continue, he might have to mix in a defense of the job he’s doing overall from time to time as well.
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They’re both right. They’re both dirty and both of their teams suck.
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Lifted Justin Forsett in the air, and body slammed him on the ground. Not an illegal play, but definitely intent to harm. Broken arm was the result.

These losers can’t win games, but they surely know how to make sure you won’t win games either afterwards.
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Yeah and a couple weeks ago they pulled up early when CJ was down but he got up and ran for 60 yards. I don’t blame either team and don’t think the Rams are dirty. I blame the officiating across the league for being so inconsistent.
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That was the first time I’ve had the pleasure of watching a Rams game in its entirety and it was obvious to me that they’re a dirty team. AFC North football is hard-hitting but usually not cheap shots or attempts to injure like I saw from St. Louis… which is not surprising given who the defensive coordinator is.
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“Dirty?”– Says the guy who is the biggest Terrell Suggs apologist in the world. If Suggs had not been injured the Ravens would have the uncontested title for the dirtiest team in the NFL.
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Fisher probably prefers responding to accusations of verifiable dirty play by his team over responding to questions as to why he is the longest tenured under achieving Head Coach in the history of the NFL.
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Fisher is one of the worst things about the NFL. He constantly manipulates the rules from his position on the competition committee to help the Rams. It’s high time this bum was out of the NFL completely before he ruins the game even more than he already has.
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Nothing dirty about finishing a play when the officials don’t blow it dead, Ravens already learned that once this year.
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Dammm, when the ravens call you dirty you know you got a problem….
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If Harbaugh is really complaining about a punter hitting someone, he needs to consider a career change. I’m sure figure skating needs more coaches.
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Where there’s smoke there’s fire, and a lot of opposing coaches have been smoking mad after playing the Rams this year.