The Necessary Bad Season

A Look Back on the 2019 Cincinnati Bengals

AP Photo/John Munson

How Did This Even Happen?

Coming into the year, I don’t think anybody expected the Bengals to be the worst team in the NFL. Some “experts” did, but since the 2016 season, the Bengals have always been predicted to be  bottom 3 to 5 team in the league.

In the 2018 season, the Bengals had over 20 players on IR. These included A.J. Green, a late starting Jeff Driskel, a horrible offensive coordinator, the worst defense in the league, and a head coach who was simply just couldn’t get it done. Yet, the Bengals finished 6-10.

With new head coach, Zac Taylor, it seemed like the year would be better.

The 2019 season was doomed before it started. In Bengals 1st round picks tradition, Jonah Williams season suffered an off season injury. A.J. Green injured his ankle during day 1 of training camp, resulting in being benched for the season. Lastly, Cordy Glenn and the whole concussion debacle. I’m not here to talk about why the season went why it did, but we can all agree that a lot went wrong.

Back to the Future?

For better or worse, the bad was for the best, because the Bengals needed this miserable season to happen. For years, under Marvin Lewis, the Bengals were stuck in mediocrity. The Bengals weren’t good enough to progress in the playoffs, but weren’t bad enough to get a top pick in the draft.

Marvin Lewis was about to coast for a few more than he should have, and in turn prevented the Bengals from gaining the the opportunity to draft a new franchise quarterback.

On second thought, the last part isn’t entirely true. The Bengals had the opportunities to draft players such as Deshaun Watson, Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson, and Dwayne Haskins, but passed. Be that as it may, all of these prospects were seen as risky, and the Bengals were never in a position to draft a “slam dunk” franchise quarterback.

The civil war among Bengals fans about Andy Dalton has gone on for a while now, but it was clear after last year he wasn’t the guy. The only way the Bengals were going to have a chance at the “slam dunk” quarterback prospect was by having the top pick in the draft.

#BungleForBurrow

Because of this awful season, we have a “slam dunk” quarterback prospect in Joe Burrow waiting for us at pick 1. Personally, I don’t think you can call any quarterback prospect a “slam dunk” or “safe pick”, but Joe Burrow is at close as it gets.

Burrow has elite accuracy, ball placement, IQ, pocket management, and scramble ability. There’s a strong case to be made that Burrow is the best quarterback prospect since Andrew Luck.

What would you rather have?

6-10, with pick 10 and another year of Andy Dalton?

OR…..

2-14, Joe Burrow, along with the top pick of every round?

That’s what I thought.

Written by Bengals_NFL

The Bengals are my life.

Week 11 Rant: Are We Having Fun Yet?

Medical Board of Ohio To Decide If Being A Bengals/Browns Fan Qualifies For Medical Marijuana Use