Life long Bengals here too. Wish I could offer up some form of consolation to my fellow Bengals fans but I believe this team has hit it's ceiling under this staff. I can certainly acknowledge the fact Marvin Lewis made Cincinnati competitive in 05, 09, 11-15 compared to the era before him. However, with the dynamics of the Cincinnati market and an owner like Mike Brown who is not a big spender by any stretch of the imagination, the run has gone stagnant the last couple seasons. I miss the days of Forest Gregg & Sam Wyche when this team could win a playoff game and make the Super Bowl. Not a Marvin Lewis homer and have been vocal about my stance on him for years but as long as Mike Brown is calling the shots as GM/owner, any coach will have there work cut out for them. One of Mike Brown's first moves as owner was firing Wyche. Wish they could get sold and an outsider with cash like Shahid Khan in Jacksonville would buy the team and not be afraid to spend. Of course that's not realistic to expect to happen but one can dream. Cincinnati needs to first get back to being able to make the playoffs again. After that, winning one playoff game is sadly what I would consider a realistic goal for the current state of the franchise but I'll take it at this point. As a lifelong fan of the Reds & Bengals putting up with the good and the bad, I just can't pump sunshine for these organizations any more.
