Hard Knocks - Cincinnati Bengals

That was definitely a waste of air time. Never heard of the dude until this episode and didn't care when he got cut. Not sure why they made the roster cutting such a big deal this episode when that will surely be the focus of the 53 man roster episode.

Alex_sl said:

Not sure why they made the roster cutting such a big deal this episode when that will surely be the focus of the 53 man roster episode.

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Because they have nothing else.How much Jheranie, how much "Sorry random kicker X, we have to let you go", how much "Reaction shots from WAGs or Guy Sitting At Home" coverage does an episode have to have before you see that there is no there there?

I suspect that the producers did hit on some storylines over the season that will pay off next week - Does the lovable foreigner survive? What's going on with the fullback spot? Is Giovanni's pass protection bad enough that Law Firm gets #1 on the depth chart? Etc. - but I wouldn't be surprised if multiple competent observers wrote about all of them before Training Camp started.

It's a boring season. It seems to me there were story lines that would have been more interesting last week. Dre Kirkpatrick was fucking awful in the Cowboys game. He was responsible for a huge chunk of the passing yardage given up. He was also the Bengals first round pick last year. That is a story, and probably better than no name WR that even hardcore Bengals fans go who?

Also, Margus Hunt has never been in danger of being cut, and Bernard was never going to be the #1.

I kind of hope next episode they spend 10 minutes just filming Zim chewing the asshole off Kirkpatrick for his inability to stop even the Cowboys 4th string WRs.

Watching James Harrison destroy that rookie linebacker in arm wrestling was awesome though. Highlight of the episode.

It takes a certain level of retard to think you are going to beat Harrison in an arm wrestling match. Him and Geno look like just walking masses of muscle.

That finale didn't salvage my opinion of the season.

I liked how the show flat out said "Yeah, Margus wasn't going to get cut", and then sheepishly suggested 'But he's the closest thing to a personality we have, so here's more coverage of him'.
I'm not sure Gio Bernard's name was actually mentioned in this episode. I suppose they had to cover him in case Law Firm was injured, but that thread fizzled hard.
Speaking of which, the "competition" thread at backup QB also fizzled, though realistically it would have only succeeded had Dalton been injured.

Really, the most fascinating thing was wondering why Zimmer and Gruden are still with that organization. Does the team lose both if the Bengals get to the AFC Championship game?

I'm more convinced than ever that they need to go with a shallower look at an entire division each year, because this current formula has run out of steam.

Wombat_sl said:

Really, the most fascinating thing was wondering why Zimmer and Gruden are still with that organization. Does the team lose both if the Bengals get to the AFC Championship game?

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I could see Gruden leaving eventually, but Zimmer has tried to become a head coach for a few years now and I think the guy is just an asshole and no owner likes him enough to hire him as a head coach. I don't think he knows how to handle the political side of things that a head coach has to face. I would love to see Zimmer become the Bengals DC for life. Dude is a badass and one of the biggest reasons for the Bengals turnaround. Look at all the CB castaways the Bengals have - particularly Adam Jones and Terrance Newman. People thought these guys were first round busts and now they're playing up to their first round worth.