Vikings, Cardinals, Bengals- Contender or Pretender?

GoneWithTheWind · Posted: Mon Oct 01, 2012 10:52 am Post subject:

Vikings- Playoff contenders not superbowl contenders. Today was a weird game. 2 ST Tds is awesome but also played a part in the low offensive yardage numbers. Adrian really looked good today. Christian didn't need to be great today. Good QB, Great RB, Lacking Recievers [Outside Harvin] Very good defense so far. We'll see if that keeps up. Vikings are a couple players away.

INbengalfan · Joined: 21 Jan 2006 Posts: 4673 Location: Richmond, IN

RuskieTitan · Posted: Mon Oct 01, 2012 11:09 am Post subject:

Vikings and Cards are Contenders.

Bengals are pretenders.
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stchamp98 · Joined: 11 Apr 2005 Posts: 52947 Location: Havre, Montana

ThorntonMelon · Joined: 28 Jun 2005 Posts: 690

diamondbull424 · Joined: 02 Dec 2007 Posts: 10017 Location: Baltimore, MD

NextBigThing · Joined: 26 Oct 2009 Posts: 15886 Location: Tuck Rule FTW

I will say this much: A.J. Green has unguardable in 1 on 1s so far this season. If you double him, the Bengals will feed
-Andrew Hawkins - who is basically Darren Sproles with better top end speed.
-Jermaine Greshman - huge target who catches most balls
-Armon Binns - looks like one of those random contributors championship teams have
-Mohammad Sanu - already flashed his cannon arm, can get open as well
-Marvin Jones - big, athletic receiver has to be able to do something

They have 3 really good, diverse targets for the QB. Combine with Green Ellis, who basically does not even lose yardage, and you have an offense with a fairly high floor.
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FourThreeMafia · Joined: 28 Sep 2006 Posts: 40033 Location: East of Sixburgh

CriminalMind · Joined: 25 Aug 2011 Posts: 2965 Location: Toronto, CA

Vikings:

Contender - Wont give this now (thats something saved for the best 6 teams in the league)

Playoff Candidate - possibly. But winning ugly on the road against a division rival is still a good win.

If they takecare of business in the next 2 games (TEN/WAS), I would give them playoff candidate tag then.
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Ataal · Joined: 17 Oct 2011 Posts: 1578 Location: Avondale, Arizona

Man, contender or pretender....it's a little too black and white for me.

Bengals - This is a team you can't just sleep on. They're not the Colts from last year, but they're not Green Bay from last year, either. They're going to put up a fight and play to your level. Not quite good enough to dominate against a playoff team, yet, though. We'll see how the season progresses.

Vikings - Wow. What a turnaround from last year. They beat us up pretty good by using our own strategies against us. If Ponder can continue to be as efficient as he has been, this is a team that can beat anyone. The realist in me, however, just doesn't think that this is sustainable in the long haul. Because, what I see, is some great talent around Ponder as well. His efficiency is not only because of his throws, but his receivers' ability to make plays as well. Someone's going to have a bad game or six. It just happens. Very impressed with them so far.

Cardinals - The defense has stepped it up this year. No doubt about that. It wasn't very impressive against the Dolphins at home, but we'll see what happens in the next few games. Also, the O-line isn't as bad as we were led to believe. Or....is it? Is Kolb really that good? These are all very hard questions to answer in week 4. They're winning games, and you can call it division rivalry homerism if you wish, but let's take a look at these wins...

1. Seattle is 1st and goal, 2nd and goal, 3rd and goal, 4th and goal to win the game and couldn't do it. Braylon is exactly who we let go. Could have gone either way.

2. Cardinals handed the Patriots the game on a silver platter with a fumble by Williams. Patriots miss a field goal, though. Here's your silver platter back, Cardinals.

3. Eagles game I can't criticize too much. It was a decisive victory. If I had to put an asterisk on this game, it would be that Kolb helped the Cardinals beat them last year on the bench. The Eagles didn't change their signals. Well, that's not the only reason they won, but it certainly helped. Perhaps, when on the field at QB, Kolb was able to read some plays better than most QB's would. Don't harp on this too much, it's only a possible asterisk.

4. Poor clock management, a Miami fumble, and a HUGE catch allowed that was thrown from dang near the end zone allowed the Cardinals to tie it up. Another silver platter.

Here in Arizona, they've been named the Cardiac Cards. And, for good reason. They get themselves into a bind nearly every game(last year, too) and somehow....the ball bounces in their direction more often than not. Most people would say they'd rather be lucky than good any day of the week and twice on Sunday. I think they're both right now. Will the luck run out? Will Kolb continue to play well? Will the O-line continue to play better than expected? These are the reasons the Cardinals are almost never talked about, as in not even in the discussion, as the best team in the league right now, even though they're 4-0. Earth just sent the Cardinals a card that said, "I miss you. Come back."
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SnA ExclusiVe · Joined: 01 Jun 2011 Posts: 10600 Location: Spokane, WA

I would say Arizona is a contender.

Minnesota is in the middle.

Bengals are a pretender.
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