Lol, love that last line.

This is just semantics at this point. Because they're CIN, "they choked." Once. Because we're KC, Kelce's fumble/Pat's brainfart doesn't carry the same weight as a choke.

Regardless, the only team I'm concerned about is CIN. They have the coaching and the roster to make it a dogfight every time we meet. And it's not getting any easier, even if they lost two safeties. I don't think they're going to just fold defensively just because they lost a couple safeties over the offseason. They should be not quite as good, which is great, because we should be happy to take any advantage we can get on those guys.

Cinci just lost a pair of safeties that were instrumental in how they were able to defend against us.

Im not saying the games wont still be close, but they're going to look very different.

For the record, the Bengals have been way luckier vs KC than the opposite. In the first game, a kick return TD that would have put KC up 18 (and pretty much ended the game) was nullified by a penalty. And at the end of the game, CIN went for it on 4th and goal and failed, but were bailed out by a flag that set them up with an easy FG for the win.

In the playoffs, the Bengals were lucky that the Chiefs effed up the play at the end of the half, failing to even come away with a FG. There were also multiple dropped balls by open receivers in that game.

This season, there was the Kelce fumble, and early in the same game was a weak call that erased an INT. Even in the "infamous" playoff game (in which the refs dared to call a penalty on a hit that was 2 yds out of bounds), a KC TD was stripped off the board due to a questionable call, a perfect TD toss was dropped (or ruled incomplete), and Mahomes inexplicably fumbled the ball away with no one near him. Oh, and KC was down 4 of their top 5 WRs and two of their top defensive players, with Mahomes playing on one leg.

The Bengals have been lucky as hell vs KC, but the luck finally ran out.

I think you're missing my point.

They're worthy rivals.

Games with them are going to come down to a play or two. They're weaker than they were two months ago. We beat them with Marcus Kemp taking meaningful snaps.

We're going to be fine.

Ravens almost beat the Bengals in the playoffs without their RB playing. Bengals winning the division is not a guarantee.

That's not even remotely the same situation. Trey Smith didn't have injury history. He had a blood clotting issue and missed games because of it and some say they couldn't get in depth medicals on him. Also he was still drafted and was considered a huge steal.

Justyn Ross runs an almost 4.7 40 time now (4.69). He's also a WR which is much more highly coveted than an OG. If any team thought he was some hugely talented WR, then they would have taken him as their last pick, because the risk is basically nothing and reward would be high. He's just not that WR he was his Freshmen year.

His ceiling is ST guy.

So there have never been successful undrafted wr?

Pat Mahomes could make any receiver look good.

What are we paying this PoS?

I honestly think if he's a better version of Kemp that's a reasonable pick up that late. He's a big body that should have decent value on ST, and COULD have a small amount of additional value as a possession receiver with limited assignments. If he ends up as the WR5/6 doing this I think that's a huge success.

4.63, let's not exaggerate and add a whole half second to the 40 time.

He ran that on a broken foot, which has been repaired. You really think Andy and Veach would redshirt a kid and keep him around if this was true?

Look, there's a really good chance this kid is too far gone and just never amounts to anything.

But there's also a chance that he's a legit talent at WR. His ceiling is much more than a ST/WR6. No idea if he'll reach more than that, but that's not his ceiling.

Veach gave him a 3 year deal. There was a bunch of hype of him turning heads in OTA's last season. Seems to me they saw enough to shelf him for an entire season to get right. Most generally when a player has very little chance of making the roster they injury settlement and move on. There's obviously enough there for the front office to give him a chance to get right, who knows how his body will respond and hold up.

Yep.

It's a lottery ticket. You don't EXPECT anything there, but you still wait to see if you hit gold on your minimal investment.

Eh, they'll know pretty quick.

But with what they've got at WR now, I don't think you have to take one early by any means. Maybe the 3rd round or something. Unless one of the top guys just blows them away I guess.

I guess for me a win with Justyn is being available and he ends up with 300-500 yards and a few TD's