When you think about the Cincinnati Bengals, what’s the first thing that comes to mind? No, I meant on the field, but your answers of jail, mugshots and suspensions were accurate. You think of offense because all the popular players like Chad OchoCinco, Terrell Owens and Carson Palmer make up three key parts to the offense.
However, this might be the year that the Bengals defence finally gets more credit than their brothers on the other side of the ball. Gone are the days that the Bengals would win or lose games in which the combined score hovered in the 70’s and 80’s. This team is a legitimate contender because they finally have a defence.
Offensively, we’ve already mentioned the three big names, but those three should allow for this team to score a lot of points. The key for Carson Palmer is to stay healthy because if he can do that, he certainly has the talent and the options to be a 4000 yard passer. Say what you will about Chad’s celebrations and his ridiculous name-change, but he’s still one of the best receivers in this league. He’ll continue to thrive as a number one option.
The question will be Terrell Owens. What do they get out of Owens in the late stages of his career? All signs point to him doing well in camp, but doubters will point to last season in Buffalo as a sign that he’s not capable of being a big threat anymore. Luckily for the Bengals, they have two counters to that argument: 1) they aren’t asking him to be a big threat. 2) the Bills never threw him the ball last year.
For this offense to be truly complete, they’ll need Cedric Benson to duplicate his season from a year ago. One of the “felons” on this team was able to resurrect his career by rushing over 1200 yards. However, his offensive line will not be as strong as it was a year ago, so he may have a tougher time getting the necessary holes.
But the stars of this team are on defence as every single position has a strong starter. There are absolutely no holes on this side of the ball and I will go out on a limb and say that this defence will be number one in the NFL at the end of the year.
The defensive line has a good mix of speed rushers and run-stuffers, the linebackers are young, fast and talented and the secondary has a good mix of young and old with talent all over. Unless the injury bug hits this team hard, the defence will deliver for this football team.
Two players to watch out for in camp are Jordan Shipley and Tank Johnson. From all accounts, Shipley has had a great camp and is on his way to taking over the third receiver spot vacated after Antonio Bryant was shown the door. Johnson is another one of the “felons” that was able to bounce back with the Bengals. If he can regain his form from his days in Chicago, the run defence will be stellar in Cincy.
2010 Prediction: 13-3