Archive for May, 2010

There’s not a whole lot of Bengals news happening these days, so it makes sense to return to the schedule analysis. Here is the third game – of ten – the team needs to win to make the playoffs. Week 4:  Oct. 3 at Cleveland Back-to-back road games make this game a little tougher, but you have to figure the Bengals can beat Cleveland. Jake Delhomme won’t have a lot to work with in the passing game and he’s not very mobile, so the Bengals should be able to pressure him aplenty. Cleveland will no doubt focus on the running game [...]

NFL.com’s Pat Kirwan released his preseason rankings today, placing the teams into five tiers. And PK put the Bengals in the second tier, a grouping of teams that he says “should make the playoffs.” Baltimore was also placed in Tier 2 with Pittsburgh settling into Tier 3 and Cleveland riding in the caboose (Tier 5). In my mind, Kirwan put the Bengals exactly where they belong. They do not seem like  a lock to make the playoffs (the benchmark for Tier I), but they “should” get there. This team went 6-0 in the division last year and got significantly better in [...]

Another round of Organized Team Activities came and went and Jerome Simpson got some solid reviews. Equally encouraging is that Simpson declined to talk with the media after his performance. It seems as if the young kid is pretty focused and is starting to figure things out. “The one thing you want to see Jerome do is make plays consistently,” Carson Palmer said on the team’s web site. “He’s consistently made plays every practice. If he can keep doing that from now until training camp and from training camp into the preseason and from the preseason into the regular season, [...]

The Bengals first game is more than three months away, so it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to start thinking about it now. But I’ve never had much sense. So I was pretty enthused when I read this today from Peter King’s Monday Morning Quarterback. “I think there’s little doubt Wes Welker is ahead of where anyone thought he’d be right now, after February surgery on his knee and shoulder. Three months post-surgery, he was dancing to “You Should Be Dancing” by the Bee Gees Saturday night at the Magic-Celtics game in Boston, and earlier in the day, [...]

The second installment of this series, which looks at 10 games the Bengals need to win to make the playoffs, focuses on the Week 3 game in Carolina. Week 3:  September 26 at Carolina This won’t be a gimme game by any means, but it is one the Bengals can win. Carolina lost its best pass rusher (Julius Peppers) and will be playing with a new starting quarterback (Matt Moore, most likely).  Carolina has a solid rushing attack (led by DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart) and a dangerous receiver in Steve Smith, but the Bengals will probably be favored as long as nothing [...]

Ten wins might not get the Bengals a second straight AFC North Championship, but it should get them into the playoffs. So in these next posts, I am going to take a look at 10 games the Bengals need to win in 2010. First up is the Week 2 game against Baltimore. Week 2: September 19 vs. Baltimore Cincy has a tough task in Week One with a road game against New England and it doesn’t get a whole lot easier with a conference game a week later. But the Bengals have had some success against Baltimore as of late [...]

Geoff Hobson relates some buzz surrounding a souped-up defensive line and one of the strongest Bengals teams in recent memory (at least according to strength coach Chip Morton).  Plus, Antonio Bryant’s work ethic is getting good reviews, Chase Coffman is recovering, and Jeremi Johnson might still have a shot at wearing stripes this season. Joe Reedy takes a look at the defensive side of the ball and it becomes pretty clear that the Bengals will be cutting some capable players this summer. Gone are the days when Cincinnati used to stock its team with other team’s castoffs (they prefer the [...]

Pat Kirwan lists the Bengals fourth out of the 12 teams who made the playoffs who might not make it back. Kirwan also paid them a compliment: “I think people are underestimating this team. Last year they built a solid running game and they added some real talent in the pass attack this offseason.” As much as we might hate to admit it, the ranking probably isn’t far off. Cincinnati hasn’t been consistent in the past and they’re facing a tough division. And a tough schedule. The team could be better this year and still finish with a worse record. [...]

James Walker spotlights the importance of Andre Smith’s second season. Smith missed most of last season with a foot injury, which the team deserves some credit for considering its overly-stubborn stance in negotiations. Smith is still recovering from foot surgery, but it’s essential that he makes an impact this season. The big fella is a No. 6 overall pick and has to play that way, providing an upgrade over Dennis Roland at right tackle. If he can do that, the Bengals offensive line should be even better this season. If he struggles to earn a starting job, the “bust” word will [...]

Chad Ochocinco’s stint on Dancing With the Stars ended on Tuesday when he was voted off the island (oops, wrong show). Anyways, Ochocinco can now get back to work on his first career, which is catching Carson Palmer touchdown passes and plotting intricate touchdown celebrations that are more far-fetched than a Michael Bay movie (well, close anyway). Now that it’s over, I guess we can say the whole experience was a success for Chad. He got an overabundance of publicity, prepared for his career after football, and hopefully fine-tuned some footwork that will help him during the season (I’m hoping [...]