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Season Summary: Cincinnati Bengals

Quick Summary:  The Bengals were SPF's most disappointing team from this past season.  They have all the tools on paper to be a perennial contender starting with a great QB in Carson Palmer, who has all kinds of skill position help.  Unfortunately, the Bengals had severe injury setbacks on defense, especially at LB, that put the early part of the season out of whack.  Their second week loss to in state rival Cleveland set the tone for the season.  The game was an offensive shootout with the Bengals finishing just a little short.

This type of losing (all offense, no defense) led to problems in the locker room.  The offense had to carry more of the weight, and this led to more mistakes.  Injuries at RB put even more pressure on Carson Palmer and his WRs.  Chad Johnson ended the season asking for a trade out of Cincy.

Signs of Hope:  The hope rests with two men, HC Marvin Lewis and QB Carson Palmer.  The two are potentially as good as it gets.  This is today's NFL - have a good HC and QB with a close relationship - Manning/Dungy, Brady/Belichick, and Eli Manning/Coughlin come to mind.

Reality Check:  The Bengals are missing one key component not shared by the last few Super Bowl champion teams - a good owner.  Mike Brown is still cheap.  Maybe the owners will opt out of the most recent labor agreement, but until they do, teams must spend to win.  The Bengals can no longer fill their rosters with late round, borderline players like Chris Henry that appear on police reports as often as they appear on the highlight reel.

SPF believes that the biggest problem the Bengals had was a lack of the kind of team character that allows perseverance to guide, rather than apathy.  Marvin Lewis and Carson Palmer don't seem to be the problem.  Even Chad Johnson is a hard worker despite his public persona.

The Bengals need some gutting.  Palmer and Lewis need a group of guys they can rely on when adversity arises.  They need to have Mr. Brown's full support ($$) in bringing these players into the fold.

The AFC North has become one of the most competitive divisions in the NFL.  The Steelers are always competitive.  The Browns won 10 games.  The Ravens have finally rid themselves of Brian Billick.  The Bengals need to make 2008 a season where they re-assert themselves into the playoff discussion.

Otherwise, Bengals fans might be looking at the umpteenth rebuilding of the Mike Brown era.

This area of the Footprint deserves better.  The Bengals have amazing fan support.  Mike Brown needs only to commit to giving the Bengals the proper resources to remain consistently competitive.

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