Rejoice Bengals Fans: The Future is Still Bright

While the pain of yesterday's playoff loss to the Texans hurts in any true Bengals fan's heart, the joy and excitement of the future of this team should greatly outweigh that. When the year 2011 began, the Bengals had just finished a 4-12 season, with most of teams' best players at the end of their prime. Carson Palmer made his trade-or-retire threats. Chad Ochocinco appeared on the way out. And it looked as though Mike Brown would bring coach Marvin Lewis back, but still would have no real control over who the Bengals drafted or signed in free agency. And perhaps worst of all, it appeared Bob Bratkowski and his "play-not-to-lose" offense would return. But little did we know, the Bengals were making changes that would put the franchise back into the playoffs.

It all began with the firing of Bratkowski, and the hiring of Jay Gruden. The younger brother of John Gruden was able to come in and instill life in what had become a rather stale offensive system. His West-Coast style provided excitement and the full use of under-used playmakers such as TE Jermaine Gresham and WR Jerome Simpson.

Then came the drafting of A.J. Green. The All-American receiver out of Georgia drew comparisons to NFL greats such as Calvin Johnson, and after a rookie year which saw Green make the Pro-Bowl, he may very well find himself amongst the NFL's elite receivers next year.

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Then came the drafting of Andy Dalton. With franchise QB Carson Palmer retiring and the NFL lockout occurring, the Bengals had to find their QB in the draft. Because the Bengals didn't take a 1st-round QB, most believed anything else would be a stop-gap until they could draft a QB like Andrew Luck or Matt Barkley. 2nd-round QB's don't have a successful history in the NFL, but Dalton was arguably a 1st-round talent, who fell to the Bengals in the 2nd-round. While most believed Dalton could be a descent QB, very few people believed the red-haired gunslinger could be a franchise QB. He became just that this year when he broke several NFL rookie passing records, was named the 1 st alternate to the Pro Bowl, and led his team to the playoffs.

The Bengals locked up most of their key players, including LT Andrew Whitworth, C Kyle Cook, and Pro Bowl CB Leon Hall, who expects to be ready for training camp after his achilles injury. With most of the other key Bengals players having multiple years left on their contracts, the team has a solid foundation they can continue to build on in the 2012 NFL Draft, where they will have two 1st-round picks. 2012 has begun, and it looks as though it will be an even better year for the Bengals. WHO DEY!!!

By Jason Marcum
ProFootball-fans.com Cincinnati Bengals Correspondent