Cincinnati Bengals: State of the Season
After suffering a beatdown at the hands of the Houston Texans, many Bengal fans claimed the train was coming off the tracks. A prevailing sentiment was the team could easily be 0-6 at that juncture, and the 4-2 record was due to favorable bounces and breaks rather than attributed to skill. Then after Sunday’s 45-10 thrashing against the Bears, suddenly the Who-Deys were Miami-bound. In reality, the truth is probably somewhere in between. However, with the Bye Week serving as an unofficial halfway point for the season, now is as good as time as any to evaluate the team’s performance thus far in the 2009 campaign. By breakdown of positions…
Quarterback: Good news: save for some bruises on his non-throwing hand, Carson has stayed relatively healthy. Bad news: He still hasn’t found a rhythm with his receiving corps. Taking away his performance against the Bears (in which he was phenomenal), Palmer has 8 TDs with 7 Ints, pretty pedestrian for any quarterback, let alone a former Pro-Bowler. In his defense, most of the blame seems to be bestowed on his WRs (not creating enough spacing from defenders) and TEs (for, you not, not catching balls thrown their direction). Hopefully the Bye allows Palmer and his receivers to become in sync with one another.
Backfield: The Rejuvenation of Cedric Benson continues to astound and amaze. Since his revival has been well covered, allow me a slight rant. As anyone who watched the Bears game will attest, Benson was a man on a mission, using revenge on his former team as a foundation for his 189-yard outburst. So here’s my query: can’t the coaching staff integrate some type of retribution into their players’ minds every week? It appears that vengeance is an assured strategy for success; might as well roll with it. All Marvin has to do is approach Chad before kickoff and whisper, “Hey, did you know Baltimore offered us a 5 th-round pick for you last season?” and I guarantee you Ocho would post a 9 rec/120 yds/2 TD line.
WRs/TEs: 8-5 seems to be back, and Andre Caldwell has emerged as Carson’s go-to on 3 rd down. Unfortunately, the rest of the group has largely unperformed. Coles’ production (16 receptions, 155 yards) certainly hasn’t warranted the $28 million deal he signed in the offseason. Henry has been effective, although he’s only targeted two or three times a game. As mentioned above, the TEs have been the scapegoat for the passing game’s woes, and with good reason. Yet while these accusations are warranted, the bigger issue remains, “where the hell is Chase Coffman?” For those fortunate enough to watch “Hard Knocks”, Coffman certainly didn’t come across as a member of Mensa. But how steep is the learning curve for TE? The job necessitates two primary functions: a) blocking b) running routes. The team used a 3 rd-round pick on Chase, yet is listed 3 rd on the depth chart. And that’s with Reggie Kelly and Ben Utecht on IR. Oh, and speaking of wasted draft picks, the Jerome Simpson Era has been memorable, hasn’t it?
Offensive Line: Viewed as one of the biggest question marks heading into the season, the O-Line has been consistently rock-solid. Benson deserves credit for his turnaround, but that rebirth doesn’t occur without the help of the guys up front. They’ve also protected Palmer for the most part, allowing only 11 sacks through 7 games. Not bad considering some of the tougher D’s ( Pittsburgh, Baltimore, and Denver) the team’s encountered. In a related note, Dennis Roland has overtaken Jordan Palmer to become the new frontrunner in the heated “Whose Jersey Am I Going to Buy Next?” Sweepstakes. I’ve been rockin’ a white Willie Anderson jersey for the past six years, and although I love the Big Man, it’s time to retire the shirt to my Wall of Fame. Personally, I think the type of jersey someone wears speaks volumes about that person’s character, so this is not a matter to be taken lightly. And yes, I realize I have no life.
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Defensive Line: A band of brutes to begin the season, this group has suddenly become vulnerable with Odom gone for the year and Peko/Tank/Sims nursing injuries. Geathers has shown flashes of brilliance after a disappointing 2008, but jury’s still out if he can continue that dominance on a consistent basis. With the injuries mounting, look for rookie Michael Johnson to take on an expanded role.
LBs: Here lies my biggest pet peeve with NFL fans. The ‘Nati has become obsessed with newcomer Rey Maualuga and his thunderous blows, and that’s all fine and dandy. The problem is hard-hits don’t necessarily equate with consistent execution. One of the rationales given for Maualuga’s plunge to the 2 nd-round is he routinely left assignments to follow the ball. While this strategy will produce smackdowns that make it onto Sportscenter, it also leads to blown coverage’s, something that has been on display numerous times this early season. Meanwhile, no one seems to give a damn about Keith Rivers, who has been everything the Bengals could have hoped for and more. Yet since delivering bone-crushing blows is not in his repertoire, he goes unnoticed. Anyway, this crew has performed admirably, and should improve the more games Rivers and Maualuga get under their belt.
Secondary: JJ and Hall are quietly becoming one of the best 1-2 corner combos in the league. Chris Crocker and Roy Williams bring a swagger that the rest of the defense has absorbed, although Williams has missed significant time with various injuries. I’m mixed on Ndukwe; his mantra has also been “turnover or touchdown.” The predicament with this M.O. is Mike Zimmer’s D is built upon the notion of “bend but don’t break.” Interesting to see how this plays out the rest of the year.
Special Teams: Now that Brad St. Louis is gone, Shayne-o-matic has no more excuses. Hometown boy Kevin Huber has washed away bad memories of Kyle Larson, and Quan Cosby has fans sitting on the edge of their seats every punt. Minus the St. Louis debacle, special teams have been muy bueno. Only altercation would be removing Caldwell from kick returns. He’s too valuable to the offense, and Bernard Scott seems to be slightly more explosive in that role.
Coaching: Mike Zimmer has brought a ferocious mentality to a historically soft team. As for Marvin…he knows he has two challenges per game right? Right? Bad feeling that Lewis’ clock management skills (or lack thereof) will come back to haunt at some point.
Outlook: Be honest: As a Bengals fan, if someone gave you 5-2 at the break, you’d jump for joy, especially after that ridiculous ending in Week 1. Yet let’s not sugarcoat the situation. For the team to secure a playoff bid, they need to finish 6-3 down the stretch. The schedule breaks down as such: Baltimore, at Pittsburgh, at Oakland, Cleveland, Detroit, at Minnesota, at San Diego, Kansas City, and at the Jets. Manageable, but not a cakewalk by any means. Don’t be surprised if the game at New York ends up deciding the final playoff spot.
But as Bengals fans, that’s not a bad proposition at all.
By: Joel Beall
Cincinnati
Bengals Correspondent