2006 Cincinnati Bengals Preview
All I can say about the Cincinnati Bengals is that, were it not for the gruesome injury suffered by quarterback, Carson Palmer in last year’s AFC Wildcard game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, we could possibly be talking about the Bengals as the defending Super Bowl champs and not their bitter division rivals.
Even though Palmer was knocked out on what I think was a questionable play, the Bengals are back and will once again be an AFC championship contender. If Palmer returns anywhere close to the Pro Bowl form he displayed last season, the Bengals could actually hoist their first Vince Lombardi trophy ever. However, their schedule and Palmer’s iffy knee could cause a setback for Marvin Lewis’ young team – who already had quite an entertaining offseason.
Here’s the skinny on the Bengals for 2006.
Quarterback
Last season, in his first year as a starter, Carson Palmer fulfilled all of the easily visible potential that made him a Heisman trophy winning quarterback and the number one overall selection of the 2003 draft.
Throwing for 32 touchdowns and only 12 interceptions, Palmer showed that he is going to be one of the best quarterbacks in all of football for years to come.
However, Palmer may not be at his best early on, which, in turn could cause the Bengals to get off to a slow start.
Cincinnati did however, wisely sign former Baltimore Ravens QB, Anthony Wright to a one-year deal, as insurance should Palmer’s comeback not go as smoothly as hoped for.
Running Backs
Rudi Johnson may not have the “big name” recognition of some other running backs, however, he is coming off of back-to-back 1,400-yard seasons and is a workhorse who has quite a few more years of punishing running left in his 27-year-old body.
Chris Perry is the change-of-pace back to Johnson and Jeremi Johnson is the lead blocker for his brethren of the same surname. No, the Bengals “names” aren’t going to surprise anyone. However, their running backs will – right around the same time as they’re running by dazed defenders.
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Simply put, Chad Johnson and T.J. Houshmandzadeh are as fine a tandem as there is in the entire league and should help Wright tremendously with their ability to “go get the ball” should Palmer not be ready at the start of the season – or experience some sort of setback along the way.
Chris Henry is a young speedster who will be the third receiver, if he can stay out of criminal court while Tab Perry looks like he’ll man the fourth spot
Offensive Line
The Bengals have one of the most cohesive offensive lines in the league, as each starting member of this unit will return for the third consecutive year. The Bengals tackles are downright scary.
Right tackle, Willie Anderson is coming off of his third consecutive Pro Bowl appearance and left tackle Levi Jones was stellar at times as well. Bobbie Williams, Anderson, Jones, Eric Steinbach and Rich Braham form the rest of the core of the Bengals best unit.
Defensive Linemen
The Bengals went out and signed run stuffer supreme, Sam Adams to help clog up the middle in what has quickly become a talented, but inconsistent, defensive unit.
Bryan Robinson and John Thornton are both, fine players, but ones that definitely could use more consistency to help the Bengals improve on their 28-sack total from last season. Linebackers
Marvin Lewis is a guy that loves his linebackers and has drafted several talented in his four-year tenure at the helm of the Bengals.
Odell Thurman, David Pollack and Landon Johnson are all integral players in Lewis’ 4-3 system.
Veteran, Brian Simmons is still the locker room leader of this group, but Thurman in particular, needs to provide his explosive style of football a little more consistently for the Bengals’ defense to improve in 2006.
Defensive Backs
Deltha O’Neal earned his second Pro Bowl berth last season and tied Ty Law for the league lead with 10 picks. Tory James is the starter on the other side but will have competition from both, Keiwan Ratliff and first-round draft choice Johnathan Joseph. The Bengals will also have safety Madieu Williams back this season from a torn labrum, which limited him to just four games in 2005. Cincinnati also signed Dexter Jackson as a free agent.
Special Teams
The Bengals have one of the game’s best “unknown” kickers in Shayne Graham, who has made nearly 90 percent of his field goal attempts during the course of the last three seasons. Kyle Larson should return as the Bengals punter, averaging a respectable 43.2 yards per kick and Perry has developed into a pretty good kickoff returner.
Coaching
Simply put, I think that Marvin Lewis is one of the best head coaches in the game today. Lewis was the architect of the Baltimore Ravens ravenous defense in 2000 and has brought the Bengals a long way in his three seasons as head coach.
Lewis must find a way to upgrade the Bengals defense, which gave up 30 points per game in 2005.
If Lewis can find a way to shore up his defense, and the Bengals get similar play to what they experienced last season, the sky’s the limit for this team.
At the very least, I expect the Cincinnati to be a legitimate AFC championship contender.
Eric Williams is a sports columnist for the Philadelphia Sunday Sun and syndicated freelance writer who can be heard every Wednesday at 3:15 eastern on www.BetUSradio.com. Contact Eric at eklass66@yahoo.com.
