To get you ready for the season, FanHouse is previewing all 32 NFL teams. Here's Cincinnati's outlook.2006 Record: 8-8
2006 Offense: Carson Palmer was coming back from a knee injury and looked pretty darn good. Rudi Johnson continued his record setting running for the Bengals. Chad Johnson led the league in receiving yards; TJ Houshmandzadeh was 16th [they were 11th and 7th, respectively, in receptions]. Yet the team really bogged down at times.
2007 Defense: They had the third worst defense ... including the worst pass defense in the NFL. They did a decent job getting to the opposing QB and a great job forcing turnovers. However, they are a hard hitting team that doesn't cover well. Of course, injuries and 'other things' contributed to this. Brian Simmons struggled with injuries, David Pollack was lost for the year in Week 2 and Odell Thurman never even saw the field.
2006 Special Teams: The team struggled to find a full time returner. They had one of the worst kick-off and punt return averages in the NFL and returned zero TDs. Shayne Graham is still one of the most accurate kickers in the NFL, but is coming off a missed kick in the season finale that would've sent Cincinnati to the playoffs.
Coaching: Marvin Lewis is a well respected coach and is credited with turning this franchise around. However, the team is 8-8 in three of his four seasons; has just one playoff game and zero playoff wins. And even though he's a defensive coach, his defenses have been woeful, at best. Lewis should be under more heat than ever, mainly from outside forces.
Draft: Drafting Leon Hall was a direct slap at Deltha O'Neal, who underperformed last year. Hall should be a difference-maker this year. Second round pick Kenny Irons will miss the season after blowing out his knee. The team is also expects to use safeties Marvin White and Chinedum Ndukwe.
New Additions: Historically, the Bengals aren't big free agent players, choosing to build through the draft. They did bring in Ed Hartwell and Lemar Mitchell to shore up a very young linebacking corps. .
Three Keys:
1) Rudi Johnson must stay healthy, since depth is a huge question at running back. Johnson was one of the NFL's top workhorses last year and is vital to that explosive offense.
2) The defense must be able to hold up. The Bengals found themselves in some embarrassing situations last year because of defensive breakdowns. And now the defense will be led by a 2nd year MLB [Ahmad Brooks] who has had maturity issues coming into the league.
3) Chris Henry must stay out of trouble during his 8-game suspension. He is an outstanding #3 receiver and just makes this team unstoppable on offense. In the preseason, he has clearly been the Bengals' best receiver. If he can get back in the NFL's good graces, he'll be a huge addition for the second half of the season.
Prediction: This Bengals team has the offensive talent to win the Super Bowl ... but enough defensive issues to finish at 8-8 again. I think this is a team that will be in the playoffs, possibly at 10-6 or 9-7.
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