Bengals banged up, but ready for season opener
The Cincinnati Bengals kick-off the 2008 season with a road trip to Charm City and a showdown with their AFC North rivals, the Baltimore Ravens.
Last season, Marvin Lewis' squad finished a disappointing 7-9 and missed the playoffs for the second consecutive year. They got the season started with a 27-20 win over the Ravens, but dropped their next four games and never recovered.
Lewis vowed to clean up the Bengals in the off-season and rid the team of troublemakers and that's what the head coach and owner Mike Brown did. Cincinnati released two talented but troubled players: linebacker Odell Thurman and wide receiver Chris Henry.
The Bengals brought Henry back on August 19th and signed him to a two-year deal when star wide out Chad Johnson injured his shoulder in the preseason. Henry is suspended for the first four games of the season due to his off-the-field problems.
What's more bizarre than bringing back Henry is the fact that Johnson legally changed his last name to "Ocho Cinco", the number on his jersey, 85.
Quarterback Carson Palmer, in his sixth season out of USC, completed 65 percent of his passes for more than 4,100 yards and 26 touchdowns, but he threw 20 interceptions last year.
Palmer will have stud receivers "Ocho Cinco" and TJ Houshmandzadeh to lean on, as well as new tight end Ben Utecht, who is number two on the depth chart.
Cincinnati's passing offense ranked seventh last season, 10th overall, but their running game; led by Rudi Johnson, whom the Bengals released last week, was 24th in the NFL.
Chris Perry, Cincinnati's top draft pick in 2004, who missed all of 2007 while rehabbing a dislocated ankle he suffered in late 2006, will take over the ball carrying duties for a rushing game that averaged 97.3 yards, ninth worst in the NFL.
Defensively, the Bengals, who play a base 4-3, gave up the fifth most yards in the NFL last season, 5,580, and ranked 27th overall, 21st vs. the run and 26th against the pass.
Ends Robert Geathers and Antwan Odom need to put pressure on the quarterback for the rest of the defense to be effective. Geathers had 10 ½ sacks in 2006 and very well could return to that form now that he'll be working from his preferred left side.
Odom, who had eight sacks last year, should have a repeat performance with the addition of top draft pick, ninth overall, linebacker Keith Rivers.
Middle linebacker and strong side linebacker, Dhani Jones and Rashad Jeanty, should benefit from Rivers presence.
The Bengals secondary, cornerbacks Johnathan Joseph and Leon Hall, and safeties Marvin White and Dexter Jackson, combined for 11 interceptions last season. Joseph and Hall are solid corners, but White and Jackson aren't as physical as defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer would like, so they may be the weak spot on the defense.
Injury Report
Chad "Ocho Cinco" Johnson is probable with a shoulder injury.
Carson Palmer is probable with a broken nose.
Prediction
Cincinnati has won the last three meetings and six of the last seven between the two teams.
With rookie quarterback Joe Flacco starting for the Ravens, I see the Bengals winning a tight game, 27-24.
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