Who Dey?!

I'm picking up the torch from Nagel and going to take a look at my team: The Mighty Bengals.

Despite the fact that Marvin Lewis has overseen a near-complete turnover of personnel and coaches, there will probably still be a considerable amount of changes in his third year at the helm. We already have a new defenisve co-ordinator. We have key players on the cusp of free agency in running back Rudi Johnson, wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh, and our center, Rich Braham.

It sounds like we'll probably let Rudi go and rely on last year's first round pick, Chris Perry from Michigan. He was out with a mysterious sports hernia for most of the year. Marvin thought he was the best RB in the draft last year and probably picked him up with the intention of not re-signing Rudi. There are also lots of veteran backs out there that we could go after or trade for so I'm not too concerned about that spot.

TJ I am conerned about. According to one source, his nogotiations are not going well. I really feel he grew and developped as a receiver in '04. By the end of the season, Carson Palmer leaned on him about as much as Pro-Bowler Chad Johnson. Without TJ, Chad may be the only viable threat out there. Peter Warrick struggled with a mysterious leg injury last year and may not be back to his 2003 form. Former Volunteer Kelley Washington hasn't broken out yet and I'm not impressed with our depth after that. I also think we may see a shift in our offensive focus. Now that Palmer has come into his own, I think we may throw the ball more then run it. If that's the case, we're gonna need good targets for C.P. and I think TJ would continue to excel in this offense.

Depth on the offensive line will also need to be addressed. Rich Braham has been a good center and would be our best option in '05. But when he got hurt last year, we had to sign up a 41 year old Larry Fontenot on a Wednesday and start him that Sunday. We have to be better prepared next year. There should be some good centers available in the second round for us to get Braham's successor.

Due to injury, we had to play a lot of rookies on the defensive side of the ball. And most of them flourished by year's end. I feel we've got the personnel to be an effective defense. Hopefully, the new scheme will compliment the player's involved. I would like to see smore more beef on the defensive line and the strong safety spot could use some improvement.

The special teams have been improved under Marvin's watch. I still wouldn't mind a return threat being added, though.

Would you like to learn more? On my web site, I already picked apart the 2004 season, previewed the 2005 off-season, and examined who they might draft. Some folks think this might be the year we finally break that playoff drought. It's gonna take some smart moves, though, to get us back to the promised land for the first time in about 15 years.

Woody!