2009 Cincinnati Bengals Season Preview

In his sixth year as a Cincinnati Bengal, and his fifth year as the starting signal caller, QB Carson Palmer has finally taken the reigns as a leader in the clubhouse, and out. With perennial drama king Chad Ochocinco sitting out yet another offseason of voluntary workouts and OTA's, the rest of the Cincinnati Bengals are hard at work. Cincinnati is experiencing its best offseason workout attendance in the Marvin Lewis era.

The Bengals, best known in the '90s as the worst team in the National Football League, and in the '00s as the most prosecuted team in the NFL, now has something else to be known for: one of the best drafts in recent memory, and a top five draft in the entire league. Cincinnati drafted OT Andre Smith, widely regarded as the best tackle in the draft, at the number six slot. Then they got the first steal of the draft, with USC Linebacker Ray Maualuga falling into the second round and right into Cincinnati's hands. Last year, Cincinnati drafted USC's Keith Rivers, and absent a blind hit by Pittsburgh's Hines Ward (see the hit), would have been a Defensive Rookie of the Year candidate, and potential rookie Pro Bowler. The rest of the draft saw the Bengals drafting for depth on the offensive line, taking a center in the fourth round and a running back in the later round.

One of the biggest surprises so far this spring, surrounds the Cincinnati special teams unit. Cincinnati native Kevin Huber, who went to high school locally, then attended the University of Cincinnati, was an All-American Punter, finalist for the Ray Guy award and an Academic All-American. He can now add fifth round NFL draft pick to his resume. One of the highest selections ever for a punter, Cincinnati released five-year punter Kyle Larson, and opted to go with the rookie Huber heading into spring camps and training camp this summer.

Other veterans picked up this off-season include WR Laveranues Coles from the NY Jets. Coles, who felt unappreciated and unwanted in NY, feels like he found himself a home and a contender in Cincinnati. He signed a four-year, $28 Million contract to offset the loss of reliable third down receiver TJ Houshmandzadeh, and with the building annoyance with Chad Ochocinco's antics, Coles looks to take over the veteran leadership role in the WR corps. Cincinnati also brought back oft-maligned WR Chris Henry, who is better known for his arrests than the leaping catches he made in the end zone before his multiple suspensions. So far this off-season, Henry as said and done all the right things. He came into the workouts in tremendous shape, with the attitude of low profile, high effort. We shall see if the new and improved Chris Henry is here to stay. Second year WR's Andre Caldwell and Jerome Simpson are also pushing for the number three receiver.

Last year, free agent tight end Ben Utecht came to Cincinnati from the Champion Indianapolis Colts. Big plans were laid for Big Ben to go across the middle and open up the field for WR's Chad Ochocinco and TJ Houshmandzadeh. Injuries to his sternum due to a direct helmet hit and other recurring injuries kept Ben from competing at the levels of '06 and '07. This spring, Utecht has shown he has overcome the injuries of 2008 and has dedicated himself to improving the team through leadership and through example. If he regains any of his previous form, he will be able to stretch the field for Palmer by splitting the seams of the defense, and crossing over the middle. With Cincinnati's stated objective of being a run-oriented team in 2009, having Utecht to help lead the blocking is crucial.

Cincinnati re-signed last year's pickup in RB Cedric Benson. Benson, maligned in Chicago for being selfish and having a poor work ethic, never carried more than twenty times in a game, and in three years only carried twenty times in four games. In Cincinnati, he carried more than twenty times in five games, and had career highs in carries (38) and yards (171) vs. Cleveland in a 14-0 shutout. (http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/boxscore?gameId=281221005). Benson said earlier that he didn't feel like he had earned it, or that he had proven and established himself, and came back to Cincinnati with a two year contract to show loyalty to the team that offered him the chance to redeem himself (Bengals.com).

Cincinnati's defense rose from 28^th in the league in 2007 to twelfth in the league in 2008. With the addition of rookie LB Maualuga from USC, veterans DT Tank Johnson from Dallas, and the hitting terror known as Safety Roy Williams, also from Dallas, the Bengals have upgraded their defense up the middle significantly. Cincinnati returns last year's surprise in Safety Chris Crocker and Notre Dame draft pick Chinedum Ndukwe, we can expect to see some three safety packages to get this trifecta of hard hitting, ball hawking safeties. Add into the mix that 2008 free agent pickup Antwan Odom from the Titans has added 30lbs. to his frame to improve his strength and ability to shed off blockers, the Bengals have made some significant strides. Look for the defensive squad to improve its ranking into the top ten over the 2009 campaign.

Overall the Cincinnati Bengals look to be going down the right path. Veteran leadership, the off-field distractions have been kept to near zero so far, and the players that are working in the voluntaries are showing that they have been paying attention and putting forth effort. Carson Palmer is in the prime of his career, and with his window of opportunity to win a championship starting to narrow, the Bengals have sensed that there is a renewed urgency to get the attitude right, play as a team, and do their jobs. All in all, the Bengals look to be poised at a run of winning seasons, and none too soon. The window for Carson Palmer to lead this team to playoff wins and Super Bowls is starting to narrow, after being in the leagur for siz years. He deserves better, and it looks like he now has the best supporting cast around him on all three Look for the first ten win season the Bengals have had in ages.