Best-Case Scenario for Cincinnati Bengals' 2012-13 Season

Last year, it seemed like the best-case scenario for the Cincinnati Bengals would be ending the year better than 0-16. With a lockout-shortened offseason and a rookie quarterback taking the reins of the offense, it seemed as though 2011 would be a season of struggle for the up-and-down Bengals.

Instead, they became one of the most impressive teams in the league, posting a 9-7 record and earning themselves a Wild Card playoff berth.

As such, it's hard to figure out a realistic best-case scenario for the team this year. Will the Bengals have a down year to follow up their successful 2011? Or will they be even better?

With the offense getting even younger this year, it seems there are still a few hurdles left for the Bengals to leap before they are serious Super Bowl contenders. However, another year with a winning record and a playoff appearance seems well within their reach.

The Bengals proved last year that youth and inexperience aren't always liabilities, as long as the support system is in place to help those younger players succeed. This year, with two veteran receivers gone in free agency and a switch at running back from Cedric Benson to BenJarvus Green-Ellis, it's going to be a far different Bengals team than we saw last season.

However, the constants—defensive strength, quarterback Andy Dalton, wide receiver A.J. Green and tight end Jermaine Gresham—will help mitigate any hiccups that may come the Bengals' way with so much change.

Add into that the fact that they handled so many changes so well last year and it seems like the future is bright indeed for a team that has failed to meet expectations a number of times in the last decade.

Right now, a battle is playing out on the practice field for the No. 2 receiver job. This competition is nothing but good news for the Bengals. In contention for the job are rookies Mohamed Sanu and Marvin Jones, second-year player Armon Binns and veteran Brandon Tate, who came to the team from the New England Patriots.

Despite Sanu impressing thus far, it seems as though Binns and Tate are the front-runners for the job, at least according to offensive coordinator Jay Gruden. 

As the summer wears on, Sanu may enter more into that discussion.

Another second-year receiver, Ryan Whalen, may find himself on the roster bubble now but could hang on if he looks good in training camp.

That's quite the logjam of talent at receiver, the kind of which that sets them up well to become one of the more elite passing offenses in the league in the coming years. Yes, there has been some criticism of Dalton's arm strength, but when it comes to passing and receiving, it takes more than just a quarterback's arm to get the job done, and Dalton's certainly surrounded by some serious playmakers.

The one area on offense that the Bengals struggled last year was in the run game. Issues on offensive line held down the effectiveness of both Benson and Bernard Scott, leaving Benson frustrated that running the ball had become an afterthought.

Bringing on draft pick Kevin Zeitler, who is well-suited to the Bengals' zone-blocking scheme and free agent guard Travelle Wharton should help the team's efforts in running the ball up the middle. Last year, the Bengals were 30th in the league in yards up the middle, averaging 3.3 yards per carry.

On defense, the Bengals lost two key defensive linemen, Frostee Rucker and Jonathan Fanene, but brought on free agents Jamaal Anderson and Derrick Harvey and draft picks Devon Still and Brandon Thompson to both replace the departed veterans and provide much-needed depth.

And in the secondary, the Bengals are rife with talent both at cornerback and safety, which helps them considerably, as they generally keep six corners and four safeties on their 53-man roster. This is extra important this year, as the Bengals are planning to work out of the "Big Nickel" formation more often.

So what does this all mean for the Bengals' season? Should all these pieces come together as expected, they'll be one of the most talented and well-balanced teams in the entire league. They'll be a major threat to the two major powers in the AFC North, the Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers, as well as to their out-of-division opponents.

The Bengals could thus easily end their season with a 10-6 or 11-5 record and yet another playoff berth. Depending on how other things play out around the division, 11-5 might just even be enough for the Bengals to clinch the AFC North title, something they've done just twice since the disbanding of the AFC Central in 2002.

Conservatively, the Bengals could at least put together their first back-to-back winning seasons since the early 1980s (mid-1970s if you don't count the strike-shortened 1982 season).

However,  the best-case scenario this year is 11 or 12 wins and an AFC North title—certainly not something that is out of their reach, considering all they've done in the past two years to improve in all phases of the game.

This is part three of a four-part series examining the best-case scenarios that could befall the teams in the AFC North. Part one (Cleveland Browns) can be found here; part two (Pittsburgh Steelers), here.

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