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The ex-Cowboy Williams signed a one-year deal with the Bengals after he was released back in March. Williams was a perfect fit for Zimmer's 4-3 defense in Dallas and hopes to regain his reputation as one of the hardest hitters in the league.
Last season, the Bengals finished 12th in the league by allowing 325.5 yards per game. On top of that, they only allowed 22.8 points per game, ranking them 14th in the league.
The Bengals defense has been decent over the last couple of seasons. The offseason acquisitions should improve the defense from the 2008 season. If they can get the job done to help Palmer and the rest of the offense, this team could be making a push for a playoff spot in January.
5. Discipline, Discipline, Discipline!
Let's do a word association. What comes to mind when I say professional football team and law enforcement?
If the answer that came to mind was the Cincinnati Bengals, make sure you pickup your prize on the way out.
The Bengals have established a reputation in the NFL over the last couple of seasons. Unfortunately, the reputation is one of the ones people wish not to be known by.
There have been over a dozen Bengals players arrested this decade, including cornerback Leon Hall who was arrested at the beginning of April for drunk-driving.
In fact, the Bengals have had so many issues over the last couple of years, they recently agreed to a deal with HBO to be the featured team in the series Hard Knocks.
What's even more frustrating for Cincinnati is their lack of discipline from head coach Marvin Lewis. Entering his seventh year with the Bengals, Lewis has been criticized by the media for the lack of discipline on his players.
After the organization released Chris Henry in March 2008 because of his most recent arrest, they ended up re-signing him in August before the start of the regular season.
There are some fans around the league who like to make jokes about how no matter how much trouble a player gets in with the law, they can always sign with the Bengals. Henry did. Cedric Benson did.
However, these players may have had their run in with the law but they are trying to clean up their act. Benson played well enough towards the end of last season to be rewarded another contract for this season. Henry wouldn't be back again if Lewis and the rest of the organization didn't think he could have an impact on offense.
Still, the matter of fact is that the Bengals will never achieve their desire of a playoff birth if their guys can't stay out of trouble. When a player gets in trouble with the law, it not only affects them on an individual level but the entire team.
It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out how to stay out of trouble with the law. All the players have to do is be smart about the decisions they make so they can continue to play football.
The last thing a player wants to do is perform a stupid act that impacts how a team finishes their regular season.
"Dan Parzych covers the Eagles for NFLTouchdown.com. You can view his work here"
"For questions or comments, email him at djp746@gmail.com"
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