Cincinnati Bengals Face Mysterious Post-Lockout World

This summer of no NFL, news has been hard to come by. The majority of what we have heard since February has basically been nothing more than stories of arrest, players activities during the lockout, football 101 walk-throughs and of course the always present daily updates on the state of the NFL lockout.

Now that players and ownership have moved away from the childish positioning and bashing of one another, they have focused on getting a deal done, and we are seemingly closer than ever to having football once again.

Once football activities start, and the football world begins to return to its pre-lockout state, the teams will all take the field for some sort of mini-camps and eventually training camp followed by the preseason. However, the effects of the lockout will be playing heavier than ever on the teams as they get back to work. One team in particular that might struggle upon returning to work is the Cincinnati Bengals.

There are five major problems that the Bengals will be faced with solving once football activities commence.

5. How will the new offensive coordinator, Jay Gruden, get his players up to speed in time for the season?

It is going to be tough to get players ready for the season due to the lack of being in the professional weight rooms, workout programs, and film studies that the NFL teams facilities bring. However, these issues are even more magnified when the players are operating under a new quarterback, offensive coordinator, and a new offense and playbook.

So the key to the Bengals' 2011-2012 season is to be able to get the players all up to speed in the new west coast offense and gel them together in it before the season gets under way. Hopefully, some of the veterans have helped the rookies transition into this at their workouts, but it's not the same until there are coaches there to help the players really learn the new offense. 

4. How quickly can they bring Andy Dalton up to speed?

New QBs bring a number of issues to a team, and Dalton will be touted as the new savior and heir to the throne in Cincinnati. However, Dalton has still not been named starter and the Bengals will have to make a decision very quickly once the lockout is lifted on whether or not he will start in 2011.

They will need to take the opinions of the veterans who have worked with all of the QBs this offseason very seriously and determine who they need to give the majority of the training camp snaps to. If the Bengals coaches hear that none of the QBs have stood out this far they will need to jump into the rush that there will be for the free-agent gunslingers.

The main key for the Bengals is to make a decision and stick with it. That is not saying rush into a decision, but to split reps of a already shortened offseason would simply be a mistake.  

3. What will the Bengals do with free agents Cedric Benson and Jonathan Joseph?

Two corner stones to the team will become free agents the minute the lockout is lifted. The offense and defense will both be taking huge hits if either one of these players leaves so the Bengals need to find a way to keep them at all costs. This shouldn't be too hard if the rumors of a salary cap increase are true.

The NFL wants all teams to have to spend more money to players and if the lockout is lifted this year then that rule will definitely go along side with it. This might be a blessing in disguise for owner Mike Brown who is famous for not wanting to pay high contracts to free agents. Since he will be forced to spend the money anyways, he might as well do it to secure two of the corner stones of his franchise. 

2. What free-agent moves could the Bengals make to improve their roster?

A lot of this will be determined through what the Bengals do with Benson and Joseph, but if they only resign one of the them or neither of them they might have a ton of money laying around that they could be forced to use on players.

So the Bengals could very well turn their attention to signing a veteran QB or possibly a running back, corner, safety, or extra defensive end from this years free agent class. The Bengals need help and there is a ton of talent out there whether it's through a trade (see below) or through signing a free agent, but the Bengals have to make some moves if they want to be successful in 2011.

1. What will the final decision on Carson Palmer be?

For Bengals fans, hearing about this topic is probably getting as old as hearing about the lockout is. However, Carson Palmer is the key to the Bengals' future whether he is playing for them or not. How the Bengals handle this Palmer situation from here on out will dictate the direction the franchise will head in the near future.

Sure, the Bengals could continue on their stance of "play or retire," but if he chooses the latter (which it looks like he will) then the Bengals will get absolutely nothing out of their player. If he comes back to play it would do nothing but infuriate the fans, stunt the growth of Andy Dalton, and break any chemistry this team has built. So the only logical thing for the Bengals to do is trade their once-Pro Bowl QB.

Mike Brown needs to look to Chad Ochocinco as a reminder of what being stubborn gets you. Brown had reportedly got a offer from the Redskins a few years back for two first-round picks for the then-disgruntled Bengals receiver and he turned them down. While Ochocinco has still had decent seasons since then, it's impossible to argue that he wasn't worth two extra first-round picks.

While Carson Palmer's stock had plummeted thanks to an awful 2011 and the draft having already passed, it's still not to late for Mike Brown to save his teams future and trade his QB while he still can get something out of him.