Cincinnati Bengals: Don't Let Your Eyes Fool You, Football Fans

I’m pretty sure Paul Brown had other things in mind when he founded the Cincinnati Bengals football organization back in 1968.

Cincinnati has had two winning seasons in the last 19 years. It has a combined record of 115 wins to 204 losses in this span, including zero playoff victories. The Bengals are ranked dead last in ESPN's Preseason Power Rankings (No. 32) and are expected to fill the bottom void of the AFC North Division in 2011.

And to top it off, ESPN The Magazine recently named Cincinnati’s infamous professional football program the worst franchise in the nation—yes, below the Cleveland Cavaliers and Chicago Cubs.

It goes without saying that being a Bengals fan is no easy chore.

Marvin Lewis’ squad is coming off yet another subpar performance, winning just four games in what many thought was his last season coaching. This resulted in the No. 4 overall pick in April’s NFL draft, where big-time receiver A.J. Green was selected.

Plenty of controversy and turmoil have hovered over the Queen City this offseason. Franchise quarterback Carson Palmer stated that he’d rather retire than continue playing for Mike Brown, and the decision to pick up Andy Dalton in the second round pretty much solidified that announcement.

Offensive coordinator Brad Bratkowski was fired and replaced with coaching great Jon Gruden’s little brother, Jay Gruden, who is reconstructing the offense into West Coast form.

Playmaking cornerback Jonathan Joseph made a bold career choice by signing with the Houston Texans, rather than re-signing with the Bengals.

Chad Ochocinco, formerly known as Chad Johnson, finally got his wish as he was traded to the New England Patriots. Will his “antics” be missed?

The Cincinnati Bengals are a brand new team—a very young brand new team.

It’s easy for anyone to predict Cincy to once again falter and fall into the lower quartile of the league. Heck, most of everybody has the Bengals in the running for next year’s No. 1 overall pick in the NFL draft. And after a glimpse of imperfection in this year’s preseason, it almost seems inevitable.

But you can’t rely on what you’ve seen thus far.

The Las Vegas oddsmakers—who are ridiculously accurate—have the Bengals’ over-under at 7.5. This means that they believe Cincinnati will win at least eight games this season.

Crazy, right? Not so fast.

The Bengals’ upcoming regular season schedule holds only five teams with a winning record from a year ago, which includes the Steelers and Ravens twice.

Andy Dalton has struggled in his first few stints as a pro, but don’t count him out. It seems as if he’s improving with each and every snap and has flashed signs of excellence here and there. When it comes down to it, he’ll be good enough to lead a Bengals offense that possesses a ton of extremely talented, young players.

The defense has actually played quite well. Don’t pay attention to the scoreboard, because a lot of it has to do with field positioning (thanks, offense) and a carousel of backup players fighting for a chance to see the gridiron.

I’m not going to sit here and say Cincinnati will win 10 games and shock the world. However, I’m not ready to prepare for 2012, either. Look for the Bengals to surprise a few people this year.

But if not, I’m O.K. with Andrew Luck.