Cincinnati Bengals Could Benefit from Appearing on HBO NFL Series Hard Knocks

HBO is currently looking for an NFL team to appear on this year’s edition of Hard Knocks, and the Cincinnati Bengals are a perfect fit.

The Bengals appeared on the 2009 edition of the annual behind-the-scenes documentary and it was the highest rated season to date, which allowed it to subsequently win two Sports Emmys.

At the time, the Bengals were still led by quarterback Carson Palmer and eccentric wide receiver Chad Johnson. It focused on Johnson’s antics, Palmer’s struggle to recover from injury and various training camp position battles.

Three years later, things look much different in Cincinnati.

The team is now led by second-year quarterback Andy Dalton and receiver A.J. Green. The duo shocked the NFL last season, and is leading Cincinnati into a new era.

While the Bengals have not been mentioned as a candidate for the show yet, the search is still on. After a few teams have declined, the next one to be asked by HBO appears to be the Arizona Cardinals.

Joe Reedy of the Cincinnati Enquirer recently confirmed on Twitter that the there has been no talk around the Bengals organization about Hard Knocks yet:

"

4. RT @TheBopper @joereedy Is there any talk of Hard Knocks coming back?>No

— Joe Reedy (@joereedy) May 16, 2012"

However, if given the opportunity, the Bengals organization would be wise to seize it. Cincinnati has struggled with crippling image issues for the past decade thanks to a multitude of arrests.

In fact, the Bengals are among the league-leaders in arrests since the year 2000. While the organization isn’t completely clean of arrests as of late, it has made massive strides in reducing the number and it has been mostly quiet in terms of players encountering trouble with the law recently.

Owner Mike Brown and head coach Marvin Lewis could use the opportunity to showcase to the NFL and its fans that there have been massive changes in the organization since the last time we saw them on the show.

It was clear last time that the front office was in disarray in terms of decision-making and that Brown had final say on most decisions. With the recent string of successful drafts, it appears as if everyone in the front office is on the same page.

The show could highlight potential negations between Brown and Lewis, as Lewis is on the last year of his contract once again. It is also the first time the Bengals have held their training camp in Cincinnati at Paul Brown Stadium.

There are also a large amount of positional training camp battles that are going to be important to watch. There are several wide receivers vying for the No. 2 spot on the depth chart, including Armon Binns and draft selections Mohamed Sanu and Marvin Jones.

The defensive secondary would be another position to watch with the strong safety position undecided and first-round selection Dre Kirkpatrick’s role on the team undefined. With two defensive tackles selected in the draft in Devon Still and Brandon Thompson, there is going to be a major battle for playing time at that position as well.

There's also a controversial linebacker named Vontaze Burfict attempting to make the roster. 

The Bengals are one of the youngest teams in the league and appear to be on the upswing in one of the toughest divisions in the NFL, the AFC North.

These factors will undoubtedly draw in large audiences. It would be the perfect opportunity for the Bengals to showcase the culture change that has occurred in the past few years.

The front office is showing strides in learning from past mistakes and making better decisions that are changing the franchise on and off the field.  

The players themselves could use the series to show the league their unity and seriousness about competing for a title, and the front office could show fans that the long-overdue modernization of the franchise if almost complete.

Hard Knocks and the Cincinnati Bengals are the perfect pair in 2012.

Follow @Chris_Roling