Bengals' Keys to Success This Season

The Bengals are following their worst season under head coach Marvin Lewis and are trying not to repeat their embarrassing performance in 2008.

They have made some additions this offseason and lost some players, but what’s done is done. They can’t be thinking of their decisions after they have already decided what they wanted to do this offseason.

The question that hovers out there for fans, coaches, and players is what do they need to do to get back to the playoffs?

It starts with the five keys to success.

1. Offensive and Defensive Consistency

When you look at a lot of the Bengals' losses you see one thing in common: The offense and defense aren’t being consistent.

You have either the defense playing great and the offense cold, which tires down a defense very fast, or the offense is moving up and down the field but the defense isn’t stopping the opponent.

Last season I saw a great improvement in this defense, especially in the secondary. They need to continue to grow and not worry how well the offense is doing. They just have to go out and play their game.

Offense is a big part of the way the defense plays. If they go three and out three times, that doesn’t give the team the rest they need to have. They need to “do their jobs” and let the defense get refreshed to do theirs.

2. Smart Play Calling

I think the Bengals need a new offensive coordinator because Bob Bratkowski just isn’t cutting it. The fans know when the Bengals are running it, so you know the defense does.

Since he is signed for at least another season, he needs to make some improvements. Calling three-run plays isn’t going to get a check in the win column.

Like a lot of coordinators in this league, he needs to find who his most reliable players are, who his best players are, and what personnel he needs for each down.

Giving the ball to Cedric Benson on third and 10 is very rarely going to get you the yards you need. He needs to figure that out fast if he wants to keep his job.

3. Execution

In order for the Bengals to be as productive as they can be, they need to be executing plays as a unit. It doesn’t matter how good the play is if you can’t do what you need to make the most of it.

On offense, the line needs to protect Palmer and open up holes for Benson, Watson, or whoever is running the ball. They need to be physical and give out hits instead of receiving them.

The line is the key for offensive production. If they block and are opening holes, good things will happen. If they don’t do what they need to, it will be a repeat of last year with an injured quarterback.

This is basic stuff, but the Bengals haven’t been doing the small things that make a difference.

Defensively, they need to know where they need to be, who they need to guard, and they need to execute!

4. Staying on the Field

In the past couple seasons, the Bengals have had the most players on injured reserve in the whole NFL.

If this happened once or twice you could say it was bad luck, but it happening this frequently means there is something wrong. You can’t win with your best players on the sidelines watching.

That’s where the trainers and coaches need to come in. They have to work on keeping this team healthy and stop the preventable injuries.

Chad Ocho Cinco having the cramps is ridiculous. He needs to keep himself hydrated and stop coming out after a big play.

One more thing keeping players off the field is off the field problems. They haven’t had too many events, but Leon Hall was recently arrested. And they hired Tank Johnson so they need to be aware of that potential issue.

5.  Leadership

The last thing the Bengals need to become a contender is great leadership. Carson Palmer has been the leader of the offense and has done a pretty decent job, but he could improve in some areas.

The coaches need to treat him as the leader of the team and get the team to rally around him. When something controversial happens, they need to support him as their guy.

An example that I’m getting at is when Chad gets snippy with Palmer after he runs the wrong route, the coaches need to sit him down for a while to teach him not to run his mouth to the quarterback.

The Bengals' hopes of getting to the playoffs begin and end with Carson Palmer. When he plays great you just have confidence that the team can win. If he has a bad day you know it's going to be a long game.

Defensively, they need someone to step up and take the position of leader. It’s usually one of the linebackers, and I think Keith Rivers should be the one to take that step.

In his limited action on the field, he’s shown a lot of progress, and I look at him to continue that progress and do great things this season.

The Bengals can’t worry about the big things until they figure out the little things, but when they start clicking they can possibly be a playoff team. They have a lot of talent, but they still need to get a lot more knowledge about the game.