Young Offensive Line is Key for Bengals

The NFL draft has wrapped up, as have rookie mini camps, OTAs have come and gone, and the time for training camp is approaching (what I like to call the most wonderful time of the year) – so what should Cincinnati Bengals fans expect from the coming season?  Let’s be real, this is not a team that is expected to do much by the national experts.  That said, let’s take a look at how the season schedule shapes up for the boys from Cincinnati. 

The Bengals play in the AFC North with the likes of the Super Bowl Champion Steelers, as well as the team the black and gold beat to make it to the big stage, the Baltimore Ravens.  It is tough to imagine Carson Palmer and the boys topping the Steelers and Ravens on the road, and home games haven’t been a gimme for the Bengals.  With Mangini trying to reincarnate the Jets in Cleveland it seems that the Bengals could topple the boys from the north at home and on the road.  So I see the Bengals going 3-3 in the division. 

This leaves the Bengals with the Broncos, Texans, Bears, Chiefs, and Lions at home and the Packers, Raiders, Vikings, Chargers, and Jets on the road.  I can see four wins and one loss at home (wins:  Broncos, Texans, Chiefs, and Lions), and two wins and three losses on the road (wins:  Raiders and Jets).  This record would make the Bengals 6-4 outside of the division, with an overall record of 9-7.  Will this be enough to get the team into the playoffs?  I doubt it, but there is the hope that the Bengals prove me wrong. 

Of course, this prediction assumes that Carson Palmer can stay healthy throughout the season; which puts a lot of pressure on a very young offensive line.  Projected starters Nate Livings, Kyle Cook, Andrew Whitworth, and Andre Smith (the team’s first-round pick and starting right tackle) have 16 games started between them last season (actually, between Whitworth and Livings).  Projected right guard Bobbie Williams (who started all 16 games last year) will be the unquestioned leader of this offensive line, as he has played more years than the other four starters combined.  The youth on the offensive line is the biggest hurdle for the offense, not replacing Houshmandzadeh or No Show Cinco (assuming he decides to show up for the season).

Keeping Carson Palmer standing will automatically make the offense light years better than last year’s offense, which sputtered under the guidance of Ryan “Crazy Legs” Fitzpatrick.  Keeping Palmer standing is the number-one goal for this offense.  The problem is that the young offensive line is going to face the likes of the Pittsburgh and Baltimore defenses four times – enough to make the most veteran of lines shake in their boots.  Even without Houshmandzadeh, the team has offensive weapons.

It appears that Chris Henry is maturing and might be ready to take over as the number one receiver.  Laveranues Coles was a major off-season signing and will fit right in as the number two receiver.  If No Show Cinco does show and can be a number one receiver, Henry will slip to the third spot and the Bengals should have an excellent receiving corps (adding in tight ends Ben Utecht and Chase Coffman).  Cedric Benson is ready to shoulder the load in the backfield as well.  It all comes down to the offensive line and the health of Carson Palmer.   If Carson Palmer is the quarterback all season long, 9-7 is a realistic goal.  If J.T. O’Sullivan is under center, Bengals fans may need to prepare for a handful of wins.  Of course, we Bengals fans have gotten used to that in the past.

As for the defense, it is the wild card.  With Defensive Coordinator Mike Zimmer getting more head bashers like Ray Maualuga and Roy Williams to roam the field (adding them to the likes of Chris Crocker, Robert Geathers, Dhani Jones, and Keith Rivers) behind space-eaters like Domata Peko, Pat Sims, and Tank Johnson; we could see a young defense that plays hungry.  If this is the case, is Marvin Lewis allowing Mike Zimmer to build the sort of defense Lewis built in Baltimore?  It certainly appears so.  We will soon learn if this is the defense that started the season making Joe Flacco look like Joe Montana, or if it was the defense that finished ranked in the top 15.   It seems that the entire defense is buying into what Zimmer is selling, so let’s see if they can hold opponents down enough to let the offense win games.

The Bengals season truly rests on the shoulders of the offensive line.  If this young group can keep Carson Palmer upright and healthy, we could be hearing chants of Who Dey again in the Queen City, rather than the call of scalpers selling tickets in front of the stadium.