How New Players Will Impact The Cincinnati Bengals' Season

It has been a busy offseason for the Cincinnati Bengals.  Yes, the team lost T.J. Houshmandzadeh to the Seattle Seahawks.  Yes, Chad Ocho Cinco is playing the role of the spoiled child.  However, the team has quietly made a number of moves that could have a major impact on the play calling on both sides of the ball.  Both Bob Bratkowski and Mike Zimmer have some new cogs in their respective offensive and defensive machines, so let’s see what we may be able to expect in the coming season.

Let’s start on offense.  With wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh departing for the Great Northwest, the Bengals went and signed Laveranues Coles as his replacement.  This should have minimal impact on the offensive attack, but the biggest impact on the offense will be the return of Carson Palmer.  With Carson missing most of last season with elbow trouble, adding him back into the mix is as good as landing a big-name free agent quarterback.  When you have Carson leading the offense rather than Ryan Fitzpatrick (or J.T. O’Sullivan this year), you have reopened a great deal of the passing game that went lacking a year ago.  Watch for the team to go downfield more often than a year ago.  The question is, to which weapon will Carson throw?  Chad NoShow Cinco has yet to attend workouts, so let’s assume that Chris Henry and Jerome Simpson will start with Coles.  You can then throw the newly drafted Chase Coffman in along with Ben Utecht at tight end and your passing attack is solid, again.

Watch for this team to run the ball more.  This statement will not surprise loyal Bengal fans, as Coach Marvin Lewis stated that was a goal for the offense – to restore the power game.  With Cedric Benson inking a contract, the offense has its workhorse running back.  The team will have Benson in the backfield with either Daniel Coats, the re-signed Jeremi Johnson, or the hard-to-spell Fui Vakapuna (a late-round draft pick) at fullback.  If the team doesn’t line up in a power running formation (pro split or I formation), watch for Brian Leonard to line up in the same backfield for a different look.  If the team goes single back, Leonard could spell Benson.  With Andre Smith at right offensive tackle, we could see Bob Bratkowski take advantage of the young man’s power in the running game.  Andrew Whitworth at the other tackle is equally as powerful and athletic, making a good tandem of young, strong tackles.  These strong book-end tackles could mean that the offense will try to gain an edge in the off-tackle/power running game.  Keep in mind that this offensive line is young and inexperienced, watch for Bratkowski to utilize misdirection to try and confuse over-zealous defensive units.     

Perhaps the biggest makeover is on the defensive side of the ball.  Some may say that Mike Zimmer is trying to re-create his successful Cowboy defense in the Queen City.  The team signed hard-hitting safety Roy Williams (a former Cowboy), hole-clogging defensive tackle Tank Johnson (a former Cowboy), and have been rumored to be in the running for current cowboy defensive end/linebacker Greg Ellis.  The team also retained free safety Chris Crocker and drafted maniacal linebacker Rey Maualuga.  So, what can we expect from this defense? 

Watch for Zimmer to try and get Williams on the field as much as possible, perhaps playing the nickel defense on a more regular basis (will that fly in the physical AFC North?).  Of course, playing the nickel with Roy Williams as the nickel back is as close to a regular defense as possible.  Who is the odd man out if this is the case?  It depends on the progress Maualuga can make.  If he is good enough to start instead of Dhani Jones, then watch for Jones to be the odd man out.  If that is not the case, watch for Maualuga to give way to Williams.  This assumes that Zimmer wants to use Williams as a “Wildcat” on defense.  He could always line Crocker and Williams in the defensive backfield, leaving Chinedum Ndukwe to come in on passing downs and take the spot as the cover safety. 

I would also watch for a great deal of blitzing.  The linebacking corps is young and extremely athletic (Jones, Maualuga, Keith Rivers, Rashad Jeanty, and Darryl Blackstock).  When you put this athletic bunch behind the likes of the newly acquired Tank Johnson, Domata Peko, Pat Sims, and Jason Shirley you have an opportunity to get some linebackers running free in the other team’s backfield.  The key to Marvin Lewis’ defense in Baltimore were the likes of Tony Siragusa occupying two offensive linemen so Ray Lewis could kill running backs.  This scenario could take place with any of the big boys up front on this defense.  Expect the Bengals to finally have a physical defense that can try to stand up against the very physical AFC North.

The final aspect that may benefit from a new addition is special teams.  Special teams coach Darrin Simmons now has a bona fide punter to line up on fourth-down situations.  The team drafted punter Kevin Huber out of the University of Cincinnati and cut the inconsistent Kyle Larson.  Huber averaged a net 44 yards per punt during his four-year college career (and that includes an anemic 33 yard net on five punts his freshman year).  If Huber can continue to punt in the pros like he did in college, the Bengals could see the field position battle turn in their favor for the first time in a long time. 

The Bengals had a very active offseason between free agency and the draft.  Watch for the new players to make a major impact on the field and on the play calling.  Will the new players be able to lift this team to the level of its competition in the AFC North, or will the new additions succumb to the seeming curse of the Cincinnati Bengals?  We shall see, we shall see.