Improved Bengals Still Have 'Offensive' Questions

By David Campbell

With all of the moves the Cincinnati Bengals made in the off-season, it's not hard to see why many of the team's fans are giddy with anticipation for the upcoming season.

But lost in the signings of Roy Williams and Tank Johnson, as well as arguably the best draft class of coach Marvin Lewis' seven-year tenure, is the fact that the team still has question marks that need to be answered if it is going to improve much on last year's 4-11-1 record.

Chief among those concerns is the offensive line, which allowed quarterback Carson Palmer to be battered and bruised a season ago and played the biggest role in the team's 0-8 start.

Not that the Bengals didn't attempt to upgrade the line in the off-season. The team spent the sixth-overall pick on tackle Andre Smith from Alabama and a fourth-round selection on center Jonathon Luigs from Arkansas. But other than right guard Bobbie Williams, the Bengals will have new players in four of the five line positions.

The questions start with the Smith, the enigmatic tackle. Many experts considered him the best pure tackle in the draft, yet his decision-making off the field left much to be desired. On the field, the Bengals have already announced that the life-long left tackle will move to the right side, an indication that the team may not believe it can sign him in time for the start of training camp.

If signed, Smith could dominate on the right side, but protecting Palmer's blind spot will be veteran Andrew Whitworth, who is moving over from left guard. Whitworth, a left tackle while playing in college at LSU, did start 10 games at the spot during his rookie season, but questions still remain as to his ability to play on an island against the AFC North's ferocious pass-rushers.

Replacing Whitworth at guard is former undrafted free agent Nate Livings, who played very well in that role last season. Last year's fourth-round pick, Anthony Collins, appears to be the leading contender to back up both tackle positions.

Even if all of the new faces pay dividends, the offensive line could struggle if the center position isn't adequately filled. Eric Ghiuchic had trouble against the big nose tackles of the AFC North and has since departed via free agency. Getting the first shot at replacing him appears to be Kyle Cook, who was expected to contend for the starting spot a year ago before his season was derailed by injury.

Getting a top-flight center appears to be the Bengals' biggest concern. The team never truly recovered after Rich Braham's career-ending injury early in the 2006 season and the once-potent offense fell to one of the worst in the league a year ago.

If Smith, and the his new teammates, do their part and kept Palmer upright and blow open holes for Cedric Benson, the old Bengal offensive swagger could return to the Queen City. If not, and Bengals fans could be in for another long season of watching their franchise quarterback in sweats on the sidelines rather than launching the long ball.