Improvements To Personnal Adjusts Bengals' Playbook

Last season the Bengals hired Mike Zimmer to coordinate the defense and his unit was ranked 12th in total defense, highest in nine years. Other than Zimmer, there weren’t significant coaching changes last year, but now Zimmer enters his second season as he returns all his starters from a year ago so there is plenty of upside for the defense.

A major personnel change for the 2009 season comes on offensive side of the ball when the Bengals used their first pick to draft Alabama offensive lineman Andre Smith. They plan to move Smith to right tackle, so expect most of the carries by running back Cedric Benson to go towards the right side of the field, behind Smith.

The rookie is not the only newcomer to the offensive line as the unit has gone through a transformation. The line features three new starters as Nate Livings takes over at left guard, Kyle Cook has emerged as the starting center and Smith will be at right tackle.

The receiving core will also have a new look with the loss of starter T.J. Houshmandzadeh to the Seahawks through free agency, and if Chad Ochocinco gets released or traded before the start of the season, they will be down two veteran wide receivers. He did not participate in the OTA’s, but the front office continues to say Ochocinco will be in a Bengals’ uniform for the start of the season.

They signed Laveranues Coles from the Jets and return Chris Henry, Andre Caldwell and Jerome Simpson to compete for the other starting spot if they part with Ochocinco. Veteran Cedric Benson will receive the majority of the carries after the team released Chris Perry.

With Carson Palmer back from his elbow injury, the offense is hopeful to see more production after ranking last in the NFL in points per game with Ryan Fitzpatrick under center. So expect more of a balanced attack and more of a running game behind Smith and the rest of the offensive lineman.

Henry has also turned his life around so if Ochocinco returns, Henry moves into slot receiver and becomes a deep threat while Ochocinco and Coles receive most of the attention. The personnel changes will affect the playoff run and could lead to some excitement in Cincinnati. But only time will tell if they are destined to continue to repeat past seasons lack of production on both sides of the ball.