Biggest Bengals Training Camp Battle? The Cincinnati Bengals

Training camp starts Friday for the Cincinnati Bengals, and there are a number of interesting position battles, notably on the offensive line, running back, and linebacker. But when you’re watching Hard Knocks in the coming weeks, look to see how their biggest camp fight is resolved: The Cincinnati Bengals versus themselves. 

Let us return to the halcyon days of 2006. The Bengals entered training camp fresh off a playoffs loss to the Steelers, and Carson Palmer was attempting the fastest return from reconstructive knee surgery in NFL history. There were a lot of questions.

But this didn’t seem to bother the Bengals. They were convinced the only reason they had missed the Super Bowl the previous season was because Palmer was hurt on the second play of that playoffs loss. If Kimo von Oelhoffen hadn’t blown out Palmer’s knee, the Bengals would have been fitted for championship rings. Never mind they would have had to win three more games, at least two of which would have been on the road, and there was a nuclear meltdown in the locker room at halftime of the loss to Pittsburgh.

After they finished 8-8 and just missed the playoffs (with another loss to the Steelers), which followed a 3-0 start to the season, the Bengals still seemed convinced of their own greatness. Coming into camp in 2007, Chad Johnson raced a horse, and TJ Houshmandzadeh decided he didn’t need to work out with the team until mandatories.

In 2007, a 7-9 finish resulted from a total collapse of the running game, and Johnson was so sick of the losing, he yelled to anyone who would listen he wanted to be traded. That didn’t happen. After creating an offseason circus in which he changed his last name to Ochocinco, Johnson got hurt in preseason and was unable to work much in camp in 2008. Houshmandzadeh skipped all the voluntaries again, and, on opening day, Palmer had thrown very few passes to his top receivers. That turned out not to matter, since the offensive line suddenly couldn’t block, and Palmer was knocked out for the season after only a month of the worst offense in Bengals history.

So here we are in 2009 on the eve of training camp. Head coach Marvin Lewis has been touting a totally remade team, attitude-wise. Houshmandzadeh is gone. Ochocinco spent the offseason learning to box and is now rededicated to working hard to win. All the young guys have can-do, want-to attitudes.

At least that’s the story. Now it’s time to see if it’s true. Number 1 pick, Andre Smith, is digging in for a long holdout. How badly does second-year man Anthony Collins want to pick up the slack, especially after he played very well at left tackle in 2008 in place of the injured Levi Jones. With Andrew Whitworth named the starter at LT and Smith the presumptive starter at RT, there isn’t a place for Collins in the starting lineup. Does he take it in stride, or does he stew?

Rookie linebacker Rey Maualuga was furious he lasted until the second round. Moreover, he’s been moved to OLB from his traditional spot in the middle. Can he handle it? What if Rashad Jeanty beats him out? Will he implode?

A lot of good things have been written about the Bengals since the draft. A lot of people like what they’ve seen in OTA’s, and the coaches have lauded a lot of praise on their players. Do the Bengals think they’ve arrived, or do they understand they haven’t earned anything yet, and they have to prove it every week?

The past three camps have yielded nothing but disappointing results in the regular season, and the attitude of the team has been a major contributor. For three years, these guys have acted as though it’s all been preordained – that they will be a contender. Lewis claims to have run those guys out of his organization. If it’s true, 2009 has the chance to be the first camp since 2005, where the players came in hungry and ready to do what’s necessary to win.

That’s the battle I’ll be watching in the coming weeks. I’m interested in who’s going to win the starting center job, who will back up Cedric Benson, and who the starting linebackers are going to be. But what I really want to know is if all these guys believe in each other, in the goal, and in the Stripes. Training camp will tell us.