Tampa Bay Buccaneers' Chances Suddenly Better In Cincy?

No, that was not your imagination running wild last Sunday.

The Cleveland Browns, yes, those lowly, we-lost-to-the-Buccaneers Cleveland Browns did indeed come up with a 23-20 win over the Cincinnati Bengals last week.

Which begs the question:

Are the Buccaneers' chances of pulling off a road win on Sunday suddenly a lot better?

Well, the old fool's logic says yes. You know, the Bucs are better than the Browns and the Browns are better than the Bengals, therefore the Bucs are better than the Bengals.

Easy enough, isn't it?

The fact is these 2-2 Bengals are a puzzling team. For a squad that was supposed to contend for a playoff berth, the Bengals are looking more and more vulnerable and Marvin Lewis is looking more and more like a coach working his butt toward the hot-seat.

Coming off a bye week, the Buccaneers are well rested.

With a huge chance in the weather that has driven the summer heat and humidity from Tampa and brought some actual coolness to the morning air, Raheem Morris shouldn't be worried that he can't run the fellas over to practice in the air-conditioned comfort of Tropicana Field, home of the Rays' playoff games with Texas.

No, it's air-conditioned enough at One Buccaneer Place and this rested team should get a boost from the cooler air and the nice aroma of a 2-1 record.

Now will Morris have his team ready for victory Sunday?

That is the $64,000 question.

The running game or lack thereof continues to be a focal point now that we've learned the team will rely less on the surgically repaired knees of Cadillac Williams and more on the beef of LeGarette Blount and the potential of Kareem Huggins, who now appears ready for some action.

And what about his rookieness -- Cody Grimm. If Charlie Batch can pick on Grimm, what about Carson Palmer, who threw for 371 yards against Cleveland.

Which brings up the next question: can the Bucs get a pass rush on Palmer, who is not known for his incredible scrambling abilities?

There were countless flaws for Morris to address during the bye week that were exposed by the Steelers but then these Bengals are not the Pittsburgh Steelers.

So hopefully the Bucs didn't take it too easy last week. Hopefully they didn't scatter to the ends of the earth seeking mini-vacations.

It was just a bye week and an early one at that.

A chance to get everyone healthy and prepared.

And you'd think that if the Browns can succeed against those Bengals, the Bucs might have a chance.

And this season they need every "chance" they can find.