9.) Marvin Lewis and Mike Zimmer

First thing is first, it all starts with the coaches but most of all the head coach.  Marvin Lewis has had his ups and down through the years (mostly because Mike Brown wouldn’t let him have total control of the team) but as of lately he seems to have control of his team.  With that being said the Bengals now have come together as a team and play team ball unlike the days of the Chad Johnson era.  Also Mike Zimmer has down miracles with the defense.  Taking the defense that had a hard time stopping the run and pass to a top four defense, it’s no wonder why this Bengals team is so pumped again this year.  Also Zimmer took two young talented corners and turned them in to one of the best, if not the best corner tandem in the NFL.

8.) Special Teams

The special teams could be a key part to the Bengals success.  With three great kick/punt returners in Adam Jones, Jordan Shipley, and Quan Cosby, the sky is pretty much the limit, and by the way these guys played in the preseason we could end up seeing a couple touchdowns.

7.) Offensive Front

The Offensive line is much improved, they are a year older and wiser, not to mention this will be the second season that these guys have been together.  With the leadership from Bobbie Williams and Andrew Whitworth along side second  year center Kyle Cook and the up and coming Andre Smith, there should be fewer penalties and mistakes than last season, not to mention they should be able to protect Carson better and make more holes for Benson and Scott to run through.

6.) Defensive Front

The defensive front should be fun to watch this season.  Between Zimmer having more tricks up his sleeves and Michael Johnson moving from defensive end to linebacker the opposing quarterback is going to have to be on the top of his game if his team is going to have success or maybe none at all.  Also with rookie defensive tackle Geno Atkins thrown in the mix with the likes of Peko, Tank, and Odom, it’s going to be super scary for the opposing quarterback and tailback.  Another thing that should make it very interesting is the fact this will be Rey Maualuga’s second season and along side Rivers, Dhani, and Michael Johnson the pass rush should in fact be one of the best if not the best in the NFL.

5.) Shut Down Corner Tandem

The Bengals have by far the best corner tandem in the league and even the other teams and NFL “experts” admit it, but why don’t they consider Leon Hall and Jonathan Joseph as lock down corners?  I will never understand the reason behind that, but there is one thing I know and that is the fact that if it wasn’t for these two guys shutting down whoever comes there way, then the Bengals defense wouldn’t be anything, and once again Hall and Joseph will be a key part of the defense especially if the Bengals are going to make a run at the Super Bowl.  Along with Hall and Joseph, you still have Adam Jones who still has a lot of talent and could end up being another shut down corner in this tandem and then there is the second year corner Trent Morgan who has also shown flashes in the preseason of becoming a lock down corner.  With these four guys covering the opposing team’s receivers, it shouldn’t be a problem for the front seven to pressure and get to the opposing quarterback.

4.) Rookie Duo

I wonder if there has ever been a time that Carson wished he had his own Wes Welker or Antonio Gates, well I’m sure that has crossed his time a couple times during his career.  With the new additions of rookie tight end Jermaine Gresham and rookie receiver Jordan Shipley, Carson now has the weapons that he’s never really had to spread and get down the field ever since the loss of Chris Henry.  Gresham will make the offense explode, especially in redzone situations allowing Carson to have a target that could possibly end up being a unstoppable force down in the redzone.  Shipley on the other hand will most likely become Carson’s go to guy on third downs.  With the ability to get through the nooks and crannies and lose his defender, Shipley will be able to be that guy Carson can go to in a tight situation, just like back in the days of the T.J. era.

3.) Batman and Robin

Whether it be Batman and Robin, T.O. and Chad, or Ochouno and Ochocinco, I think this receiver duo pretty much explains itself.  If you look at the stats, they pretty much say that the Bengals have the best starting receivers in the league.  Sure T.O. might have lost a step but he still knows how to separate from his defender and burn him, and Chad, well you know that story.  Also there are a lot of people saying once T.O. and Chad don’t get there reception or if the team loses or starts losing (that could be a big if) the two receivers are going to start a conflict within the locker room, but the fact is, is between Carson and Marvin it won’t happen, not to mention the fact that last season in Buffalo really humbled T.O. so that right there should be a reason not to worry about any locker room conflicts.

2.) Ced Benson

Even though Carson has some new toys, still look for the Bengals to pound the ball with Ced.  Although there will be more of a passing game, Marvin will make sure the running game is going just so the passing game can reach its full potential, but Benson shouldn’t be too worried because he’ll still get all his carries and most likely have a better season than last year.  Along side Benson will also be Bernard Scott who will take part of the load off Ced so he can be ready for the long run.

1.) Carson Palmer

Number 9 will be the key to the Bengals success offensively.  As long as Carson stays healthy and the O-line keeps him on his feet and protective, then the sky is the limit for the Cincinnati Bengals.  Also look for Carson to have his best season by far, I predict he will be throwing for some big numbers this year which should get his name back among the elite quarterbacks in the NFL.

In conclusion, I expect the Bengals to be playing in the Super Bowl as long as none of these nine things collapse on us, but it’s very doubtful that will happen.  So get ready Bengals Nation, this is our time to prove to the best of the best of the NFL that we mean business and we’re going nowhere.  That’s all I’ve got for now.  WHO DEY!

Also the Bengals are interested in 36 year old receiver Terrell Owens and 28 year old Antonio Bryant who is the youngest decent receiver left in free agency and is expected to be in Cincinnati for a visit on Tuesday.

In other notes, free agent DT Tank Johnson has almost reached a deal and will once again be wearing stripes this coming up season.

The fine Chad could face if he wears the jersey could be pretty hefty, but Chad doesn’t care, he’s just doing it to honor Chris, he’s not trying to get attention like people are saying, theway I see it, Chad is doing his way of grieving.  Personally I support Chad 100% and I hope he does end up wearing #15.  Also if Chad scores, his celebration will be what Chris always did, throw the ball up in the air as high as he can throw it.

As of lately the Bengals have been moving on forward on all cylinders but so has the Steelers who have won five straight since the loss to Cincinnati.  If the Bengals are going to win this game theirs going to be several keys for them to do that.

1.) Staying with the run.  The Bengals are going to have to keep giving Ced the ball so they can get the play action going and he’s going to need more than 17 carries maybe even more than 30.

2.) Keeping the Steelers Defense guessing so the O-line can make holes for Ced or letting Carson have time to find a target.

3.) Get the ball to Chad and Andre.

4.) The Defense has to step up.  With Keith Rivers out players like Brandon Johnson and Rey Maualuga are going to have to step up and make some plays, and the D-line is going to have to get pressure up front so they can stop Mendenhall from running and Big Ben from throwing accurately.

5.) Last but not least, Leon and JonJoe got to keep the passing yards down.  Hopefully one of the two will pick off Ben like last time and get the momentum going for the Bengals.

This game most likely will be a low scoring game in which i predict the Bengals will win 17-10.  That’s all for now, Who Dey!

Everyone was calling this game the Benson Bowl, knowing how Chicago abandend Ced and this was his first game against the team that had cut him a few years ago,  and sure enough it was the Benson Bowl, Ced ran all over the Bears 39 times and they tried there best to stop him but they couldn’t, giving him 188 yards for and average of 5 yards per carry.  But it wasn’t just Ced who had a good game, but also Chad and Carson.  Carson led the  Bengals lethal airel game just like back in the day before his elbow injury occured.  Carson ended his day 20-24 throwing for 233 yards and a season high 5 TDs.  Chad on the other hand had his second 100 yard receiving game since 2007, going for 118 yards on 10 receptions with 2 TDs.  At the end of the day Cincinnati won 45-10 and Ced once again became the NFL leading rusher.

  With Shayne out and a game winning extra point being needed, who did Marvin bring in, no not Kevin Huber the punter, he brought in his best receiver we have who happenedto be an awesome soccer player back in the old days, yes you got it,  it was none other than Chad Ochocinco. So the question is now, since Chad has turned into a kicker, is he the new backup for Shayne, and will we see him kick again in the preseason or even regular season?  The answer is hard to figure out even when Chad said he would be doing the kicking duties for the rest of the preseason, but I hope he does get another opportunity so he can show us he can kick a actual field goal.

1.) The new offensive line.  I believe that even without Andre Smith in the line up that the O-line will succeed and protect Carson and open up holes for Ced better than the O-line in 2005.  Also I was very impressed with the new center Kyle Cook, he looked like he had been playing a couple years as a pro center.

2.) A improved Defense.  After watching the defense take care of Drew Brees and Reggie Bush it looked that great defense we saw last season but much better with a few new players that we picked up, so I expect the defense to be at least in the top ten if not top five defenses in the NFL.

3.) The amazing receiving corps.  This receiving corps. is undoubtedly one of the best if not the best in the league.  Chad is in amazingly great shape and is back to his ways of loving the game of football.  Laveranues Coles just looks very impressive so far and in my opinion a much better receiver than T.J. ever was.

4.) Chris “Randy Moss Jr.” Henry.  After having his best offseason ever Chris is the real deal.  Even though a preseason game isn’t a big deal getting 100 yards in receptions and a touchdown is.  And I believe Chris is going to have an outstanding year this season.

5.)Carson is back.  After having two season ending injuries in the past four years I truly believe this will be Carson’s rebounding year showing that he’s still that elite QB he was before his knee injury.  Seeing Carson hook up with two of his favorite targets and new comer Laveranues Coles he looks very impressive and doesn’t seem like the elbow is bothering him which is a very good sign that he fully recovered.

There’s a lot of new faces on this Cincinnati squad whether it be veterans like Laveranues Coles or Roy Williams or rookies like Andre Smith and Rey Maualuga, but the point is, is that this team has been refocused and reenergized towards one thing and one thing only and that is winning.  I keep hearing people saying  without T.J. we can’t win, but I have news for them we still have Chad, in matter of fact a new and improved Chad, we have a new receiver in Coles who is just as good if not better than T.J. and before I forget we have a improved Chris Henry or as Carson likes to call him “Randy Moss Jr.”   Along with a improved and impressive offense we have a tenacious defense.  With key new additions like Roy Wlliams, Tank Johnson, and ReyMaualuga along side our current defense there is no doubt that we will have a top ten if not top five defense.  So the question is now, what does the new season hold for the new Cincinnati team of ’09?  That’s all I have for now.  Who Dey!