2008 Cincinnati Bengals Preview

      The Bengals cannot come out in 2008 and play below their talent level. This is a team that showed Super Bowl potential just a few years ago. Cincinnati fans are right to wonder what happened to that team. The Bengals are still as explosive as you can get on the offensive side of the football. However, they still haven’t done enough to solve their defensive woes. The AFC North title should remain out of reach as long as the Bengals have a weak defense.

      The Bengals did think defense in the 2008 draft with first round NFL pick Keith Rivers, but the defense still remains a problem. Even with the scoring potential of Carson Palmer, the defense may not be able to keep opposing teams from winning a shootout. In the AFC North, both the Ravens and Steelers have good enough defenses to stop the Bengals offense, and good enough offenses to score repeatedly against the Bengals defense. However, the offense is still one of the NFL’s best with Carson Palmer throwing to T.J. Houshmandzadeh. The biggest question marks swirl around the always controversial Chad Johnson. He wants to be traded and says he will sit out the entire football season if he doesn’t get what he wants.

      The Bengals will still be a good football team. If running back Rudi Johnson stays healthy, they should have a balanced attack. This team needs improvement on the defensive side of the ball. If the defense shows any signs of strength, the Bengals can win 8 or 9 games in 2008. Their schedule is loaded with eight teams ranking in the top ten in defense. They also open in Baltimore against new head coach John Harbaugh.

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