2013 Cincinnati Bengals Preview

To say expectations are high would be an understatement, and that’s something you rarely hear at the beginning of training camp in the city of Cincinnati. 

The Bengals are coming off a second straight playoff appearance, but both unfortunately ended in losses to the Houston Texans on Wild Card weekend. That now makes it 22 seasons since the Cincinnati Bengals have won a playoff game.

Cincinnati's last playoff win came on January 6, 1991, against the Houston Oilers when Andy Dalton was less than four years old and A.J. Green had yet to blow out three candles on his birthday cake. Yours truly was just 28 days old at the time, with a lifetime of frustration with Mike Brown's Bengals still to come. 

To put that into even more perspective on just how long it's been, here are a few things that have happened around the NFL and around the globe since the Cincinnati Bengals last won a playoff game:

All of these men, except for Jimmy Carter (far right), have served as
President of the United States since the Bengals last won a playoff game.
(Photo Courtesy of The Dallas Morning News)

-- George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama all served as President of the United States.

-- Justin Bieber and Miley Cyrus were born, became popular, and soon became another annoying headline. 

-- A gallon of gasoline rose from an average of 1.14/gal in January 1991 to an average of $3.60/gal in September 2013.

-- Pluto is no longer considered a planet.

-- Steve Jobs returned to Apple after getting fired in 1985 and turned the company into one of the most successful businesses of all-time, forever changing the world in which we live with the introduction of the iPod, iPhone and iPad.

-- A psychology and computer science major named Mark Zuckerburg, created Facebook from his Harvard dorm room.

-- Billions of “tweets” have been sent via Twitter.

-- Tiger Woods turned professional and won 79 tournaments on the PGA Tour, including 14 Majors.

-- The Boston Red Sox won two World Series titles after an 86 year drought.

-- The NFL expanded from 28 teams to 32 teams with the additions of the Carolina Panthers, Jacksonville Jaguars, Baltimore Ravens, Houston Texans, and the return of the Cleveland Browns after a three year hiatus following the move to Baltimore. 

-- The team the Bengals last beat in the playoffs, the Houston Oilers, moved to Tennessee to become the Tennessee Oilers, and then changed their name to the Tennessee Titans.

-- Adrian Peterson (who wasn't even six years old on January 6, 1991) graduated from grade school and high school, finished second in the Heisman voting his freshman season at Oklahoma, played two more years of college football, was drafted seventh overall in the NFL draft by the Minnesota Vikings in 2007, played five NFL seasons, tore his ACL and MCL on Christmas Eve 2011, rehabbed in eight months, rushed for 2,097 yards the following season -- just nine yards short of the NFL single-season record -- en route to winning the AP Offensive Player of the Year award and was named league MVP.

I could go on, but I think you get the point. It’s been a long time since Cincinnati Bengals fans could talk around the water cooler about a Bengals playoff win. 

However, 2013 has the chance to be one of the best seasons in this franchises history and I think the 22 season playoff winless streak will come to an end. Marvin Lewis has put together the most talented roster -- perhaps the deepest roster in the entire NFL -- he has ever had as he enters his 11th season as head coach.

Who makes up this talented roster, you ask? Well, only 53 can make it and from top to bottom, this might be the best roster in the NFL this season. Let's start with the offense.

OFFENSE (Projected starters in bold)

QB: Andy Dalton, Josh Johnson

RB: BenJarvus Green-Ellis, Giovani Bernard (R), Cedric Peerman, Rex Burkhead (R)

FB: Orson Charles

WR: *A.J. Green, Mohamed Sanu, Marvin Jones, Brandon Tate, Dane Sanzenbacher, Ryan Whalen

TE: *Jermaine Gresham, Tyler Eifert (R), Alex Smith

T: *Andrew Whitworth, Andre Smith, Anthony Collins, Tanner Hawkinson (R), Dennis Roland

G: Kevin Zietler, Clint Boling, Mike Pollack 

C: Kyle Cook, Trevor Robinson

(R) – Rookie
*Pro Bowler last season

WR Andrew Hawkins is on IR, but he is eligible to return this season and I think we will see him on the field at some point before the season is over. 

The offense should be fun to watch this year. Andy Dalton will be entering his third season and like the rest of the team, expectations are very high for “The Red Rifle.” Dalton threw for more yards and touchdowns last year than he did in his rookie season and his QB rating rose seven points. Andy did, however, throw 16 interceptions last season. He forced some throws with A.J. Green being the one and only guy Andy trusted in crunch time, so the Bengals went out and got him another weapon in Notre Dame tight end Tyler Eifert. 

TE Tyler Eifert should see a lot of balls come his way in his rookie season.
(Joe Ribbons/Getty Images)

With the addition of Eifert, I expect a lot of formations with both him and TE Jermaine Gresham on the field, much like the Patriots have done the past two seasons. I would not be surprised at all if we also see Gresham and/or Eifert split out wide in shotgun formations or even down by the goal line. As this highlight will show, Eifert can go and get the football no matter where he is on the field.

Along with Eifert, rookie RB Giovani Bernard will also give Dalton another weapon to get the ball too. Bernard is expected to split time with RB BenJarvus Green-Ells and should be in on obvious passing situations, because of his ability to catch the ball out of the backfield. Bernard was impressive in the preseason and he along with Eifert, and of course, A.J. Green, give the Bengals one of the best offenses in the league. The only concern is the offensive lines ability to protect. Andy Dalton was pressure a lot last season and there was lots of missed blocks, so better play from the big fells up front will only make the offense that much more dangerous. 

DEFENSE (Projected starters in bold)

DE: Michael Johnson, Carlos Dunlap, Robert Geathers, Margus Hunt (R), Wallace Gilberry

DT: *Geno Atkins, Domata Peko Brandon Thompson, Devon Still

WLB: Vontaze Burfict

MLB: Rey Maualuga, Vincent Rey

SLB: James Harrison, Jayson DiManche

CB: Leon Hall, Terence Newman, Adam Jones, Dre Kirkpatrick, Brandon Ghee

FS: Reggie Nelson, Jeromy Miles

SS: George Iloka, Taylor Mays, Shawn Williams (R)

(R) – Rookie
*Pro Bowler last season

Geno Atkins could be the Defensive Player of the Year in 2013.
(Jeff Swinger/The Enquirer)

Best defensive line in football? I think so. The Bengals have great talent on defense once again and they will be led by All-Pro defensive tackle Geno Atkins. Atkins is arguably the best defensive lineman in football and he along with Michael Johnson, Carlos Dunlap, Domata Peko, Robert Geathers, and LB James Harrison -- who comes over from the rival Pittsburgh Steelers -- give the Bengals the best pass rush in football. Hands down.

The two question marks though, are Rey Maualuga and the secondary. Maualuga got shredded by the Houston Texans' tight ends in the playoffs and his inability to consistently stop the run are causes for concern. The Bengals saw enough in Maualuga to resign him this offseason to a two-year contract, but I believe this will be Rey's last year in a Bengal uniform if he doesn't improve his play in 2013.

As for the secondary, the Bengals have a shutdown corner in Leon Hall and a very good safety in Reggie Nelson, however, what defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer can expect from the other members of the defensive backfield are unknown. Terence Newman will most likely start opposite Leon Hall, but he's 34 years old and his productivity could decline in 2013. Dre Kirkpatrick -- the Bengals first overall pick in 2012 -- spent much of last season injured and whether he is ready to play a significant role on the defense is something to keep a close eye on.

Fans also need to pay close attention to the strong safety position opposite Reggie Nelson. Will it be rookie Shawn Williams, George Iloka, or Taylor Mays? It looks like it will be Iloka, after Mays and Williams failed to show in the preseason that they deserve to start. In my opinion, Mays is simply a special team's player at best. Whoever ends up at safety will be tested early by opposing quarterbacks with Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady showing up early on the schedule, so they better come ready to play. 

SPECIAL TEAMS

K: Mike Nugent

P: Kevin Huber

LS: Clark Harris

KR: Brandon Tate 

PR: Adam Jones

The special teams were very solid last year and I expect nothing less from them this year. With all the talent on this roster, there are going to be some very good players on the return and coverage teams. Kicker Mike Nugent had another good season in 2012 until he got hurt, but I doubt to see any setbacks from him this year. Kevin Huber is one of the most underrated punters in the entire league in my opinion and the Cincinnati native should have another good season playing for his hometown team.

The only area that I'm concerned about is the return game. I'm not a huge fan of Brandon Tate and I would like to see more of Andrew Hawkins, Adam Jones, and rookie Giovani Bernard returning kicks and punts this season. Jones had some success in the return game last season, especially on punts, and Bernard scored two touchdowns on returns last year at North Carolina. Giving Andy Dalton a short field or pinning the opposing offense inside their own 20 can have a significant outcome on the game and I look for the special teams to excel in both of these aspects in 2013.

Prediction

Best case scenario, I think the Bengals go 12-4. Would I love for that to happen? YES! Will it happen though? I doubt it and here are the reasons why.

First, how well will Andy Dalton play? If Andy comes out and shows more confidence and has success throwing the football to someone not named A.J. Green, the Bengals will be in great shape. Dalton needs to get the ball to A.J. of course, but also to Eifert, Gresham, Sanu and even Giovani Bernard out of the backfield on screens. It all starts with "The Red Rifle." 

Second reason, the play of the defense. The second half of last season the Bengals arguably had the best defense in the league. Geno Atkins will be in Defensive Player of the Year conversation this season -- Sports Illustrated's Peter King picked Atkins to win the award -- and is the best defensive player in football that no one talks about. James Harrison will add to an already excellent pass rush and I'm very excited to see how Vontaze Burfict plays in his sophomore season. If Rey Maualuga and the secondary play well and limit big plays down the field, the defense will be one of the ten best in the league.

Finally, there is the schedule. The Bengals strength of schedule comes in as the 12th hardest in the league at .508, with their opponents having a combined 130-126 record last season. Here are the Bengals first five games of the season: at Chicago, home against Pittsburgh on Monday Night Football, home against Green Bay, at Cleveland, and then New England comes to town. If the Bengals struggle out of the gate they could very well be 2-3 or 1-4 to start the season. That doesn't even include two games against Baltimore, a trip to Pittsburgh, trips to Miami, Detroit, Buffalo, and San Diego, and Indianapolis comes to town in early December. Not an easy schedule by any means.

Andy Dalton will have to something to say about whether or not the Bengals
get back to the playoffs for a third straight season.
(AP Photo)

At the end of the day on December 29th after the Bengals play their final regular season game against the Ravens, I think they will be 11-5. On paper, the roster is just too talented to see Cincinnati only winning eight or nine games. This team is built to not only win the division, but win a playoff game as well.

How far into January and perhaps even February will the Bengals play this season? Well, you'll have to wait just a little bit longer until I unveil my Week 1 picks and playoff predictions. With the first game of the season being tonight, however, I like Peyton Manning to defeat the defending Super Bowl champions and Super Bowl MVP Joe Flacco. Broncos 27, Ravens 24.

Stay tuned for more. Who-Dey!