2008 Cincinnati Bengals Season Preview

2008 Cincinnati Bengals preview from MadduxSports.com. With the football season around the corner grab the internets best football picks handicapper Maddux Sports and turn a profit while betting against the nfl point spread each and every week.

2008 Cincinnati Bengals Predictions
By Adam Barone

Rundown
Unless you’re a Bengals fan, the thought of all the delinquent retards wearing those ridiculous uniforms likely gives you the same feelings as when Sportscenter does a story on A-Rod and Madonna—head pain and nausea. Chad Johnson. Chris Henry. Odell Thurman. Ugh. Make it stop. What a great job they’ve done in transforming themselves from the laughing stock of the NFL, by the way…

This is still the same fantastic Cincinnati offense, minus Chris Henry, who was released in April. Rudy Johnson, Chris Perry and Kenny Watson form a solid but unstable group in the backfield. Watson led the team in rushing in 2007, with 763 yards on just 178 carries. Johnson, the starter, played in only 11 games and failed to top 500 yards on the ground. The carries will probably be split relatively evenly between the two of them this season, with Perry getting only the occasional handoff.

Henry, linebacker Landon Johnson, defensive end Justin Smith, and safety Madieu Williams were lost in the off season. Smith was likely the defense’s best player, with 78 total tackles last season. His two sacks in 2007 were the least in his career. He had just five in 2003.

Additions include linebacker Darryl Blackstock, receiver Doug Gabriel, end Antwan Odom, and tight end Ben Utecht.

Smith is certainly not a Hall of Famer, but losing him won’t help improve the Bengals’ 27th ranked defense.

Draft Analysis
The past two seasons have seen the Bengals finish ranked 30th and 27th in total defense. Defensive end and linebacker figured to top their list of needs heading into the draft.

USC linebacker Keith Rivers was Cincy’s first round pick, the ninth overall. Rivers has tons of potential, but there are some questions about his abilities in pass coverage.

Second round pick Jerome Simpson out of Coastal Carolina could challenge for the third receiver spot, as could third round pick Andre Caldwell from Florida.

Cincinnati had a total of ten picks and split them evenly between offense and defense.

There’s really no reason to expect anything different from this team in 2008 than what they showed in 2007—high octane passing game complimented by an average rushing attack and lousy defense.

Now that you read the Cincinnati Bengals preview check out the rest of the AFC North teams including the Ravens, Browns, and Steelers.

Related Pages:
Bengals Official Site
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