Last year was not a good time to be a Cincinnati Bengals fan. The team, with a high powered offense and high expectations, had a very disappointing season, as they won just four games during the entire regular season. Granted, the heart and soul of the team, Carson Palmer, was out with injury, but this was still a major letdown in Cincy.
Once Carson Palmer went down, we all knew it would be a rough year. Without Palmer, the team was anything but dangerous, and its offense virtually non-existent.
Ryan Fitzpatrick did his best, but his skills were nowhere near that of Palmer’s, and the offense struggled greatly for it. This wasn’t much of a surprise considering his lack of NFL experience.
Chad Ocho Cinco, previously known as a top three wide receiver in the NFL, turned into the sort of wide receiver that would be commonplace around the league, and his numbers were miserable as compared to seasons past.
TJ Houshmandzadeh wasn’t playing like himself, and injury issues limited him too. If there’s anything good about last season, the last few games showed that Cedric Benson was a capable running back, and gave the team a new weapon.
Entering the 2009 season, the Bengals were more hopeful than they had been the year before. While the team had lost TJ Houshmandzadeh in the off season, the acquisition of veteran receiver LaVaerneus Coles, combined with the emergence of Chris Henry as a newly reliable option, made it seem as if the Bengals might be a halfway decent team again this season.
After a week 1 loss, the Bengals marched into Green Bay with a very impressive victory, doing something the Bears were unable to do in week 1.
Chad Johnson looked like the Ocho Cinco of old, and the Bengals pulled off a win under very difficult circumstances. Maybe a new era is upon is in Cincinnati, as this season looks to be more hopeful than 2008.
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