It's time to talk about everyone's favorite perennial one-and-done team: your Cincinnati Bengals. With the head coach and a ton of important players, including the quarterback, entering contract years (or essentially contract years), this may be the last chance for this group to make a run.
Although he shit the bed again in the playoffs in 2013, there were high hopes for Andy Dalton and the passing game coming into last season as they moved to the more balanced ways of new OC Hue Jackson after pass-happy Jay Gruden left. Unfortunately, those hopes were predicated on Marvin Jones (10 TD in 2013 in just 555 snaps while averaging 14 yards per catch) and Tyler Eifert (2013 first-rounder at a position that generally has a large second-year growth) taking the next step forward. In true Bengal fashion, Jones hurt his foot in offseason workouts and never played while Eifert suffered a gruesome elbow injury in Week 1 (after catching three balls for 37 yards in the first quarter) and was supposed to be back for the home stretch but never fully recovered. In addition, A.J. Green missed four games (including the playoffs) and large parts of two others. That forced the team to overextend Mohamed Sanu (and for me to put the SoSH FC curse on him) and rely on street bodies like Greg Little. An upper-tier quarterback would still be able to make chicken salad out of chicken shit, but Dalton is certainly not that guy and the result was the lowest touchdown total and highest interception rate of his career. Given that the team can easily get out of his contract after this season, I would have to imagine they mercifully will if he doesn't show serious progress. Jones and Eifert playing full seasons would certainly help that.
Jackson's impact was certainly felt in the running game as the team was fifth in attempts and tied for 10th in yards per carry. The latter certainly would've been higher if they just gave Jeremy Hill the bulk of the carries from day one instead of waiting until Week 15. Hill established himself as a true lead back, averaging over five yards a carry and had four games of 147+ rushing yards. Gio Bernard didn't hold up to the rigors of being a lead back as he's on the smaller side and broke down in the middle of the year, but is still an excellent change-of-pace back. He needs to be used more in the passing game though, as he had nearly the same amount of carries as his rookie season but saw 12 fewer targets and caught 13 fewer balls. They also found a gem of an undrafted FA in H-Back Ryan Hewitt who paved the way for many of Hill's runs. They will also likely draft a blocking TE as they are expected to finally move on from Jermaine Gresham.
The offensive line continued to be a strength, led by criminally underrated LT Andrew Whitworth who might be the best pass protector in the league. The team should definitely prioritize resigning LG Clint Boling, who is a very good puller and athletic in space. RG Kevin Zeitler finally played like a first-round guard last year but missed time with injuries for the second straight year. On the downside, usual stalwart RT Andre Smith struggled and was lost for the season with a torn triceps midway through. Rookie C Russell Bodine was heavily overmatched at times, so hopefully the year of experience will be pivotal since there wasn't much optimism in his play. Whitworth and Smith are both free agents after this year and the Bengals have been linked to a tackle in the first round, as the team has historically prioritized the position.
The single biggest disappointment of this past season was the decline of the pass rush. Sacks aren't everything, but going from 43 in 2013 to a league-worst 20 last year is, uh, not good. Wallace Gilberry was an excellent rotational player but was exposed as a starter, and he had to play that many snaps because 2013 second-rounder Margus Hunt failed to step up. Robert Geathers was finally released (many years too late) as he offered less than nothing as the nickel rusher. They're definitely going to be in the market for defensive ends - Trent Cole makes a ton of sense as he is from the area, went to college there and has had a lot of success in a 4-3. I also wouldn't be surprised to see them in the market for Greg Hardy if he's going to come at a discount as they have a glaring need for a RE. They're also going to need Geno Atkins to return to his pre-ACL form, as he only managed three sacks last year and wasn't the continually disruptive presence he had been. Hopefully he'll be a lot better in his second year of recovery as that's one of main things the success of the defense will depend on.
The linebacking unit is also very much in the air. Vontaze Burfict missed two games and parts of others with concussions and then was lost for the season halfway through with a knee injury that ended up turning into microfracture surgery. The hope is for him to be ready for training camp, but who knows with a procedure of that severity or if he'll regain his previous form. Rey Maualuga probably had his best season in the middle as he was a huge key in the turnaround of the run defense the second half of the year (they allowed 3.57 YPC with him on the field and 4.25 without). That said, he's a pretty one-dimensional player and they can certainly upgrade there. There were high hopes for Emmanuel Lamur as he's very rangy for his size, but he struggled taking on blocks and was out of place on the strong side. Ideally, they'd get someone that offers some pass rush ability on the strong side, move Lamur to the weak side and kick Burfict inside.
The secondary was clearly the most valuable unit on the team last year, as they posted stingy pass defense numbers (6.6 YPA, 18/20 TD/INT) despite no help from the pass rush. Top corner Leon Hall struggled though in his comeback from his second Achilles tear as he wasn't the elite player he'd been in the past. This is a pivotal year for him as he's going on 31 and entering a contract year. The ageless Terence Newman continued his solid play on the other site, but they'll probably move on with former first-rounders Dre Kirkpatrick (who came on at the end of the year) and Darqueze Dennard waiting. After a rough start to the year, Adam Jones continued to provide solid play in nickel packages and should be counted on for a similar role. The safety play was excellent, as George Iloka was outstanding in coverage and Reggie Nelson continued to be very good in run support. Both are free agents after this year though, and an extension for Iloka should be a priority.
The Bengals continued to have quality, if unspectacular, special teams. They were third in FOs net punting, as Kevin Huber had a strong year with assists from gunners Kirkpatrick and Dennard. Mike Nugent rebounded after a horrible first six weeks but that's a spot where they could upgrade. Jones provided a huge boost to the return games as he was fifth in punt return average and second returning kicks. The team appears finally ready to move on from Brandon Tate as they hosted Jacoby Jones for a visit and will sign or draft someone of that ilk.
As aforementioned, Lewis is in the final year of his contract. Even if they finally decide to move on after this season, they should at least give him a token one-year extension to avoid lame duck status, as the last time that happened was in 2010 which produced a disastrous result. The schedule won't be easy as they have to play both West divisions (at least they get Seattle at home although they have to travel to Denver) with strength of schedule games against Buffalo and Houston.
Although he shit the bed again in the playoffs in 2013, there were high hopes for Andy Dalton and the passing game coming into last season as they moved to the more balanced ways of new OC Hue Jackson after pass-happy Jay Gruden left. Unfortunately, those hopes were predicated on Marvin Jones (10 TD in 2013 in just 555 snaps while averaging 14 yards per catch) and Tyler Eifert (2013 first-rounder at a position that generally has a large second-year growth) taking the next step forward. In true Bengal fashion, Jones hurt his foot in offseason workouts and never played while Eifert suffered a gruesome elbow injury in Week 1 (after catching three balls for 37 yards in the first quarter) and was supposed to be back for the home stretch but never fully recovered. In addition, A.J. Green missed four games (including the playoffs) and large parts of two others. That forced the team to overextend Mohamed Sanu (and for me to put the SoSH FC curse on him) and rely on street bodies like Greg Little. An upper-tier quarterback would still be able to make chicken salad out of chicken shit, but Dalton is certainly not that guy and the result was the lowest touchdown total and highest interception rate of his career. Given that the team can easily get out of his contract after this season, I would have to imagine they mercifully will if he doesn't show serious progress. Jones and Eifert playing full seasons would certainly help that.
Jackson's impact was certainly felt in the running game as the team was fifth in attempts and tied for 10th in yards per carry. The latter certainly would've been higher if they just gave Jeremy Hill the bulk of the carries from day one instead of waiting until Week 15. Hill established himself as a true lead back, averaging over five yards a carry and had four games of 147+ rushing yards. Gio Bernard didn't hold up to the rigors of being a lead back as he's on the smaller side and broke down in the middle of the year, but is still an excellent change-of-pace back. He needs to be used more in the passing game though, as he had nearly the same amount of carries as his rookie season but saw 12 fewer targets and caught 13 fewer balls. They also found a gem of an undrafted FA in H-Back Ryan Hewitt who paved the way for many of Hill's runs. They will also likely draft a blocking TE as they are expected to finally move on from Jermaine Gresham.
The offensive line continued to be a strength, led by criminally underrated LT Andrew Whitworth who might be the best pass protector in the league. The team should definitely prioritize resigning LG Clint Boling, who is a very good puller and athletic in space. RG Kevin Zeitler finally played like a first-round guard last year but missed time with injuries for the second straight year. On the downside, usual stalwart RT Andre Smith struggled and was lost for the season with a torn triceps midway through. Rookie C Russell Bodine was heavily overmatched at times, so hopefully the year of experience will be pivotal since there wasn't much optimism in his play. Whitworth and Smith are both free agents after this year and the Bengals have been linked to a tackle in the first round, as the team has historically prioritized the position.
The single biggest disappointment of this past season was the decline of the pass rush. Sacks aren't everything, but going from 43 in 2013 to a league-worst 20 last year is, uh, not good. Wallace Gilberry was an excellent rotational player but was exposed as a starter, and he had to play that many snaps because 2013 second-rounder Margus Hunt failed to step up. Robert Geathers was finally released (many years too late) as he offered less than nothing as the nickel rusher. They're definitely going to be in the market for defensive ends - Trent Cole makes a ton of sense as he is from the area, went to college there and has had a lot of success in a 4-3. I also wouldn't be surprised to see them in the market for Greg Hardy if he's going to come at a discount as they have a glaring need for a RE. They're also going to need Geno Atkins to return to his pre-ACL form, as he only managed three sacks last year and wasn't the continually disruptive presence he had been. Hopefully he'll be a lot better in his second year of recovery as that's one of main things the success of the defense will depend on.
The linebacking unit is also very much in the air. Vontaze Burfict missed two games and parts of others with concussions and then was lost for the season halfway through with a knee injury that ended up turning into microfracture surgery. The hope is for him to be ready for training camp, but who knows with a procedure of that severity or if he'll regain his previous form. Rey Maualuga probably had his best season in the middle as he was a huge key in the turnaround of the run defense the second half of the year (they allowed 3.57 YPC with him on the field and 4.25 without). That said, he's a pretty one-dimensional player and they can certainly upgrade there. There were high hopes for Emmanuel Lamur as he's very rangy for his size, but he struggled taking on blocks and was out of place on the strong side. Ideally, they'd get someone that offers some pass rush ability on the strong side, move Lamur to the weak side and kick Burfict inside.
The secondary was clearly the most valuable unit on the team last year, as they posted stingy pass defense numbers (6.6 YPA, 18/20 TD/INT) despite no help from the pass rush. Top corner Leon Hall struggled though in his comeback from his second Achilles tear as he wasn't the elite player he'd been in the past. This is a pivotal year for him as he's going on 31 and entering a contract year. The ageless Terence Newman continued his solid play on the other site, but they'll probably move on with former first-rounders Dre Kirkpatrick (who came on at the end of the year) and Darqueze Dennard waiting. After a rough start to the year, Adam Jones continued to provide solid play in nickel packages and should be counted on for a similar role. The safety play was excellent, as George Iloka was outstanding in coverage and Reggie Nelson continued to be very good in run support. Both are free agents after this year though, and an extension for Iloka should be a priority.
The Bengals continued to have quality, if unspectacular, special teams. They were third in FOs net punting, as Kevin Huber had a strong year with assists from gunners Kirkpatrick and Dennard. Mike Nugent rebounded after a horrible first six weeks but that's a spot where they could upgrade. Jones provided a huge boost to the return games as he was fifth in punt return average and second returning kicks. The team appears finally ready to move on from Brandon Tate as they hosted Jacoby Jones for a visit and will sign or draft someone of that ilk.
As aforementioned, Lewis is in the final year of his contract. Even if they finally decide to move on after this season, they should at least give him a token one-year extension to avoid lame duck status, as the last time that happened was in 2010 which produced a disastrous result. The schedule won't be easy as they have to play both West divisions (at least they get Seattle at home although they have to travel to Denver) with strength of schedule games against Buffalo and Houston.
