Cincinnati Bengals 2009 Playoffs
The Cincinnati Bengals postseason history is best described as concise. In the past 30 seasons the team has managed to give Cincinnati residents playoff tickets in just eight seasons. The last time the fans had a chance to watch a game beyond the regular season schedule with any significance was in 2005.That year the Bengals went 11-5 and won the AFC North, holding off the Pittsburgh Steelers. Unfortunately the Steelers enacted their revenge in the wild card round of the playoffs. The division foes met and the Steelers walked away to the next round after beating the Bengals 31-17. Carson Palmer’s Pro Bowl season ended as Chris Henry, Chad Johnson, and Rudi Johnson failed to bring the prolific offense that had taken them from the middle of the pack to the division leaders. Cincinnati would wait patiently for the next few season through injuries waiting for the offensive machine to return in working order and bring the postseason to Paul Brown Stadium.
That offense is relying on Carson Palmer to bring back the magic that produced 32 touchdowns and a quarterback rating of 101.1 in 2005. Even a return to his 2006 season would be nice. Last year’s poor season that ended with 20 interceptions will not reignite the offense or save the defense. The difficult seasons have the outspoken Chad Johnson to let words fly without much thought. Criticism of Palmer and a recent fascination of changing his name to Ocho Cinco are distractions that Head Coach Marvin Lewis needs to put at bay. Johnson is still a masterful performer on the football field and he needs ot return to his craft. He and T.J. Houshmandzadeh had defensive coordinators speaking in tongues trying to cover them. A running game would be nice if fans want Bengals want playoff tickets anytime soon. Right now that running game falls on the shoulders of Chris Perry. Perry returns from an injury plagued 2007 with the hopes of finally becoming a starting back in the NFL.
Cincinnati Bengals Background
The defense will need to stop giving up so many points so that Palmer will stop feeling the need to force so many throws and start a cycle of losing. Johnathon Joseph can pick off a few throws of his own at cornerback and the front four (Robert Geathers, Domata Peko, John Thornton, and Antwan Odom) will need to put some pressure on the quarterback and stop the run if the team wants to escape the treacherous AFC North season schedule. The North is a difficult division because of the established dominance of the Steelers, the Ravens realistic expectation to redeem themselves after a poor season, and the Browns sudden emergence as a spoiler with Derek Anderson. Bengals playoff tickets are not out of the realm of possibility, but that possibility will require an improved defense and a less turnover prone offense.