2009 NFL Season in review: Cincinnati Bengals

Oh man do I want to rip the Bengals up and down, but the simple facts here are they had a 10-6 record and made the playoffs and NFL fans in Detroit cannot afford to throw rocks. All season, I sat in my office and awaited the Bengals inevitable collapse. I had the over under on that at week 12. However in the end it seems that a tragic death destroyed this team, not the usual misconduct by the players on the roster. Losing Chris Henry really affected this team, and not even I can bag on the dead.

The 2009 Bengals offense scored 305 points, or 19.1points/game. That was good enough for just 22nd among the 32 NFL teams. For an offense featuring Carson Palmer, Chad Ochocinco, and for part of the season Larry Johnson that is somewhat low. Carson did complete 60% of his passes for 3,094 yards, 21 touch downs, and just 13 interceptions. On the ground this team gained 2,056 yards led by Chris Benson and his over 1,200 yards.

The Bengals defense gave up 291 points, or 18.2/game. That was good enough for the sixth best defense in the NFL, and it underscores the need for the Bengals to score more points. With the offense they already have in place they should be blowing teams out of the water, and their defense is solid should be holding teams to 18 points per game, like they did in 2009.

With all that being said it is hard to fathom how the Bengals were not bigger players in 2009. Sure losing Henry set this team back, but this is a very talented roster that should have been able to rise above that. That seems to indicate that it is that time for Head Coach Marvin Lewis to move to a new team. While the Bengals could use some more weapons for Palmer and the offense, it is Lewis’ failings to get the most out of this team that is holding it back.

Related Links:

•Cincinnati Bengals news and notes
•2010 NFL Draft news, notes, and rumors
•2010 NFL Free Agents
•2010 NFL Mock Drafts
•NFL Complete