Cincinnati Bengals

I was right . . . again!  The Bengals are 4-1 and first in the AFC North.  Cincinnati beat the odds by three with a score of 17-14 against the Ravens.  Carson Palmer, Cedric Benson, the defense, Chad Ochocinco, Andre Caldwell and Chris Henry were all game changers.

Palmer played a lot better this week.  He had 18 completions for 31 passes with 271 yards and a touchdown in the last 20 seconds of the game.  Palmer and the coaches need to work on watching the play clock.  He had too many delay of game calls and hurt the offense with a 5 yard penalty each time.

Benson has had an amazing year.  He had 120 yards against the Raven's defense.  It has been 39 games since Baltimore's defense has let a running back have 100 yards in a game.  Benson has really stepped up his game this year.

Cincinnati has an alive, quick, mean defense.  The Bengal's defense held the Ravens, who were rated #3 in the NFL, to only 14 points.  One of those touchdowns was actually scored by Baltimore's defense.  Cincinnati's defense really stuck it out and played with heart.  The Bengals won the game for defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer because his wife died last week.

Caldwell, Ochocinco and Henry  are doing great things on the field.  Caldwell has been catching clutch passes.  He caught the game winning ball against the Steelers and the Ravens.  #85 got his hands back in Baltimore and actually caught the ball even when contact was made.  Henry should have the ball thrown to him way more often.  He is a fast receiver who catches almost everything.  He had 3 catches for 92 yards in this one game.  

What is with Ray Lewis actually trying to hurt Ochocinco?  The announcers said Ochocinco and Lewis pray together every Sunday on the phone.  Lewis's hit was stupid and caused a 15 yard penalty that hurt his team badly on the last drive.

The Bengals are beating the odds. They are 4-1 after a 3-12-1 season last year.  It's a great year to be a Bengal's fan.  Go Bengals!  WHO DEY!

If the Bengals play their game on Sunday they will squeeze out a win in Baltimore.  The defense, Carson Palmer, and Cedric Benson can all be huge game changers.

The Bengal's defense is on a roll.  The Ravens are a good pass and run offense but when they do pass the Bengals will need to put pressure Joe Flacco to make him throw rushed passes.  The Bengals should be able to handle Willis McGahee running the ball.

The Ravens have a big pass defense but they are older and slower than they used to be and Palmer can handle them.  When Palmer hits the wide receivers in stride they will make the catches and do what they do.

It's going to be Benson's job to wear out Baltimore's defense early in the game.  Benson is going to need to run the ball hard against Ray Lewis but he should be able to get some break-away runs.

If everything goes right the Bengals can beat the Ravens.  Don't be afraid to send me your comments about what you think is going to happen on Sunday.  Go Bengals!  Who Dey!