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The Bengals had a 4,000-yard passer in Carson Palmer (4,131) and a pair of 1,000-yard receivers in Chad Johnson (1,440) and T.J. Houshmandzadeh (1,143). Young studs: The emergence of rookie safeties Chinedum Ndukwe and Marvin White, rookie cornerback Leon Hall and second-year corner Johnathan Joseph. They comprise the secondary of the future. Pass protection: The Bengals set a club record for fewest sacks allowed (17). They hit the nine-game mark with 13, then tightened up. Turning point: It was the 51-45 meltdown at Cleveland on Sept. 16. CARSON Palmer threw a club-record six TD passes — and lost. The Bengals never recovered.
The defens: The inconsistent offense must shoulder some blame, but the bottom line is this: The defense finished the season ranked 27th, yielding 348.8 yards a game. It's the fourth time in five years the defense was 27th or lower. Rush hour: Kenny Watson (178 carries, 763 yards, 7 TDs) was terrific, but the club averaged only 3.7 yards a carry and got out-rushed by 337 yards (1,893-1,556). Bellyaching: Cornerback Deltha O'Neal complained that his contract wasn't restructured after his 2005 Pro Bowl season. He lost his starting job at midseason and was relegated to nickel back. Lacking sacks: The Bengals registered only 22 sacks. After Robert Geathers's 10.5 in 2006, he was limited to a team-high 3.5 in '07 because he was switched to strong-side linebacker for four games. Justin Smith was paid $8.6 million. He had 2 sacks for minus-6 yards. Pink slips: Defensive coordinator Chuck Bresnahan and linebackers coach Ricky Hunley were fired, victims of an injury-plagued unit. Five of the seven linebackers on the roster for the final game didn't join the team until after preseason ended. Dayton Daily News http://www.daytondailynews.com/s/content/oh/story/sports/pro/bengals/2008/01/05/ddn010608benglance1.html |
