2008/2009 season: 4-11-1.  2009/2010 season: 10-7 including a playoff loss.  PLAYOFF LOSS.  That obviously means that the Bengals went to the playoffs.  Out of 32 teams, the Bengals were one of the 12 best and even better, they were one of the 8 very best (division winners).  Saturday's playoff loss to the Jets showed some obvious problems with the team.  Problems that need to be fixed by next year.  Problems like the offensive play calling, kicking in clutch situations, and receiving.  There are less problems to solve this year than last year though.

We'll start with Bob.  Bob Bratkowski has the one job in the Bengals front office that required imagination but unfortunately, Bob has lost his.  Even more unfortunate (for us) is the fact that since the Bengals went 10-6 in the regular season and went back to the playoffs, everybody in the front office is probably safe. Bob shouldn't be safe.

Now to kicking.  Graham may be one of the most accurate kickers in the league but none of that matters if he can't kick it through the uprights when it counts.  Remember the end of the 2006 regular season?  The Bengals were 8-7 going into the last regular season game against the Pittsburgh Steelers in PBS.  If they win, they lock up a playoff spot as a wild card team.  If they lose, they're done.  Game tied, about 5 seconds left on the clock.  The Bengals have the ball with only about 20 yards to the enzone and in comes Graham.  Good snap.... good hold.... the kick....... no good.  Wide left (or right, I don't remember).  The Bengals go into overtime and lose on the Steelers first possession and miss the playoffs because of one kick.  Well this past Saturday he did it again.  Not to say the game was completely his fault but he didn't help.  In fact, he hurt.  He should no longer be in stripes.

Receiving.  The Laveranues Coles experiment has failed and it's nobody's fault except for his.  Brown did a good job signing Coles who had a good reputation and was a veteran leader.  Who could have known that he would be a bust.  I was optomistic about him.  However, he hasn't really done much to help the Bengals.  Too many dropped passes and too many missed oportunities have, in my opinion, sealed his fate to be a free agent this year.  The Bengals should look to the draft for a new possession receiver to replace TJ.  To replace Henry, the Bengals should also look to the draft to find a deep threat receiver.  When the Bengals have a deep threat, the secondary needs to be aware of how far Palmer can throw the ball.  60.. 65 yards?  However long it is, the safeties and corner backs cannot let that deep threat get behind them so they drop back deep with him.  This opens up the middle of the field for Ochocinco and Caldwell.  Henry's loss hurt this team in more ways than most people know.

Benson has done more than his fair share this year and deserved the come back player of the year award instead of Brady.  He also deserves a Pro Bowl spot.  He carried the Bengals on his back throughout the season and no matter how hard he tried to put the team up on his shoulders one more time this past Saturday, the team was just a little too heavy.  I look forward to watching Benson run past the AFC North for many years to come.

Carson Palmer is going to be just fine.  He may have had an off year but that doesn't mean we throw a true passing talent like him away.  Somebody else will pull him out of the trash and use him to win a super bowl if we do.  With the running game we have, the play action pass should just kill teams.  However, Palmers thumb injury has made it impossible to use the play action pass so defenses can read the offense easily.  Next year that will be fixed and as long as the O-line protects him like they did this year, we'll see the same old Palmer.

Defense.  The defense was great.  Nothing needs to change.  Two lockdown corners, fast hard hitting linebackers, tough safeties, a run stopping d-line, and Mike Zimmer is a great combination for a typical AFC North dominating defense.  I'm excited to watch and see what damage these guys do next year.

This post will be 40 pages long if I list everything I liked about the season and everything I didn't like.  I don't have time to right that much and you don't want to read that much.  So, I'll just say this.  With a good offseason, the Bengals went from 4-11-1 to 10-7.  Imagine what they can do with another offseason.  There aren't that many problems to fix.  The play calling should change (even though I have a feeling it won't), the receiving corps should change, and the kicker should change.  Other than that, everything is okay.  So, heads up Bengals fans.  We're obviously on the right track and with the team we have now plus some tweaking, we have a team that will let us watch them play in late January instead of just wild card weekend.  Besides, 10-7 isn't anything to cry about.  I can't wait till next year.

WHO DEY

Very close game on the road against the hottest team in the NFL right now. With the number 2 seed now out of reach for the Bengals, they need to focus on closing the division this weekend.  A win against KC this weekend guarantees a home playoff game in the first round of the playoffs and the division championship.  I would much rather have it decided this week than be in a must win situation on the road in NY.

What I liked:

- There it is. The Bengals passing game is not lost.  Palmer had his first 300 yd game of this season and he played with fire I have not seen from him except for the last minute comebacks earlier in the year.

- Palmer's fumble recovery.  When that ball popped out, I was thinking 6 for the Chargers.  Still not sure how he got there so fast.

- Coles and Cosby both stepped up in the passing game.

- JP. In this game, he was a legitimate tight end threat.

- Chad. If heart was measured on the scoreboard, his alone would have won this game.

What I didn't like:

- Why do you not put a safety over with Leon Hall? He was having a tough day on some big receivers. it seemed like he was being outplayed all day.

- Kick returns were a little suspect.  What’s with the hesitation, put your head down and run.

- Questionable d play calling in the last minute.  This is one of those times when you are a hero or a goat. If the blitz would have caused a turnover or sack, we would all praise it. Personally, I would have had more db coverage then an all out blitz.

All in all, this was a game where the Bengals proved they can play with any team in the NFL. Keep the chip on the shoulder.  This is a team that could make a nice playoff run.

WhoDey

I've talked to a number of people and read a few articles that have criticized him for being inaccurate.  They say that he isn't as good as he used to be in 2005 and that he hasn't been the same since his knee injury.  These are probably the same people who are saying now is the perfect time to boycott the Bengals.

Carson Palmer is the same guy he was in 2005.  This is just a different offense.  There is no need to throw the ball 50 times a game when you are averaging almost 140 rushing yards per game.  The Bengals have asked Carson to do something different this year than previous years, manage games... that's all.  Instead of asking him to win games with his arm, they are asking him to win games with his head.  They are going to let Benson, Scott, Johnson, and Leonard win the games with their legs and Carson can make the occasional throws that he needs to make to keep moving the chains.  It may not be quite as exciting to watch but I'll take 8-3 with a boring style any day. 

The Bengals gameplan with Carson reminds me a little of what the Vikings are asking Favre to do this year.  Let AP get the yards, TD's, and all the style points and Favre can just make the throws that he needs to make and manage the game.  Thats the kind of gameplan that takes teams to superbowls.  Also, let's not forget that Palmer is responsible for the last minute wins against Pittsburgh and Baltimore.  Carson is doing just fine.