Following Minnesota's hiring of Mike Zimmerman, former defensive coordinator for the Cincinnati Bengals, I am getting increasingly sure that the Bengals will have a very drastic decline in the 2014 season. At the very least they will miss the playoffs. Most teams have struggles adjusting when they fire one of their coordinators at will, but losing one is even worse. Now throw in the fact that they not only lost their defensive coordinator today, but they also lost their offensive coordinator when Jay Gruden went to the Redskins, and things get even more complicated for the Bengals.
Cincinnati to me, is a team that has a really high peak for one season, and then falls back down again for the next three or four years. It happened in 2009 when the Bengals had won the AFC North, and I believe it is going to happen again. The Bengals had finished 11-5 this year which was very good for what they've done in the past, and also predicted by many fans and analysts. They were in a good spot, with a lot of young talent. Yet I believe their 11-5 season was more to do with the decline of the Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers, than to do with what they had to offer. I'm not sure how many people would disagree if I said both the Ravens and Steelers would have beaten the Bengals in the Wild Card playoffs of this year, just like the Chargers did. Andy Dalton is simply not the answer for the Bengals. In fact, he may be the sole thing holding the offense back. AJ Green makes that offense work, he is the centerpiece of it all. Many folks see Giovani Bernard as the next great running back. He was after all, the first back taken in the 2013 NFL Draft. But I dislike him for one big reason. His size. He's only 5'8, 207 LBs. He is smaller than Reggie Bush, and Bush is a toothpick. All it takes is one big hit and that guy is broken in half. Then again, it's hard to say because nowadays with all the rule changes running backs are becoming more and more durable. Still at this point I am not going to be quick to jump on the Gio bandwagon. The Bengals do have Tyler Eifert who I like a lot, but other than Green and Eifert they need a franchise QB, and they need Benard to pan out in the long run.
As I mentioned earlier the Bengals will be having a first place schedule after winning the AFC North this year at 11-5. That schedule includes away games against Saints, Patriots, Texans, and Colts. Along with the usual games against Pittsburgh and Baltimore which are always tough on the road for them. Then at home it isn't exactly that much easier with them having to facing Carolina, Denver, and Atlanta. Now it's tough to say how those teams will be next season, but if the Texans, Falcons, Steelers, and Ravens all bounce back and the rest of those teams play like they did last year...it's going to be a sore season for Cincinnati.
Now like I said before, I believe a lot of the Bengals' 2013 success this year had to do with Baltimore's and Pittsburgh's decline. I think both of those declines were temporary. Pittsburgh seemed to have had a much better second half, a second half where if they played like that in the first half they might still be alive in the playoffs right now. They have a franchise QB, Antonio Brown at WR who proved to be great in 2013, and also an up and coming running back in Le'veon Bell who I can see being a great player in their offense for years to come. I know they also drafted a WR in the third round of last year's draft who could have the potential to come up and take over the number two spot. They're going to lose Emmanuel Sanders more than likely, but he isn't going to be a big loss to their offense. Not to forget they'll have Pouncey back, along with a line that many thought played exceptionally well under all the circumstances. On defense they do have a lot of aging players. I think they'll likely shake up some of their staff by firing a linebackers coach or something. They did also draft a linebacker in the first round of last years draft who could be a great future center piece of the defense. I've taken a look at their schedule too, and from what I can see I think it is almost cupcake compared to some of the other schedules in their division, especially Cincinnati.
Now talking about Baltimore. Their decline was predicated by me and likely many others. The defensive pieces that they lost were almost overwhelming with Ray Lewis, Ed Reed, and anyone else. Luckily they did sign Dumerville, and drafted safety Matt Elam in the first round of the draft last year. They already have their Super Bowl MVP QB in Joe Flacco, and Ray Rice at RB. Ray Rice had a decline year and it may have to do with how much he's been used by Baltimore over the years. I can't tell whether or not it was just an off year or more so the start of the crash that all running backs experience at some point. Due to the fact that he is still only 26 years old I'm going to choose the first one and say it was just an off year and that he will bounce back. Obviously Baltimore was also lost without their starting tight end Dennis Pitta for the majority of the season. Their one weakness however that needs to be fixed is at WR. Torrey Smith was a wideout who I thought had a lot of potential, and he's still good...yet there was a significant difference this year without Anquan Boldin on the other side of him. The Ravens need to get someone on the other side of Smith if they won't him to succeed, and I believe they should draft a WR early in the upcoming draft.
So to wrap things up, with the Bengals losing both their offensive and defensive coordinators the players are going to have a lot to adjust to next year whenever those positions are filled. With them will be nowhere close to easy schedule next year, along with an average at best Quarterback they are going to have a lot to juggle in the 2014 season. For the last three years the Bengals have lost in the wild card round of the playoffs, but to me this year I cannot even see them getting that far. My prediction is at best they finish 9-7, maybe make the playoffs maybe not. But 7-9 or 8-8 is how I see it going for them.
Cincinnati to me, is a team that has a really high peak for one season, and then falls back down again for the next three or four years. It happened in 2009 when the Bengals had won the AFC North, and I believe it is going to happen again. The Bengals had finished 11-5 this year which was very good for what they've done in the past, and also predicted by many fans and analysts. They were in a good spot, with a lot of young talent. Yet I believe their 11-5 season was more to do with the decline of the Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers, than to do with what they had to offer. I'm not sure how many people would disagree if I said both the Ravens and Steelers would have beaten the Bengals in the Wild Card playoffs of this year, just like the Chargers did. Andy Dalton is simply not the answer for the Bengals. In fact, he may be the sole thing holding the offense back. AJ Green makes that offense work, he is the centerpiece of it all. Many folks see Giovani Bernard as the next great running back. He was after all, the first back taken in the 2013 NFL Draft. But I dislike him for one big reason. His size. He's only 5'8, 207 LBs. He is smaller than Reggie Bush, and Bush is a toothpick. All it takes is one big hit and that guy is broken in half. Then again, it's hard to say because nowadays with all the rule changes running backs are becoming more and more durable. Still at this point I am not going to be quick to jump on the Gio bandwagon. The Bengals do have Tyler Eifert who I like a lot, but other than Green and Eifert they need a franchise QB, and they need Benard to pan out in the long run.
As I mentioned earlier the Bengals will be having a first place schedule after winning the AFC North this year at 11-5. That schedule includes away games against Saints, Patriots, Texans, and Colts. Along with the usual games against Pittsburgh and Baltimore which are always tough on the road for them. Then at home it isn't exactly that much easier with them having to facing Carolina, Denver, and Atlanta. Now it's tough to say how those teams will be next season, but if the Texans, Falcons, Steelers, and Ravens all bounce back and the rest of those teams play like they did last year...it's going to be a sore season for Cincinnati.
Now like I said before, I believe a lot of the Bengals' 2013 success this year had to do with Baltimore's and Pittsburgh's decline. I think both of those declines were temporary. Pittsburgh seemed to have had a much better second half, a second half where if they played like that in the first half they might still be alive in the playoffs right now. They have a franchise QB, Antonio Brown at WR who proved to be great in 2013, and also an up and coming running back in Le'veon Bell who I can see being a great player in their offense for years to come. I know they also drafted a WR in the third round of last year's draft who could have the potential to come up and take over the number two spot. They're going to lose Emmanuel Sanders more than likely, but he isn't going to be a big loss to their offense. Not to forget they'll have Pouncey back, along with a line that many thought played exceptionally well under all the circumstances. On defense they do have a lot of aging players. I think they'll likely shake up some of their staff by firing a linebackers coach or something. They did also draft a linebacker in the first round of last years draft who could be a great future center piece of the defense. I've taken a look at their schedule too, and from what I can see I think it is almost cupcake compared to some of the other schedules in their division, especially Cincinnati.
Now talking about Baltimore. Their decline was predicated by me and likely many others. The defensive pieces that they lost were almost overwhelming with Ray Lewis, Ed Reed, and anyone else. Luckily they did sign Dumerville, and drafted safety Matt Elam in the first round of the draft last year. They already have their Super Bowl MVP QB in Joe Flacco, and Ray Rice at RB. Ray Rice had a decline year and it may have to do with how much he's been used by Baltimore over the years. I can't tell whether or not it was just an off year or more so the start of the crash that all running backs experience at some point. Due to the fact that he is still only 26 years old I'm going to choose the first one and say it was just an off year and that he will bounce back. Obviously Baltimore was also lost without their starting tight end Dennis Pitta for the majority of the season. Their one weakness however that needs to be fixed is at WR. Torrey Smith was a wideout who I thought had a lot of potential, and he's still good...yet there was a significant difference this year without Anquan Boldin on the other side of him. The Ravens need to get someone on the other side of Smith if they won't him to succeed, and I believe they should draft a WR early in the upcoming draft.
So to wrap things up, with the Bengals losing both their offensive and defensive coordinators the players are going to have a lot to adjust to next year whenever those positions are filled. With them will be nowhere close to easy schedule next year, along with an average at best Quarterback they are going to have a lot to juggle in the 2014 season. For the last three years the Bengals have lost in the wild card round of the playoffs, but to me this year I cannot even see them getting that far. My prediction is at best they finish 9-7, maybe make the playoffs maybe not. But 7-9 or 8-8 is how I see it going for them.
