Bengals Preseason Week 1 Lazy Viewer Guide: First Glimpse

On the precipice of the first preseason battle this evening, the Bengals look at one another and wonder to themselves if they collectively have what it takes.

As of now, they are quintessential paper champions, composed of quality depth and nicely developed draft picks. The coaching staff took a bit of a hit this offseason as both of last year's coordinators dipped out for head coaching gigs elsewhere, but it remains a fine collection of football knowledge in Cincinnati anyway. With the roster largely unchanged, one has to ask: are the philosophical tweaks brought on by the new coaches enough of a change to force a different outcome in January?

This is all strictly based on a person's perception and preconceived notions of the team, of course, but I am going to argue that it is indeed enough.

This has been a good team, despite its series of postseason chokes. In the second half of last season, the Bengals were murdering teams at home, pummeling them into oblivion. The Chargers came in as large underdogs, handed the ball to Danny Woodhead, and blitzed the crap out of Andy Dalton forcing the ginger to cough up the ball and the game. And even though there had been 11 excellent Sundays before it, on the most important of them all, they were outmuscled and outcoached.

So now Dalton is better paid, there are a new handful of rookies, two big-named free agents migrated south to Tampa Bay and James Harrison was allowed to leave his cage and go home. Back from injury are key players, particularly on the defensive side of the ball such as Geno Atkins, Leon Hall, Emmanuel Lemur and Taylor Mays, yet all of these things do not necessarily add up to a different team.
That means the Bengals are counting on two intangible elements to prove successful in order to produce a more favorable outcome in 2014.

The first is the new scheme. Some may have attended all the Bengals practices and can identify the new installations put in by coaches, but I am not one of those few. For most of us, games like the one scheduled for tonight is the best look at what to expect when the live fire breaks loose in three weeks, and even then it's hard to truly discern what's going on under all those layers of vanilla. Still, we will likely see the first steps of the revamped running game we've all heard about which should feature rookie running back, Jeremy Hill. If Hill and Gio can be the peanut butter and jelly sandwich the coaches are hoping they can be, we should have at least some glimpse of it in the preseason. If it's producing 2.8 yards per carry, however, Andy Dalton would then be forced to do more, and everyone that watches the game seems to think that's not the right idea.

On defense, the assumption is that Mike Zimmer's scheme will be carried on by his apprentice, Paul Guenther, but that it may have a bit more blitzes contained within the playcalling sequence. The anticipated increase of speed within the linebacker ranks with the return of Lemur and Mays, theoretically allows for more blitzing because those guys can cover receivers better than last year when it was Harrison and Rey Maualuga in coverage. With a stout defensive line and deep (though old) secondary, sending the hounds more often seems like a sensible approach with the current personnel in place.  

So while we are too old to be fooled into thinking that we learn a great deal from preseason games in terms of scheme and approach, we have thirsted for football for many months and will be pleased to see striped helmets crashing around the field. And since we live in an era where information and analysis mercilessly pours upon our heads on a 24-hour basis, there will be a saturating amount of coverage and extrapolation from the four quarters scheduled this evening in Kansas City. If you want to cut to the chase, though, and set aside most of those other layers, look for how the Bengals run the ball and how often they blitz.  

With or Without You

*Some of this information is now dated after the Andy Dalton signing, but what the hell?

There are two sides to football.

The fan satisfies the neurological need for blood sport in football. It's visceral, it's strategic, we drink it down by the gallons. Behind the bar, serving this madness, is the media monster of football, directing the fans' interests like a riverbed directs water. It all equates to Johnny Manziel snootin' blow in a Vegas bathroom and the Jets maybe winning the Super Bowl every year.

On the other side are the players. Most of whom live kind of regular lives and are kind of regular dudes. Collectively, these guys rally each week and generally try their hardest to win games. It means a lot to them when they do and likewise when they lose.

That includes the Cincinnati Bengals and their quarterback, Andy Dalton. The guy is one of the best seventeen human beings in the entire world to play quarterback in the NFL today, but he comes off as so average to everyone. And not just as a player. People see regular, everyday traits in his personality and assume he's weak because of that perception. If only he yelled more, the Bengals would win playoff games, right?

No matter how you spin it, the Bengals are not a blind organization. They can see that Dalton is not the immediate mega-star or else they would have coughed up the cash already. Instead, Cincinnati drafts running backs in the second round two years in a row and installs a coordinator who has made comments about utilizing the running game more. Then they drag their feet on contract negotiations to either force the Dalton to camp to settle for their initial offer or play out the season and see what happens.

Hue Jackson has one the brightest young rockets in the game today with Giovanni Bernard, a player with MVP-caliber skills. Now coupled with him is Jeremy Hill with his width and straight-ahead running style. And while it may not be popular to say so, I still very much like BenJarvus Green-Ellis and thought he should have been the given the load in the second half of the playoff game. The idea that he must be cut because he cost too much when the Bengals still have vaults of cap-space seems hasty to me. I know it gets tricky when it comes to special teams and active spots on game day, but getting rid of good pros for no good football reason just doesn't add up.

The receiving corps will always be in decent hands while A.J. Green is in stripes. He is the best talent to come to the team since Anthony Munoz. The next man, though, is one of two big question marks for this offense.

Marvin Jones had a solid year and made some unbelievable catches, showing a knack for bringing down contested jump-balls and demonstrating astounding moments of concentration. His emergence later in the season allowed for that terrific run of home blowouts in the second half of the schedule. Can he be relied upon to do it again, is the question. He certainly has the athletic gifts required to excel at the position, and he shined when given the chance, but his sheer inexperience plants the smallest seedling of doubt in me.

If he can carry on, this offense will seemingly be in excellent shape with the versatile Mohamed Sanu there to muscle his way downfield and Dane Sazenbacher doing his best to make us forget about Andrew Hawkins. Bring in the tight-end tandem of Jermaine Gresham and Tyler Eifert and what's not to love?

The offensive line may be rain on this parade though. Gone is Kyle Cook replaced by a fourth-round rookie. Gone isAnthony Collins who was paid handsomely by Tampa Bay. Back to tackle is Andrew Whitworth, who is still a pro-bowler at the position, but in my mind, does his best work inside at guard. I know that the group of undrafted free-agents and journeymen backups have filled in swimmingly in the past for Paul Alexander, but with three position changes along the line, one can't but help wonder about the stability there.

So this is an offense with a ton of intriguing weapons but vulnerabilities at quarterback and offensive line, which makes it very difficult to predict an outcome around. If they can truly run the ball the way they want to, it may be a nice and tidy scheme, but if Dalton is forced to throw a lot like last year, a few effective pass rushes can rattle him into crushing second half turnovers...like last year.

So while the media and most fans will tell you that it's a team slipping backward with Dalton and Marvin Lewis at the helm, the reality is that these guys are pretty polished veterans who win most of the time. Criticize all you like, but the actual people playing for the Bengals have a job to do, with or without you.