2009 Cincinnati Bengals Team Preview/Predictions
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2008 Record: 4-11-1
ATS: 7-9
The Cincinnati Bengals were again a joke in 2008 but there is plenty of good reason for that to change this year. For starters, their starting quarterback, Carson Palmer, and top wide receiver, Chad Johnson, are fully healthy.
Part of the Bengals struggle for consistency has been that Palmer hasn’t been healthy – he’s had major injuries in two of the last four seasons. Now that he’s healthy, he’ll give the Bengals a good chance to win every week.
While he was out last season, the Bengals did find a running game with ex-Chicago Bear Cedric Benson leading the way.
He looks like a perfect fit for the AFC North as he’s a tough runner who can handle 20-25 carries a game. With Benson running and Palmer healthy, that alone makes the Bengals offense competent.
Throw in a very deep wide receiving corps, led by Chad Ochocinco, who should again be among the elite receivers in the NFL now that he’s past his torn labrum, and the Bengals should have an above average offense. There’s plenty of good receivers on this team, including Chris Henry, who allegedly has his head straight (we’ll believe it when we see it), free agent pickup Laveranues Coles and Andre Caldwell could be an intriguing sleeper.
The key on offense will be the line, which is being rebuilt. If rookie Andre Smith and left tackle Andre Whitworth can secure the tackle spots, this could be a very solid offense.
On defense, the Bengals are loaded with young talent and it’s just a matter of them jelling.
With Keith Rivers returning from injury after only playing seven games as a rookie and the addition of Rey Maulauga, the linebacking corps essentially gets two-first day draft picks to boost production.
Meanwhile, up front, the Bengals will hope what they have is good enough. Ends Robert Geathers and Antwan Odom weren’t healthy last year and the Bengals will need them badly as sacking the quarterback is this defense’s weakness.
Even so, there is plenty of good young talent on this defense.
While the Bengals won’t compete for a Super Bowl in 2009, it wouldn’t be a shock if they were .500. All the constituents are in place and as long as they focus on football, this could be an eight to 10-win team.
Super Bowl Odds: +6050
Conference Odds: +2050
AFC North Odds: +180
2009 Bengals Predictions
Place they’ll finish in AFC North: 3rd
Place they’ll finish in AFC Conference: 11th
Over/Under Season Wins Prediction: Over 6.5
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Dave Golokhov has written for BETUS Sportsbook, Sportsfanmagazine.com, FOX, Askmen.com, Sports-central.org, and the FOXSports.com Funhouse.
6 replies on “2009 Cincinnati Bengals Odds | Preview | Picks”
The Cincinnati Bengals will rely heavily on a healthy Carson Palmer at QB, but he will need to renew his relationship with WR Chad Johnson, who changed his name and hopefully his attitude towards the Bengals organization, if he is to prove his still an NFL caliber quarterback. Both Palmer and Johnson will need to step up this season if they hope to improve the Bengals 4-11-1 record in 2008. Even if they do, it may not be enough, as the Bengals young defense will wobble at times and the offense will be inconsistent making it difficult to win games. The best the Bengals finish will be 7-9, and out of the playoff hunt early.
Thanks for your comment Matt. Come on NFL football fans, keep your predictions coming, we’ll post em all on here!!!
Well, I believe this is a bad prediction, but we shall see. Though the Bengals had a horrible offense last year, they weren’t led by Carson Palmer. The running game may be their only struggle but I believe they can over come it. Their defense is also projected to be in the top 10 this year. I believe the Bengals will win at least 8-9 games and I’m hoping they can win 10-11 to get into the playoffs. Time will only tell but the NFL projected win total is a tad low!
The Teams they will beat:
Broncoes
Browns (Twice)
Texans
Bears
Ravens (Once at home)
Raiders
Lions
Chiefs
Jets
So I got 10-6 🙂
Thanks for the feedback Jesse….and yes we shall see shortly.
Pretty easy schedule for a team that boasts the likes of Palmer and Ocho. Keep in mind that these 2 are only a couple years removed from consensus pro bowl selections. Although health is a concern, I believe that the Bengals are this year’s bounce back teams and will finish with 9-10 wins. Maybe not good enough for a Wild Card, but with a few bounces, they could propell themselves to 2nd in the division and a playoff spot. If the D flexes, but not breaks, the O should do enough to win alot of games.
Palmer will make all the difference for the Bengals. He makes the offense and defenses better so the Bengals should sneak into double digit wins. Chad Johnson’s game changed along with his name and he needs both back or Palmer needs to find new friends fast. The defense will be better simply because they will have breaks in between playing this year when the offense gets a first down. 2nd in the division.