Comparing the two most recent 8-8 seasons in Cincinnati, one would have to look on the 2004 campaign more favorably, as last year’s team rallied behind its quarterback of the future down the stretch and actually wound up outscoring its opponents. Conversely, the 2003 group faded in December, was beaten by 2.4 PPG, and faced uncertainty at a number of key positions thereafter. It certainly goes to say the optimism heading into 2005 is much more warranted. The Bengals carry a ton of momentum into the upcoming season as they played their best football in last year’s second half. In fact, they were able to recover from an ugly 1-4 start to even be considered in playoff contention. QB Carson Palmer really came on and is now being talked about as the franchise player this organization expected him to be. RB Rudi Johnson also had a big year, rushing for 1,454 yards and 12 TD’s, and Head Coach Marvin Lewis finally started to gain control of his defense. That unit finished 3rd in the NFL in turnovers forced, and improved by nine spots in the yardage rankings.

Cincinnati did only what it needed to in the offseason, as other than a few players the organization felt were expendable, nearly the entire roster is intact for 2005. The draft was very good to the Bengals though, and most experts are praising the selections of DE David Pollack and LB Odell Thurman, both standouts for the recent powerhouses at Georgia. In addition, the selection of enigmatic WR Chris Henry has a huge upside. He fell out of favor at West Virginia because of attitude issues, but he is well known for his athleticism and playmaking capability.

After back-to-back seasons of 8-8 football, this perennially losing franchise finally appears to have the framework in place to make a postseason push. Palmer, Johnson, and WR Chad Johnson form the nucleus for a potent offensive attack, and Lewis is slowly but surely putting his stamp on the team’s defensive unit. Carrying the momentum of a strong finish last year, don’t be surprised to hear this team making noise in 2005.

2005 Key Information

StatFox Power Rating: Rating 23 (9 of 32)

2005 Schedule Rating: (15th toughest of 32)

2004:(SU 8-8)(ATS 7-9)

L3 years:(SU 18-30)(ATS 20-27-1)

Coach Marvin Lewis:(SU 16-16)(ATS 16-15-1)

Trends by month

September

Cincinnati is 2-9 ATS L3 years in September

Bengals are 4-15 ATS vs. division first month (9/11)

Cincy is 7-1 ATS as underdog of less the 6 pts. vs. NFC North (9/25)

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October

Cincy 1-7-1 ATS vs. Jacksonville (10/9)

Bengals 13-31 ATS at home against spread in 1st half season (10/23)

9-1-1 ATS before Baltimore (10/30)

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November

Cincinnati 1-7 ATS at Baltimore (11/6)

Bengals 12-3 ATS home against teams avr. 350 YPG (11/20?)

Ravens 11-2 ATS in 2nd game with Cincy (11/27)

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December

Cincinnati 11-23 ATS on road off loss against AFC North foe (12/4)

1st Steelers ATS Game 1 loser, is 15-3 ATS in 2nd (12/4)

Kansas City is 24-6 ATS final game (1/1)

Top Teaser Angle:

Cincinnati 41-2 OVER the teaser line when scoring 22-28 points.

Top Money Line Angle:

Cincinnati 1-23 (-22.1 units) against ML in road games after scoring <17 two straight games.

Top Totals Angle:

Cincinnati 15-4 OVER off division game

Pre-Season O/U wins:

UNDER 8.5 -145 @www.BetCris.com

Fantasy Player Must: Chad Johnson

Fantasy Player Bust: T.J. Houshmandzadeh