Bengals Early Bird Special: Another Big Opponent For Bengals on Sunday

Good morning Bengals Nation! It's finally Friday and that only means one thing. The weekend is pretty much here. And what do we do on the weekend? We don't worry about work and get ready to watch some football. Now that doesn't always happen, but it's an ideal situation to be in. No work and all games for at least two days.

On Sunday the Bengals will be in store for their second biggest match-up of the season. The Ravens are another team that are solid overall. We all know that the Ravens have one of the most feared defenses in the league regardless of their age. And as for the offense, Joe Flacco and Ray Rice have both teamed up to transform the Ravens offense into a more potent threat.

In order for the Bengals to re-enter the win column they are going to have to be able to stop the Ravens offense. Even though Baltimore is ranked 11th in passing offense and 22nd in running, they aren't an offense to take lightly. The Bengals secondary must be prepared to do a better job at covering the Ravens receivers compared to last week's dismal performance against the Steelers. Baltimore still has weapons at receiver and tight end.

In order for the Bengals offense to do much of anything they need A.J. Green to be playing. After Green there are a lot of question marks. The only other consistent receiver has been tight end Jermaine Gresham. The Bengals second and third receivers, Jerome Simpson and Andre Caldwell have been too inconsistent this season. Both have come up big for Cincinnati, but at the same time both have made costly errors. If Green is inactive on Sunday then the Bengals will need both Simpson and Caldwell to step up their game. 

Alright here is what you may have missed or overlooked from Thursday.

• Bengals linebacker DeQuin Evans has been suspended four games for violating the NFL's performance enhancement substances policy.
• Check out the weekly podcast.
• When A.J. Green left Sunday's game against the Pittsburgh Steelers it showed the Bengals lack of weapons behind him. The Bengals need to develop more weapons on offense for Andy Dalton to pass to.
• Here is the injury and practice report for the Bengals and Ravens from Thursday. According to Joe Reed cornerback Adam Jones returned to practice as he nurses a groin injury that he suffered last week.
• It's time for the Week 10 Caption Contest. Hurry up and put in your idea before it's too late.
• Cincy Jungle's Week 10 MVP goes to......get me a boat and I might tell you.
• Adam Jones' trial has been rescheduled for January. 
• If for some reason A.J. Green doesn't end up playing against Baltimore then the Bengals will look for repeat performances from Andre Caldwell and Jerome Simpson of last year's season finale against the Ravens where both receivers posted up big numbers.
• Here is the latest news and rumblings from around the rest of the AFC North.
• According to ESPN.com's Ross Tucker Bengals cornerback Leon Hall should be happy about his situation. In all honesty, he does make some valid points.
• Bengals cornerback Kelly Jennings has been very inconsistent this season. And with Leon Hall being out for the season this is Jenning's opportunity to find his groove and prove his value to the Bengals.