The rise of this much-maligned franchise revolves around the health of one key player: quarterback Carson Palmer. If he can bounce back from a devastating knee injury, this will once again be a potent offense. The Bengals have not been major players in free agency, but they are doing a nice job of keeping their key players under contract. We will continue to see continuity on this roster, which is unusual in today's NFL, and especially in Cincinnati, where in the past players could not wait to leave in free agency. Scoring points will not be the problem for the Bengals, but their playoff hopes will likely revolve around how much they improve their 28th-rated defense from last seasonESPN.com
Have the Bengals added enough defensively to improve from 2005?