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Now that a day has passed to let you simmer, stew and bake away your disappointment, how do you feel about the Bengals right now? Four games down, a quarter of the season in the books. And those four games are a roller coaster unlike anything experienced at Kings Island. A blowout by the Patriots was followed up with a 15-point effort by place kicker Mike Nugent in a win over Baltimore. A monstrous defensive effort in a win over Carolina was followed up with a mega-disappointing loss to the Cleveland Browns.
| Record of Teams Cincinnati has beaten: | 3-5 |
| Record of Teams Cincinnati has lost to: | 3-4 |
| New England is set to play on Monday Night Football | |
Let's take a look at the first four games this year and how they've compared to previous seasons during the Marvin Lewis era.
Carson Palmer, the same guy that's been beaten to a bloody pulp over the past week or so, is on pace to record a career-high 4,312 yards passing, yet a career-low (excluding shortened seasons in 2008 and 2004) 20 touchdowns. Here's a look at how Palmer has performed through the first four games of the season since 2004.
| COMP | ATT | Comp% | Yards | TDs | INTs | Rating | |
| 2010 | 94 | 158 | 59% | 1,078 | 5 | 3 | 82.7 |
| 2009 | 79 | 137 | 58% | 845 | 6 | 5 | 75.2 |
| 2008 | 52 | 90 | 58% | 514 | 1 | 3 | 63.8 |
| 2007 | 101 | 160 | 63% | 1,171 | 10 | 6 | 90.4 |
| 2006 | 75 | 120 | 63% | 917 | 6 | 4 | 88.8 |
| 2005 | 94 | 131 | 72% | 1,062 | 9 | 2 | 112.2 |
| 2004 | 84 | 154 | 55% | 875 | 3 | 7 | 58.8 |
In truth, it's hard to compare any defensive unit through the first four games in the season if you compare it to the 2005 squad. Dating back to 2003, the Marvin Lewis era, Cincinnati's 299.25 yards allowed through the first four games is the second-best start to any season. Except for that 2005 squad that only allowed 38 points and an average 296.5 yards/game. Thanks to nine quarterback sacks, compared to three this year, the 2005 squad was an opportunistic bunch, recording an amazing 12 interceptions -- an average of three interceptions per game.
| Points | Avg. Yards | Avg. Passing | Avg. Rushing | INTs | Sacks | |
| 2010 | 78 | 299.25 | 191.75 | 107.5 | 6 | 3 |
| 2009 | 76 | 345.25 | 242.25 | 103.0 | 2 | 10 |
| 2008 | 87 | 330.0 | 165.75 | 164.25 | 1 | 2 |
| 2007 | 129 | 403.0 | 251.0 | 152.0 | 6 | 4 |
| 2006 | 85 | 344.75 | 200.75 | 144.0 | 7 | 10 |
| 2005 | 38 | 296.5 | 195.5 | 101.0 | 12 | 9 |
| 2004 | 95 | 344.25 | 178.5 | 165.75 | 2 | 6 |
| 2003 | 84 | 311.25 | 180.0 | 131.25 | 5 | 4 |
While Cincinnati is fantasizing themselves as a rushing offense, the truth is they're struggling. Through the first four games this year, Cincinnati's 3.3 yard/rush average is their lowest since 2003, when a disgruntled Corey Dillon kicked off the season recording 164 yards rushing through the first four games -- mostly as a result of an injury that just wouldn't heal.
| Yards Rushing | Yards/Game | Runs | Avg. | |
| 2010 | 368 | 92.0 | 111 | 3.3 |
| 2009 | 491 | 122.75 | 110 | 4.5 |
| 2008 | 329 | 82.25 | 95 | 3.5 |
| 2007 | 333 | 83.25 | 94 | 3.5 |
| 2006 | 434 | 108.5 | 108 | 4.0 |
| 2005 | 496 | 124.0 | 130 | 3.8 |
| 2004 | 453 | 113.25 | 110 | 4.1 |
| 2003 | 317 | 79.25 | 106 | 3.0 |
In the end, all of my hard work is meaningless because the only thing that matters is that the Bengals are 2-2 heading into the second quarter of the season.