Guten Abend! I hope you all have made it through the midway point of the week in one piece. Be like the panda bears at the zoo in Washington D.C. after the earthquake that occurred Tuesday and don't give anything a second thought. Whatever seems to be holding you up this week, figure out a way to move past it.
Today is going to be a big day for the Bengals. Later this evening they will be matching up against the Carolina Panthers in their third preseason game. Now I'm not going to remind you of the outcomes from the first two games (I'm sure we most of us haven't consumed enough alcohol to forgot about those catastrophic losses).
This is going to be the third game for Andy Dalton leading offensive assault (more like a group of headless chickens running around). I believe Dalton needs to find a rhythm well before the Bengals have buried themselves six-feet under. Dalton can't wait until the end of the first half to finally start clicking with his receivers. Dalton needs to start proving to us that his hard work during practice is paying off, instead of leaving many fans questioning whether he's going to be capable of leading the aerial assault for the Bengals.
As for the defense, they need to be able to prove that they can stop the opposing offense at any given moment instead of sticking their head between their legs and raising the white flag in defeat. Two blow-outs in a row is inexcusable. Defensive guru Mike Zimmer needs to figure out a way for the defense to step up and prevent opponents from the reaching the end zone.
So far the Bengals have been outscored 61-10. Now that is horrible. It makes you want to prepare your brown paper bags for the regular season. I know it's only the preseason, but the Bengals have scored the fewest points and have allowed the most points after two games. They need to start making bigger strides during the remainder of the preseason if they even want to have a fighting chance against any of their opponents.
The Bengals need to find some form of consistency if they want to survive this season. But as I keep telling myself, it's only the preseason and the Bengals have time to get the train back on track and salvage the season to the best of their abilities. It's too early to raise the white flag.
Alright here is a look at what you may have missed or overlooked from Wednesday.
- The Bengals are currently facing a major problem on offense and that is their inability to move the ball at long distances through the air.
- Former Bengals quarterback Ken Anderson may have to wait a long time until he gets enshrined in the Hall of Fame, (assuming that he does indeed end up in the Hall of Fame and I know all of us in Bengal Nation believe he should have been inducted years ago).
- Defensive end Carlos Dunlap is likely to sit out Thursday night against the Carolina Panthers.
- Good news for all of you Time Warner Cable customers! By the start of the 2011 season you all could have the NFL Network.
- The bond for the suspect in the Antwan Odom shooting has been set at $150,000.
- Safety Gibril Wilson is slated to make his preseason debut against the Carolina Panthers.
- Scouts Inc. released their top 200 players list and only one Bengals player made the list. I'll let you all guess who it was.
- Former Bengals defensive end Tank Johnson is going to be taking a break from football in order to spend more time with his family. Good for Johnson! Here's to hoping he enjoys life away from football and that if he decides to return that he's better than ever.
- Former Bengals safety Roy Williams is going to join the Sooner Radio Network.
- With the addition of safety Taylor Mays the Bengals become more athletic, but his addition doesn't necessarily make the secondary better.
- According to Marvin Lewis, Clint Boling will once again be playing early against the Panthers.
- When it comes to the ground attack for the Bengals it would appear as if it's going to be Cedric Benson or bust. Hopefully the backups will be able to step up when they have to.
- Cornerback Adam Jones aims to be back on the gridiron by the third week of the season after recovering from neck surgery.