Bengals Defense Buys Time for More-Publicized Offense to Click

Filed under: Bengals, AFC North

A lot has been made about the Bengals offense because of the talent that quarterback Carson Palmer has around him. Many fans and NFL experts expected to see fireworks and explosions from this unit at the start of the preseason.

With the talents of pass catchers Chad Ochocinco, Terrell Owens and rookies Jordan Shipley and Jermaine Gresham, many quarterbacks in the NFL would give anything for the unit that Palmer has around him, along with running backs Cedric Benson and Bernard Scott in the backfield. Life for Palmer and his new look offense should be easy on Sunday afternoons.

Wrong.

Whether an offense is star-studded or not, it takes time to develop chemistry because the field general must know how to work with the players around him, especially when there are egos involved. The Bengals offense will probably come around right about when their schedule gets tougher, but they are fortunate to have a defense that is in sync to carry them to 2-1.

"Just play football. Line up and do our job," said Bengals safety Chris Crocker. "The cards will fall where they fall. Let's not out-think ourselves. If they move the ball and get in the red zone, make them kick field goals. And we know that if we keep the offense under 14 points, then we are going to be in every ball game."

In consecutive weeks, the Bengals defense managed to commit four turnovers in each game (the Baltimore Ravens and the Carolina Panthers) and helped sealed the wins. The Bengals were blitzed by a three-time Super Bowl quarterback in Tom Brady and -- in most situations going up against a future Hall of Fame signal caller -- defenses will get torched no matter how good they are.

But since their loss to the New England Patriots in the season-opener, the defense worked out their mishaps and has been playing lights out, especially when needed to.

"We had a little mishap the first game and now we have to take each game at a time and we're continuing to grow as a unit and find success," defensive end Frostee Rucker said.

Unlike the Cincinnati offense, the defensive players have been playing together for some time now, which gives them an edge and their performance should not be surprising. The Bengals are ranked no lower than 13th in all four of the major defensive categories, the highest at 10th in total yards allowed (300.7).

Clearly, the offensive players and coaching staff are a little frustrated with their output and rightfully so. Benson wants his carries and the self-proclaimed Dynamic Duo in Ochocinco and Owens want their catches. But they feel it will all click eventually.

 

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