The front seven of the defense is questionable at best, but the secondary could be the biggest concern of all for a defense that ranked 28th in 2003. Tory James will continue to start on the right side, and he is the type of big, physical receiver Marvin Lewis likes, but the inconsistent Deltha O’Neal was brought in to fill the spot Dennis Weathersby was expected to compete for before being injured severely in an automobile accident. O’Neal is still young enough to turn around what has been a disappointing career to this point, but he must improve his recognition skills and start making some big plays if he is going to give this team a significant upgrade at the position.
Rookie Keiwan Ratliff could eventually push O’Neal for the starting job, but his lack of top-end speed makes him a better fit in the slot, while fellow rookies Greg Brooks and Madieu Williams battle for playing time as the dime back. The Bengals do have a solid starting duo at safety with the addition of Kim Herring at free safety. He is solid in pass coverage, but he doesn’t offer much in run support. Rogers Beckett emerged as a solid strong safety in ‘03 after coming over from the San Francisco 49ers. He is a physical player with good pass rushing skills and is best when playing downhill. He does struggle a bit in pass coverage, however.
Overview
Overall, the Cincinnati Bengals appear to be on the right track, but this team still has some holes and some big questions to answer. Carson Palmer is bound to have some ups and downs, but the team is just going to have to live with that. The defense, in my opinion, is where the biggest concerns lie. They appear soft up the middle, and I don’t see how they will be significantly better at stopping the run this year. With undersized defensive tackles and a middle linebacker that must prove he can hold up over the course of a game teams are going to try to run the ball down their throats. And unless they can generate a consistent pass rush, their secondary is likely to struggle as well. It took a career year from Jon Kitna to outscore enough opponents to get this team to .500 last year. With an inexperienced QB running the offense this year, I believe they will be hard pressed to match that record.
