The Ultimate Sports Blog's
2015-16 NFL Preview
2014-15 Record: 10-5-1
Last Playoff Win: 1990 Wildcard vs. Houston Oilers
Last Playoff Appearance: 2014 Wildcard vs. Indianapolis Colts
Last Super Bowl Win: None
Last Super Bowl Appearance: XXIII vs. San Francisco 49ers (1988)
Head Coach:
Marvin Lewis (100-89-2 all-time at Cincinnati, 0-6 in playoffs)
Assistant Head Coach: Paul Alexander
Offensive Coordinator: Hue Jackson
Defensive Coordinator: Paul Guenther
2014-15 Team Leaders:
Passing Yards: Andy Dalton (3,398 yards, 64.2% completions, 19 TD's, 17 INT's, 83.5 QB rating)
Rushing Yards: Jeremy Hill (222 attempts, 1,124 yards, 9 TD's)
Receiving Yards: A.J. Green (69 receptions, 1,041 yards, 6 TD's)
Tackles: Vincent Rey (121 tackles)
Interceptions: Reggie Nelson (4 interceptions)
2014-15 Team Rankings:
Passing Offense: 21st in NFL
Rushing Offense: 6th in NFL
Points Per Game: 15th in NFL
Least Points Allowed Per Game: 12th in NFL
2014-15 Potential Starters:
Purpe - Elite Starter
Blue - Above Average Starter
Green - Average Starter
Orange - Below Average Starter
Grey - Rookie
Red - Disgusting, Awful, Horrible, E.J. Manuel
Offense:
QB: Andy Dalton
RB: Jeremy Hill
WR: Marvin Jones
WR: A.J. Green
TE: Tyler Eifert
C: Russell Bodine
OG: Clint Boling
OG: Kevin Zeitler
OT: Andre Smith
OT: Andrew Whitworth
Defense:
DE: Michael Johnson
DE: Carlos Dunlap
DT: Domata Peko
DT: Geno Atkins
LB: Rey Maualuga
LB: Emmanuel Lamur
LB: Vontaze Burfict
CB: Adam Jones
CB: Leon Hall
FS: Reggie Nelson
SS: George Iloka
2014-15 Schedule:
(September 13) vs. @ Oakland Raiders
(September 20) vs. San Diego Chargers
(September 27) vs. @ Baltimore Ravens
(October 4) vs. Kansas City Chiefs
(October 11) vs. Seattle Seahawks
(October 18) vs. @ Buffalo Bills
(October 25) BYE WEEK
(November 1) vs. @ Pittsburgh Steelers
(November 5) vs. Cleveland Browns
(November 16) vs. Houston Texans
(November 22) vs. @ Arizona Cardinals
(November 29) vs. St. Louis Rams
(December 6) vs. @ Cleveland Browns
(December 13) vs. Pittsburgh Steelers
(December 20) vs. @ San Francisco 49ers
(December 28) vs. @ Denver Broncos
(January 3) vs. Baltimore Ravens
Overlook: Cincinnati is a tough team to figure out once again. On one hand, they have a really good roster on paper that looks like it could potentially do some damage in the league, only if certain people would play a little bit better. If guys like Andy Dalton could "figure it out" this season, the Bengals could actually end up surprising some people and finally get that "playoff win" monkey off their back. They absolutely have the talent to do so. However, to me....it's the same ol' Bengals we've seen over the course of the last four seasons. One that is definitely talented enough to do some damage, but will end up extremely disappointing everyone the "Marvin Lewis way". Now, I'm not here to bag on Marvin Lewis as I think the guy is a perfectly fine NFL head coach, but is there another NFL franchise that would allow their head coach to coach there for over ten years without EVER getting a playoff win? I doubt it. So what exactly are the Bengals lacking besides an elite head coach with playoff wins? Let's find out!
On offense, the Bengals are pretty well off. They don't really have a huge weakness anywhere on this side of the ball and should actually be better this year than in the past. One would hope that Andy Dalton improves this year and helps in the development of Jeremy Hill and Tyler Eifert, two talented players who have the potential to be elite. The WR core is good as A.J. Green is one of the league's best and the return of Marvin Jones (if he can stay healthy) should help the Bengals passing game even more. Cincinnati is fine along the offensive line and should continue to see improvement with this unit especially after spending some high draft picks this year. It's called "building for the future" people and some teams do it better than others.
Defensively, the Bengals absolutely have some holes, but they are still pretty good on this side of the ball. Cincinnati was one of the worst teams last year when it came to pressuring the quarterback and I don't know if that's going to improve this season. Outside of Geno Atkins, the Bengals front seven is a bunch of mediocre guys who could be replaced at the drop of a dime (even though I like Vontaze Burfict, he's still missing something that stops me from loving him). If Bengals fans are hoping that the pass rush is going to be fixed this season, they are likely going to be highly disappointed. Where the Bengals are well off on the defensive side of the ball is in the secondary. Cincinnati definitely has one of the oldest secondaries in the league, but it's still full of decent NFL players who should contribute in a big way this season.
So, where does Cincinnati go from here? It seems like the "Marvin Lewis Era" has spilled out a lot of 8-8, 9-7, or 10-6 seasons over the last ten years. Unfortunately (or fortunately?) for Bengals fans.....we can expect more of the same here. The only question is, is that good enough to save Marvin Lewis job or will we see the end of an era in Cincy? STAY TUNED!
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