Tuesday, October 17, 2006
Can the Bengals Continue to Roar?
Last month, it seemed the Cincinnati Bengals could do no wrong. They jumped out of the gate to a 3-0 record straight up and against the spread. How quickly a club’s fortunes can change; October hasn’t been nearly as kind. The offense is sputtering, the defense isn’t much better, and Cincinnati is in a funk after two upset losses. Yet the Bengals are still getting plenty of love at the books. Cincy is a 3-point home favorite for Sunday’s matchup against the surging Carolina Panthers. The total is set at 45.
Carson Palmer started off the season looking like an MVP. Now the rumblings from NFL scouts suggest Palmer is still not fully recovered from his offseason knee surgery. The former Heisman Trophy winner with USC hasn’t thrown a pick in Cincinnati’s two losses, but Palmer has also completed just one touchdown pass during that span, and he’s been sacked six times.
That number could go up sharply against the Panthers. Left tackle Levi Jones injured his knee in this past week’s 14-13 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (the Bengals were 4.5-point road faves). Jones is staring at arthroscopic surgery, which would put him on the sidelines next to starting center Rich Braham, also out of commission with a knee injury. Palmer is already not the most mobile quarterback; with his offensive line racked by injuries, there will be a bright red target on Palmer’s back this Sunday.
The Bengals’ defense has managed to stay out of the infirmary (and the courthouse) for the most part this year. Now they need to do something to keep opposing running backs off the scoresheet. Cincinnati is allowing 140.4 yards per game on the ground, ranking 25th out of 32 teams in that department. Fortunately for the Bengals, Carolina’s rushing attack has been anything but stellar this season. DeShaun Foster has just one touchdown to his name, and according to Football Outsiders, was the worst-rated rusher in Week 6 with 58 yards on 26 carries against the Baltimore Ravens.
With Carolina’s future RB star DeAngelo Williams expected to miss this week’s game due to an ankle injury, all indications are that the Panthers will continue to give Foster plenty of touches in an attempt to pound the Bengals into submission. But the marquee player on the Cats remains QB Jake Delhomme, who threw for 365 yards against the Ravens and looks much more comfortable in the pocket these days than Palmer does. Delhomme led Carolina past Baltimore as a 3-point road dog to cash in for the second time in a row and improve to 4-2 SU and 2-4 ATS.
Carson Palmer started off the season looking like an MVP. Now the rumblings from NFL scouts suggest Palmer is still not fully recovered from his offseason knee surgery. The former Heisman Trophy winner with USC hasn’t thrown a pick in Cincinnati’s two losses, but Palmer has also completed just one touchdown pass during that span, and he’s been sacked six times.
That number could go up sharply against the Panthers. Left tackle Levi Jones injured his knee in this past week’s 14-13 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (the Bengals were 4.5-point road faves). Jones is staring at arthroscopic surgery, which would put him on the sidelines next to starting center Rich Braham, also out of commission with a knee injury. Palmer is already not the most mobile quarterback; with his offensive line racked by injuries, there will be a bright red target on Palmer’s back this Sunday.
The Bengals’ defense has managed to stay out of the infirmary (and the courthouse) for the most part this year. Now they need to do something to keep opposing running backs off the scoresheet. Cincinnati is allowing 140.4 yards per game on the ground, ranking 25th out of 32 teams in that department. Fortunately for the Bengals, Carolina’s rushing attack has been anything but stellar this season. DeShaun Foster has just one touchdown to his name, and according to Football Outsiders, was the worst-rated rusher in Week 6 with 58 yards on 26 carries against the Baltimore Ravens.
With Carolina’s future RB star DeAngelo Williams expected to miss this week’s game due to an ankle injury, all indications are that the Panthers will continue to give Foster plenty of touches in an attempt to pound the Bengals into submission. But the marquee player on the Cats remains QB Jake Delhomme, who threw for 365 yards against the Ravens and looks much more comfortable in the pocket these days than Palmer does. Delhomme led Carolina past Baltimore as a 3-point road dog to cash in for the second time in a row and improve to 4-2 SU and 2-4 ATS.
# posted by Eho @ 1:43 PM 
