Posted on 4/9/2008 2:16:03 PM

NFL Futures 2008 – Breaking Down the Bengals

By Tim Furious

The NFL season is a long way from setting sail, but the Cincinnati Bengals are already making headlines. The problem is that they’re getting attention for the same reason Lindsay Lohan does – for all the wrong reasons. Aside from not making the playoffs for the second season in a row, the maligned coaching of Marvin Lewis or the horrific season averages of a top-5 offense last season, the off-season has been littered with problems already. What does this mean for the Bengals betting faithful?

First and foremost, let’s get last season out of the way. It was bad. For all of those that loved the Bengals high-powered offense, they obviously failed to understand the importance of receiver Chris Henry. After Henry served his eight-game suspension, he returned in tremendous form to notch 21 receptions for 343 yards and two touchdowns. His importance in overwhelming one-on-one matchups made it impossible for teams to cover the spread offense of Cincinnati.

But now he’s gone because the Bengals couldn’t handle his antics anymore. Not that I blame them, but without Henry, the Bengals have lost an extremely important cog to their offense. I’m not here to defend Henry. I think he’s an idiot, but that’s the breaks in the real world and there’s no way you can offset his off-the-field behavior just because he’s good at catching footballs.

With and without Henry, the Bengals were the seventh best passing offense in the league averaging 250.7 yards through the air, and the eleventh best offense overall with 23.8 points per game. The talent of Carson Palmer, Chad Johnson and T.J. Houshmandzadeh is absolutely unquestionable. But I’m not worried about talent. I’m worried about the stability of this team from a mental standpoint.

I’m not going to fill up my word count hear by talking about the defense, because the more pressing concerns are on offense. And I’ll give you 85 reasons this team is in deep trouble.

Why hasn’t Chad Johnson been labeled a problem child yet? Sure he’s entertaining, but this “me first” attitude has to be pissing somebody off. Chad has been known as a team player, and you can’t argue against his numbers. With 93 catches for 1440 yards and 8 touchdowns, his impact as an incredible all around receiver isn’t in dispute. It’s his attitude and how he handles losing.

The only other person that was so vocal about his displeasure in losing football games was – yep – Terrell Owens. Ocho Cinqo isn’t any different. When he’s winning, he’s happy and showing off his thousand dollar grills. But when times are tough, as they are now, Chad Johnson shows his dark side.

And the problem is that when an over bearing personality like Chad’s begins to cast shadows, the Bengals lack the leadership to overcome this infectious cancers. Marvin Lewis is a pushover, who inexplicably has the blind, good graces of the ownership. And then there’s Carson, who becomes so frustratingly apathetic in dealing with the Bengals offensive inconsistencies that it makes you wonder if he has the cajones to take control of that locker room.

Lost in the midst of all this is the hissy fit T.J. has been throwing trying to secure a contract extension for his insane services. It’s no wonder that this team went 6-9-1 ATS on the season. They can’t even reward their own potential, let alone their betting backers.

A ragged band of misfits without proper leadership leaves the Bengals lost with in the fog of their own miscommunications and misunderstandings. They say the cure-all to the woes plaguing Cincy is “winning”, but that isn’t the case. The symptom is purely an inability to handle difficult times. And a ship that can’t handle the turbulence of the NFL season, of thunderous, primadona personalities and one which lacks a strong hand at the helm is destined to mediocrity. The Bengals are a ship sailing nowhere fast, and they’re dragging their NFL betting backers down in to the depths along with them. Don’t get caught in the undertow.

The BetUS sportsbook has NFL odds up on a ton of futures, and you will also find NFL lines up for early games as well. Join BetUS today and we'll help guide you right through to Super Bowl XLII and beyond!