When the Cincinnati Bengals were chosen for HBO’s annual reality series Hard Knocks this past offseason, I kind of laughed it off and figured the show was in trouble if the best team they could come up with were the lowly Bengals. Well, the laugh’s on me now as the Bengals are off to an impressive 7-2 start. And this afternoon, they took control of the AFC North with an 18-12 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers.
After the game, quarterback Carson Palmer credited his team’s work in the trenches:
“We kept grinding, and at the end of the day, I think the …read more

Cincinnati Bengals receiver Chad Ochocinco promised to do the “Lambeau Leap” if he scored a touchdown against the Green Bay Packers today. Well, he did score on a 13-yard reception from QB Carson Palmer in the third quarter. And he did leap. But he first sought out at least a small patch of orange amidst all the cheese before taking the plunge, so to speak. And it wasn’t much of a leap. He didn’t appear to really have his heart in it. But the Bengals won the game 31-24, so everyone in Cincinnati is happy—for now. They host the defending …read more

A few weeks ago, Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer sounded disgruntled and seemingly careless about the return of receiver Chad Ochocinco to Bengals’ minicamps and OTAs (I shared his sentiments). After all, Chad was MIA from “voluntary” workouts at a time when the team really needed to be forming some sort of offensive identity. With one of their best players missing, however, that’s obviously a difficult task to achieve.
But more recently, Carson spoke with a hopeful tone and said he looks forward to Chad’s return:
“He’s a damn good receiver—that’s obvious, everybody knows that. But the guys that are working here …read more

I like Carson Palmer’s attitude and I like the leadership he brings to the Cincinnati Bengals. This team needs him.

The Bengals began their offseason workouts yesterday and their quarterback appeared to have his mind right:
“No more ‘Hopefully next year, we’re going to get better. Next year we’re going to be this …’ It’s going into year seven and I feel like I haven’t really played football yet. I definitely haven’t played in any significant games in seven years. The more years you put in the NFL the more you realize you can’t look to next year whether it’s Week …read more

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It didn’t take long for the Cincinnati Bengals to replace T.J. Houshmandzadeh. Today, they added former N.Y. Jets receiver Laveranues Coles to their roster with a four-year, $28 million contract. Although I really can’t understand why anyone would want to play for the Bengals, Laveranues was genuinely excited to be with the team, who released this statement from LC:
“The Bengals were very aggressive right from the start in talking to us, and when a team makes you feel really wanted, that’s a factor you’re not going to ignore. They said, ‘Let’s get this worked out,’ …read more

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Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer is likely out for the rest of the 2008 season while he decides whether to have surgery to repair a “frayed” ligament in his right throwing elbow. Tommy John surgery would repair the problem but doctors have agreed that Carson’s conservative approach to that kind of an operation is ok because the damage is more limited than what Carolina Panthers QB Jake Delhomme suffered a year ago when he had the surgery (successfully I might add). But if Carson continues to throw with that bad elbow this season — it …read more

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Finally, the other guys. After two weeks of going against teammates in training camp, all NFL clubs will be able to see a real, live opponent this weekend. It’s the first full weekend of NFL preseason football, bookended by nationally televised games tonight and Monday night.
Tonight – New Orleans at Arizona (ESPN, 8 p.m.) New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees, who has completed the most passes for the most yards in the NFL over the past two years, thinks there is always room for improvement — by himself and his team. He wants to get back …read more

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The Chad Johnson saga continued in Cincinnati this week, but I think it’s more hype from the media than anything else right now. Chad completed a three-day mandatory minicamp with the Bengals today and after limiting himself to a few drills during workouts on Thursday and Friday (because of a bum ankle), he looked fine catching passes from QB Carson Palmer today. Well, fine in the sense that his ankle seemed ok. Offensive coordinator Bob Bratkowski wasn’t impressed:
“He’s rusty. I told him he looked rusty. Nobody likes to hear that. He’s going …read more

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Kickoff Weekend 2007 will conclude in doubleheader fashion tonight as two All-Pro, veteran AFC North quarterbacks and two promising NFC West quarterbacks square off. I’m loving the two-game thing on MNF, but who can stay up until 1:15 on the east coast? Anyway, in the first game, Steve McNair and his Baltimore Ravens will swoop into town to face the explosive air attack of Carson Palmer and his Cincinnati Bengals (ESPN, 7:00 ET). Steve, a 13-year veteran, has thrown 21 touchdowns against the Bengals in his career. Carson looks to improve upon a …read more