Bengals / Falcons Preview

It's the most wonderful time of the week, folks. On Sunday our beloved Cincinnati Bengals will host the 4-2 Atlanta Falcons at Paul Brown Stadium. After last week's somewhat boring game (come on, that first half was BRUTAL), I'm really hoping that the Bengals put on at least 37 pieces of flare and really express themselves against the Dirty Birds.

Well, honestly, I'll be as pleased as punch if we just win, exciting game be damned. But wasn't that part of why last season was so awesome? We didn't just win a bunch of games -- it was a live action highlight reel every time our offense took the field. That's what I want back. That feeling that no matter what the situation, be it 1st and 10 or 3rd and 12, we were going to make a play. Since the rash of injuries, Carson's recovery, and Chad's less-than-stellar numbers, I just haven't had that feeling. And I miss it.

But I digress.

Let's do a little BAD NEWS / GOOD NEWS, shall we?

The Bad News

• Atlanta has the number one ranked rushing offense (222.2 YPG on the ground) and we have the 25th ranked rushing defense (allowing 127 YPG). That would be what we call a gross mismatch. I am scared out of my little cotton panties of Michael Vick's legs. We don't have a player on the field that can match up to him if he decides to take off, so Marvin and Mr. Bresnahan best have some tricks up their sleeves. The word around the internet is that we're going to try to shut down the run to force Vick to throw. I'll believe it when I see it.


• Warrick Dunn is exactly the type of RB that gives us headaches. In my completely non-factually based estimate, we've had some success containing power backs, but these little slashy bastards give us tons of trouble. Dunn is the poster boy for little slashy bastards. Let's hope that a presumably healthier Dexter Jackson can prevent Dunn from breaking a huge run.


• We only have three healthy wide receivers. Granted, they're probably the best three receivers (playing on the same team) in the league, but we all know how much Mr. Bratkowski likes his four receiver sets. Hopefully he'll take a cue from ol' WhoDave and line Chris Perry up in these situations. But now that Tab Perry and Antonio Chatman are on the IR, I have to wonder if three WRs are going to be enough down the stretch. Hopefully we'll get Kelley Washington back sooner rather than later.

The Good News

• Atlanta is down two O Linemen and two D Linemen. A couple of them are probable, but with our shoddy pass protection and our shoddy D Line, every little bit helps. I actually thought that our O Line did a great job last week, and here's to hoping they can do it again.


• Chad is on the cover of the new Sports Illustrated. Curse, shmurse. We all know Chad steps it up when he's in the spotlight, and I have a feeling the Chad of old will re-emerge on Sunday.


• Our Pass D. Vick sure had a great game last week, but I think the Bengals will do a fine job of limiting the Atlanta passing game. With Dexter Jackson back in effect (presumably healthier than he was last week), I like our chances of pulling down a pick or two.


• Chris Henry. TJ Houshmanzadeh. Chad Johnson. All healthy and ready to pick apart a second-rate secondary. Is this the game where Carson finally shows his 2005 form? Me thinky so. Let's make a conservative estimate: 31-39 passing for 465 yards and four TDs. That sounds about right.


• With the Ravens playing an away game against the red-hot Saints, I really like our chances for claiming the #1 spot in the AFC North this weekend.

Cincinnati Bengals. That's the team I'm gonna cheer to victory.

Who Dey think gonna beat them Bengals?