bengals prediction

In my 18 years of watching the Bengals, this is the toughest crew to figure. So many ifs: Carson Palmer's knee, Sam Adams' durability, on paper a Murderer's Row schedule etc. They could go 8-8, 12-4 or anything in between. A good difference for them, and what sets the Bengals apart from most, is depth, nearly everywhere. Injuries are a fact of life across 17 weeks, but the Bengals seem better equipped to handle them than most. I also believe this defense is vastly underrated, especially by national types who plug into the stereotype instead of looking closely at who's here and who came in. Plus, it's my feeling that this is the Bengals' time, or at least the beginning of it. The NFL is built for teams to rise and fall... holding greatness together in a league of salary caps, injuries, schedule rigging and draft order is next to impossible. The Bengals window is upon them. When I pick seasons, I like to take them in 3-5 game chunks. Clip and save, so you can rag me in January. Here goes:

Bengals start 3-1 with wins over KC and the Browns and either the Steelers or New England.

They lose 2 of the next 4, most likely the 2 on the road, at Tampa and Baltimore. If they steal a win in B-more, they can take a home loss to the Panthers. The key for the Ravens is keeping Steve McNair upright for 17 weeks. He's a Bengal-killer.

5-3 at the halfway point.

The next 5 are crucial, because the Bengals should be favored in all of them. A 5-0 run would put them in great shape for the final, brutal 3. It's hard to win 5 straight in the NFL. I see 4-1, w/a stumble either at Cleveland or at home against San Diego... 9-4 w/3 to play.

If they win 2 of the last 3, everyone will be talking Super Bowl. I think they'll beat the Steelers here in Week 17, and get one of the other two, either at Denver or at Indy. The last week is always hard, because often one team is out of it, or so in it, they're resting everybody. But lets say 11-5. With wins over Pittsburgh, either New England or Carolina and either Indy or Denver, they'll have beaten three of everybody's favorite Super Bowl picks. And we'll all have something to talk about in January.