The Cincinnati Bengals were the definition of irrelevant under Marvin Lewis. The now fired Lewis coached the Bengals from 2003-2018. The organization won a total of 0 playoff games during that stretch. YIKES… The Bengals probably kept Lewis 10 years too long. The problem is it’s pretty fair to be skeptical of the new head coach Zac Taylor. From quarterback coach to head coach? Really?
Carlos Dunlap claims that this isn’t the same old Bengals anymore. Well, I’d sure hope so:
“I can tell you we don’t have too many of the same things [anymore] and I’ve been here 10 years,” Dunlap said, via ESPN.com. “Last year wasn’t our best foot [forward], so if people think we’re going to come out like last year, they’ve got another thing coming.”
I’m not sure you can call the Bengals a team to take seriously with Andy Dalton returning for another year. Dalton isn’t a winning quarterback. Never has been, never will be. It will take 4 games for Zac Taylor to realize that he needs a new quarterback. Now that Lewis has been fired, it probably indicates that Dalton is also on the hot seat to start the 2019 season. I can promise you,
Dunlap claims the Bengals aren’t the same Bengals team but a turn around actually starts on his side of the ball. The Bengals actually had the worst defense in the entire league. Cincy ranked 32 in yards allowed (413.6 per game). That has to improve. Blaming loser Marv for a bad defense isn’t an excuse this time either. My expectation is that the Bengals and Ravens should battle for last while the Steelers and Browns are battling for first.
