Cincy Choreographs Offensive Change

Palmer and Johnson couldn't do it alone against the Jets secondary.

In appearing toothless in back-to-back beatings at the hands of the Jets, the Bengals erased all the positivity that finally engulfed western Ohio for the first time in two decades. That’s why despite sweeping the AFC North last season on the way to winning the division for just the second time in 20 years there is reason for concern in the Queen City.

The Bengals established themselves as a power running team behind Cedric Benson and their defense solidified themselves as one of the better units in the league centered on a stable of young talent. But while there were certainly insufficiencies on both sides of the ball, they were able to mask them well enough to finish 10-6 and completed that ever difficult division sweep. That is until they hit turbulence against the Jets.

The Jets destroyed them on every level in the season finale and the Bengals never recovered, following that up with a 10-point loss at home to complete the late-season collapse. What both of those losses showed was that despite having a top-flight quarterback and one of the best receivers in the game, the Bengals simply didn’t have enough firepower to compete against an elite defense. The Ravens and Steelers were, like white girls, a little light in the back  end (of their defenses of course) last season so Carson Palmer could pick his spots to target Chad Johnson in between heavy doses of Benson and it was enough to squeak by the previous season’s AFC Championship participants. But the Jets didn’t have that problem and once Johnson was silenced by Darrelle Revis, Palmer didn’t have a legitimate option to go to and their offense became stagnant.

The signing of Laveraneus Coles to replace TJ Houshmanzadeh proved to be a bust and their attempts at drafting a complement to Johnson have been rendered fruitless as 2008 second-rounder Jerome Simpson has struggled in making the transition from Coastal Carolina to the pros and while Andre Caldwell was decent, he is much better suited to be a #3 or #4 receiver instead of the #2 role he was thrust into after Coles wet his tiger-striped pants. So while Johnson was dancing with the stars, the Bengals made it a priority to improve their aerial attack knowing that if they didn’t, all of those visions of grandeur would turn out to be just mere mirages.

To avoid those hazy hallucinations the Bengals ignored the wishes of their foxtrotting flanker to sign the aging headache that is Terrell Owens and instead opted for a younger headache in Antonio Bryant. But signing Bryant was the right move to make. He was arguably the best receiver on the free agent market and even though he has had his issues over the years, namely missing the 2007 season due to attitude concerns, he’s a supremely talented receiver who can be every bit as good as Johnson if he puts his heart into it. While that is a big if, there’s a much better chance of that happening than Simpson finally realizing he’s not at Coastal Carolina anymore or Caldwell turning into a starting caliber receiver.

Shipley could be Palmer's version of Welker.

Coupling Bryant with Johnson gives the Bengals an explosive feel to it for the first time since Johnson and Houshmanzadeh were fresh out of Oregon State. If Johnson happens to find himself locked down against the likes of Revis, Bryant is good enough to exploit second corners, even ones with as much talent as new Jets cornerback Antonio Cromartie. If the Bengals could play that mid-January game all over again today, they might actually have a chance. But not satisfied with simply having a chance, the Bengals continued to add to their ever-expanding group of receivers with their first pick in the draft and gave Palmer his first legitimate receiving threat at tight end with Jermaine Gresham and, in one of the more underrated moves of the draft, picked Jordan Shipley out of Texas to occupy the slot.

Why is the Shipley pick so underrated? For one Shipley is a pretty decent kick returner who could improve the Bengals special teams immediately. But more importantly he is a sure-handed possession type who could be the Bengals version of Wes Welker. He can exploit the middle of the field that should be wide open while teams concentrate on the field stretching abilities of Johnson and Bryant. I don’t think the comparison to Welker is out of line either because I think Shipley can be every bit as good as Welker has been in New England, though he is unlikely to garner as many balls simply because of the other options on offense the Bengals have, mainly Benson. But don’t discount the effect he could have on this Bengals offense this year. If Julian Edelman can fill in for Welker pretty easily, Shipley should definitely be able to provide a comparable skill set for Cincinnati.

The selection of Kansas receiver Dezmon Briscoe could also be a solid addition to this receiving corps. Briscoe has good size and speed and could turn out to be a starter down the road and as raw as he is, should still be an upgrade over the extremely disappointing Simpson who will be lucky to make it out of training camp with a roster spot. The addition of Briscoe was just the final piece to the Bengals’ changing philosophy on offense.

In adding Bryant, Gresham and Shipley, the Bengals went from having a Paris Hilton shallow group of receivers to suddenly having a deep unit on the precipice of being elite. Johnson may have pleaded for TO, but all he really wanted was some help. The Bengals did just that and gave Palmer a plethora of pass catchers to play with, which has to have Johnson flashing a gold-plated grin.

And even if he doesn’t raise the disco ball trophy on a sound stage in Los Angeles, the Bengals’ efforts could keep him dancing long after his stint on the ABC reality show has ended.

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