The Cincinnati Bengals: One shot surprise or a force to be reckoned with?

OFF SIDES: Leo Florkowski of Bleacher Report and A.J. Hunley of the AFC North Report give their thoughts on this weeks question about the AFC North!

 "One can truly say that the Bengals shocked the most "die-hard" fans with their performance last season. Coming out of nowhere with Dalton under center and Green producing a solid performance the Bengals snuck (sneaked) up on the AFC North leaders, that being the Steelers and Ravens. Was this a one shot surprise or are the Bengals truly becoming a force to be reckoned with in the AFC North?"

Leo Florkowski--Featured Guest Writer
Leo is a sports addict with a Cleveland problem.  He has been consumed with sports for as long as he can remember.  He is currently an Analyst for Bleacher Report and his work has been picked up by too many websites to list - most notably cbssportsline.com.  He currently resides in Cincinnati after graduating from Ohio State in 2006.  You can see his full archive at http://bleacherreport.com/users/433887-leo-florkowski and follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/#!/LeoFlorkowski.

Being the wordsmith that I am the answer to the question depends on how you want to define "shocked" and "becoming a force" as it pertains to the Bengals.

In terms of being "shocked" the general public almost never believes in the Bengals. They were tabbed as one of the front-runners in the Andrew Luck sweepstakes last year - so the general public was indeed shocked when the Bengals rattled off a 9-7 record and grabbed a Wild Card spot.

It might seem implausible to people outside of the greater Cincinnati area but Bengals fans are one of those rare fan bases that are typically more pessimistic about their own team than the general public. That is the result of being "Bungled" as they put it. At one point they suffered through 14 straight non-winning seasons in a row. It later stretched to 17 non-winning seasons in an 18 year period. The one year they made the playoffs during that stretch they saw their franchise QB Carson Palmer get his knee destroyed in a home playoff game against their hated division rival Pittsburgh Steelers - he was never the same. Needless to say Bengals fans were shocked last year as a whole.

As for me I was less shocked than most last year. It really depends on how you want to measure things. In my pre-season predictions I said the Bengals would go 6-10. You can see proof of that here--Pre-season Predictions. While I was off by three games, I was also predicting a higher win total pre-season than basically anyone who is not a rampant homer.

I also pick every individual game throughout the season. As a whole I went 13-3 on the Bengals last year. I did so well because it became apparent early on that even though I had more faith in the Bengals than most did before last year started that even I had underestimated just how quickly Andy Dalton and A.J. Green would be able to play at a high level. I quickly readjusted my take on them and rode them to a very successful overall record of 176-80. You will be hard pressed to find any other expert that did that well last season. My prowess in picking games is especially true for the AFC North where I went an absurd 51-13 last year. What I am trying to show is that while I did not predict the Bengals to make the playoffs last year during the pre-season, I was certainly not shocked either, especially as the year unfolded.

Now as this relates to "becoming a force" in the future it depends on how you want to define those parameters. The Ravens and Steelers are regarded as the cream of the AFC North crop. This is because they make the playoffs far more often than the Browns or Bengals do. Even more importantly is that in years where they do not make the playoffs they are almost always respectable. Since 1970 the Steelers have only had one season where they won fewer than six games (In 1988 they went 5-11). That is unfathomable to Browns and Bengals fans. On a slightly less impressive note the Ravens have only had two seasons in their existence in which they won fewer than six games (their inaugural year and in 2007 when they went 5-11).

With that said is "becoming a force" simply making the playoffs in back-to-back years for the Bengals or is it never dipping below 6-10 for the next decade while making the playoffs a decent amount of the time? I believe the latter is a more apt way to define it. With a roster full of young talent and one of the best salary cap situations in the NFL the Bengals certainly have a great shot at "becoming a force" in the AFC North. If they had a better ownership situation and were in another division I would say it would be a virtual lock. However, Mike Brown is still the owner and the Steelers and Ravens are traditionally two of the best run franchises in the NFL. Those two factors will make it harder, but certainly not impossible.

A.J. Hunley--Senior Writer, C.B.R.
A.J. is Senior Writer and Editor for both the AFC North Report and the Cleveland Browns Report. He has been writing articles for several years, many of which have been featured on numerous high-profile websites. A.J. can be followed on Twitter, and you can join him on his Facebook Fan Page-- Cleveland Browns Report

Considering that the majority of sports analyst were picking the Bengals to be sitting in the cellar of the NFL last season the performance did shock many. Many are now projecting the Bengals to have a very difficult and much less spectacular season in 2012, partially due to their "track record", a record that includes not having won back to back seasons since 1981-82. Easy to predict doom when history backs up your speculation.

Although all units, defense, special teams and the offense must be effective for any team to succeed there are always those that must perform at a higher level, in the Bengals case this would be the passing attack  Yes, the running game is a vital part of any offense and with the addition of BenJarvus Green-Ellis the Bengals running game should be more than adequate.

Andy Dalton and A.J. Green, both now entering their second year were quick to develop a chemistry last season. The Bengals have numerous weapons in their passing attack--Jermaine Gresham, Jordan Shipley, Brandon Tate and Mohamed Sanu who many believe is capable of developing into a #2 receiver. The glue that will hold this passing attack together is Andy Dalton.

The Sophmore Slump, the second effort fails to live up to the standards of the first effort, a statement usually thrown at any quarterback or wide-receiver who had a successful rookie campaign. This slump, jinx or whatever they wish to call it is merely a reflection of opposing defenses having more information, video etc than they had the previous season allowing them to make adjustments.

Although all eyes will be on the field, on Andy Dalton, the true ingredient that will effect the Bengals ability to duplicate last season will be standing on the sideline--coaching. The Bengals must open up the play book, toss in a little dose of "razzle dazzle", steer from Daltons weaknesses and take advantage of his strengths, throw in a little "in your face attitude" and the Bengals may once again shock the masses!

Force to be reckoned with? Depends on the coaches--as Alexander the Great would say:

" I fear one hundred sheep lead by a lion, more than I fear one hundred lions led by a sheep"