Lets get something straight here Chiefs' fans (and others). The Bengals are good. Carson Palmer, unlike Daunte Culpepper, is back from his injury and he is for real. Both of the Johnsons, Chad and Rudi, are also damn good. Take a quick glance at our scientific (of course) poll and you'll see that despite the majority of visitors to this site being Chiefs fans, almost everyone believes this to be a close game.
As I was checking out some miscellaneous stuff on the Bengals, I was surprised to find that they ranked in the lower half of the NFL last year on defense. Click here and you can sort last year's stats to see for yourself. I knew that Cincy's D was not a gamebreaker but I figured them to have at least a top 15 defense.
To watch for today:
- Hopefully, the presence of Ty Law will deter star receivers. We'll find out today.
- If LJ doesn't run over the Bengals, just wait for the fallout. ESPN and others will be ready to crown a Week 2 rushing king about five minutes after the game is over.
- All I ask of today is that the defense is markedly improved and the offense resembles the league best caliber we're all used to.
I'll put the open thread up in a few hours. For now, Merry Chiefsmas. Maybe the Chiefs will keep Carson Palmer's knee intact as a present to the Bengals on this wonderful holiday. Maybe not.
[editor's note, by Chris] Keep checking Cincy Jungle for info on the Bengals. Kirkendall does a hell of a job over there and you should check it out, regardless of the team affiliation.