The Bengals hit the reset button after last season. And the official end to the Carson Palmer-Chad Ochocinco era in Cincinnati came Tuesday when the Bengals’ quarterback was traded to the Raiders for two high draft picks. In the offseason, Ochocinco was dealt to the Patriots for two late-round selections.
Gone is Cincinnati’s former No. 1 pick who was once viewed as one of the league’s elite passers and the franchise’s leading receiver who also served as the team’s main attraction.
And what do the Bengals have to show for the seven seasons with this dynamic duo? Two playoff appearances and no postseason victories.
It was time for a new start, and the Bengals couldn’t have had a more rapid rebuilding process. At 4-2, Cincinnati is already a serious playoff contender. And they have used a familiar recipe to become relevant once again: building an offense around a young quarterback-receiver combination.
While most of the rookie quarterback attention is devoted to Cam Newton’s astounding statistics, the Bengals’ rookie passer Andy Dalton has three more wins and a higher passer rating than the Panthers’ rookie. Dalton, Cincinnati’s second-round selection, has thrown for 1,311 yards and seven touchdowns and has an 84.3 passer rating.
And Bengals rookie receiver A.J. Green, the fourth overall pick, leads the team with 29 catches, 453 receiving yards and four touchdowns.
The team has an even brighter future now after the front office was somehow able to trade a 31-year-old quarterback that preferred to remain retired rather than play in Cincinnati for a first-round pick in 2012 and a second-rounder in 2013.
But the pressure isn’t solely on the Bengals’ young stars. Cincinnati’s defense ranks second in the NFL and veteran running back Cedric Benson has rushed for 458 yards, ninth most in the league.
The Bengals have quickly replaced their faces of the franchise with two rookie playmakers, and the Dalton-Green era already seems capable of surpassing the accomplishments of their predecessors.
– Jeffrey Tomik
