The Broncos defeated the Bengals 24-22 on September 18, 2011 in Denver, Colorado. The Broncos will travel to Cincinnati in Week 9 of the 2012 season. (Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-US PRESSWIRE)

In 60 days the Broncos will kick off the 2012 regular season when the Pittsburgh Steelers visit Denver on Sunday Night Football.  To help Bronco Country get through the offseason, I am continuing to look back at some past games against opponents the Broncos will face in 2012.  After appearing on Sunday Night Football in Week 8 against the New Orleans Saints, the Broncos will once again pack their suitcases.  The fourth road trip of the season will take the Broncos to Cincinnati to face the Bengals.  The Broncos have played in Cincinnati a total of twelve times and have won six of those contests.  Let’s hope after the 2012 game in Cincinnati the Broncos will have a winning record when it comes to playing the Bengals on the road.  Please continue reading for a brief summary of the last five games the Broncos have played in Cincinnati.

(more…)

Who’s dat? – The undefeated Saints needed to pull out a miracle come from behind OT win against the Redskins. I don’t know if the sneaux, er, snow and cold temps threw the Saints off at first, but this was a voodoo win for sure!

Cutler keeps it straight - The league leader in INTs, Jay Cutler, didn’t throw one against the Rams.

Steelers are doom and gloom - nothing tops off a drama filled week like a loss to the Raiders in your own city. The Steelers deflected some Hines Ward comments about Ben Roethlisberger last week only to lose their 4th straight game. I see the defending Super Bowl champs sitting around a T.V. set during this year’s playoffs.

Dethroned? - The Patriots lost to the Dolphins, but wait, didn’t they lose on MNF? That’s right, for the first time since 2006, the Pats have lost two games in a row. They’re not the King of the Castle any more. They’re not even King of the Cassel. Where’s the hoodie magic?

Ole, ole, ole –  I’m not surprised that Chad Ochocinco took his TD celebration a step further by wearing a poncho and a sombrero. I am surprised that his teammates didn’t hand him a margarita also. You can bet Ron Artest would’ve endorsed that.

The Boys’ trouble in December - The Cowboys lost to the Giants. Give them a big game in December, and they’re sure to lose the game. The surprise here: Tony Romo doesn’t have a blonde singer around to distract him.

Vick returns to Atlanta – I’m surprised they let him back into the city.

Favre vs. Warner – Two of the oldest QBs in the league didn’t beat eachother down to dementia, but I’m sure they enjoyed a pregame itunes playlist of accordion music.

QB down - Not even Joe Girardi can teach Mark Sanchez how to slide. Maybe the Jets’ need the Yankees’ payroll.

Weighing options - Marty Schottenheimer was at Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday to take in the game, and the Chiefs didn’t rehire him as head coach.

The Broncos look to forget about last season and the off season drama by kicking off the 2009 season in Cincinnati. Last year, the Bengals went 4-11-1 with an injury plagued roster. Like the Broncos, the Bengals have a lot to prove, and are looking forward to starting with a clean slate. Both teams see it as a winnable game. As with all the games this opening weekend, expect a lot of intensity right out of the gate from both teams. The Broncos have a lot of pent up frustration that can be released only through a regular season game. The Bengals also have much to release after their disappointing year last season. Josh McDaniels is returning to his home state of Ohio, and I know losing in the regular season is unfamiliar to him, so My Prediction: Broncos 28 Bengals 24.      

Offense

Broncos - I expect McD to continue to utilize the mid range passing game with maybe a couple of deep attempts to Brandon Marshall and Eddie Royal. It’s going to take some time to get use to Kyle Orton running the show for all four quarters, so look for the Broncos to run a balanced attack on the ground and in the air. Orton is very sensitive to his mistakes right now, so Knowshon Moreno, Correll Buckhalter, and LaMont Jordan will get plenty of carries between the three of them just to get Orton use to handling the ball again. Also look for short passes to Peyton Hillis with the wideouts and tight ends blocking up field. Our receivers are better than their corners and safeties, so look for McD to attack them as the game progresses. The offensive line shouldn’t have much trouble containing the defensive line, but I don’t want to jinx anything yet. This is the one area of the game where the Broncos should be able to use their talent and athleticism to get a lot of points on the board. Avoiding turnovers like the plague is the best game plan I can offer this offense because we know that if the Broncos aren’t putting points on the board, the Bengals certainly will.          

Bengals- This team is stacked with offensive talent. Carson Palmer is back from injury and he’s got Chad Ochocinco, Laveranues Coles, and Chris Henry to work with downfield. Even though T.J. Houshmandzadeh went to Seattle, Coles is a great veteran replacement. I would have to argue that this is the most talented and athletic receiving group the Broncos will face this year. They can catch the ball anywhere on the field and then take it to the house. Their “yards after the catch” stats are impressive. Pair that with Cedric Benson in the backfield, and this team could easily average 30 points per game this season. Like Orton, Palmer suffered an injury (sprained ankle) in the preseason that made his starting date questionable at one point. The Bengals offensive line is big and they did a good job in the preseason as evident by the Bengals leading the league in rushing. This Broncos defense has a great test ahead of them.        

Defense

Broncos - Champ Bailey may even be tested on Sunday. Gasp! Andre Goodman certainly will be as will Brian Dawkins. However, it all starts up front with the defensive line pressuring the QB. If Elvis Dumervil and others can get some hits in (not even sacks), I think that will shake Palmer a little bit. Remember, Palmer only played in four games last year (all losses) and coming back from an elbow injury is not just a physical test, but a mental one too. It’s like asking a Grammy Award winning singer to perform one year after vocal cord surgery. If the sound system is off, you think that singer is going to perform well? If Denver’s defense tweaks Palmer a little bit, you think he’s going to perform well? This new 3-4 defense has shown signs of life. They created turnovers against Arizona, and they made some big plays in earlier preseason games. Their demise, however, is giving up big plays on third and longs. They tire themselves out when they do that. It’s almost like watching fender bender after fender bender in a line of traffic. Those long steady drives by opposing teams eat the clock and take away whatever momentum our offense had going.    

Bengals -  The Bengals pass rush isn’t that great, but the corners still managed to create some turnovers last year. Leon Hall had 3 INTs last season (1 TD return) and Johnathan Joseph is another talented corner. I think the Broncos receivers are still more than capable of outperforming them. Weakside linebacker Keith Rivers is back after missing most of last year while the addition of Tank Johnson should help their front line a bit. Tank’s backup, Pat Sims, did well last year, but he’s been on a tear in the preseason. He could step up for this team at some point in the season. They also have rookie Rey Maualuga out of USC at strongside linebacker. The Bengals added some key players on defense and got some key players back, so there should be an improvement over last year’s defense. Because the Broncos have their full offensive line back from last year, I don’t see why they can’t contain this Bengals defense.  

Special Teams  

Broncos - There wasn’t anything too impressive about the Broncos return specialists during preseason. As long as they hold onto the ball and give the team descent field position, I’ll be happy. The kicking game looks good with Brett Kern as our punter and Matt Prater as our kicker.    

Bengals- Last year, the Bengals return game had nothing substantial to it. Kevin Huber and Shayne Graham are responsible for the punting and kicking, respectively. As we know, Ochocinco can kick too.

Coaching

Broncos - This is your official welcome to the NFL kid McD. Nothing better than going to your home state to be baptized into the NFL head coaching ranks. McDaniels knows a win here is so important. He needs to diversify his passing game by going downfield more, but other than that he’s shown a nice balance in his play calling as far as running and passing. Just like a rookie player, this rookie head coach is going to need to learn from his mistakes in order to develop.   

Bengals- I don’t know how Marvin Lewis is still there after six years and one winning season, but hey, I’m not complaining. This former defensive coordinator did amazing things with the Super Bowl champion, Baltimore Ravens, but he lost his steam once settling in Cincinnati. He’s got more experience as head coach than McD, but that’s not going to be enough to win this game for the Bengals.

GO BRONCOS!!! ]]> http://predominantlyorange.com/2009/09/11/broncos-v-bengals-preview/feed/ 1