Bengals' sore spots

[PhilipNelsonFan]

Vent if you choose to do so, but here's the list of everything that went wrong.

The offense. All of it. Last in yards and points. Needs four offensive linemen, four running backs, three wide receivers, three tight ends and two quarterbacks. Everything about this unit was wrong, and this was supposed to be THE ballast of the team. I fully expect both Chad and TJ to leave this offseason, and I hope they can salvage value out of each.

Another year of a defensive line that can't pressure a QB. Antwan Odom was one of the biggest free agent busts in the offseason. He averaged less than 2.5 tackles a game and had only 3 sacks. Geathers had only 2, which is awful production out of a decidedly one-dimensional unit. The tackles also didn't do their jobs. This entire unit probably needs to be scrapped, but first Odom and Geathers have to play another season and gain some trade value, as neither have any right now. Geathers has the most, and if Cincy can find a team willing to part with a third-rounder I'd pull the trigger right now.

Outside of Keith Rivers, the Bengals need (again) a new set of LBs. Bless the heart of Dhani Jones. The bow-tied tactician had 75 solo tackles, the most on the Bengals, in 2008 and (with John Thornton) provided that "veteran presence" that is so lacking. He cannot keep this up. This team needs to replace the entire set of linebackers except for Rivers (obviously) and Rashad Jeanty and Brandon Johnson as backups. Ideally, a 4-3 defense requires seven linebackers, so that makes four new ones. This doesn't happen overnight.

Injuries. The Bengals had stretches where 23 players were placed on the IR and the team had to hire scab workers. That's just bad luck, and hopefully it won't happen again. But...

Karma, if you believe in it, is not on the Bengals' side. Mike Brown just had to affront all the negative publicity stemming from player arrests by signing Chris Henry (as a total and purposeful affront to Marvin Lewis' authority) and Cedric Benson. Both are likely to be retained because they were about the only two that cared to play, but neither should collect a paycheck. Speaking of which...

Marvin Lewis has overstayed his welcome. He was not the worst coach in the league entering the season, but he absolutely has to go at this point, if only for the front office to save face (imagine that!). He has lost the locker room, he has lost the top players, and he simply cannot win.

The mere fact that Mike Brown manages the team dooms the Bengals to mediocrity. The man's idea of shaking things up is to bring back the convicted felon he booted months before as an example. He has zero credibility, and at his worst it seems as though he's actively trying to prevent the franchise from becoming a winning football team. He is blatantly incapable of checking his ego at the door. My most polite suggestions for how to deal with him all violate federal laws when carried out.