3227790686_1e59490902

This year the Bengals have turned things up a notch trying to get back to form and are knocking on the Ravens door. This team has improved playing well in the first part of the season with a 3-1 record. The good start for Cincinnati is due to the resurgence of running back Cedric Benson and the consistent play from their offensive line along with their defensive. In particular their defensive line has been better than expected and are aggressive. Although they struggled with the winless Browns last week, the Ravens will not overlook this division rival.

OFFENSE:Under QB Carson Palmer the Bengals find themselves winning early in the season this year. It starts up front with the offensive line, a physical group executing well with run and pass blocking. The loss of receiver T. J. Houshmandzadeh who signed with Seattle in the offseason was countered by picking up WR Laveranues Coles who is filling in well. Along with the talented WR Chad Ohcocinco (formerly Chad Johnson) and WR Chris Henry the team has offensive weapons at receiver. Running back Cedric Benson has made a comeback from a few disappointing seasons and has established himself as a threat. Lately: The offense struggled against the Browns last week although RB Benson had 74 yards rushing. This season Carson Palmer may be finding his form and the offensive line has played steady.

DEFENSE:Defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer has a lot of things going for his defense. Drafting linebacker Rey Maualuga and DE Michael Johnson has helped. More importantly, the defensive line has improved with Pat Sims, Robert Geathers, Domata Peko and former Dallas’s DT Tank Johnson. Defensive end Antwan Odom is having a good season and had five sacks against Green Bay. The Bengals picked up veteran S Roy Williams and have talent with CB David Jones and CB Johathan Joseph is a playmaker. Lately: The Defense is making plays and blitzing more this season, the front 4 continues to be a force.

MATCH-UPS: Chalk it up!

Ravens Defense:The Bengals will go after the Ravens with the pass and until the Ravens can prove otherwise then opponents remain willing to challenge them in the air. The Ravens will be looking to minimize the big plays by receivers Chad Ochocinco and Laveranues Coles.

Cedric Benson vs. Ray Lewis: RB Cedric Benson is running the ball well mostly due to good offensive line play. Ray Lewis will make sure Benson doesn’t go under the radar and will make it a priority to keep the running game grounded.

Chad Ochocinco vs. Secondary:You might think that the Ravens will double team #85 Ochocinco, like they did with Randy Moss last week. But keep in mind that the Ravens will also be on the look out for Laveranues Coles and Chris Henry. Ochocinco has started some Twitter banter challenging the Ravens; the Ravens secondary should be motivated.

Ravens offensive game plan: Re-establish the running game and keep the offense balanced. Most Ravens fans hope so. Cincinnati shows a lot of different looks and tries to confuse opposing QB’s, the secondary are good in man coverage.

Bengals Defensive line vs. Ravens Offensive line:This will an interesting match-up and we may see Michael Oher start at left tackle while Gaither recovers from his injury. Oher filled in superbly last week with out any practice on the left side. The Bengals defensive line has some playmakers and this will be a good challenge for the Ravens line.

Special Teams Factor:The Ravens lost their team Special Teams captain Brendan Ayanbadejo to an injury and is on IR, we will see how the special team responds. Cincinnati’s Special Teams is a work in progress and their long snapper has been inconsistent this season including two bad snaps in their last game. Cincinnati is currently looking to upgrade that position and have been trying out a few players this week.