NFL handicappers preparing to beat the online bookmaker would do well to re-evaluate the Cincinnati Bengals as they are winning in spite of themselves.
Somehow 2-1
The Bengals are coming off a rather uninspiring 20-7 win over the Carolina Panthers as 3 point road favorites to improve their overall record at the Sbg sportsbook to 2-1 both straight up and against the spread. The Bengals have managed to do this despite an offense that is getting worse by the week.
Palmer Regressing
In last week’s win at Carolina, Cincinnati quarterback Carson Palmer was awful as he finished with a quarterback rating of 53.3. Palmer completed 19 out of 37 passes for 195 yards with 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions while being sacked once. Palmer averaged just 5.3 yards per attempt.
After 3 weeks of play Palmer’s QB rating is at 71.3 with a 5.8 yards per attempt average and a 3/3 TD/INT ratio. Last year Palmer had a QB rating of 83.6.
What is most disturbing about the Cincinnati offense to offshore betting handicappers is that that they made a concerted effort to surround Palmer with better talent during the offseason.
No Bang for the Buck
Cincinnati acquired Terrell Owens in the offseason to pair up with Chad Ochocinco, who was often triple teamed last year as the Bengals lacked a second threat in their receiving corps. They also drafted tight end Jermaine Gresham to further shore up the passing attack. Despite all of the money spent Cincinnati has not gotten a comparable return on the effort. Rookie Jordan Shipley has a team best 12.4 yards per catch average, which is far below what is needed or expected from the Bengals receiver corps. Owens has not inspired confidence with handicappers looking to beat the online bookmaker as he has 10.9 yards per catch average and has not reached the end zone while Ochocinco is averaging 11.8 yards per catch with just 1 touchdown.
Close?
The Bengals believe that they are close to clicking on offense and that their issues are due to the unit not being used to playing together. Head coach Marvin Lewis defended Palmer, who is catching an increasing amount of heat from fans and offshore betting handicappers for the lackluster start. The coaches and players expect better results as the season moves on.