As a Bengal homer, living about 5 miles from the stadium, I'll offer my predictions, which probably aren't that much different than Mark's.
1. Chris Perry is done. PUP list first 6 weeks and far too injury prone. Frankly Michigan used him up before the Bengals ever drafted him. Lots of talent but it was a bad pick to begin with.
2. Tab Perry, as of NOW, looks to be WR3 until Chris Henry returns. He does not have the speed to stretch the field but has as much heart as any Bengals WR, and he's not a jackass like the player he is replacing.
3. O-line IS a concern, for me anyway, at least early on until they've had some time to play as a unit. Both T's have leg problems and BIG Willie is getting up there. With that said, Bengals O-lines are well coached and always above average so there is room for optimism. Witworth takes over for Steiny...he can't pull the same as Steiny but his brute strength makes up for some of that
4. Defense could be the biggest surprise in '07, barring lots of injuries. ABrooks should be the Mike and will be a stud. He seems to have grown up a lot. Odell will, in my opinion, be on the opening day roster and will get plenty of PT BUT has a long way to go...lots of potential but a very addictive personality. Hartwell came over from ATL and should be the Will. Jenty will likely start as Sam. Hartwell's signing was huge and brought instant depth to a unit that looked woefully thin just two months ago. CB's are inexperienced but are very athletic and are playmakers. O'Neal is the wild card there. If he decides to "play" this year, they will get better as a unit as the season progresses. DJax and MWilliams will be fine as the safeties. My biggest concern is a pass rush, which is the case EVERY YEAR! I would not have tagged Justin Smith...just not worth the money BUT they were concerned of a downgrade without him, and the team sees the window of opportunity as now open. Gaethers SHOULD BE the starter on the other side. He had something like 10.5 sacks last year, and didn't start much of the time. Peko, the second year DT played so well that they felt like they could let big ol Sam Adams go.
5. Special Teams lost a lot of tacklers, but coach Simmons has been excellent the last few seasons. I believe he will be able to reload without a considerable drop off.
6. Playoffs by winning the AFC North with a slight shot at the big game
Really interested in Thurman. Reading between the lines, it seems like he's not going to be thrown away like Nicholson and I find it hard to believe they don't play him a lot if he can get over his apparent alcohol issue. Maybe I'm biased because I own him in a league, but it doesn't seem like his transgressions were as bad as some of the others on the Bengals.
