Fantasy Scouting Report: Cincinnati Bengals

Cincy Jungle tracks down the Bengals prospects for us.

Carson Palmer, Cedric Benson, Chad Ochocinco and the Cincinnati Bengals offense travel to Minnesota to take on the league’s eighth ranked defense. In 16 straight games, Carson Palmer hasn’t thrown for 300 yards, with 19 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. Since throwing five touchdowns against the Bears on October 25, Palmer has three touchdowns, three interceptions and an average of 187.8 yards passing; two of those games were against the Cleveland Browns (ranked 26th when Palmer faced them) and the Detroit Lions (ranked 32nd). And against the league’s worst passing defense, Palmer recorded 220 yards passing and a 65.3 passer rating. If you have a better option, then sit Palmer.
Even though Cedric Benson has recorded four 100-yard rushing games in his past six starts, the Bengals will be playing the league’s third-best rushing defense and Benson hasn’t scored a touchdown since November 8 — missed two games to injury – and his average yards-per-rush hasn’t climbed over 3.5 since October 25. If you’ve started Benson all season, there’s no reason to expect he’ll disappoint. But I don’t expect him to breakout in Minnesota, so don’t bank on him carrying your team this weekend.
During the Bengals 23-13 win over the Detroit Lions last weekend, Chad Ochocinco had one of his best performances of the season, recording nine receptions for 137 yards receiving and a 36-yard touchdown. Most passing defenses tend to double Chad, or at least shadow a safety over top with a linebacker shadowing underneath in zone. Until Carson Palmer and the passing offense starts displaying a sense of consistency and rhythm, don’t expect anything more from Chad than the random explosion of offense.

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