First Good News of the Off-Season

In the end, injuries really hurt the Bengals defense. I can only imagine the team the Bengals were fielding at the beginning of the year winning their playoff game. But without Odom, Maualuga and Roy Williams, and with many others banged up, the defense just wasn't quite the same.

But although the year didn't end particularly well for the unit, they still finished as the fourth overall defense in the NFL. You'd think a defense like this coupled with a Carson Palmer-led offense would be even better . . .

Anyway, that's a sufficient enough intro. The good news is that the Bengals were able to resign defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer to a three year contract according to NFL.com. Zimmer had been expected to be one of the hottest free-agent coaches available, and given the Bengals track record of retaining free agents (see: Corey Dillon) I was sure Cincinnati would be losing him.

Actually, mark this down as great news. Do you guys remember the Bengals defense before Zimmer? I remember the offense scoring 45 points one game and then LOSING. Now they're a top five unit?! And the Redskins were rumored to be among the teams luring him. Do you know how much money 'Skins owner Daniel Snyder throws at players and coaches he wants?

Maybe, just maybe, this is a sign the Bengals front office is changing. Players and coaches actually want to be in Cincinnati, and the Bengals can compete for a postseason berth regularly - instead of twice every twenty years. I'm probably getting ahead of myself, but we can hope right?

As a side note, I found the fake baseball card randomly on Google image search. The internet has not let me down today!