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Buccaneers and Bengals facing identity crisis: Buccaneers vs. Bengals preview

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Buccaneers and Bengals facing identity crisis: Buccaneers vs. Bengals preview

The Cincinnati Bengals and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are hard to figure out. After starting the season 2-0, the Buccaneers were embarrassed by the Steelers and fell to 2-1 before their bye last week. The Bengals meanwhile have yet to look like a complete team
as their performances have lived and died with their defence.
In an opening week loss at New England and a loss in Cleveland last week, the Bengals' defence was inconsistent while the offence took too long in either game to find a rhythm. Even in their victories, the offence was not stellar as they kicked five field
goals in a win over Baltimore and forced turnovers to beat Carolina. No one knows what to expect in this game come Sunday.

The Bengals want to get their running game going with Cedric Benson. That formula worked for them last year, and they want their running game to carry the offence. While Carson Palmer is surrounded with a lot of talent, guys like Terrell Owens, Chad Ochocinco,
Jermaine Gresham and Jordan Shipley, the Bengals want to run the ball effectively to open up their passing game. So far, the Bengals have rushed for only 92 yards per game, ranked 23rd in the league. Their passing game has improved from last year but falling
behind in both their losses made them one-dimensional. The key for the Bengals is to score first, set the tone and let their defence take the game over.

The Buccaneers’ defence was good enough to beat two weak offences (the Browns and the Panthers) but made Charlie Batch look like Ben Roethlisberger in a week three 38-13 thrashing by the Steelers. They were exposed and their test doesn’t get easier in Cincinnati.
Owens and Ochocinco will look to challenge the young Tampa Bay secondary.

Josh Freeman has shown improvement this season but unsurprisingly struggled against Pittsburgh’s defence two weeks ago. Freeman hasn’t thrown for many yards but made timely plays in Tampa’s victories. To beat the Bengals, Freeman will have to control the game
and avoid making mistakes.

Freeman will likely look to tight end Kellen Winslow, who has at least five catches in his last four games against the Bengals. Winslow also is tied for the team lead with 139 yards on 11 receptions. Only Mike Williams has more, with 12 catches for 139 yards
with two touchdowns.

The Buccaneers have to get their running game going as well. They are slightly better than the Bengals so far, averaging 96 yards per game, good for 20th in the league. The Buccaneers want Cadillac Williams to get going in particular, as Williams has only 139
yards on 55 carries, for an average of 2.5 yards per carry.

The Bengals will be happy to head back home after playing three of their first four games on the road. This is a game they should win, but we still don’t know just how good the Buccaneers really are. By the same token, we can’t have the feeling that we’ve seen
the Bengals’ best performance yet. They might be able to rally behind their home crowd, but they’ll want to see their offence truly play to their ability while getting a dominant performance from their defence.

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