The Bengals have placed 28-year old safety Gibril Wilson on the Injured Reserve List with a torn left ACL + MCL.  Wilson played in 16 games for the Dolphins last season and he had 93 tackles, 8 passes defensed and 1 sack.  This will hurt the depth of the Bengals’ secondary but it won’t cripple it as Wilson was down a bit on the depth chart.

The Bengals have waived 27-year old linebacker Rashad Jeanty due to a failed physical.  Jeanty played in 15 games for the Bengals last season in which he made 20 tackles.  Jeanty played in 53 games in his four years with the Bengals and he had 215 tackles, 5 passed defensed and he forced 5 fumbles.  This will hurt the Bengals depth at linebacker as Jeanty was a decent player for them.

The Bengals played pretty well on offense when the starters were in the game and then it went south from there.  Carson Palmer looked the best he has all pre-season last night as he completed 9 of 11 passes for 95 yards with 2 TD passes.  J.T. O’Sullivan looked better than usual last night as he completed 9 of 13 passes for 77 yards.  Jordan Palmer finished up the game by completing 7 of 12 passes for 116 yards with 1 INT (which was returned 20 yards by Bills’ CB Reggie Corner for a TD!).  Cedric Benson got his work in last night with 8 carries for 50 yards (6.3 ypc).  WR Quan Crosby caught 4 passes for 82 yards (20.5 avg), he returned 2 kickoffs for 60 yards (30.0 avg) and he also returned 1 punt for 4 yards as he was very busy last night.  Rookies (WR) Jordan Shipley (5 rec, 38 yards) and (TE) Jermaine Gresham (4 rec, 45 yards) pitched in for the Bengals in the passing game last night.  Chad Ocho Cinco caught 2 passes for 23 yards but he got into the end zone once.  The Bengals finished up with 119 yards rushing (5.0 ypc) and 276 yards passing in this game last night.

Rookie LB (4th round pick) Roddrick Muckelroy led the way for the Bengals on D in this game with 6 tackles.  LB Brandon Johnson, S Kyries Hebert and S Rico Murray pitched in last night with 5 tackles apiece.  The Bills finished up with 132 yards rushing (4.4 ypc) and 217 yards passing last night.  The Bengals are 2-2 on the pre-season after this loss.

The Bengals better be praying that Carson Palmer stays in one piece all year long because the backups are inspiring little confidence in the pre-season.  J.T. O’Sullivan is going to be the #2 QB for the Bengals in 2010 but that’s not a good thing.  In the first three pre-season games for the Bengals this year he has completed 17 of 35 passes (48.6%) for 217 yards with 0 TD passes and 2 INTs (44.6 QB Rating).  Jordan Palmer (Carson’s younger brother) could see his roster spot in jeopardy if he doesn’t start playing better soon.  He has completed 12 of 26 passes (46.2%) this pre-season for 115 yards with 1 TD pass and 2 INTs (39.7 QB Rating).  The Bengals are likely keeping tabs on rookie Tony Pike who played college ball with the Cincinnati Bearcats.  If he gets cut by the Panthers (a distinct possibility) the Bengals will likely try to claim him off waivers which would be bad news for Jordan Palmer.

The Bengals have signed 26-year old safety Marvin White.  White played in 13 games (6 starts) for the Cowboys & Lions last season and he had 53 tackles and six passes defensed.  He has played in 40 games (19 starts) in his three years in the NFL and he has made 141 tackles, defensed 14 passes and he has 1 interception.  White spent his first two years in the NFL with the Bengals so they know what they have in him.

The defense led the way to an impressive home win last night for the Bengals.  LB Landon Johnson led the way for the Bengals last night with 6 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss and 1 sack.  Rookie DE (2nd round) Carlos Dunlap was also over the place last night with 4 tackles, 1 sack, 1 tackle for a loss and 1 QB hit.  Fellow rookie DT (4th round) Geno Atkins put another solid game together last night wiht 4 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, 1 sack, 1 pass defensed and 2 QB hits.  CB Morgan Trent pitched in with 2 tackles, 3 passes defensed and 3 INTs.  The Eagles finished up with 125 yards rushing (5.4 ypc) and 145 yards passing last night.

The offense (especially the QBs) weren’t protecting the football too well for the Bengals last night.  Carson Palmer completed 15 of 23 passes for 169 yards with 2 INTs.  J.T. O’Sullivan was so-so completing 6 of 9 passes for 66 yards with 1 INT.  Jordan Palmer finished up the game at QB by completing 1 of 3 passes for 8 yards.  Cedric Peerman led the way on the ground last night for the Bengals with 47 yards rushing on 12 carries (3.9 ypc) with 2 TD carries.  Cedric Benson also got his work in with 10 carries for 30 yards (3.0 ypc) and 5 grabs for 29 yards (5.8 avg).  Bernard Scott pitched in with 2 carries for 13 yards (6.5 ypc) with 1 TD run.  WR Terrell Owens (3 rec, 67 yards) and rookie TE Jermaine Gresham (3 rec, 34 yards) led the way for the Bengals in the passing game last night.  The Bengals finished up with 106 yards rushing (3.3 ypc) and 239 yards passing in this game.

The Bengals looked pretty damn good on offense last night as they were ballhogs.  They had possession of the ball for 38:41 last night.  Carson Palmer was razor sharp in this game as he completed 12 of 15 passes for 105 yards.  J.T. O’Sullivan didn’t look too good though as he completed 7 of 15 passes for 118 yards.  Jordan Palmer only completed 1 of 3 passes for 5 yards last night.  But he did carry the ball 2 times for 13 yards (6.5 ypc).  Bernard Scott was very effective both running the ball (8 car, 65 yards) and catching the ball out of the backfield (2 rec, 48 yards) last night.  James Johnson was solid last night too with 10 carries for 42 yards (4.2 ypc) with 1 TD run.  Cedric Peerman (8 car, 31 yards) and Cedric Benson (9 car, 30 yards, 1 TD run) both helped the Bengals dominate on the ground.  Rookie Jordan Shipley (5 rec, 50 yards) and Terrell Owens (4 rec, 23 yards) led the way in the passing game for the Bengals last night.  The Bengals finished up with 191 yards rushing (4.8 ypc) and 218 yards passing in this game.

The defense didn’t play that great against the Broncos’ passing game last night but they were tough as nails against the run.  CB David Jones led the way for the Bengals in this game with 4 tackles, 2 passes defensed and 1 INT (24-yard TD return).  Rookie DT Geno Atkins also had a solid game with 4 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1.5 sacks and 2 QB hits.  The Broncos finished up with only 36 yards rushing (2.4 ypc) and 251 passing yards in this game.

26-year old RB Bernard Scott is the Bengals’ #2 RB on the depth chart coming into 2010 but that should not stop them from using him on kickoff returns as he’s the best man for the job.  Scott played in 13 games for the Bengals last season and he returned 16 kickoffs for 504 yards (31.5 avg) with 1 TD return.  He has the speed and power to really excel on kickoff returns and give the Bengals’ offense good starting position. 

25-year old WR Andre Caldwell is not much of a threat as a kick returner.  He played in 16 games for the Bengals last season and he returned 29 kickoffs for 539 yards (18.6 avg).  Caldwell has now played in 23 games in his NFL career and he has returned 42 kickoffs for 877 yards (20.9 avg).

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE BENGALS KICKOFF RETURNERS in 2010:  B+

The Bengals will be without 26-year old RB Brian Leonard for at least half of the 2010 season due to a Lisfranc injury in his foot suffered during the Hall of Fame Game.  Leonard played in 14 games (1 start) for the Bengals last season and he carried the ball 27 times for 84 yards (3.1 ypc).  He also caught 30 passes for 217 yards (7.2 avg) last season for the Bengals.  Leonard had a knack for making big plays for the Bengals last season so they will miss him.

UPDATE:  (8/12/2010) – The Bengals have updated Leonard’s condition calling it a mid-foot sprain and not a LisFranc injury.  He will likely come back some time early during the regular season.  This is a relief for the Bengals.

The Bengals don’t have any standout pass blockers but they have a lot of road graters in the running game.  It all starts with left tackle Andrew Whitworth.  It’s almost a guaranteed four yards running behind Whitworth.  The Bengals hope he gets a little better at pass protection and he’s a good enough athlete to improve in that area.  Nate Livings (9 starts) and Evan Mathis (7 starts) shared LG last season but Livings appears to have the edge heading into this season.  They are both solid run blockers.  Kyle Cook got his first real action last season for the Bengals and he looks like he will be a solid center.  RG Bobbie Williams is a masher in the running game as Cedric Benson loves to run behind him.  Andre Smith and Dennis Roland will battle for the starting RT spot in 2010.  The Bengals would like Smith to win the job seeing how they used a first round pick on him but don’t be surprised if Roland beats him out for the job.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE BENGALS O-LINE in 2010:  C