The Bengals have acquired 28-year old cornerback Kelly Jennings from the Seahawks for 24-year old DT Clinton McDonald.  Jennings played in 14 games for the Seahawks last year and he had 40 tackles, 13 passes defensed and 1 interception.  He has now played in 78 games in his first five years in the NFL and he has 208 tackles, 2 interceptions, 48 passes defensed, 1 forced fumble, 2 fumble recoveries and 1 tackle for a loss.  Jennings will be the new nickel back for the Bengals going forward.  Clinton McDonald played in 8 games as a rookie for the Bengals last year and he had 4 tackles.  This was a solid deal for the Bengals.

23-year old rookie QB Andy Dalton is going to open the 2011 season as the starting QB for the Bengals, but he has struggled quite a lot so far in the preseason.  Dalton has played in all 3 games for the Bengals so far and he has completed 30 of 51 passes (58.8%) for 285 yards with 1 TD pass and 3 INTs (56.4 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 4 times for -7 yards (-1.8 ypc) so far.  The Bengals don’t really have any good alternatives to Dalton as Bruce Gradkowski has been a sub par QB most of his NFL career.  So it’s up to Andy Dalton to sink or swim in 2011 for the Bengals.

The Bengals have waived 27-year old CB Fred Bennett.  Bennett played in 5 games for the Bengals last year and he had 1 tackle.  He has now played in 49 games in his first four years in the NFL and he has 125 tackles, 4 forced fumbles, 1 tackle for a loss, 21 passes defensed and 5 interceptions.  He’s not that good of a corner, so I would be shocked if the Bengals miss him at all in 2011 or down the road.

The Cincinnati Bengals have waived 27-year old QB Jordan Palmer.  Palmer played in 4 games (0 starts) in his three years with the Bengals and he completed 10 of 15 passes (66.7%) for 59 yards with 0 TD passes and 2 INTs (34.4 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 1 time for 4 yards for the Bengals.  You just knew that Palmer wasn’t going to make the team in 2011.  Not with his brother demanding a trade and promising to retire if he didn’t get his wish.  Owner Mike Brown has played hardball with Carson Palmer so far and I see no reason to think that’s going to change any time soon.  Let’s face the facts here though, Jordan Palmer was only on the Bengals to appease his brother…..because he is a horrible QB.

The Bengals ripped off 24 points in the second quarter last night and the defense played well enough to make it stand up.  Rookie QB Andy Dalton played his best game of the preseason for the Bengals last night.  He completed 11 of 17 passes for 130 yards with 1 TD pass and 0 INTs.  He also lost a fumble.  Bruce Gradkowski finished up this game by completing 7 of 10 passes for 40 yards without a TD pass or an interception.  Gradkowski also carried the ball 3 times for 12 yards (4.0 ypc) in this game.  Cedric Benson led the way on the ground for the Bengals last night with 68 yards rushing on 16 carries (4.3 ypc) with 1 TD run.  He also caught 1 pass for 15 yards last night.  Bernard Scott also looked good with 63 yards rushing on 6 carries (10.5 ypc) with 1 TD run.  TE Jermaine Gresham (4 rec, 49 yards) and WR A.J. Green (3 rec, 45 yards, TD) led the way for the Bengals in the passing game last night.  The Bengals finished up with 191 yards rushing on 41 carries (4.7 ypc) and they also completed 18 of 27 passes (66.7%) for 165 yards as they had possession of the ball for 34:13 last night.

The defense played pretty solid football last night.  Safety Reggie Nelson (5 tackles), Safety Jeromy Miles (4 tackles, 1 pass defensed) and DE Frostee Rucker (4 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 sack and 1 QB hit) led the way for the Bengals’ D last night.  OLB Manny Lawson pitched in with 2 tackles, 1 sack and 1 fumble recovery.  The Panthers finished up with 108 yards rushing on 25 carries (4.3 ypc) and they also completed 10 of 26 passes (38.5%) for 95 yards last night.  The Bengals are now 1-2 on the preseason.

The Bengals have acquired 23-year old safety Taylor Mays from the 49ers for an undisclosed future draft pick.  Mays played in all 16 games as a rookie last year for the Niners and he had 38 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 forced fumble and 2 passes defensed.  Mays got himself into the Niners’ Dog House early in his rookie season and he never got out of it.  The Bengals will likely make Mays earn his keep on special teams before he gets a chance at playing much on defense.  This was worth the risk as Mays was a second round pick in the 2010 NFL Draft.

The Bengals looked awful on both sides of the football again last night.  Andy Dalton looked lost in his second start of the pre-season as he completed 8 of 19 passes for 86 yards with 0 TD passes and 2 INTs.  Bruce Gradkowski followed Dalton at QB and he completed 3 of 7 passes for 50 yards with 0 TD passes and 1 INT.  Dan LeFevour finished up this game by completing 2 of 5 passes for 20 yards.  He also carried the ball 1 time for 4 yards in this game.  Brian Leonard led the way on the ground for the Bengals in this game with 16 yards on 5 carries (3.2 ypc) with 1 TD run.  He also caught 1 pass for 33 yards in this game.  Cedric Benson had a rough night with 14 yards rushing on 7 carries (2.0 ypc) and he also caught 1 pass for 2 yards.  WRs Andre Caldwell (2 rec, 50 yards) and Jordan Shipley (3 rec, 20 yards) led the way in the passing game for the Bengals last night.  The Bengals finished up with 50 yards rushing on 24 carries (2.1 ypc) and they also completed 13 of 31 passes (41.9%) for 153 yards in this game as they only had possession of the ball for 25:46.

The defense looked pretty poor for the Bengals last night.  LB Dan Skuta, safety Jeromy Miles and LB Vincent Rey led the way for the Bengals’ on D with 5 tackles apiece in this game.  The Jets finished up with 156 yards rushing on 34 carries (4.6 ypc) and they also completed 18 of 30 passes (60%) for 222 yards in this game.  The Bengals are now 0-2 on the pre-season.

In an attempt to protect rookie QB Andy Dalton, the Bengals might decide to be a really run heavy offense in 2011.  28-year old Cedric Benson will be the main man in the running game for the Bengals once again in 2011.  Benson played in 16 games (all starts) for the Bengals last year and he carried the ball 321 times for 1,111 yards (3.5 ypc) with 7 TD runs.  He also caught 28 passes for 178 yards (6.4 avg) with 1 TD grab last year.  It will be interesting to see how well Benson does when he is the focal point of defensive game plans.  Benson has now played in 76 games (51 starts) in his first 6 years in the NFL and he has carried the ball 1,256 carries for 4,702 yards (3.7 ypc) with 25 TD runs.  He has also caught 91 passes for 654 yards (7.2 avg) with 1 TD grab so far in his NFL career.

27-year old Bernard Scott will likely get a lot more carries in 2o11 in an attempt to keep Cedric Benson healthy.  Scott played in 16 games (0 starts) for the Bengals last year in which he carried the ball 61 times for 299 yards (4.9 ypc) with 1 TD run.  He also caught the ball 11 times for 60 yards (5.5 avg) last year.  Scott has now played in 29 games (2 starts) in his first two years with the Bengals and he has carried the ball 135 times for 620 yards (4.6 ypc) with 1 TD run.  He has also caught 16 passes for 127 yards (7.9 avg) in his NFL career.  Scott gives the Bengals a different look when he’s in the backfield as he is faster than Cedric Benson.

27-year old Brian Leonard will be the Bengals’ #3 back once again in 2011.  Leonard played in 11 games (0 starts) for the Bengals last year in which he carried the ball 9 times for 61 yards (6.8 ypc).  He also caught 20 passes for 137 yards (6.9 avg) with 1 TD grab for the Bengals last year.  Leonard has now played in 43 games (8 starts) in his first four years in the NFL and he has carried the ball 124 times for 455 yards (3.7 ypc) without a TD run.  He has also caught 80 passes for 537 yards (6.7 avg) with 1 TD grab so far in his career.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE BENGALS RBS IN 2011:  C+

The Bengals have released 27-year old TE/FB Garrett Mills.  Mills was on the Bengals last year but he didn’t get into any games for them.  Mills has now played in 16 games (3 starts) in his first three years in the NFL and he has caught 9 passes for 110 yards (12.2 avg).  This is no big loss for the Bengals as they are set at both TE and FB for the 2011 season.

The Bengals have released 29-year old DT Tank Johnson.  Johnson played in 7 games for the Bengals last year and he had 10 tackles and 1 tackle for a loss.  He played in 21 games in his two years with the Bengals in which he had 39 tackles, 2 sacks, 1 pass defensed and 2 tackles for a loss.  This isn’t much of a loss for the Bengals as Johnson hasn’t done much for them.