Watch the Bengals offense this year, and you inevitably see someone line up in the wrong spot. Then you see a receiver run the wrong route or a blocker fail to understand a projection.
Unlike last season, the group looks explosive in short spurts. But it’s often a disjointed group that can’t help making drive-killing mistake. They are the poor man’s Cowboys.
Offensive coordinator Bob Bratkowski is taking a lot of heat, and said he made some adjustments during the team’s bye week. But he says he can’t make things any simpler.
“We’ve been simpler this year than we’ve been in seven years,” Bratkowski said via Joe Reedy of the Cincinnati Enquirer. “The reason we did it was because we’ve got some new parts in there.”
If the Bengals look like a group that hasn’t practiced much together, it’s for a good reason. Chad Ochocinco was taping reality shows all offseason. So was Terrell Owens, before he signed late with the Bengals. Rookies Jordan Shipley and Jermaine Gresham play big roles.
Cincinnati has a tough matchup this week in Atlanta to avoid going 2-4. Ochocinco hasn’t done much the last four games, but he says it only takes one touch to turn his confidence around.
“There’s something about touching the ball that’s really cool,” Ochocinco said. “It’s like meeting a girl and she calls you for the first time, you just feel really good about yourself, you know? It’s like a little confidence booster, that’s all. It’s not much that I need.”