2010 Cincinnati Bengals in an interview published yesterday

Fellow Bengals jerseys , its been a great offseason. Let's face it, our team had a solid turnaround season last year, and followed it up by doing us proud in free agency and the draft. On paper, at least, we look good. And another NFL insider is noticing.

Dave Razzano, a 22-year veteran NFL scout and member of five Super Bowl scouting staffs had nothing but great things to say about the 2010 Cincinnati Bengals in an interview published yesterday.

It's definitely worth checking out here.

Razzano isn't the first "expert" to proclaim the Bengals football jerseys a team to beat.  However, his comments were especially strong in describing this year's men in stripes.


The biggest acquisitions came on offense  this year, which was fueled by a pitiful performance against the New York Jets in the playoffs. The first order of business was to acquire more passing weapons for Carson Palmer and take some pressure off of Chad Ochocinco.

Antonio Bryant was signed to a four-year $48 million contract and it could turn out well. There's no question that he can be a dominant receiver when he wants to be, but he has also been a head case and prior to Jon Gruden micro-managing him, he took a year off of football.

The Bengals then spent their first-round pick on tight end Jermaine Gresham, who could be a steal after an season-ending injury cleared his final college campaign.

Matt Jones was also added to the mix and the Bengals will try to see whether he fits at all.

On defense, the Bengals added Gibril Wilson and Pacman Jones – again taking shots with former standouts who are no longer at that level for separate reasons. If it works out, the Bengals' improving defense will get stronger. If not, then both could be summer cuts.

Offensive X-Factor

Bryant and Gresham have to be the x-factors – or at least one of them. We know what Palmer,Chad Ochocinco and Cedric Benson bring to the table. Unfortunately, as we saw in the playoffs against a good Jets defense, it isn't enough.

Bryant can stretch the opposite side of the field from Ochocinco while Gresham burns linebackers on the inside all day long, but this has to come to fruition. If it does, the Bengals will have power, speed and finesse on this unit, which could approach their glory days of 2006.

If Bryant and Gresham don't have an immediate impact, the Bengals won't have the offense to endure their difficult schedule.

Defensive X-Factor

Antwan Odom has to be a game-changer for the Bengals, just as they expected when they signed him in 2008.

NFL Betting Odds

He appeared to be on the way last season, notching eight sacks in the first three games. But he was lost for the year with an ACL injury in Week 6.

The Bengals finished with just 34 sacks on the year and as mentioned, Odom's eight came in the first three games. That means that they only had 26 in their other 13 games.

The Bengals have solid cover corners, physical safeties and quality linebackers. The last missing piece is a pass rush and Odom has to lead the way.