[Lake Chief]

A wise coach told me a long time ago to never argue football with a homer because no matter how many times your're right, you're still banging your head against a wall.

I'll try anyway.

They finished 8-8. Wouldas and shouldas don't matter. The NFL is full of wouldas and shouldas. Bottom line is they didn't win those games.

As far as Palmer goes, you ASSUME he's corrected his mechanics. He hasn't showcased that against live hitting and a live rush yet so we don't really know, do we? He's still deadfully slow and has a hard time throwing the deep ball.

Are the same "experts" who rank the Bengals' defense 12th the same ones who picked them to win their division last year? How did that turn out?

You call the Bengals schedule "easier." What I see is a lot of up-and-coming teams with strengths that can give the Bengals trouble. Games at Seattle, Kansas City, and San Francisco. 1-2 at best. A split with the division teams at best. If you sweep Cleveland, more than likely Baltimore sweeps the Bengals. That's a team that made defensive improvements and upgraded their offense with McGahee. That's 4-5. Home games with New England, Arizona, and Tennessee. Looks like 1-2 with those teams. That's 5-7. They'll beat Buffalo, the Jets, and St. Louis at home. That's 8-7. With both Miami and Cincinnati meeting in the last game with a playoff chance on the line, the Bengals once again can't close the door and go 8-8.

You seem to base your beliefs on 12-4 or 11-5 on things you have read and rankings that were made. And that's fine. I go by what I saw last year. Someone who watches dozens of games on the dish and remember what I saw last year. An inconsistent team that dropped three straight to end the season and turn a playoff chance into an 8-8 record. Mark this down. When this season is over, Bengal fans will be talking about how much tougher this year's schedule was than they thought and how the NFL gave them a raw deal when it came to the scheduling.

8-8.