FanHouse JohnThornton

Because the NFL season never ends, we present our 2009 Offseason Roadmaps for front offices to navigate through the summer.

It could be argued that the Cincinnati Bengals did well to win four games in 2008. They were missing their star quarterback, Carson Palmer, for the majority of the season. That left the job to an overmatched Ryan Fitzpatrick, who did his best, but was saddled with a bad running game, worse offensive line and not much defense. The Bengals found a way to win three straight at the end of the season, finishing 4-11-1.

There are many areas for improvement as the Bengals make their way toward 2009 trying like crazy to avoid doing 2008 over again. Luckily, kicker is not one of those areas of need.

Training camps are underway, the NFL season is a month off, and to get you ready for 2008, FanHouse previews all 32 teams, "heat index" style. We'll rate each club in 10 categories on a scale of 1 to 10, high score wins.

Quarterback: If there is one constant on this team, it is Carson Palmer. Sure, Palmer didn't have his best season a year ago, but his off seasons are better than many QBs best years. In reality, other things factored into his poor season (injuries to the line, injury to Rudi Johnson, receivers pouting). The only issue here is what happens in Cincinnati if Palmer gets hurt. They have no one groomed to come in. Ryan Fitzpatrick and Jeff Rowe are in their second seasons with the team and Carson's brother, Jordan, is fighting for a spot. Heat Index: 8

Running backs: Injuries have hurt this unit in the past couple of years. Workhorse Rudi Johnson finally hit a wall; Kenny Irons blew out his knee in his first preseason game; Chris Perry has never been able to stay on the field. Well, Rudi and Perry are healthy again, with 2007 surprises Kenny Watson and DeDe Dorsey around to give the offense a different dynamic. Cincy needs this unit to get back to form to allow the entire offense to explode. Heat Index: 4

Receivers: Chad Johnson and T.J. Houshmandzadeh are one of the best receiving combos in the NFL. T.J. tied for the lead in receptions; Chad was third in receiving yards. However, this could be the last season either is in Cincinnati. Johnson's issues with the team are well documented. T.J. is in his final contracted season. Chris Henry is finally gone and there are several guys trying to step into that #3 spot. Rookie Jerome Simpson will get a strong look, as will Andre Caldwell and Antonio Chatman. Chatman is the only one with experience and could get the nod. Heat Index: 8

NFL Offseason Roadmap is a series focused on the needs of NFL teams as they begin the offseason.

Needless to say, the 2007 season for the Cincinnati Bengals was a major disappointment. That being said, Cincy finished 7-9 and has plenty of talent to make a U-turn and get back to the elite status they feel they should be at. The Bengals notoriously doesn't try to build via free agency but they need to fill in some cracks this way for a turnaround to be successful.

1. Defensive Line – The first major move was firing Chuck Bresnahan as defensive coordinator and hiring Mike Zimmer. The next big moves cannot be made until the team decides if it is going to switch to a 3-4 defense or not. If they decide to do that, there will be a ton of work to do.

It is widly speculated that the Bengals will be looking to go after a rush end in the draft. Defensive end Justin Smith may be as good as gone. Smith is a decent player but isn't worth being the second highest paid player on the team. Letting him walk would free up all kinds of money to rebuild this unit. However, re-signing him for a paycut would be beneficial, too. John Thornton could be a salary cap casulty, though the team seems to want him back.