Who. Dey.

I think most people underestimate the role of injuries in the Bengals season that recently came to a close. Enough has been said already of the small army of linebackers the Bengals went through. But the linebacker corps is just the start of it. If you believe what they say, 2nd-year DB J-Joseph came on strong at the end of the year, as if the stress fracture in his foot was a real problem earlier in the year.

And that's just defense. On offense, it seemed like there wasn't a week when you could guess who was starting at left or right tackle. The constant instability of the O-line was a problem. When the O-line is not productive, the running game will suffer. Not to mention that their top three backs (Kenny Irons, Rudi Johnson, and Chris Perry) have either never played a full season or had lingering injuries. When there's no running game, defenses can sit on the pass. No wonder that T.J. set a record for receptions and Carson Palmer set a record for completions this year - there was no running game! With more attempts and defenses sitting on the pass, Carson threw for a career high in INT's.

Does this mean that the Bengals stand pat? Hardly. Get rid of the players that can't stay on the field. Get rid of players who have put in their time but maybe have now lost a step. Get rid of coaches who have never shown any ability to adjust (how come we can never cover tight ends? Or pass to our own tight ends?)

And above all - if there is only one change to make this offseason - hire a GM!!! Look at Holmgren in Seattle. He went 31-33 in four years without a GM. Then they hired a GM, and Seattle went to the Super Bowl (losing to Pittsburgh in Super Bowl XL).