The 2008 football season was a disheartening one for the Cincinnati Bengals. A 4-11-1 finish was very disappointing to say the least, and largely resulted from the absence of star quarterback Carson Palmer, who missed virtually the entire year due to injury.

Carson Palmer was out the majority of the year with an injury - with his departure the Bengals sunk fast. Chad Ocho Cinco became an average wide receiver and faded away as the season continued to move forward.

The team struggled to score points, and simply couldn’t win games. Fans were giving up on them.

Chad Johnson was practically invisible on offense, and TJ Houshmandzadeh was nowhere near his usual output level. Rudi Johnson was all but done, but luckily there was another RB who was able to prove himself once again.

The only potential bright spot was the emergence of Cedric Benson over the course of the last few games, but even this was a question mark, as Benson had never really been effective before this.

At the start of this season, the Cincinnati Bengals claimed that they were back and ready to make an impact in 2009.

After a week 1 loss, the Bengals marched into Green Bay with a very impressive victory, doing something the Bears were unable to do in week 1.

Chad Johnson looked like the Ocho Cinco of old, and the Bengals pulled off a win under very difficult circumstances. Maybe a new era is upon is in Cincinnati, as this season looks to be more hopeful than 2008.

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