"Looking for someone to blame for the lack of firepower from the Bengals offense? The quarterback, receivers, running back and members of the offensive line all took some responsibility for the struggles in Sunday's win at Carolina and why things have not clicked so far. Take away the second half of the opener at New England and the other 10 quarters have resembled a tractor pull with only two touchdowns and eight field goals. With most of the questions and concerns directed toward the recent play of Carson Palmer, the quarterback was blunt about his performance: "We were fortunate to win the game. "I expect more out of myself and I expect to play better, and I need to play better throughout the rest of the season." The offense struggled at the beginning of last year but four fourth-quarter drives to give the Bengals the lead or the win in the first five games served to mask some of the concerns. Through three games this year, the only time the offense has moved the ball consistently was in the second half against the Patriots. What would help? A quicker start for one. Palmer has struggled in the first half of games, going 32 of 62 for 335 yards with no touchdowns and three interceptions. That makes for a 47.4 rating. In 21 first-half possessions, there have been more three-and-outs (six) and almost as many turnovers (four) than scores (five). "We know our potential. We're just eager to get there," running back Cedric Benson said. "I feel real good about this week. The atmosphere is really good and I think guys this week are going to really hone in on their jobs to achieve our maximum potential as an offense." If it were one problem it would be easy to fix, but it's a variety of things. And many of them are the same from a year ago: lack of big plays, penalties and failed third-down conversions." http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20100929/SPT02/9300341
