First, the Cincinnati Bengals beat the Atlanta Falcons in the Georgia Dome last night, 24-19. I watched most of that game and the Bengals look to be for real indeed.

As the starters battled in the first half, it became more and more apparent that the Bengals are picking up where they left off last season. While both teams were tackling extremely well for the early preseason, that’s to be expected of a veteran defense like the Falcons. The fact that the Bengals looked every bit as good should be encouraging for fans starved of a winner up until last year. Oh sure, they’d have a season here, a season there that they would do okay, but they appear to finally be putting some good pieces on the table.

Aug 16, 2012; Atlanta, GA, USA; Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver A.J. Green (18) scores a touchdown while being dragged to the ground by Atlanta Falcons cornerback Asante Samuel (22) during the second quarter at the Georgia Dome. Mandatory Credit: Josh D. Weiss-US PRESSWIRE

Second-year pro A.J. Green looked like the top-ten WR that I believe he is. His ability to separate almost at will was on display, and his incredible hands, strength, and body control were all shown off on a 50-yard TD strike down the right sideline from supposedly candy-armed QB Andy Dalton as Green pushed, twisted and turned his way across the goal line before falling out of bounds on the good side of the pylon.

The play also showed that Andy Dalton has plenty of arm to get things done in the NFL, if he hadn’t proven it last year. Rookie WR Mohamed Sanu added a 12 yard touchdown reception from Bruce Gradkowski in the second half.

Injuries have already bitten the Bengals, which makes their strong showing even more promising. Former Panther and starting Bengals’ left guard Travelle Wharton was lost for the season in last week’s game against the New York Jets, while rookie Kevin Zeitler is starting at the right guard spot. TE Jermaine Gresham had a nice catch and run, but apparently got his foot caught in the turf on the tackle and awkwardly fell to the ground. He did not return, but the injury doesn’t appear to be serious.

Defensive lineman Carlos Dunlap will miss the entire preseason with a sprained knee and his status for the game one opener is questionable. First-round pick Dre Kirkpatrick, a CB from Alabama, is in a similar situation.

The good news is that everyone but Wharton should be ready by either the opener or week two, depending on how things go.

As for the Falcons, Matt Ryan hit on 18 of 21 attempts for 174 yards and a TD. He spread the ball around and Julio Jones reminded us that A.J. Green wasn’t the only promising young WR on the field with several nice catches of his own.

The Browns’ victory over the Packers shouldn’t concern Green Bay fans as the Packers have their offense in order and are protecting AR-12 (QB Aaron Rodgers) as much as possible during the preseason. For the Packers, the 2012 preseason is about settling their starters on defense and generating a pass rush.

Cleveland Browns rookie QB Brandon Weeden has been named the starter for a few weeks now and went 12 of 20 for 118 yards, but had a would-be interception dropped by Packer LB A.J. Hawk and another dropped by Casey Hayward. Weeden was lucky last night and clearly has work to do. Colt McCoy, now the second-string QB, went 4 of 6 for 58 yards on a long touchdown drive and actually looked better than Weeden. Interesting.

This is more a case of Green Bay’s backup QB, Graham Harrell, playing poorly than anything else. He completed only 12 of 24 passes for a measly 100 yards and 2 interceptions. That’s 4 yards per ATTEMPT and throwing short passes shouldn’t generate interceptions like that. He wasn’t so “lucky” as Weeden and also had an intentional grounding penalty.

The Packers appear to be in trouble if Aaron Rodgers were to ever get injured. No Matt Flynn this year; he’s wearing a different shade of green.

July 29, 2012; Cortland, NY, USA; New York Jets wide receiver Stephen Hill (84) makes a catch during training camp at SUNY Cortland. Mandatory Credit: Rich Barnes-US PRESSWIRE

Jets @ Bengals, 7:30 pm – How will the Sanchez/Tebow drama unfold and is there a controversy? Their respective play tonight should begin to quell the “Tebow for starter” crowd unless Sanchez performs horribly and Tebow shows things he has yet to show. Ever. Also of interest is Jets’ rookie Stephen Hill. He’s a Megatron-like physical specimen, from the same college (Georgia Tech) as Calvin Johnson, but comes into the NFL very raw. Look for Jets OC Tony Sparano to try at least one deep ball to him, probably on a second-and-short or something in order to gain as favorable a matchup in the defensive play calling as possible. On the Bengals’ side, the “punk’d” WR Mohammed Sanu starts his attempt at becoming QB Andy Dalton’s #2 option at WR…after A.J. Green.

Browns @ Lions, 7:30 pm – Probably this is Brandon Weeden’s weakest opponent of the preseason…at least as far as their secondary goes. Louis Delmas is out indefinitely and the Lions have very little talent at corner. With the injury to Trent Richardson, look for the Browns to check out their “other new toy” more in the passing game while Richardson’s fellow RBs get a good look as coaches scramble in worry over Richardson’s return timeline. The Lions’ concerns lie more with their aforementioned pass coverage so look for ANYONE that might stand out there. They are in dire need now of playmakers.

Giants @ Jaguars, 7:30 pm – All eyes should be on 2nd-yr QB Blaine Gabbert of the Jags. He was dead last in just about every NFL passing category last season and looked completely lost most of the time. The result? The Jags signed Miami Dolphin cast-off QB Chad Henne. I think if Henne outplays Gabbert in the preseason, it’ll be very, very difficult for Jacksonville Jaguars Head Coach Mike Mularkey to start Gabbert. This is by far the biggest issue of any position battle on their squad and Gabbert really needs to start showing some street magic that he has yet to offer in his short career. We need to watch how the Giants’ run defense holds up the middle as they’ve done some retooling of their surprisingly soft, gushy middle from last season. Now, we start seeing if it holds. We know they can bring the heat on the QB as well as anyone.

August 3, 2012; Tampa, FL, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Vincent Jackson (83) catches the ball as defensive back Anthony Gaitor (26) attempts to defend during training camp at One Buc Place. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-US PRESSWIRE

Cardinals @ Chiefs, 8:00 pm – John Skelton is going to wind up being the starter in Arizona whether it’s due to better play than Kevin Kolb or because Kolb stubs his toe, falls down and breaks his collarbone walking through the tunnel before the game. Kolb needs to wear the red practice jersey every time he steps on the field, but I’m sure there are rules about that…(wink). The biggest thing will be how far along is rookie WR Michael Floyd, and will he deliver enough to help take some double-teams off of All-World WR Larry Fitzgerald? The Chiefs’ questions at this point are more sober…with a number of skill position players coming off IR from last season, this should help evaluate their recovery progress. If I had one player to watch with the Chiefs, it would be how Dontari Poe plays. He was the talk of the Combine earlier this year, but underachieved at a small college. He is probably going to wind up the poster child in the “tape vs. upside” discussion for his 2012 performance, fairly or unfairly.

May 24, 2012; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Chiefs defensive tackle Dontari Poe (92) and offensive lineman Rodney Hudson (61) scrimmage during organized team activities at the Kansas City Chiefs practice facility. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-US PRESSWIRE

Vikings @ 49ers, 9:00 pm – Boy, if there ever was a game of the “haves” vs. the “have-nots,” this matchup is the one. The Vikings are entering the second season of their rebuilding phase and currently do so without their big star, Adrian Peterson. Even if Peterson were unquestionably 100% recovered from his ACL tear from week 17 last season, he wouldn’t be playing much in any of the preseason games in the first place, so that’s not the issue some think it is. The Vikings need to evaluate the progress of second-year QB Christian Ponder and how well #4 overall pick and Carolina Panthers’ center Ryan Kalil’s brother Mike is picking up the nuances of playing the left tackle. They also have similar issues that the Lions do in the secondary, so someone needs to step up and this is the time to start. The Niners’ main concern is evaluating all the new bodies they picked up at WR after having a massive 3 yards passing to the WR corps in their NFC Championship Game loss to the Giants last season. However, keep in mind the quality of the Vikings’ secondary while you do. RB Frank Gore may have peaked his career by now and they’re looking to see who can take a share of carries and the load off the guy.

Jan 07, 2012; Houston, TX, USA; Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton (14) attempts a pass during the first quarter of the 2011 AFC wild card playoff game against the Houston Texans at Reliant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-US PRESSWIRE

The Cincinnati Bengals went 9-7 with another rookie QB at the helm. Andy Dalton did the one thing Cam Newton couldn’t do despite all the heroics.

Dalton led the team to the playoffs.

He paired up with fellow rookie WR A.J. Green from Georgia who had a 1,000 yard initial season. Those were the headlines for the team for last year. Let’s look at their draft:

1 17 Dre Kirkpatrick CB Alabama
1 27 Kevin Zeitler G Wisconsin
2 53 Devon Still DT Penn State
3 83 Mohamed Sanu WR Rutgers
3 93 Brandon ThompsonDT Clemson
4 116 Orson Charles TE Georgia
5 156 Shaun Prater CB Iowa
5 166 Marvin Jones WR California
5 167 George Iloka FS Boise State
6 191 Dan Herron RB Ohio State

I wasn’t sold on the Bills’ 10th overall in Stephon Gilmore, and I’m not sold on Kirkpatrick. He’s got the height, but that’s not everything.

The team needed help on the inside on the offensive line and got Kevin Zeitler from offensive linemen U. Devon Still was a good value pick where they got him, and should help seal up that middle. The defense got gashed in the playoffs, so they drafted Sill and Brandon Thompson from Clemson.

The big story of the draft for the Bengals was 3rd rounder Mohamed Sanu. Some sicko called him and impersonated someone at the Bengals draft room saying he had been drafted with the 17th pick.

Okay, so he’s prone to getting Punk’d, but wound up with the team in the third round anyway. If he can be anything like the steady TJ Houshmazadeh from a few years back, he’ll give Dalton a very nice pair of receivers to throw to. There’s a little mini-camp buzz around the guy, so watch out.

It appears they’ll take a typical running back by committee approach with workhorse back Cedric Benson gone. They did pick up the Law Firm from New England in the offseason, so a committee approach should suit Ben Jarvis Green-Ellis just fine.

Despite “appearances,” the roster has changed quite a bit from last year’s squad. They think since Ellis is a better receiver from the backfield than Benson ever was, they can use him in the West Coast Offense of theirs.

The AFC North is getting rather crowded with talent. The Bengals will need that DT help with the running backs in the division. Sure it’s a passing league these days but the Bengals are the only team in this conference to get that memo.

They also took a chance on a troubled young man with amazing talent in Vontaze Burflict.

Pittsburgh’s Reshard Mendenhall is coming off injury and won’t start out the season but is a formidable force when he’s on the field. Baltimore’s Ray Rice has made a huge name for himself, and Cleveland rookie Trent Richardson is being touted as the best RB to enter the league since Adrian Peterson. The Bengals need to stop the run. Period.

They ranked 7th overall last season, but towards the end of the year and in the playoffs, they struggled some. Taylor Mays will be asked to come in and work one of the safety spots. That’s their weakness on defense. Otherwise, they’ve got good talent all around. DT Geno Atkins got injured but was named to the Pro Bowl anyway.

Two things are going on here: The Bengals look to be a hot, young, up-and-coming team. The bad thing is the Bengals have a history of making spotty one-year wonder teams. They’ve been doing it going back to the Sam Wyche days. Which direction will the 2012 team go?

This team does have the core talent – at QB and WR – to be a ten-year force in the league. QB Andy Dalton lacks arm strength to wow, but he has the poise, accuracy, and leadership you want in a franchise QB. WR AJ Green was a player I was high on from the start. Everyone raved about Julio Jones and his 4.38-40 at the combine, but I’m an SEC fan and Auburn alum. I saw AJ green as a guy who would take over games in college on a regular basis. Julio Jones really did not do that much. Mohamed Sanu looks to be a nice snag and could start.

With the draft they had, they got good value at positions of need. They play in a bruising division. With that in mind, I say…

Two steps forward. Next, the Cleveland Browns…