in-depthUnder the lead of Marvin Lewis, Cincinnati has gone 31-16-1 the last three seasons, making it to the postseason five out of the last six years. But during his 12 year tenure, the Bengals are 0-6 in the playoffs, and the team came no closer to ending that drought in its appearance last year against Indianapolis.

So what’s next for the Bengals? Are Lewis and QB Andy Dalton the duo that will take this team on to the next step, a deeper run in the playoffs? Or is this minor run of solid-but-not-spectacular football as good as it gets under their watch?

Jason Marcum, editor and social media manager at Cincy Jungle, shares his insights.

Zoneblitz: Cincinnati finished 10-5-1 in 2014, made the playoffs for the fifth time in six years and again didn’t win a playoff game. How would you assess the season?

Marcum: It was a good season if you can overlook the fact they didn’t win a playoff game to drop to 0-6 in the playoffs under Marvin Lewis. The truth is, he did a heck of a job just to get them into the postseason with as many injuries as they did.

They had no shot against the Colts in the playoffs with so many injuries forcing them to use fourth-string RB Rex Burkhead at WR. That’s how bad it got, but all anyone could talk about is how Lewis is now 0-6 in the postseason.

In the end, having All-Pro DT Geno Atkins recover from his torn ACL and RB Jeremy Hill emerge as a superstar help provide a bright future for what this team can do going forward.

Zoneblitz: What’s the future look like for Marvin Lewis as head coach, particularly if this team doesn’t make it further than round one again?

Marcum: If the Bengals tank and have a losing record in 2015, I could see them letting Lewis go. The fan base is fed up with Lewis, and there’s going to be a serious backlash if he can’t even get them to a winning record this year. Mike Brown hates change, but if he’s losing season-ticket holders and not selling out Paul Brown Stadium, money talks .

That said, I think the Bengals will be good enough to be at least 8-8 in 2015, in which case I’d lean toward Lewis keeping his job, but wouldn’t be surprised if he was let go either.

Zoneblitz: The team has a significant investment in Andy Dalton – is he capable of taking the Bengals further than he has so far? Do you see the team bringing in competition for him?

Marcum: No, because there’s no one capable of doing so. Outside of Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota, I don’t think any of the QBs in this draft will be better than Dalton, and there are no free agents capable of pushing Dalton either.

Dalton is here for the long term, sadly. I just can’t see them ever being bad enough to be in the top 10 and grab a QB better than him, and there’s never going to be one better than him hit the free-agent market.

Zoneblitz: Gio Bernard, largely due to injury, underwhelmed in his second year – which allowed Jeremy Hill to burst onto the scene as a solid lead back. Has Hill established himself as the lead back or will it be a split – how will that duo’s playing time break out in 2015?

Marcum: Hill is the No. 1 guy but Bernard will get plenty of touches as a third-down pass-catcher and change-of-pace runner, though he’s not much faster than Hill. It’s unfortunate for him, because he’d be one of the 10-to-15 best backs in the NFL if he was on any other team. The problem is Hill might end up being one of the six or seven best by the time 2015 is over.

Zoneblitz: What do you see in store for Tyler Eifert in 2015 and what other skill players might complement AJ Green’s All-Star play?

Marcum: If he can stay healthy, Eifert will be the No. 2 pass-catcher in Cincinnati’s offense. He’s that good of a tight end, but injuries will likely keep him from being that productive for a 16-game season.

Zoneblitz: The defense took a step back in 2014, giving up 344 points and ranking 12th in points and 22nd in yards allowed, down from fifth and third respectively. What happened and how does the team fix it?

Marcum: Mike Zimmer is gone and he is as good at maximizing the players he’s got as you’ll find. He got the most out of a defense that never really was that great in terms of the players that made it up other than Geno Atkins and Vontaze Burfict. Without Zim, that was painfully evident last year.

Now that Atkins is fully recovered from his torn ACL and Michael Johnson is back, I do think they’ll be better in 2015, but not as good as any of Zim’s defenses were.

Zoneblitz: Michael Johnson is back after a disappointing year in Tampa. What kind of impact will he make – does he help bring the pass rush back?

Marcum: With no Zimmer to get the most out of him, I think he’ll be better than he was in Tampa, but not as good as he was before that while playing under Zim. It’s another case of a player who wasn’t as good as his production suggested because Zimmer knew how to get the absolute most out of him. I think he’ll have 6-8 sacks in Cincinnati this year and be solid edge defender, but nothing more.

Zoneblitz: What Bengals players have a chance to break out in 2015?

Marcum: Dre Kirkpatrick and Darqueze Dennard. Neither played much in 2015 until Terence Newman started faltering down the stretch. Kirk came on and played well over the final four games, but I still think Dennard will challenge him for the starting cornerback spot vacated by Newman’s departure this offseason.

Whichever of them wins it should be in a big year, just because that’s two talented players potentially earning a starting spot. I think whichever wins it will have a productive 2015 season.

Zoneblitz: How far are the Bengals from making a deep run in the postseason?

Marcum: If they are able to hit several home runs in this draft and everyone stays fairly healthy, I could see this team making it to the AFC Championship.

If they have a so-so draft and key players get injured left and right like last year, this team won’t make it to the playoffs and could lose 8-10 games. It’s just too difficult of a schedule to survive if things don’t go their way.

I ultimately think the result is somewhere in the middle and they win 8-9 games and are in contention for a Wild Card spot.

Follow Jason Marcum on Twitter at: @marcum89
Follow Cincy Jungle on Twitter at: @CincyJungle
Follow Zoneblitz.com on Twitter at: @ZoneblitzCom

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