National Football League

Houshmandzadeh thinks Bengals offense can surpass '05 team

Published Jun. 22, 2015 2:28 p.m. ET

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After seeing the Bengals up close as a coaching intern, T.J. Houshmandzadeh believes the offense can do more damage than the 2005 Carson Palmer-led unit he was a part of.

Houshmandzadeh was the No. 2 receiver in '05 while Palmer, Chad Johnson and Rudi Johnson were setting franchise records on an offense that finished sixth-best in the league. The 2015 team might not have the same star power, but its depth is what really caught Houshmandzadeh off guard. 

"I didn’t know the Bengals had so many good players," Houshmandzadeh told Bengals.com. "I was shocked. I was genuinely shocked with the amount of players on this team that can play. It’s really unbelievable. They can be better. They have better players."

Houshmandzadeh gave the nod at quarterback and receivers to his '05 squad to no one's surprise, and called the offensive lines a push. The 2015 team has more balance with Giovani Bernard and Jeremy Hill, which will keep defenses honest. 

"They have more guys to rely on and count on and that keeps the defense guessing," Houshmandzadeh said. "For them, it’s about, ‘What are they going to do?’ With us, you knew what we were going to do, could you stop it, because we were going down the field.

"But we didn’t have a Tyler Eifert, a Giovani Bernard. I don't even think we had a Jeremy Hill. "In that respect, they’re better than us in certain spots and we’re better than them at certain spots. Overall, I think they’re probably better. We didn’t have the depth."

One thing both teams also have in common -- the lack of a playoff victory. The sight of Palmer writhing in pain after the second offensive play of the Wild Card loss to Pittsburgh in '05 still leaves a bitter taste in the mouths of Bengals fans. Who knows how far the Bengals could've gone if Palmer's knee didn't get shredded that day?

h/t: Bengals.com

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