5-2

Who would have ver thought or believed that at the mid point of the season, the Bengals would have five wins (and four of those have come in a row)?

Most people, me included, were putting them in the Andrew Luck race with sound odds of going 0-16.

What accounts for the amazing turn around?

Well, it starts with their top two drafts picks: WR AJ Green and QB Andy Dalton. While Dalton has had some bad moments (the two key picks in the loss to the 49ers comes to mind), he has had more great moments (his third down scramble to get a key first down in their last second victory over the unbeaten Bills and his gutsy fourth down passes in Jacksonville). AJ Green has proven to be worth the fourth pick in the draft. He catches nearly everything thrown his way and has more than replaced both TO and Ocho.

Besides the play of our rookies, credit has to go to the defense, which is currently ranked #4 overall. They have one or two 'big' names on defense (Mauluga and Domonato Peko - both of which are probably misspelled). Besides that, there are really no stars. Thanks to their phenomenal defensive coordinator, Mike Zimmer, they are always in the right spot at the right time.

And credit also has to go to two guys who are usually vilified: Marvin Lewis and Mike Brown. Lewis was finally able to jettison Ocho Cinco and not having his cancerous "me, me, me" attitude in the locker room has made a profound impact. This is a group of guys who don't care about reality TV shows, Twitter, or any other self congratulatory behaviors. They just want to play football and win games. How refreshing (especially after last year when TO was brought it and everything absolutely fell apart)!

Brown deserves credit for trading Carson Palmer for what amounts to a king's ransom. At the start of the season everyone thought if the Bengals could get a second or third round pick for Palmer, they should jump at it. Yet, Brown held out and landed a first round pick and either a first or second round pick in the 2013 draft. Brilliant.

Of course, the Bengals haven't really beaten anybody (other than the Bills), but the barely lost to the 49ers and have been in every game this year. Time will tell though, for they face off against the favorites in the division, the Steelers and Ravens, after this week. If they could manage to split the series against those teams and win a couple more against a very favorable schedule (Arizona at home in late December, the struggling Rams on the road, and the Browns at home), the Bengals could nab a wild card spot. I'm not nuts enough to predict that they'll take the AFC North as they did in 2009, though. Maybe next year when Dalton has another season under his belt and they can capitalize on their two first round picks next spring. Maybe then.

And maybe, just maybe, things are looking up for the Bengals - who seem to be doing things very unlike the usual Bengals.