Mark Curnutte

Another probable nine will be second-year players the team drafted or signed as free agents in 2003.

Carson Palmer, their starting quarterback, has not taken an NFL snap in a regular-season game. They could have a rookie starting at cornerback in Madieu Williams and another in punter Kyle Larson.

In their evolution from division doormat, the Bengals have turned decidedly young. And the youth movement is one of the reasons for the inconsistency shown in three preseason games.

Tampa Bay: OK.

New England: Outstanding.

Atlanta: Not good.

It's one step forward, one step back, and it could be this way with the Bengals for a while. They will play well, especially at home, but inexperience could cause them to struggle on the road.

Coach Marvin Lewis, engineering this makeover, acknowledged the growing pains after the 37-10 loss Saturday to the Falcons.

"Obviously, we're not happy with the outcome," Lewis said. "We've got work to do. We know how to fix it. There is no magic, let's go play and work.

"There is going to be an inconsistency in people, you don't have the regular guys, you know how the preseason goes. We left a lot of (injured) guys at home. We have guys who can play a lot better than this. We'll prove that."

Some untested players could take another step toward making the team today, when the Bengals are expected to announce their moves to bring the roster down to the league-mandated 65 players by 5 p.m. Tuesday.

The Bengals have 74 players on their roster, and three of them could see their seasons end with placement on the injured reserve list. Cornerback Dennis Weathersby, who continues to heal from his car crash in April, surely will be designated to IR. Linebacker Khalid Abdullah, who dislocated an ankle in training camp, is likely to go on the list. And punter Kyle Richardson, who tore a biceps muscle making a tackle at Tampa Bay, could end up on IR.

If so, six more players will have to be released.

Larson doesn't figure to be one of them.

The rookie punter, who struggled against the Patriots, redeemed himself in Atlanta. He averaged 47.7 yards a punt with an impressive 40.7 net. He found a groove on his last five punts.

"My first punts I wasn't happy with, but I finished it out all right," Larson said.

The Bengals are believed to have entertained a few free agent punters late last week at Paul Brown Stadium. Apparently among them was former New England punter Ken Walter, a seven-year veteran.

The Bengals are expected to stick with Larson, depending on performance, for at least the next couple of weeks.

Barring injury, Palmer will be around for a long time and is preparing to start the regular-season opener Sept. 12 at the Jets.

Palmer threw his second interception of the preseason and lost a fumble on one of two sacks. His poor performance came just one week after he carved up the Patriots with three first-half touchdown passes.

"Not very well," Palmer said when asked how he played. "I just didn't go a good enough job of getting us going."

Palmer committed two of the three turnovers. They had no takeaways against the Falcons.

They also were minus-2 with no takeaways against the Buccaneers. That's minus-5 in turnovers in two losses and plus three - no turnovers committed - in the victory against New England.

Because the running game did not produce the way it had against the Patriots, Palmer faced 10 third downs against Atlanta and converted first downs just twice.

Veterans, such as linebacker Kevin Hardy, know the Bengals have to improve on the road.

"At this level, you have to be consistent," Hardy said. "At home, your emotions are flying high. You go on the road, and you forget how to play football. I really don't think it was what (the Falcons) did. I think we were a step late on plays."

Colts at Bengals
When: 7:30 p.m., Friday
Where: Paul Brown Stadium
Records: Indianapolis 2-1, Cincinnati 1-2
TV: Ch. 12 (tape delayed, 11: 30 p.m.)
Radio: WCKY-AM (1360) and WOFX-FM (92.5)

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E-mail mcurnutte@enquirer.com

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