Coley Harvey, ESPN Staff Writer 9y

Bengals hope 'revival' sparks key changes in 2015

On the day the Cincinnati Bengals returned last week for the start of voluntary workouts, one word, in big, bold letters occasionally popped up on the television monitors inside their locker room.

"Revival."

If a player somehow didn't look up and missed seeing the word rotate on the screens along with this year's golden logo for Super Bowl 50, then all he had to do was look down at his chest. Stamped on the front of this year's training shirts, "revival" appears as a not-so-subtle reminder of where coaches and front-office personnel want the focus of this year's team to be.

The growth of something or an increase in the activity of something after a long period of no growth or activity.

For the past four seasons, the Bengals have been stagnant in their development. Although they have reached the playoffs each year, the result has been the same: a loss in the first round. For there to be a true "revival," Merriam-Webster Dictionary says that growth must come after a period of relative inactivity.

"It's just a spark for us," the quarterback for each of those first-round exits, Andy Dalton, said about the theme. "We've been good, but good's not good enough. We're trying to be the best we can be."

Every player on every team says that every year, but this year's Bengals have to live those words if a change is to happen.

A period in which something becomes popular again after a long period of time.

If there was ever a year for the Bengals to finally rattle off a playoff win or two, this might be it. With 28 of the 68 players on the roster eligible for free agency next March, Cincinnati could be nearing the end of this run of relative success. Credit a strong 2012 draft class for helping build a foundation the past few seasons, but it could crumble if the Bengals don't handle these pending extensions appropriately.

"You can't bring everybody back," said receiver Marvin Jones, one of the 28 upcoming free agents. "Everybody knows that. But all we can control is what happens in 2015 for the Bengals and how we carry ourselves and how we go play collectively to win the Super Bowl."

Uncertainty, even after coach Marvin Lewis' one-year extension last week, could be on the Bengals' doorstep.

Restoration of force, validity or effect.

It's hard to remember them, but there were days when the Bengals were a force in the NFL. People 24 years old and younger have no recollection of them, but they did exist. Four times from 1981-1990 the Bengals made it to the playoffs, and it was common for them to make deep playoff runs. Twice, in 1981 and 1988, they reached the Super Bowl. The team they faced in both meetings, the San Francisco 49ers, plays host to them in Week 15. Several weeks later, the 49ers' home, Levi's Stadium, hosts Super Bowl 50.

The Bengals want the stars to align to get them to their third Super Bowl in franchise history. For that to happen, they believe they first must recapture some of what made them special before.

"What we've done worked to get us to the point we are at now, but [to do more] we are going to have to do something different," safety George Iloka said. "I don't know what that can be. It might be something schematic-wise, it might be roster-wise, I don't know. It's early.

"But by the season, you will have a different and better product out there."

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