SB Nation - David Jones

Final Practice/Injury Report: Cincinnati Bengals (3-1) at Baltimore Ravens (3-1)

Kirkendall — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 15:20:13 -0000

OUT	Questionable	PROBABLE
LB Rashad Jeanty (finger)	S Kyries Hebert (hip)	RB Cedric Benson (hip)
T Andre Smith (foot)	DT Tank Johnson (foot)	CB David Jones (foot)
	S Chinedum Ndukwe (hamstring)	LB Rey Maualuga (knee)
		DT Domata Peko (chest)
		S Roy Williams (forearm)

BALTIMORE RAVENS

QUESTIONABLE	PROBABLE
T Jared Gaither (neck)	CB Chris Carr (groin)	DT Haloti Ngata (back)
	LB Tavares Gooden (shoulder)	S Ed Reed (knee)
	LB Jarret Johnson (shoulder)	WR Demetrius Williams (illness)
	WR Derrick Mason (neck)

Practice

BENGALS	WED	THUR	FRI
T Andre Smith (foot)	OUT	OUT	OUT
RB Cedric Benson (hip)	DNP	FP	FP
LB Rashad Jeanty (finger)	DNP	DNP	OUT
LB Rey Maualuga (knee)	DNP	LP	FP
S Chinedum Ndukwe (hamstring)	DNP	LP	DNP
DT Tank Johnson (foot)	LP	LP	LP
DT Domata Peko (chest)	LP	LP	FP
CB David Jones (foot)	FP	FP	FP
S Roy Williams (forearm)	FP	FP	FP
S Kyries Hebert ()	--	LP	DNP

RAVENS	WED	THUR	FRI
T Jared Gaither (neck)	DNP	DNP	DNP
LB Jarret Johnson (shoulder)	DNP	LP	FP
WR Derrick Mason (neck)	DNP	LP	LP
WR Demetrius Williams (illness)	DNP	DNP	LP
CB Chris Carr (groin)	LP	LP	FP
LB Tavares Gooden (shoulder)	FP	FP	FP
DT Haloti Ngata (back)	FP	FP	FP
S Ed Reed (knee)	FP	FP	FP

Bengals waive Pope, sign Dan "Stuka" Skuta off the practice squad

Kirkendall — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 19:53:54 -0000

David Jones has all but returned. He's no longer appearing on injury reports [UPDATE: Actually Jones did appear on the injury report, but only because of the injury he has been dealing with. He did fully practice on Wednesday and Thursday] and you can assume he'll be seeing his first action this Sunday against the Ravens since injuring his foot early in Training Camp. As a result, the Bengals decided to waive cornerback Geoffrey Pope and sign our boy, linebacker Dan "Stuka" Skuta off the team's practice squad. As Joe Reedy observes, Skuta is the third college free agent on the roster this year, behind Tom Nelson and Quan Cosby. Rey Maualuga is still recovering from his knee injury against the Steelers -- even though played against the Browns -- and Rashad Jeanty hurt his finger against the Browns which may have convinced the team to add a seventh linebacker.

Reedy also observes that the move opens the "possibility that they may try to sign a long snapper and assign him to the practice squad." The reasoning is to a long snapper on the practice squad to work with the special teams. When or if the team elects to release Brad St. Louis, they'll already have a guy ready. I know what some of you are thinking. How hard is it to long snap? The topic was raised on Bengals.com and Geoff Hobson wrote:

This is classic Catch-22. Simmons said it’s a fine line because if the team makes a move, the specialists have to start from scratch with the timing of the operation. But the other side is, how can you continue to put the team in jeopardy if you don’t make a move?

“Any time you can get a guy on the practice squad that makes sense. You get to work with them. I don’t care what position it is before you throw somebody to the wolves,” Simmons said. “That’s definitely something that goes into it. If you make a change, it takes time to develop trust in one another.”

Regardless how that all works out. The Bengals have Stuka!

Practice Report (Thursday): Cincinnati Bengals (3-1) at Baltimore Ravens (3-1)

Kirkendall — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 13:17:41 -0000

Every Wednesday, Thursday and Friday evening, we'll (TRY TO) update the practice/injury chart leading up to Sunday's game. The chart is pretty self-explanatory. If the player is listed as out, they're out for the game. If they did not participate, they didn't practice. If they were limited, then they only participated during a portion of practice (typically means missing 11-on-11 drills). If the player is listed as full participation, it simply means that they practiced fully and that the only reason they're listed is because injury was an issue the week before.

Practice

BENGALS	WED	THUR	FRI
T Andre Smith (foot)	OUT	OUT
RB Cedric Benson (hip)	DNP	FP
LB Rashad Jeanty (finger)	DNP	DNP
LB Rey Maualuga (knee)	DNP	LP
S Chinedum Ndukwe (hamstring)	DNP	LP
DT Tank Johnson (foot)	LP	LP
DT Domata Peko (chest)	LP	LP
CB David Jones (foot)	FP	FP
S Roy Williams (forearm)	FP	FP
S Kyries Hebert ()	--	LP

RAVENS	WED	THUR	FRI
T Jared Gaither (neck)	DNP	DNP
LB Jarret Johnson (shoulder)	DNP	LP
WR Derrick Mason (neck)	DNP	LP
WR Demetrius Williams (illness)	DNP	DNP
CB Chris Carr (groin)	LP	LP
LB Tavares Gooden (shoulder)	FP	FP
DT Haloti Ngata (back)	FP	FP
S Ed Reed (knee)	FP	FP

Updating the injury file; Kyle Cook has his work cut out for him.

Kirkendall — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 15:00:57 -0000

Updating the injuries file. Andre Smith is finally out of his walking boot. Cornerback Johnathan Joseph has dealt was a foot injury the better part of a year (like, actual calendar year). He's missed Wednesday's practice because of a foot injury and rested on Thursday. However, David Jones went through a full practice on Thursday. Even so, Joe Reedy writes, if Joseph can't go, then Geoffrey Pope would be the one whom replaces him. Maualuga, who learned that his younger brother is alright in Samoa, returned to practice on Thursday and is now expected to start against the Browns. Also, Tank Johnson missed two practices and Roy Williams sat Thursday after a limited practice on Wednesday. Same for Domata Peko, limited on Wednesday, did not practice on Thursday.

If you want some Fantasy Football news, check out SB Nation's Fantasy page. I'll make an appearance at some point to talk about the Bengals players. More specifically, Carson Palmer, Chad Ochocinco, Cedric Benson and the defense. You can also checkout SB Nation's own Fake Teams. Maybe I should follow my own advice. So far I'm 1-2 in both Flea Flicker leagues. Yikes.

Kyle Cook will have his work cut out for him.

"Very unsatisfactory," is the way (Shaun Rogers) described his play through three games. "It's my job to be an impact and influence and I don't think I've really done my job lately, so I'm still working on getting me straight. I just haven't had the games I'd like to have."

The defense is disappointed by the lack of big plays.

Johnathan Joseph's interception was only the second turnover the Bengals forced in three games. It was their first interception in seven games, including the preseason, making that one of the few areas where the defense has disappointed.

The Browns could be without Jamal Lewis or Phil Dawson.

A nice piece about Brian Leonard's home town.

Paul Daugherty talks about Chad's new book and relates it to the book he wrote a few years back.

Practice Report (Thursday): Cincinnati Bengals (2-1) at Cleveland Browns (0-3)

Kirkendall — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 04:11:27 -0000

Every Wednesday, Thursday and Friday evening, we'll update the practice/injury chart leading up to Sunday's game. The chart is pretty self-explanatory. If the player is listed as out, they're out for the game. If they did not participate, they didn't practice. If they were limited, then they only participated during a portion of practice (typically means missing 11-on-11 drills). If the player is listed as full participation, it simply means that they practiced fully and that the only reason they're listed is because injury was an issue the week before.

Practice

BENGALS	WED	THUR	FRI
T Andre Smith (foot)	OUT	OUT
RB Cedric Benson (knee)	DNP	FP
LB Abdul Hodge (knee)	DNP	FP
DT Tank Johnson (foot)	DNP	DNP
CB Johnathan Joseph (foot)	DNP	DNP
LB Rey Maualuga (knee)	DNP	FP
S Chinedum Ndukwe (hamstring)	DNP	FP
CB David Jones (foot)	LP	FP
DT Domata Peko (neck)	LP	DNP
S Roy Williams (forearm)	LP	DNP
T Andrew Whitworth (achilles)	FP	FP

BROWNS	WED	THUR	FRI
DE Kenyon Coleman (groin)	DNP	LP
K Phil Dawson (right calf)	DNP	DNP
RB Jamal Lewis (hamstring)	DNP	DNP
G Floyd Womack (ankle)	DNP	DNP
LB David Bowens (knee)	LP	LP
G Rex Hadnot (knee)	LP	LP
DT Shaun Rogers (foot)	LP	LP
G Eric Steinbach (knee)	LP	LP
DE Corey Williams (knee)	LP	DNP
LB Kamerion Wimbley (shoulder)	LP	FP
CB Eric Wright (hand)	FP	FP
P Dave Zastudil (right knee)	FP	FP
RB James Davis (shoulder)	--	FP

Marvin Lewis on injuries after game: "We have the usual football soreness"

Kirkendall — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 23:59:22 -0000

We saw several players leave the game due to injury Sunday. Leon Hall left for some time, but returned. Rey Maualuga was actually carted off. He had a sniff of Old Spice in the lockerroom and returned to the game. Because he's a man. Tank Johnson left early and didn't return. Fortunately, during Monday's press conference, Marvin Lewis said that the Bengals had "the usual football soreness".

"We’ll see how we are Wednesday. We’ve got some guys bumped and bruised. As I told you yesterday, Tank Johnson’s foot is going to be sore for a bit. Carson (Palmer) came out of the game a little bit sore. Rey Maualuga will be a little sore with the knee, and they’re going to do some further studies today. He seems to be OK. Chinedum (Ndukwe) has a little soreness in the leg. Leon (Hall) came back out, but a little sore. We have the usual football soreness. We’ll see how we are over the next 48 hours."

No word during Monday's press conference about a David Jones or Andre Smith update. Last week, Jones participated during practice on Thursday and Friday in a limited capacity and should be close. It would also seem likely that Smith won't return until after the bye week; after he recovers from injury, he'll still need time to work into the system.

Final Practice/Injury Report: Pittsburgh Steelers (1-1) @ Cincinnati Bengals (1-1)

Kirkendall — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 15:35:26 -0000

Cincinnati Bengals

OUT	Questionable	PROBABLE
CB David Jones (foot)	DT Jonathan Fanene (illness)	RB Cedric Benson (ankle)
T Andre Smith (foot)	DE Michael Johnson (illness)	WR Chris Henry (quadricep)
	G Nate Livings (knee)	CB Johnathan Joseph (ankle)
		DE Antwan Odom (not injury related)

Pittsburgh Steelers

OUT	PROBABLE
S Troy Polamalu (knee)	S Tyrone Carter (thigh)
	LB James Harrison (illness)
	WR Limas Sweed (foot)
	LB Lawrence Timmons (ankle)

Practice

BENGALS	WED	THUR	FRI
T Andre Smith (foot)	OUT	OUT	OUT
CB David Jones (foot)	DNP	LP	LP
RB Cedric Benson (ankle)	DNP	LP	FP
WR Chris Henry (quadricep)	DNP	LP	FP
CB Johnathan Joseph (ankle)	LP	LP	FP
G Nate Livings (knee)	LP	LP	LP
DT Jonathan Fanene (illness)	--	DNP	DNP
DE Michael Johnson (illness)	--	--	DNP
DE Antwan Odom (not injury related)	--	--	DNP

STEELERS	WED	THUR	FRI
S Tyrone Carter (thigh)	DNP	LP	FP
S Troy Polamalu (knee)	DNP	DNP	DNP
DE Aaron Smith (not injury related)	DNP	--	--
WR Hines Ward (scared of Keith Rivers)	DNP	--	--
WR Limas Sweed (foot)	FP	FP	FP
LB Lawrence Timmons (ankle)	FP	FP	FP
LB James Harrison (illness)	--	--	DNP

DNP - Did Not Practice
LP - Limited Participation in Practice
FP - Full Participation in Practice

Practice Report (Thursday): Pittsburgh Steelers (1-1) at Cincinnati Bengals (1-1)

Kirkendall — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 01:24:16 -0000

Practice

BENGALS	WED	THUR	FRI
T Andre Smith (foot)	OUT	OUT
CB David Jones (foot)	DNP	LP
RB Cedric Benson (ankle)	DNP	LP
WR Chris Henry (quadricep)	DNP	LP
CB Johnathan Joseph (ankle)	LP	LP
G Nate Livings (knee)	LP	LP
DT Jonathan Fanene (illness)	--	DNP

STEELERS	WED	THUR	FRI
S Tyrone Carter (thigh)	DNP	LP
S Troy Polamalu (knee)	DNP	DNP
DE Aaron Smith (not injury related)	DNP	--
WR Hines Ward (scared of Keith Rivers)	DNP	--
WR Limas Sweed (foot)	FP	FP
LB Lawrence Timmons (ankle)	FP	FP

DNP - Did Not Practice
LP - Limited Participation in Practice
FP - Full Participation in Practice

Bengals leave Green Bay healthy; expect to be healthier against the Steelers

Kirkendall — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 03:21:25 -0000

More photos » by Andy Manis - AP

2 months ago: Green Bay Packers offensive tackle Chad Clifton, center, is taken off the field in a cart during the second half of an NFL football game against the Cincinnati Bengals, Sunday, Sept. 20, 2009, in Green Bay, Wis. (AP Photo/Andy Manis)

Browse more photos »

The Bengals came away Sunday unscathed on the injury front. Keith Rivers left early in the game for several snaps, but returned. On Monday, Geoff Hobson updates the older injury files after Marvin Lewis' press conference on David Jones, Andre Smith and Nate Livings.

"We came out of the game in good shape. We should go into this week just like we finished last week, maybe a little better. We have a chance to have a couple of guys join us on the practice field. Two of the three guys who haven’t been practicing, other than Andre (Smith), have an opportunity to get some work in this week. So we’ll see how they do."

Last year, Nate Livings started the season on the team's practice squad. He was signed onto the 53-man roster in November, making his first start several days later against the Pittsburgh Steelers. There's still question if Livings will make it against the Pittsburgh Steelers this year, however, Lewis is optimistic. On the bright side, the continuing story of the team's depth being deceptively deep (aka, guys replacing starters are holding their own), Evan Mathis played with a unit on Sunday that contributed to the Bengals 151-yards rushing as a team. Furthermore, he wasn't directly responsible for a quarterback sack. We noted a few plays where the defensive lineman beat Mathis with the first step. All in all, my guess is that you took very little notice of him -- and for non-glory hounds of offensive lineman, that's a good thing.

Andre Smith, on the other hand, is idle. Most likely Smith will miss the first month of the regular season due to a lengthy holdout that saw him arrive in Cincinnati a bit overweight. More importantly, Smith is still recovering after suffering a fractured foot earlier in the month. In the meantime, Anthony Collins rebounded nicely after allowing two sacks against the Denver Broncos, doing his part to shut down Aaron Kampman's ability to get to the quarterback; though we have to wonder if Kampman's sack total will drop being an outside linebacker in a 3-4 base defense as opposed to a defensive end in a 4-3 base defense.

Speaking of the Packers, they were less fortunate, losing starting left tackle Chad Clifton who suffered a "sprained right ankle". Starting safety Nick Collins also suffered a sprained clavicle. Both players will be evaluated for a projected return later in the week.

Bengals @ Packers Week in Review: Best part about losing opening weekend is that there's 15 more games to go

Kirkendall — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 16:01:56 -0000

This has been one of those weeks that we've experienced so many times. We lost last week with an unbelievable, unlikely play. Some of us (aka, me), just can't let it go. It was discouraging, disheartening and worthy of a scowl at any unfortunate victims that passed me at work with that look that said, "oh, haha, your team lost like that. Oh, haha." Browns fans I crossed this week were much more sympathetic, if anything. Maybe there's this brotherhood that I've ignored. Two Ohio teams that are, once again, not projected to be a major player in the race for the playoffs. Coworkers and friends that are Steelers fans (aka, needlessly betraying loyalty to Ohio football because they were also born in Ohio but picked a great team on a list at five years old on which team to cheer for for the rest of their lives), mostly stayed away. Not sure if they were giggling or snickering because of the way the Bengals lost, I didn't mind the space. I don't personally know any Ravens fans, so no worries there.

The best part about losing the opening season game that way, is that there's 15 more games to get that filthy taste out of your mouth. Chad Ochocinco, who won't have to appear for jury duty (don't you think it would have been bigger news? And we know that the legal system views NFL players much like politicians), is planning a Lambeau Leap on Sunday if he scores. Remember when Chad was greeted by the Dawg Pound when he scored in 2007?

+ We spoke to Brandon at Acme Packing Company this week and he wrote that starting right offensive tackle Allen Barbre allowed two sacks to defensive end Adewale Ogunleye. He also wrote that he's willing to give Barbre a mulligan (Bill Huber agrees) while co-author Mitchell_M, in a piece asking if the Packers should sign Mark Tauscher, wrote, "we can agree that Allen Barbre looked like absolute garbage against the Bears."

With that said, does this mean that starting left defensive end Robert Geathers has an opportunity to have a great day? I still believe that Geathers is the strongest overall defensive end on the squad; but not by much. However, he's a highly paid defensive end and highly paid defensive ends are paid to get to the quarterback. He made some impressive plays during the preseason, but now he needs results in the regular season. Since signing a six-year contract extension worth $33.75 million ($12.5 million guaranteed) after his 10.5-sack season in 2006, Geathers has recorded a combined six sacks in the 28 games played since.

Season	Games	Sacks	Tackles
2009	1	0	3
2008	11	2.5	56*
2007	16	3.5	47
2006	16	10.5	42
2005	16	3.0	33
2004	14	3.5	16
*Via Bengals.com

How is Barbre reacting after last week?

"They're probably saying some things about me, they can exploit me and whatnot," Barbre said Thursday. "But I feel like if I go out there and play with technique, I feel like I can beat anybody."

You almost get the feeling that both players are looking for some sort of redemption. While Geathers has actually played strong overall, he has to be feeling pressure of needing to consistently hit the quarterback with the contract he's under, while Packers offensive tackle Barbre is looking to redeem last week.

+ While I tried to find some encouraging thoughts for the week by saying the Bengals are historically better offensively in the second week, I was quickly beaten like Ohio State in big games recently. The argument against my delusional happy thought of the week, is that the Bengals have played worse teams during the second week and should have done better. Let's examine the teams that they played in the first and second week, and then their final records.

First Week

Season	Opponent	Final Record	Score	Yards (Total)
2009	Denver Broncos	N/A	L, 7-12	307
2008	Baltimore Ravens	11-5	L, 10-17	154
2007	Baltimore Ravens	5-11	W, 27-20	236
2006	Kansas City Chiefs	9-7	W, 23-10	236
2005	Cleveland Browns	6-10	W, 27-13	420
2004	New York Jets	10-6	L, 24-31	351
2003	Denver Broncos	10-6	L, 10-30	294
		51-45		285.4

Second Week

Season	Opponent	Final Record	Score	Yards (Total)
2009	Green Bay Packers	N/A	N/A	N/A
2008	Tennessee Titans	13-3	L, 7-24	215
2007	Cleveland Browns	10-6	L, 45-51	531
2006	Cleveland Browns	4-12	W, 34-17	481
2005	Minnesota Vikings	9-7	W, 37-8	504
2004	Miami Dolphins	4-12	W, 16-13	210
2003	Oakland Raiders	4-12	L, 20-23	416
		44-52		392.8

Fine. The week two opponents have been worse than the week one opponents dating back to 2003; so I agree that the opponents were weaker. I will point out, however, that we don't know about the 2009 Green Bay Packers, who are following up a 6-10 season last year. Even though Green Bay's defense picked off Jay Cutler four times, the Packers were still losing 15-13 with over a minute left in the game. So maybe, just maybe, the trend continues that we play a team that'll hover around a .458 winning percentage and the Bengals offense goes bonkers. See, delusional happy thoughts. They work!

+ The Bengals will be without their starting left guard against the Packers; offensive tackle Andre Smith and cornerback David Jones will be out for the second straight week. Green Bay will be without their starting strong safety, Atari Bigby and third string running back Brandon Jackson. Final practice and injury report.

+ Speaking of injury, last week Chris Henry has a bum quad that held him back (and mostly out) against the Denver Broncos. He hasn't appeared on this week's injury list and will likely be a bigger contributor than his one reception for 18 yards against the Broncos. Delusional happy thoughts? Speaking of injury, part II. Andre Smith is expected to be out at least another week, perhaps two, while he recovers from injury. We guessed that Smith might not make the field until the bye week in week eight (November 1). After recovering from his injury, he'll still have to go through his own version of Training Camp.

Bengals invited Tight End Leonard Pope and Cornerback Corey Ivy for a visit this week. Neither were signed when leaving the city.

Even though the Bengals were off on Tuesday, Robert Geathers told his defensive line-mates that they're coming in on Tuesday anyway.

Bengals punter Kevin Huber's first five career punts dropped inside the 20-yard line.

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