SB Nation - Chinedum Ndukwe

Don't expect Brady Quinn to have another career day against the Cincinnati Bengals secondary

Kirkendall — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 20:00:23 -0000

about 1 month ago: Cincinnati Bengals cornerback Leon Hall (29) returns an interception as cornerback Morgan Trent (25) blocks Chicago Bears receiver Johnny Knox (13) in the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2009, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Ed Reinke)

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Cleveland Browns quarterback Brady Quinn had a big game against the Detroit Lions last week, throwing for 304 yards passing, four touchdowns and no interceptions. His 133.1 passer rating is a career high, second to the 104.3 he recorded against the Broncos in the third week of the 2008 season. Was Quinn's performance against the Lions a precursor towards a greater NFL career than he was on pace for? Was his performance benefited by passing against the league's worst passing defense? Or was it just a matter of fluke plays?

Regardless, don't expect the same performance against the Bengals this Sunday. In the past three games, Cincinnati's passing defense has allowed only an average 163 yards passing, a 52% completion percentage, four interceptions against two touchdowns and eight sacks (they were shutout against the Raiders).

With potential Pro Bowl cornerbacks in Leon Hall and Johnathan Joseph, the Bengals have a good nickel corner in Trent Morgan, who failed to prevent the game-tying touchdown against the Raiders. Even so, Morgan has a good body of work over the course of the entire season. Rounded out with solid safety play with Chinedum Ndukwe and Chris Crocker, this secondary is a group that doesn't easily allow receivers to run free.

Aside from sacks, the Bengals passing defense has played as well in the last three games as they've played all season. Their yards allowed is down to season lows, their completion percentage allowed is down, as is first downs allowed.

Passing Defense broken down into three segments on the season
	First Four	Middle Three	Final Three
Yards	263.3	268.0	163.0
Comp. %	59%	70%	52%
Interceptions	2	6	4
Touchdowns	4	6	2
Sacks/Game	3.0	1.7	2.7
First D/Game	11	13.3	9.3

With Brady expected to start, all I can say is, thank god. Derek Anderson has a career 2-2 record starting against the Bengals in his career.

Date	Result	Yards	TDs	INTs	Rating
9.16.2007	W, 51-45	328	5	1	121.0
12.23.2007	L, 14-19	251	2	4	53.4
9.28.2008	W, 20-12	138	1	1	74.7
10.14.2009	L, 20-23	269	1	1	68.8

His numbers aren't mind-blowing by any stretch of the imagination. But in each of his four starts, Anderson was always a threat, keeping Cleveland close enough in the end that their losses were within a five points or less. This year, when the Bengals barely beat Cleveland 23-20, Anderson recorded career highs in yards passing (269), completions (26), passer rating (68.8) and yards per attempted pass (5.60).

With Quinn starting, and the Bengals secondary playing as well as they have all season, don't expect Cleveland's passing offense to do much. In fact, if I were a homer Bengals fan, I'd say that the Bengals defense will play their best game of the season. If I were a homer.

Cincinnati Bengals beat the Pittsburgh Steelers with unsung heroes and a beautiful red zone defense

Kirkendall — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 18:00:51 -0000

by Gene J. Puskar - AP

about 1 month ago: Cincinnati Bengals' Bobbie Williams (63) leaves Heinz Field after a 18-12 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers in an NFL football game in Pittsburgh, Sunday, Nov. 15, 2009. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

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It was a bar in Dayton that an odd fellow, let's call him William, struck up a conversation with me that began with typical fantasy football musings. He drafted Adrian Peterson. His reaction was like anyone else's when drafting a great fantasy football player -- telling EVERYONE. Confident of his chances, not requiring the debate of the rest of his fantasy football draft, the conversation took an expected turn. Everyone that knows me personally, knows that I could chit-chat Bengals all day long. But it's not just about Carson Palmer and Chad Ochocinco. Those are the superstars that everyone else knows. What's more to say about them? Carson just wins. Chad just finds dollar bills laying around, hoping that the ref can find the owner who lost the money. We'll talk how hard Abdul Hodge will smack you in the face on kickoffs. We'll reminisce how the monstrous Ahmad Brooks had every tool to become a super-stud linebacker. We'll agree that Rashad Jeanty is perhaps the most unknown contributor on this defense, since 2006.

It was never about who was right. That's never the way conversations go. It's just about talking about the thing that we both love. William was old enough to remember both Super Bowls as if watching it live. I was too young for Super Bowl XVI. Not Super Bowl XXIII. I've told the story of breaking my mother's lamp when John Taylor scored the winning touchdown more times than I can remember.

But William's mind was sore. Last season left a bitter taste in everyone's mouth. That angry feeling we had before Marvin Lewis' era had resurfaced. Our last conversations didn't detail the exponential growth we saw from the defense last year. It wasn't about Carson Palmer returning. It wasn't about Cedric Benson, who had the best three-game stretch of any running back in the final three games. It wasn't about the veteran free agents, nor the NFL draft in which many observers praised the Bengals selections.

He was mad. And he should be mad. This team was terrible in 2008. Few things could be said about them that actually made us feel good. And that anger carried over to 2009.

William suggested firing Marvin Lewis. I gave the people's eyebrow for good measure, showing my uncertainty while questioning the validity of the source. How could you? Why would you? Who would you replace him with? It really took me aback. His argument is that great coaches could deal with the amount of injuries this team suffered, and still go undefeated... if they were great. Alright. Who would you replace him with? Bill Cowher, he instantly says. Yep. Bill Cowher. He's proven to put great teams together with a core philosophy that lasted most of his tenure, he argues. Yea, but. Well, he's a former Steelers coach. He lowers his head. He knows the point I just made. He knows that level of crazy-talk, while fun at times, has no place here. Are you drinking again, William, I asked. No, he laughed. It wasn't Bill Cowher he was suggesting; but Cowher being a model of stability that this team needed. Understandable.

At this point, I've recovered enough to make sure my adult beverage had a one-way ticket in, assuring that the mist that exhaled from my nose during that conversation had no escape. My composure, solid. I told him, have patience. They did a lot during the offseason, and excuse or not, Palmer's injury last year was a big contributor for their struggles. Even so, they were a solid football team in the second half of the season. They sported a winning recorded in the final eight games in 2008, I argued. That momentum would continue. How can you be so sure, he asked. Well, I can't be. But there are positive things. There is momentum. We won't repeat 2008. I promise.

William thoroughly enjoyed Cincy Jungle. We talked about the Bengals a lot. But we also talked just about football. The Buckeyes. The Bearcats. High School. We even shared our own football war stories.

About two months ago, William died of cancer. I'm going to miss talking to him about football. About the Bengals. But what really makes me sad, is that we won't be able to tell him that the Cincinnati Bengals swept the Steelers and Ravens, have a two-game lead in the AFC North with a 7-2 record. It would have been sweet to watch the pessimistic Bengals fan morph back into an bouncing anxious Bengals fan honestly optimistic that they could win any game on the schedule.

Hey William. We just swept the Steelers. You'd be proud.

The award for Offensive and Special Teams player of the game specifically designed to award Bernard Scott. We wrote briefly about Bernard Scott's ventures yesterday. He not only returned a kickoff 96 yards for a touchdown, but several runs late in the game moved the ball forward and helped Cincinnati kill 4:20 off the clock, setting up Shayne Graham's third field goal of the game. Scott also recorded a 21-yard reception.

Think that's it? Scott recorded 206 yards on kickoff returns, giving him 260 yards total on offense and special teams. Bernard Scott isn't the powerful between the tackles runner that Benson is right now, but Scott's speed and acceleration is impressive. With 3:05 left in the game at the Pittsburgh 35-yard line, Cincinnati lined up on second-and-five, Scott accelerated around the right edge, picked up five yards and the first down. This forced the Steelers to use two timeouts, and took another minute off the clock.

Carson Palmer didn't struggle. He did what the Steelers allowed. It was true. Most of Palmer's passes were off target, mostly high. There were some plays that Palmer felt rushed and threw the football early. In the second quarter alone, Palmer completed only two of seven passes for 30 yards. But Palmer's struggles didn't last. In the second half, Palmer's efficiency returned. He completed 10 of 13 passes for 98 yards passing. In the fourth quarter alone, Palmer completed six of seven passes for 54 yards -- including a big third-down 17-yard pass to Brian Leonard. This guy puts it together when it matters the most.

More importantly, Palmer didn't take more than what the Steelers gave him. He didn't commit a turnover. He threw passes that weren't risky. If he was getting sacked, he allowed it, not trying to do the impossible and threw the football up. No, he didn't win this football game. That's not how we beat the Steelers and I doubt that will be true next year, or the year after that. Nor did he lose the game. To me, Palmer didn't struggle. He did only what he could.

Including the big 17-yard pass to Brian Leonard that converted a third-and-five, Palmer completed a deep 16-yard pass to Laveranues Coles down the left sidelines that pushed the Bengals to Pittsburgh's 24-yard line. Palmer completed back-to-back passes for eight yards after a Brian Leonard one-yard run, setting up an easy 32-yard field goal for Shayne Graham to give Cincinnati a 15-12 lead with 7:29 left in the game. Cincinnati largely went into kill-the-clock mode with six minutes left in the game. Scott shined here. Palmer attempted only one pass -- an eight-yard pass to Laveranues Coles with 3:53 left in the game that gave the Bengals their third first down. Thanks to Bernard Scott and a scramble by Palmer where he totally forgot how to slide gracefully, Shayne Graham converted a 43-yard field goal to give the Bengals an 18-12 lead.

No. This wasn't the Palmer we saw against the Bears. Or early against the Ravens. But this isn't the same Bengals either. If Palmer only throws for 178 yards passing, doesn't record a touchdown and the Bengals win, you'll take that.

The Bengals won because they have a defense that wins games. With all of the talk about an inconsistent offense with star-power players, the truth of the matter is the Bengals defense is the biggest reason the Bengals have swept the Steelers and Ravens, own the tie-breaker against both teams and sit in first place at 7-2. It's the defense. Sure the offense has helped. But nothing with the consistency and confidence this defense has right now.

With 1:49 left in the game, the Bengals have an 18-12 lead. Pittsburgh has one timeout left and plenty of time to pick up 67 yards for the game-winning touchdown. Ever since we lost to the Denver Broncos, that little place in the back of my mind that anything could happen, gets really big. Most defenses in this situation tend to go into prevent, with one goal in mind of not allowing the game-winning touchdown. Not Bengals defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer. He blitzed. He had his guys in coverage smothering route runners. Roethlisberger didn't have time for deep routes to develop, though he tried to wait. Brandon Johnson pressured Roethlisberger on first down, forcing the incomplete. Chris Crocker and Johnathan Joseph shutdown their guys on respective plays. On fourth down, Roethlisberger was assaulted by Frostee Rucker and Michael Johnson, who forced the quarterback to make a desperate throw that landed several yards away in the middle of nowhere.

Bengals football. Three knees. Bengals win!

Even though this sealed the win, I don't believe this is where the Bengals won the football game. Aside from the final score, here's the most important stat of the game. Four times the Steelers entered the red zone. Four times, the Steelers settled for field goals.

Pittsburgh looked to score a touchdown on their opening possession. They recorded three first downs, including a third-and-13 conversion on a 15-yard scramble by quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. The Bengals this year have struggled defensively when the game starts. And trust me, struggle is a relative term. They're simply not forcing three-and-outs on the opening possession of the game. A little greedy? So. On the first drive, the Steelers recorded three plays of 11 yards or more, reaching Cincinnati's 15-yard line. After that, the bend-but-dont-break defense, stood their ground.

On first down, Johnathan Joseph broke from his cornerback spot to close a rushing lane on the right edge, preventing what could have been a touchdown run for Mendenhall. Instead, two-yard gain. On second-and-eight at the Bengals 13-yard line, Roethlisberger spread out the offense in shotgun, he rolled out left and threw a shovel passed to Heath Miller for another three-yard gain. Third-and-five with 4:50 left in the first quarter, Chinedum Ndukwe sprinted to the line of scrimmage as Roethlisberger received the snap. Ndukwe found a wide open lane on the right, threw his arms up and knocked down the pass. Steelers drive stalls and Pittsburgh takes a 3-0 lead on a Jeff Reed 28-yard field goal.

Pittsburgh would go on to punt on the following two possessions -- including a three-and-out. With eight minutes left in the first half, the Steelers began their second red zone assault. After a 10-yard run by Mendenhall, Roethlisberger throws two incomplete passes. On third-and-10 at the Bengals 36-yard line, Roethlisberger, under pressure rolls left and finds a crossing Santonio Holmes for a 21-yard gain. He follows that up with another 10-yard gain. Three of the Steelers first five plays on this drive picked up 10 yards or more. They were picking up chunks again.

But not for long. With their backs to the endzone, the defense foams at the mouth. First-and-ten at the Bengals five-yard line. Mendenhall gets the carry, shifts to the right, where Chris Crocker shot through the line of scrimmage, taking out Mendenhall for a three-yard loss. On second-and-eight, Morgan Trent ran step-for-step with Santonio Holmes on an out-route towards the back left pylon, easily knocking the pass down. After a timeout that must have conjured up some crazy magical touchdown play, Jonathan Fanene sacks Roethlisberger, forcing Jeff Reed to convert a 33-yard field goal. That's two red zones appearances by Pittsburgh. That's two forced field goals.

Cincinnati's offense went three-and-out.

Pittsburgh gets the ball back with 2:52 left in the first half. The Steelers move until Heath Miller was called for offensive holding. After an incomplete pass to Mike Wallace, the Steelers line up second-and-twenty at the Steelers 24-yard line. Roethlisberger watches Wallace run a deep seam route and lightly presses the "B" button, floating a rainbow pass. A millisecond before the pass arrives, Ndukwe hooked Wallace's left arm, forcing another incomplete. Flag. Defensive pass interference and a 46-yard penalty. Ndukwe knew it. He didn't bother complaining.

After an 11-yard pass to Moore, the Steelers enter the red zone. The Bengals defense foams at the mouth. With :59 seconds remaining, the Steelers line up first-and-goal at the Bengals eight-yard line. After Geathers recorded the team's fourth sack in the half, Roethlisberger was forced to pick up 17 yards for the touchdown. On the first pass, Roethlisberger overthrew everyone in the end zone. On the second pass to Santonio Holmes at the back right pylon, Johnathan Joseph grazed the floating football with a fingernail, causing football enough redirection that Holmes couldn't adjust. Jeff Reed converts the 35-yard field goal.

Bengals force a third field goal on Pittsburgh's third red zone appearance.

Pittsburgh would be shutout of the red zone until there was 2:51 left in the third quarter. After five plays in which the Steelers started at midfield, Pittsburgh lines up at the Bengals 13-yard line. The score is tied at 12. This is big. After Hines Ward's eight-yard reception, the Steelers run three times, including a quarterback sneak, to pick up the first down at the Bengals 11-yard line.

On the ensuing play, the Steelers are flagged for offensive holding. After that, it was the same script that had been played all day. Five-yard dump pass to Mendenhall. Incomplete pass batted down by Jonathan Fanene, who came unblocked and would have sacked the quarterback, at the line of scrimmage. On third-and-15 at the Bengals 16-yard line, Roethlisberger, overthrows the football to Mike Wallace, running towards the left sidelines in the endzone.

Bengals force a fourth field goal on Pittsburgh's fourth, and final, red zone appearance.

Say hello to Morgan Trent. The story of a great day for the team's third best cornerback. When we talked about Morgan Trent after the NFL draft, I wasn't encouraged. It wasn't so much what I've seen -- I really don't remember him playing at Michigan much. It was Wolverine fans who weren't giving us glowing reviews. Then again, what did you expect from a guy who was drafted in the sixth round, for a position that we believed was set, save for building solid depth.

To describe Trent this year would be to say that he's as solid as they come. And against the Pittsburgh Steelers, he made plays. While the Steelers were driving on their first possession of the game, Pittsburgh lined up second-and-eight at the Bengals eight-yard line, threatening to score. Morgan Trent, lined up over Santonio Holmes, sat in the wide receivers hip, following his break towards the back left pylon. Just as it seemed that Holmes created enough space for the touchdown reception, Trent accelerated just in time to knock down the its-not-a-touchdown pass. Jonathan Fanene ended Pittsburgh's threat a play later with a quarterback sack.

On the Steelers opening drive in the second half, Ben Roethlisberger targets Hines Ward on third-and-two at their own 40-yard line. Roethlisberger, in shotgun, throws over the middle. Morgan Trent, trailing Ward on a crossing pattern, flipped his hand up at the inaccurate pass and knocked the football back towards the line of scrimmage where Frostee Rucker intercepted the pass and returned it to the 14-yard line. The Bengals would tie the game soon after.

With 7:15 left in the game, Bengals leading 15-12, Pittsburgh lines up first-and-10 at their own 27-yard line. Roethlisberger throws a deep pass over the middle. Morgan Trent outran Holmes on the deep pass and "got in the way", slowing Holmes progress. On the following play, Roethlisberger throws a quick pass to Holmes on the right. After the reception, he only picks up seven yards, thanks to Trent's great open field tackle. The significance is that the Steelers had three yards to go for the first down and Roethlisberger threw an incomplete pass on third down, forcing the Steelers to punt.

If you weren't encouraged by Morgan Trent's play before Sunday's win, you should be now.

They always say it's difficult to sack Ben Roethlisberger. The situation is second-and-eight at the Cincinnati 25-yard line with 7:42 left in the first quarter. Ben Roethlisberger lines up in double-tight end formation with a single-back. He fakes the handoff to Rashard Mendenhall, who targets the gap between center and left guard. Bengals defensive end Jonathan Fanene, lining up at right defensive end, remains at the line of scrimmage playing the run. Once he figures it's a pass, he breaks outside, actually losing his balance. Tight end Matt Spaeth uses Fanene's momentum and pushes him into the ground. Fanene, roughly a yard from Roethlisberger, lunged and twisted the quarterback's left leg to record the game's first sack.

Bernard Scott had just given the Bengals a 6-3 lead on a 96-yard touchdown return on kickoff. On the ensuing drive, with 3:36 left in the first quarter, the Pittsburgh Steelers lined up second-and-seven at their own 35 yard-line. Roethlisberger motioned Mendenhall out, leaving an empty backfield. After a three-step drop, Roethlisberger pump faked right, looked left, when Dhani Jones delayed a blitz. The Bengals had covered all of the Steelers offensive linemen, allowing Jones to come unblocked, sacking Roethlisberger for a seven-yard loss. On the following play, Santonio Holmes caught a 14-yard pass for the first down. Marvin Lewis said, "bull crap." He threw the challenge. The officials determined the spot was two yards too generous, forcing the Steelers into fourth-and-two. Pittsburgh punts.

Pittsburgh lines up third-and-goal at the Cincinnati eight-yard line with 4:54 left in the first half, threatening again. The Steelers had just called a timeout and were working up some crazy play that guaranteed a touchdown -- that's what teams do during offensive timeouts I think. Roethlisberger sets up in shotgun. Fanene lined up at the right defensive tackle spot. At first, Fanene was stuffed at the line of scrimmage. The Bengals secondary forced Roethlisberger to hold onto the football. After a few seconds, Fanene found a way around the guard, sacking Roethlisberger for a seven-yard loss.

Under a minute left in the first half, the Steelers were driving to the Bengals eight-yard line. Roethlisberger lines up in shotgun and empty backfield. He looks left, pump fakes, braces for Robert Geathers, who nailed the quarterback without even being touched by any blockers. Roethlisberger threw two incomplete passes after that and the Steelers are forced to kick a field goal.

Rushing defense comes up big again. Cincinnati came into Sunday's game with the league's second ranked defense, allowing an average of 83.9 yards per game. Cincinnati limited Rashard Mendenhall, Mewelde Moore, Ben Roethlisberger and Willie Parker to 80 yards rushing on 18 attempts.

Rushing offense was effective in spots, but they were always persistent. Not a bad annoying either. The Bengals rushing offense was stuffed and stifled throughout much of the game. They made some plays, but as a unit, they only recorded 61 yards rushing. The thing is, they didn't stop running the football, rushing 29 times. That's commitment to the run.

Driving nowhere. The Bengals defense forced the Steelers offense into four three-and-outs. More importantly, the Bengals defense in the second half forced an interception, three punts, a turnover on downs and a field goal.

Third down domination. The Bengals defense has only allowed four conversions in the past 25 third down situations (16%).

Points allowed domination . The Bengals came into Sunday only allowed 16.9 points per game, ranked fifth in the NFL. They've not allowed a point in the third quarter for three straight games. During that same three-game stretch, Cincinnati has only allowed 12 points in the first half and 17 points in the second half.

What we know. The Bengals win over the Steelers is huge. You know that. Everyone knows that. It's a mark in the division and an introduction to the league that this team is legit. Now, the Bengals enter a stretch of potential trap games. Knowing the maturity of this team, I like our chances. Still, as William would quickly remind all of us, we've seen them fall in games they should have won too many times before. Aye.

Bengals have eight players on Injured Reserve; Cincinnati has players to fill those roles

Kirkendall — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 16:41:15 -0000

Remember last year? I know, I know. Why bring up terrible memories of a team that started the season on an eight-game losing streak. Why bring up terrible memories of a team that actually finished a game in a tie causing the entire NFL world to shouting, asking why ties in the NFL? I remember when the active report came in during the fourth week of the season against Cleveland, seeing that Carson Palmer was inactive. It took weeks for me to fully comprehend the implications of Palmer's injury. I was in denial.

This week gave us a few reminders of how much better this team is, in terms of talent and pure luck, which is (if people want to admit it or not) critical to team's successes in a season.

The Bengals placed two players on Injured Reserve this week with arm injuries; wide receiver Chris Henry and safety Roy Williams. This brings the total to eight players on injured reserve since the start of training camp.

Player	Position
Antonio Chatman	WR
Chris Henry	WR
Reggie Kelly	TE
Ben Utecht	TE
Matt Sherry	TE
Antwan Odom	DE
Dan Santucci	C
Roy Williams	S

On November 28, 2008, the Bengals had just put Andrew Whitworth and Scott Kooistra on injured reserved, the 20th players lost for the season due to injury. In fact, I mused at the time that the Bengals could nearly fill out a starting lineup with players on Injured Reserve.

Oh, what a difference a year makes.

While the Bengals can't come close to filling out a starting roster, the biggest difference this year is that the team's depth is strong enough to replace those injured players -- except for maybe Tight End -- and lose limited production. Chinedum Ndukwe, the guy replacing Williams in the starting lineup, has 17 career starts. In the first game he started this season against Cleveland, Ndukwe recorded seven tackles and a quarterback sack. Against Houston, Ndukwe recorded a season-high 11 tackles. Along with Brandon Johnson, Ndukwe recorded a quarterback sack deep in the fourth quarter against Baltimore. NFL.com ranks Ndukwe fifth on the team with 35 total tackles.

Chris Henry is a loss in terms of taking advantage of match-up problems. However, through eight games, Henry only caught 12 passes -- then again, he averaged a team high 19.7 yards-per-reception. Based on the talent and depth chart ahead of him, Henry's loss, in terms of overall production, isn't very significant. The Bengals will likely replace Henry with the receiving committee of Maurice Purify and Jerome Simpson; two unproven players that could surprise/disappoint us.

Antwan Odom is perhaps the biggest injury this team has suffered. Through the first two games, the Bengals recorded nine quarterback sacks -- seven from Odom alone. After going down to injury against Houston, the Bengals production hasn't slacked much -- they've recorded five quarterback sacks in the past two games with the following combination of defensive players: Frostee Rucker (1.0), Brandon Johnson (1.5), Robert Geathers (1.0), Michael Johnson (0.5), Jonathan Fanene (0.5), Chinedum Ndukwe (0.5).

Even though Odom's injury was the biggest this team has suffered, in terms of season production coming to a premature end, the team's tight end spot was decimated by injury. However, there was never really any expectation that tight ends would become vital in the passing game, save for pass protection. J.P. Foschi and Daniel Coats are reasonably good when it comes to rush blocking and the biggest difference between the Foschi/Coats tight end era compared to the Kelly/Utecht era is the dropped passes -- admittedly, there's been a few but fortunately, they're not targeted as much.

Two of the biggest improvements this year over the 4-11-1 team in 2008, is that injury isn't crushing the team's chances and the depth chart is as strong as its ever been during the Marvin Lewis era. And the injuries suffered this season hasn't hurt the team's overall production.

Chinedum Ndukwe uninjured after limousine crashes into utility pole

Kirkendall — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 21:49:53 -0000

More photos » by Ed Reinke - AP

about 1 month ago: Cincinnati Bengals safety Chris Crocker (42) returns an interception against the Chicago Bears in the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2009, in Cincinnati. Chinedum Ndukwe (41) follows. (AP Photo/Ed Reinke)

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How does one celebrate a win over the Baltimore Ravens and gets amped up to play the Pittsburgh Steelers for the division lead? Well, if you're Chinedum Ndukwe, you're in the limousine that crashes into a utility pole.

Defensive back Chinedum Ndukwe was not injured in the crash, which happened around 11:15 a.m. at McMillan Street and Highland Avenue.

A student at Ockerman Elementary School, in Florence, had won a visit from Ndukwe as part of the player's campaign, Fuel Up to Play 60, which encourages students to eat healthy and stay fit.

The child was given a ride in the limo but was not in the car at the time of the crash.

Police said a second vehicle might have been involved in the crash, and that car's driver was taken to University Hospital with a possibly broken arm.

Ndukwe was part of Take A Player to School, where kids meet NFL players who encourage them about school and "a commitment to physical fitness."

Final Practice/Injury Report: Houston Texans (2-3) at Cincinnati Bengals (4-1). Brian Leonard listed as doubtful

Kirkendall — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 16:38:52 -0000

Brian Leonard and Frostee Rucker each missed practice for the entire week due to injury; both are listed as doubtful. Marvin Lewis is very unlikely to active either player; in the past, when a player missed the entire week, for the most part, they didn't play that week. Quarterback Carson Palmer fully participated in practice even with a bum thumb on his non-throwing hand. Even though they participated in some form during practice, Tank Johnson and Roy Williams are listed as questionable.

CINCINNATI BENGALS

OUT	QUESTIONABLE	PROBABLE
T Andre Smith (foot)	DT Tank Johnson (foot)	S Kyries Hebert (hip)
	S Roy Williams (forearm)	LB Rashad Jeanty (finger)
DOUBTFUL		S Chinedum Ndukwe (hamstring)
RB Brian Leonard (groin)		QB Carson Palmer (left thumb)
DE Frostee Rucker (ankle)		WR Jerome Simpson (illness)

HOUSTON TEXANS

OUT	QUESTIONABLE	PROBABLE
S Nick Ferguson (knee)	DT Shaun Cody (illness)	LB Zach Diles (knee)
	LB Brian Cushing (foot)	LB DeMeco Ryans (shoulder)
		DE Mario Williams (shoulder)

Practice

BENGALS	WED	THUR	FRI
T Andre Smith (foot)	OUT	OUT	OUT
RB Brian Leonard (groin)	DNP	DNP	DNP
DE Frostee Rucker (ankle)	DNP	DNP	DNP
WR Jerome Simpson (illness)	DNP	FP	FP
S Kyries Hebert (hip)	LP	FP	FP
LB Rashad Jeanty (finger)	FP	FP	FP
DT Tank Johnson (foot)	FP	LP	DNP
S Chinedum Ndukwe (hamstring)	FP	FP	FP
QB Carson Palmer (left thumb)	FP	FP	FP
S Roy Williams (forearm)	--	--	LP

TEXANS	WED	THUR	FRI
TE James Casey (illness)	DNP	FP	FP
S Nick Ferguson (knee)	DNP	DNP	DNP
LB Brian Cushing (foot)	LP	DNP	LP
LB DeMeco Ryans (shoulder)	LP	LP	LP
DE Mario Williams (shoulder)	LP	LP	FP
QB Rex Grossman (illness)	FP	FP	FP
DT Shaun Cody (illness)	--	DNP	DNP
LB Zach Diles (knee)	--	LP	FP

Thursday Update. Practice Report: Houston Texans (2-3) at Cincinnati Bengals (4-1)

Kirkendall — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 03:44:37 -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 Brian Leonard (groin)	DNP	DNP
DE Frostee Rucker (ankle)	DNP	DNP
WR Jerome Simpson (illness)	DNP	FP
S Kyries Hebert (hip)	LP	FP
LB Rashad Jeanty (finger)	FP	FP
DT Tank Johnson (foot)	FP	LP
S Chinedum Ndukwe (hamstring)	FP	FP
QB Carson Palmer (left thumb)	FP	FP

TEXANS	WED	THUR	FRI
TE James Casey (illness)	DNP	FP
S Nick Ferguson (knee)	DNP	DNP
LB Brian Cushing (foot)	LP	DNP
LB DeMeco Ryans (shoulder)	LP	LP
DE Mario Williams (shoulder)	LP	LP
QB Rex Grossman (illness)	FP	FP
DT Shaun Cody (illness)	--	DNP
LB Zach Diles (knee)	--	LP

Carson Palmer says we're scoring. Andre Caldwell says I'll catch it. Everyone says win it for Zimmer. Bengals beat Ravens 17-14 and own AFC North

Kirkendall — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 01:34:09 -0000

More photos » by Rob Carr - AP

2 months ago: Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Andre Caldwell crosses the goal line for the game-winning touchdown during the second half of an NFL football game against the Baltimore Ravens, Sunday, Oct. 11, 2009, in Baltimore. The Bengals won 17-14. (AP Photo/Rob Carr)

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The Ravens and the Steelers. Two teams that played in last year's AFC Championship game. Two teams that we knew we had to beat this year if we were going to make things happen. If the Bengals were to make a playoff run, a scenario in which many Bengals fans didn't feel confident heading into the season, they'd have to go through Pittsburgh and Baltimore. And through the first five games this year, the Bengals beat Pittsburgh and Baltimore. And if you really wanted to cake on that grand feeling of supporting a team that starts the season 4-1, as opposed to 0-5 last year, then know this. It took a fluke play to put a blemish on our record. How does that feel?

A couple of big-picture notes after the Bengals win over the Ravens Sunday.

Even though the Bengals only have a one game lead over the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens, until both teams face and beat the Bengals again, Cincinnati will hold the head-to-head tie-breaker, essentially giving them a two game division lead.
The Bengals have won seven of their past eight games.
The Bengals have won four of their past six games at Baltimore.
The Bengals have won four straight division games dating back to last year.
Johnathan Joseph has three interceptions in three straight games.
Marvin Lewis is 8-5 against the Baltimore Ravens.
Carson Palmer is 7-3 when starting against the Baltimore Ravens.

GAME BALL: First things first. Our game ball. We haven't instituted our player of the game awards this year because we got tired of doing it for a team that started last season with an eight-game losing streak. After that, it was forgotten. And I can't promise we won't forget it about again this year. S thus our first game ball award will be given. Marvin Lewis gave Bengals defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer the game ball after Sunday's win. I thought it was appropriate that we do the same. While going through a loss that most of us would have no idea how to deal with, Zimmer and his defense took it to a top-five ranked offense. We compare the Ravens averages coming into Sunday's game and the Ravens numbers on Sunday.

	AVG.	Sunday
Points Scored	31.0 (3rd)	14*
Yards Total	413.5 (3rd)	257
Passing	267.0 (6th)	175
Rushing	146.5 (5th)	82
* Only scored seven points on offense

A story about how a defense doesn't have to be flashy. Just reliable. The Ravens were driving the football during their first drive of the game. The ease in which the Ravens moved the ball was troubling. Eight-yard pass to Heap. Four-yard run by Rice. Nine-yard scramble by Flacco. Six-yard pass to Rice. Five-yard pass to Heap. Nine-yard pass to McClain. Twenty-one yard pass to Rice. These were chunk-yardage plays that quickly tires a defense. After Rey Maualuga tackled Rice for a one-yard loss at the Bengals 14-yard line, and after Flacco threw an incomplete pass, Johnathan Joseph jumped Flacco's third-down pass for a huge interception at the one-yard line (we talk about this later).

The defense bent. They bent hard. Break? Who the hell do you think you are? Haven't you seen this defense? Iron eventually breaks. The Bengals defense? We'll see.

Baltimore's offense elected to go with three straight running plays to Ray Rice on the following drive. Sorry. Bad trick in an attempt to out-think us. Ravens go three-and-out. Ravens punt. Even though the Ravens didn't go three-and-out on the following drive, the did punt. After Todd Heap caught an 11-yard pass that converted a third-and-eight, Robert Geathers was credited with a quarterback sack (though we know the truth Fanene, you should at least get half). Chinedum Ndukwe nearly forced a fumble and returned it for a touchdown. However, the officials called it down, Ravens ball. Personally, I feel if the Ravens felt screwed because of bad officiating, then we could always say that the Bengals were screwed out of a defensive touchdown. Review or not. I still thought his knee was going down when the football started coming out. But I won't complain. Because we won. Flacco threw an incomplete pass after Antwan Odom jumped offsides and the Ravens punt.

This was the theme all day. The Ravens offense was nearly shutdown all game by the Bengals defense. Of the Ravens ten offensive possession, they picked up more than one first down on only three drives. Comparatively speaking, the Bengals had 11 possessions and five drives with two first downs or more.

After consecutive plays that picked up 27 yards on the Ravens third possession, Flacco was sacked on second down, then threw a six-yard pass to Rice that came up two yards short. Ravens punt. Starting the second half, After completing a five-yard pass to convert a third down, the Ravens offense stalled with a two-yard pass to Heap, three-yard run by Rice and a third-down incomplete pass. Ravens punt. Then they went three and out.

Bengals rolling. Ravens stalling.

With 13:49 left in the game, the Ravens finally put together a drive that ended with a touchdown. Ray Rice caught a short pass, forced a few missed tackles and ran down the sidelines to score on a 48-yard touchdown pass. After that... punt. After that... watch Bengals take the lead with :27 left in the game and throw an interception on desperation pass to end the game.

It was the Bengals defense that had to win this game. Mike Zimmer and the Bengals defense came to shutdown the Ravens offense. Even though they allowed seven points on defense, they did exactly what they needed to do for the Bengals to win Sunday.

It doesn't always start as scripted. It's not that the Bengals are forced to come from behind every week because the opposition puts them in that position. Most of the time, it's because the Bengals simply screw up. I know it's simplistic view of things. Other than the Steelers exploding for 13 points a few weeks ago, when has the Bengals offense not shot themselves in the foot, eventually taking on a deficit to overcome? For example, when the Bengals drove 12 plays for 60 yards to start the game, Brad St. Louis had a bad snap which disrupted Shayne Graham's timing on a 31-yard field goal attempt. Granted, it's special teams and not offense. Still, the point remains. On the ensuing possession, Carson Palmer threw to Ed Reed, who returned it for a touchdown. They converted a field goal on the next possession, when they had a first down at the Ravens four-yard line. After that, the Bengals punt, but only because Daniel Coats let a pass go through his hands that would have brought the Bengals well within field goal range. Speaking of which, if Chase Coffman is reading this, please become really good... and soon. Chad Ochocinco fumbles on the next possession to end the first half.

Plays	Yards	Result
12	60	Missed Field Goal
7	31	Interception (Pick-Six)
7	70	Field Goal
5	22	Punt
4	47	Fumble

The Ravens are a very good football team and I don't want to take anything away from them. But if the Bengals offense played mistake free football, there's a good chance that this game isn't nearly as close as the score would indicate. Over confidence? Homerism? Can it be disputed?

He might not get a lot of playing time, but Chris Henry makes the most of it. It wasn't the fact that Chris Henry only had three receptions on Sunday. No, of course not. With 11:30 left in the second quarter, Carson Palmer takes the shotgun snap on third-and-three at their own 23-yard line. Palmer unleashes the pass to the left, slightly underthrown. Chris Henry fights for the football, spins around and takes off. Henry was eventually caught from behind, tackled at the four-yard line. The Bengals wouldn't move the ball any further, after two incomplete passes and a quarterback sack. Shayne Graham converts the 32-yard field goal to put their first points on the board.

Let me return you to the original point. Carson Palmer just threw a 73-yard completion. This is Palmer's longest completion since a 74-yard touchdown pass to Chad Johnson on November 12, 2006 against the San Diego Chargers. Note: He was Johnson in 2006.

You don't have to catch the football to be effective (not a Laveranues Coles dedication).We could say that Cedric Benson ultimately had the best performance of the day. We could say that Carson Palmer had the best play of the day. But what about Chad Ochocinco? In the first series, Chad caught three passes for 46 yards receiving. All three receptions converted first downs; including two on third down; including one on third-and-15. Ochocinco caught a 10-yard pass setting up Benson's 28-yard touchdown run. What about what would become the game winning touchdown drive? Oddly enough, he didn't caught a pass. However, three passes went his way and two of them ended up being penalties that sustained the drive. Think Ray Lewis and Ochocinco are such pals now?

Laveranues Coles.
Drops: 1
Receptions 0

Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the water. Actually, it's never safe to go back into the water. That's why you set the water on fire (a tribute to Nightmare on Elm Street). It was a great opening game drive, moving the ball well enough on the ground and completing passes on third and however long it takes. However, the drive did stall on Baltimore's 14-yard line when Benson was dropped for a five-yard loss. For some reason, the Bengals ran the ball again for two yards setting up a third-and-13. Palmer, in shotgun, scrambles up in the pocket and picks up another eight yards. You crazy legged mother... Shayne Graham sets up for an easy 32-yard field goal. So easy, one could announce, "My dear sweet love, I'm going to the refresher. Please pour me some earl gray tea." This is not a re-enactment. Rather it's to prove that life is good. We just scored on the opening drive to take a commanding 3-0 lead over our division co-leaders.

What's that, my dear sweet love?

Oh. The snap was high, but Kevin Huber got it down. Graham stutter-stepped because of the bad snap and when he tried to kick it, it was both a bad kick (too low) and tipped by a Ravens defender. The Bengals moved the ball, coming away with no points because of a bad snap that resulted in Shayne Graham's timing being disrupted just enough to falter on an easy kick. I agree. St. Louis long-snapping on place kicking attempts is an absolute nightmare. It's horrifying. Discussions were being made that perhaps we should go for two-point conversions and kiss field goal attempts good bye. As Brad St. Louis says, in homeage to Scream, "I'll be right back."

With 1:01 left in the third quarter, the Bengals drove 84 yards on nine plays, which ended on a Cedric Benson 28-yard touchdown run. The room went quiet. The air still. The tension so strong, that I lost three pounds. Brad St. Louis' snap was so high, the flight controller had to tap on his radar when an unidentified flying object appeared for a brief second. Luckily, Baltimore had a defensive player lined up over the center and the Bengals were allowed to retry the attempt. Perfect snap. Perfect hold. Perfect kick. See. Not so hard. The Bengals would score a game-winning touchdown later in the game. St. Louis' snap was perfect and the Bengals converted back-to-back kicks, which is a victory in its own right.

Unfortunately, St. Louis' string of perfect snaps could mean the Bengals will give him another shot. That's kind of the season this year isn't it? No matter who it is. When they go down, make a bad play, the team as a whole picks 'em up, recovers, and wins football games. This my friends, is your 2009 Cincinnati Bengals.

Offensive player -- not named Carson Palmer -- of the game: Typically I would say Carson Palmer for engineering a game-winning touchdown drive. I would also nominate Chad Ochocinco for several big non-touchdown plays. Or Andre Caldwell for the game-winning touchdown reception. I'm going with Cedric Benson. Even though Benson was the first running back that recorded the first 100-yard rushing performance in 40 games against the Ravens, but he also recorded six first downs and a 28-yard touchdown run to take the lead in the third quarter.

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE GAME: Rey Maualuga led the Bengals with eight tackles, two for loss. Dhani Jones and Robert Geathers (though Jonathan Fanene actually knocked Joe Flacco down) recorded sacks. Leon Hall had a game-sealing interception. So you pick. Johnathan Joseph needs a bit of recognition though. The Ravens take their opening drive from their own 23-yard line to the Cincinnati 15-yard line in 10 plays. After a Matt Birk false start, Joe Flacco looked for Todd Heap about a yard short of the endzone near the right pylon. Joseph noticed the route, let the wide receiver he was covering cross the field and trailed Heap. Flacco threw it up and Joseph cut off the route for the interception. Why is this important? If Heap catches the pass, he likely scores the touchdown and the Bengals allow a touchdown on the Ravens opening possession, which we've seen too often sets a tone. Instead, the Ravens don't score any points and, well, Palmer throws a pick-six to Ed Reed on the next possession. Balance is a bitch sometimes.

Quarter Breakdown

Bengals Offense
	YRDs	PLAYS	1STD	3RD
1st	73	14	4	2-3-67%
2nd	157	19	5	1-4-25%
3rd	101	12	5	1-2-50%
4th	72	21	8	1-4-25%

Ravens Offense
	YRDs	PLAYS	1STD	3RD
1st	62	11	4	0-1-0%
2nd	51	15	3	1-4-25%
3rd	27	10	1	0-1-0%
4th	117	15	4	1-3-33%

Carson Palmer
	ATT	COMP	YRDS	TDS	INTS	RATING
1st	6	4	51	0	0	93.1
2nd	10	5	123	0	1	55.4
3rd	5	5	48	0	0	106.7
4th	10	4	49	1	0	89.2

Cedric Benson
	ATT	YARDS	AVG	LG	TDS
1st	7	14	2.0	7	0
2nd	8	44	5.5	15	0
3rd	6	50	8.3	28	1
4th	6	12	2.0	6	0

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

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

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

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

Game Review: Your Cincinnati Bengals are 3-1. The rest is just background noise

Kirkendall — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 15:12:21 -0000

More photos » by Mark Duncan - AP

2 months ago: Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer runs for a first down in overtime against the Cleveland Browns during an NFL football game Sunday, Oct. 4, 2009, in Cleveland. The Bengals beat the Browns on a 33-yard field goal to win 23-20. (AP Photo/Mark Duncan)

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The Bengals are 3-1. I'll let that settle in your unsettled stomach for a second. It seems a bit, off, doesn't it? We haven't truly dominated football games like our wins in 2005. No. We're winning these games close, most of the time in the last overtime second. We're not used to this. But it's exactly what the Pittsburgh Steelers did last year, who played half their games that was decided by a touchdown or less. Settle down. I wouldn't think of comparing the Bengals to the Steelers of 2008. Not right now. While it's not pretty, while it's not by overwhelming command, the Bengals are 3-1.

But they could be 0-4.

Blah, blah, blah. They're not. They're 3-1. And if this means anything to you, then read our note of the week this week.

Note of the week: It was four days before Christmas in 2008 when the Cincinnati Bengals beat the Cleveland Browns for their third victory of that season.

Days from the start of the 2009 season until the Bengals won their third game: 22 days
Days from the start of the 2008 season until the Bengals won their third game: 106 days

And if that doesn't mean anything to you, then I can think of better ways of being proud of my 3-1 team than negotiating a method for you to be happy about this team as a whole. No buts. No howevers. Just a 3-1 football team that's off to Baltimore next week for Kings of the AFC North. Now, don't you feel better? Maybe not. After all, Sunday's win over the Browns wasn't without its migraine headaches, indigestion and lack of civil breakdown when it comes to the English language.

The 2009 Bengals are better than some of you are allowing: The last time the Bengals started the season 3-1: 2006.

They've only started 3-1 in the first four games of the season three times during the Marvin Lewis era (2005, 2006 and 2009) and four times since 1990.

It doesn't always go through Carson Palmer. It just ends there. Even though it doesn't always look great, it always ends with Carson Palmer. And though it might seem that the game isn't entirely decided by Palmer's play, the way he's coming through in the end is something that, at one point, was missing early in Palmer's career. He's not throwing for 300 yards just yet, but he is winning football games. That is, after all, the only way Paul Brown measured a quarterback. Wins and losses. Before the season, Palmer recorded a 32-33 starting record. In four games this year, he's 3-1, back over that career .500 hump. And two of those wins came when many Bengals fans had simply written the team off as suffering another aggravating loss. No. Not Palmer. Not the Bengals, who are far more mentally tough then their fans right now.

By my count, Carson Palmer has put the Cincinnati Bengals in a position to win every game this year. Against the Cleveland Browns, he didn't just pull through once. He did it twice. Palmer converted a third-and-14 with 5:40 left in regulation on a 16-yard pass to Chris Henry. After back-to-back rushes by Bernard Scott for 27 yards, Palmer completes a 27-yard pass over the middle to J.P. Foschi, who was completely forgotten about by the Browns defense. Palmer's two incomplete passes to Chad Ochocinco to Laveranues Coles puts the Bengals in a much comfortable position. Winning when the game is on the line. Palmer checks down to Brian Leonard on a two-yard pass on third-down and with 2:02 left in the game, the Browns (for some reason) call a timeout.

The situation is fourth-and-goal at the Browns two-yard line. Palmer looks left, pump fakes, rolls right, reverses to the left and then throws a dangerous pass, across his body, over the middle to Chad Ochocinco for the game-tying touchdown. The point after touchdown was blocked. Some blame Brad St. Louis for a poor snap -- it was to Kevin Huber's right -- but this is the second time it happened and in both instances, Graham still had a shot; he kicked the football low enough for the Browns to maul it without much of a vertical jump. I'm not blaming Graham. St. Louis has to make those snaps and it would seem to me that St. Louis' time in Cincinnati should end.

Regardless. Palmer engineered a 10-play drive for 70 yards to tie the game with under two minutes left in regulation, converting on third-and-14 and fourth-and-two. In overtime, the Bengals offense struggled. The defense didn't, forcing the Browns into three punts -- Derek Anderson had six incomplete passes in overtime. In fact, both teams punted three times before the Bengals fourth overtime possession began.

With 3:23 left in overtime, Carson Palmer completed a 20-yard pass to Chris Henry on third-and-ten. First down. Palmer completed a 20-yard pass to Laveranues Coles on third-and-ten. First down. The Bengals damn-near decided to punt the football with 1:04 left in overtime, playing for the tie. Palmer pleads to head coach Marvin Lewis to go for it on fourth down. Lewis relents. Palmer, in shotgun, briefly scans the field looking for an open receiver. He does what he always does; he rushes for 15 yards and picks up the first down. Palmer completed another pass to Leonard for nine yards and the running back rushed for another four yards. Brad St Louis finally made a good snap and Shayne Graham put some air under the field goal attempt to give the Bengals a 23-20 win in overtime with seconds remaining.

Palmer's performance broken down by quarters
	ATT	COMP	YARDS	TDS	INTS	RATING
1st	12	10	111	1	0	133.0
2nd	6	3	9	0	1	16.7
3rd	1	0	0	0	0	39.6
4th	10	4	47	1	0	88.3
OT	15	6	63	0	0	52.9

It's true. Palmer struggled, badly, after the first quarter. However, what difference does any of that matter? The Bengals are 3-1, in large part, because Palmer is stepping up when it matters the most. Last week, Palmer engineered a 16-play, 71-yard drive, completing a four-yard touchdown pass to Andre Caldwell, beating heavily-favored Pittsburgh. Against the Packers, Palmer recorded three touchdown passes. Against the Broncos, Palmer led the offense on an 11-play drive for 91 yards which ended with a Cedric Benson touchdown with :38 seconds left in the game and a one-point lead. Whatever happened after that, I don't remember.

The Bengals didn't win pretty Sunday. But pretty is only good for things that are totally not manly. This isn't just Bengals football, this is gritty Ohio football where we do just enough to win football games. It might bite us in the end. But there's a lot of time until the end and this team can only grow with momentum, as well as confidence, with the more wins they put in their pocket.

Bengals Tight Ends are actually playing pretty well. When Training Camp started, we expected that the Bengals would start Reggie Kelly, Ben Utecht and Chase Coffman each week. Instead, after injury and disappointment, the Bengals activated Daniel Coats and J.P. Foschi. Through four games, they are on pace on combine for 52 receptions for 580 yards receiving. Against the Browns, Foschi and Coats combined for seven receptions for 80 yards receiving. Foschi caught a critical 27-yard pass from Palmer with 3:37 left in regulation, giving the Bengals a first-and-goal at Cleveland's four-yard line.

Think of it this way. Andre Caldwell and Chad Ochocinco are the only pass catchers to put up better numbers this year. That's not bad for a couple of tight ends we had written off before the season even started.

The rushing offense was good, again. But not dangerous. It might not seem like it, but the Bengals rushing offense was there. The only issue they dealt with was an offensive coordinator that, as per his reputation, went a bit pass happy. As a result, the rushing offense's lack of rhythm was a consequence of lacking consistency. In the second and third quarter, Benson rushed the ball four times for 14 yards rushing.

Here's something that might be of interest. The Bengals first two possessions went 11 plays. The first, 88 yards. The second, 68 yards. In the first drive, Benson rushed the football four times for 15 yards. It might not sound like much, but Benson saved Palmer, who penalized the team by watching the play-clock reach zero, by picking up nine yards (combined) on first-and-15 and second-and-ten. Palmer nailed Andre Caldwell to convert the first third-down of the game. The drive eventually stalled at the Browns five-yard line, forcing Shayne Graham to have his 23-yard field goal attempt blocked. The snap was high, but the ball was on the ground, properly held in place for at least a second while Graham made his approach. The high snap forced Graham to stutter-step on his approach, forcing the low kick.

On the second series of the game, the Bengals started going into happy-fun-passing mode, calling for passing plays on four of the next five plays -- the rushing down was an end around to Andre Caldwell for 11 yards. Bernard Scott got his first rush of the game when the Bengals lined up five wide receiver formation on fourth-and-three with 3:59 in the first quarter. Scott motioned behind Palmer and then took a pitch to the right, picking up ten yards and the first down. Scott picked up another two yards on the next play and Benson finished the team's rushing offense on a subsequent two-yard rush.

Jeremi Johnson and Bernard Scott picked up four yards on the next possession. Benson was called twice on the following series with five minutes left in the first half. Palmer threw an incomplete pass on third-and-two, which brings me to my final point. I never believed that the rushing offense under-performed. I think through the first four games this year, our rushing offense has been as strong since the peak of Rudi Johnson's career. Intermixing Bernard Scott into the gameplan was absolutely beautiful. However I never thought of the rushing offense as dangerous either.

Against Cleveland, the Bengals rushed for 154 yards on 30 plays for a 5.1 yard-per-rush average. They only lost yardage on one rush and picked up nine first downs; two less than passing first downs. This is the third straight game the Bengals offense rushed for over 100 yards as a team, averaging 4.4, 5.3 and 5.1 yards-per-rush respectively.

Sometimes the players have to play. The popular knock on Bob Bratkowski's play-calling is how he predictably calls run, run and pass. The Bengals went three-and-out in seven possessions. In four of those possessions, the Bengals went run, run, pass. I was about to laugh that off and move on to the next topic. Then I noticed something. When the Bengals did run, run, pass on three-and-out drives, it wasn't the two rushing plays that hurt the team. In fact, of those four possessions, the Bengals had an average of five yards to go on third down. On all four third downs (you know, the pass part?), Palmer threw an incomplete pass.

Furthermore, I only found five sequences in which the Bengals called rushing plays on first down and the subsequent second down. They picked up 31 yards in those instances, combined. That's 6.2 yards, per first-second down sequence when the offense rushes the football. When the Bengals are gaining that type of yardage on first and second down, the quarterback has to put an end to his struggles and complete the first down pass. In fact, when Palmer threw the football on third down, he only converted three into first downs.

Give Palmer credit. Taketh Palmer credit. I will give Palmer tons of credit for this team being 3-1. The defense probably deserves the bulk of the credit, keeping the Bengals in football games and playing tough as nails when they needed to so the offense can make their comeback. But Palmer has done his part, coming through when we've needed him to. As much as credit I'll give Palmer, I'll taketh away. The growing concern on Sunday was that this offense averaged 6.2 yards to-go on third down, which should be very manageable.

With 9:13 left in the second quarter, Palmer threw a third-and-six out to Chad Ochocinco. The throw was a bit early into Chad's route and the receiver couldn't catch up with the pass. Punt. With 3:39 left in the second, Palmer threw a pass a bit outside of Caldwell's range on third-and-two; though Caldwell did get his left hand on the football. Punt. On third-and-three with :36 left in the half, Palmer threw to Caldwell who ran a pattern a yard short of the first down; probably could give Caldwell some grief on the lack of depth on a third-down route. Punt. With 7:32 left in the third quarter, Palmer pump faked a pass, lost the grip, throwing it into the ground for an incomplete. Punt. With 14:12 left in the fourth quarter, Palmer floated a pass down the left sidelines to a wide open Chris Henry. Browns safety Pool slid over to nearly pick off the pass on third-and-seven. Punt. Palmer looked at Chad Ochocinco on third-and-eight but had his pass tipped by the defender following Brian Leonard on an underneath route. Punt. In most cases, Palmer wasn't pressured. Some were bad throws. Some were good defensive plays. Few were good plays.

However, Palmer did rebound. On third-and-14, Palmer completed a 16-yard pass to Henry and nailed Chad in the endzone for a game tying two-yard touchdown on fourth down. Thanks to a rushing offense in overtime that saw Cedric Benson rush for 36 yards on his first three carries did the Bengals get some semblance of momentum. That was, of course stopped when Carson Palmer threw two incomplete passes on third down and was sacked with 9:35 left in overtime. On the final drive, Palmer completed two 20-yard passes on third down and rushed for 15 yards on fourth-and-11 giving Shayne Graham an easy (nothing is easy on our kicking game) 31-yard field goal. Game over. Bengals win.

If it doesn't work on one side, go to the other side. I thought one of the more alarming trends on Sunday was the ability for the Browns rushing game to move effortlessly against the Bengals defense once the Browns discovered a weakness. For example, the Browns started hitting the left side of the line hard. In the first five rushing plays on Cleveland's left side, the Browns gained more than two yards rushing, once. Then Cleveland started attacking the right side. When the Browns ran outside the right tackle, they averaged 8.6 yards-per-rush, which included runs of 16 and 21 yards. Whey rushed inside the right tackle, they averaged 4.1 yards, including gains of six, eight, seven and 14. Their offense ran the football 12 times on the left side of the line and recorded 33 yards rushing -- a 2.75 yard-per-rush average. In other words, run to the right, big gains. Run to the left, not much there.

So what was going on? In a lot of cases, the Browns offensive line played very good. They also played smart, attacking both Domata Peko and Pat Sims with double teams. Our defensive ends struggled shedding off blocks against tight ends and fullbacks, while the double team on our tackles were often too much clutter for our linebackers to make unimpeded attacks towards the point of attack. Dhani Jones, who for some reason, was very slow in reaction. Rey Maualuga, while still aggressive as hell, guessed the wrong point of attack, leaving massive holes beside him. Keith Rivers was, well, he was somewhere I'm sure. When Chris Crocker came up to the line of scrimmage to give the Bengals defense eight-in-the-box, Crocker missed multiple tackles; some of which should have occurred in the backfield.

Massaquoi should be used in fantasy football league's when facing the Bengals. I thought that Browns rookie wide receiver Mohamed Massaquoi's day wasn't entirely a result of terrible coverage by the Bengals secondary. Browns quarterback Derek Anderson made throws that only Massaquoi could make. For example, on third-and-two with 2:00 left in the half, Derek Anderson floated a pass after a three-step drop down the right sidelines. With Leon Hall in Massaquoi's left hip, the pass was just long enough for the receiver to stretch out his hands and catch the reception. Outside a pass interference, there was nothing Hall could have done to prevent the catch. Sometimes you have to give credit to the quarterback and receiver for a great play.

There was really only one truly broken play on a Massaquoi reception. With 13:22 left in the second quarter, Derek Anderson threw a second-and-eight pass down the right sidelines to Massaquoi. Johnathan Joseph trailed the receiver a good five yards while Chinedum Ndukwe was another five yards away. If the play is a zone, then you have to wonder why Ndukwe was so late giving safety help. If the play is man, then, yikes. Massaquoi finished the days with an 18.5 yard-per-reception average on eight receptions. No other Browns receiver, tight end or running back recorded more than 37 yards receiving.

There are simply days when you have to give the opposition more credit than blaming your own team.

Are there really trends? So let's play a little game. Your job. Tell me exactly what you think of Bob Bratkowski. It's not enough that you use one sentence. You have to give me trends, predictability factors and results based on those trends and predictions. Furthermore, you have to disassociate simply bad play, like missed blocks, dropped passes, overthrown passes, slipping on the turf and great defensive plays. After you put all of that together, I want a decent sample size. Say, four seasons should suffice. Do those things, then give me your final analysis.

In the meantime, I'll break something down for you to get you started. Here are the averages of Bratkowski's trends one first downs and the subsequent second downs. Plays in which the Bengals picked up a first down on first down aren't included.

There were 12 times that the Bengals called any combination of rush and pass on first and second down. They averaged 7.0 yards-per-play.
There were five times that the Bengals called a rush one first down and a rush on the subsequent second down. They averaged 6.2 yards-per-play.
There were six times that the Bengals called two passes on first down and the subsequent second down. They averaged 3.8 yards-per-play, which included two sequences where the offense picked up zero yards, and lost three yards because of a quarterback sack.

The following is a chart of the Bengals rushing offense's point of attack (we're missing four plays, but it's a good enough trend).

	Left End	LT	LG	Middle	RG	RT	Right End
Plays	12	18	13	8	17	15	23
Avg.	5.50	6.72	6.54	3.13	2.65	4.27	2.34
Rank	17	5	7	23	26	16	32

Notes:

Carson Palmer threw 44 passes during the Bengals 23-20 win over the Cleveland Browns. The last time that Palmer threw 40 times or more during a Bengals win was during a 34-17 win over the Browns on September 17, 2006. That's a string of seven games straight losses when Palmer attempts 40 passes or more in a game. All-time, the Bengals are 3-8 when Palmer attempts forty passes.
Palmer through four games since 2004

TDs INTs

2009 6 5

2007 10 6

2006 6 4

2005 9 2

2004 3 7

Palmer has recorded six touchdowns through the first four games. That's the second-lowest total through the first four games, excluding the 2008 season in which, as far as we can tell, actually didn't happen. The Bengals took off that year.
This is this the third time during the Marvin Lewis era that the Bengals defense didn't allow 30 points in any of the first four games. The others are 2005 and 2008 (zing!).
In the past two weeks, the Bengals have only converted eight of 30 third-down chances for a 27% conversion. Both games the Bengals converted less than 30%. The last time that the Bengals converted less then 30% of their third downs in back-to-back games was last year against the Eagles (tie), Steelers (dominated) and Ravens (dominated). I looked back each season until 1990 and found no instances in which the Bengals offense converted less than 30% of their third downs in back-to-back games and won.
The Bengals committed three personal fouls. Andrew Whitworth was called for unnecessary roughness (as well as two false starts). Kyries Hebert and Pat Sims were also called for personal fouls.
The Bengals have scored defensive touchdowns in back-to-back games.
Johnathan Joseph has recorded interceptions in back-to-back games.

Tweet of the Day. Andre Caldwell: "3-1 today wasn't pretty but it's a win.. My shoulder is banged but I will be ok.. I know we have all bengals fans nervous lol"

Palmer through four games since 2004
	TDs	INTs
2009	6	5
2007	10	6
2006	6	4
2005	9	2
2004	3	7