SB Nation - Jeremi Johnson

Cincinnati tries to overcome adversity for an encore as the Cardiac Cats

Kirkendall — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 17:29:39 -0000

More photos » by Lenny Ignelzi - AP

2 days ago: Cincinnati Bengals players, wearing a number 15 decal on their helmets, clasps hands just before the opening kickoff of the NFL football game against the San Diego Chargers Sunday Dec. 20, 2009 in San Diego. (AP Photo/Lenny Ignelzi)

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You have to acknowledge, even appreciate, how the Bengals played their guts out after Chris Henry's death, who was a friend and a teammate, just days before. Nevertheless, you don't have to like the result. During the final series, the Bengals secondary left the sidelines undefended, saying to San Diego's offense that it's open for you to stop the clock... after catching the pass, of course. A defensive unit that's largely been the strength of this football team, uncharacteristically faltered during the game's final, and very critical, drive. With 12 seconds left during a tie game, Chargers wide receiver Malcolm Floyd ran a 15-yard out route. Right there, the sidelines, wide open, run out to stop the clock. Please, take it. Philip Rivers hit Floyd in stride, stopping the clock and picking up enough yardage so Nate Kaeding could kick the game-winning 52-yard field goal.

But as much as much as I want to criticize the Bengals for losing their second straight game, their third loss in their past five games and inching closer to a Baltimore Ravens team that's won exactly one game less than Cincinnati, I can't. I simply can't. Cincinnati gave it their all. They faced enormous adversity throughout the day. Hell, throughout the week. With 6:21 left in the third quarter, the Bengals offense committed three consecutive presnap fouls, penalizing themselves into a first-and-25 scenario on their own seven-yard line. Cincinnati then called a timeout. A timeout? Now? What else could you do but laugh hysterically? They couldn't recover and went three and out. After Nate Kaeding kicked a 33-yard field goal to give the Chargers an 11-point lead, Cincinnati made their run, right? No. After back-to-back runs by Cedric Benson to gain four yards rushing, Carson Palmer throws an incomplete third down pass. Punt.

At this point it appeared like Cincinnati was drained. I'm not saying that they were giving up. Just drained. Emotionally. Physically. Everything. Like no matter how hard you ran, you couldn't pick up speed. A dream, where you keep falling while being chased by an evil witch. Or my ex-girlfriend. We've all been there when we've had days at work in which we're exhausted, having lost all patience and motivations. Then Keith Rivers intercepts a pass intended for Antonio Gates. Then Chad hauls in a backwards pass out of the backfield and picks up 26 yards. Then Carson Palmer found and nailed Laveranues Coles in the endzone for a touchdown. Then Carson Palmer converted the two points on a called quarterback sneak.

Suddenly Cincinnati scored a game-tying field goal with 57 seconds left in the game after driving from their own three-yard line. But in the end, it wasn't meant to be. They're still the cardiac cats and they played the tune they've played all year. So acknowledge and appreciate your Bengals for their efforts. As for the result, that's another matter.

It didn't start like it was supposed to start. Darren Sproles returns the game opening kickoff 45 yards to the Chargers 45-yard line. Why is this important aside for field position? Quite simply, we had no idea how the Bengals would react Sunday after Henry's death. San Diego running back LaDainian Tomlinson was left uncovered out of the backfield through the first drive, catching two passes for 19 yards without a defender in the area. Tomlinson picked up another 15 yards on the ground on a drive that went 55 yards on 11 plays, ending with a three-yard touchdown pass to tight end Antonio Gates. That was the first touchdown allowed by the Bengals on an opening drive since October 19, 2008 against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The age of passing is back, Bengals score their first points of the game. Carson Palmer and the Bengals responded by converting two third downs longer than eight yards to go; a 12-yard pass to Andre Caldwell, a 14-yard pass to Chad Ochocinco. Palmer and the Bengals passing game looked vastly improved, very much in synch and evidently comfortable. However, their inability to score touchdowns in the red zone continued, leaving four points on the field after Shayne Graham converted a 26-yard field goal.

Bengals take a 10-7 lead with an emotional 49-yard touchdown by Chad Ochocinco. Cincinnati's offense returns to the field, after scoring a field goal on their first possession, followed by an outstanding defensive effort allowing only one first down. After Cedric Benson picked up seven yards behind the hulking body of Andrew Whitworth, Palmer was sacked by Kevin Ellison, who blitzed off the right edge. A millisecond before a delay of game was called, Marvin Lewis called a timeout to prevent a third-and-18. Instead, Palmer, on third-and-13, found an uncovered J.P. Foschi over the middle who conquered all and picked up 14 yards and a first down. How does did Foschi look? Benson picked up five yards on the ground on back-to-back runs, which set up third-and-five at the Bengals 39-yard line. Brian Leonard, lined up in the slot on the left, ran a short out, caught the pass and thanks to his godlike field awareness, dove for the first down. On second-and-four at the San Diego 49-yard line, Chad Ochocinco lines up wide left, scorches the defense with a that-looks-really-easy sprint down the left sidelines, hauling in a perfectly placed pass by Carson Palmer for a 49-yard touchdown reception.

Johnathan Joseph gives the Bengals their first turnover of the game. On third-and-nine at the Chargers 46-yard line with 10:42 left in the first half, the Bengals defense brings seven rushers, one of whom is Chinedum Ndukwe. Breaking free, Ndukwe drills Rivers just as the quarterback made a deep throw. Johnathan Joseph located the rainbow pass before Chargers receiver Malcolm Floyd and intercepted the pass. Cincinnati would go on to give up a sack, run on second-21 at their own 15-yard line, then later punt.

Vincent Jackson and the Chargers take the lead with a 21-yard touchdown pass. With 7:25 left in the second quarter, Antonio Gates catches a dinky short pass. With nimble stalwarts tasked with challenging Gates, the tight end changed directions forcing Jonathan Fanene, who sat in zone coverage, and Rey Maualuga to overshoot, picking 13 yards and the first down. On the next play, Gates ran a crossing pattern from left to right, caught the pass, shifted, spun, juked and nimbly forced Morgan Trent to miss another tackle, picking up 12 yards and another first down. Several plays later, Vincent Jackson got separation from Leon Hall, faked a post, which caused Hall to break in. Instead Jackson broke out and ran towards the left side of the endzone, catching a touchdown pass on a dive.

Redzone issues continue; Bengals score a field goal to reduce Charger's lead before half time.With three minutes left in the first half, the Bengals called Larry Johnson's number three times on four plays, picking up 38 yards rushing in the process. Palmer threw a needle to Laveranues Coles with 1:14 left in the half over the middle on a slant, picking up another 21 yards. Cincinnati's offense picked up 67 yards on seven plays in two and a half minutes. After that, it was the same story we've seen in the second half of the season. The inability to score touchdowns in the redzone. After spiking the football to stop the clock, Palmer threw back-to-back incomplete passes to J.P. Foschi forcing Shayne Graham to convert a 25-yard field goal.

A bit of advice: Stop going into the redzone!

Mental mistakes on offense returns to start the second half. Thanks to Shawne Merriman's jump offsides, the Bengals were left with a third-and-one at their own 34-yard line with 13:14 left in the third quarter. Benson pounded the point of attack, picking up the first down. However, Cincinnati's offense broke down with mental mistakes after Laveranues Coles made caught a 17-yard pass. Illegal formation. Pass deflected at the line of scrimmage. Delay of game. Bengals are forced with a third-and-21 at their own 46-yard line. Palmer finds Foschi over the middle for an 11 yard gain. Bengals punt.

Big defensive stand; preventing Rivers from picking up the first down. After two runs picking up nine yards midway through the third quarter, the Chargers line up big formation at their own 29-yard line. Philip Rivers takes the snap and sneaks up the middle. Cincinnati's defense stacked the line, expecting the trickery of a sneaky quarterback, holding Rivers from converting the first. Chargers punt.

Bengals: Momentum.
Josh: Is a bitch.

Palmer's interception and blown coverage by the Bengals secondary leads to a 34-yard touchdown by Vincent Jackson. Chad Ochocinco lined up on the right, ran 10 yards and broke in. Chargers cornerback Quentin Jammer anticipated the route, stretched his arms and picked off the pass. On second down, Rivers found Vincent Jackson running free down the left sidelines. The Bengals secondary blew the coverage, with Leon Hall allowing Jackson to release upfield without safety help. Jackson easily scored the touchdown, taking a 21-13 lead.

Bengals offense has an epic breakdown -- before their first snap. Here is a list of items by the Bengals with 6:21 left in the third quarter.

False start by Dennis Roland
Illegal substitution
Delay of Game

Then the Bengals take a timeout. The epitome of how this team loses focus is showcased here in a way we haven't seen before. Before their first snap on their third offensive possession in the second half leads to 15 lost yards before taking their first snap.

Cedric Benson misses the handoff when Palmer decides to check down to a draw in shotgun formation.

Palmer dumped off a surrender-pass to J.P. Foschi on third-and-19. Bengals punt. Mercifully.

Tomlinson picks up 36 yards on a screen; Chargers take a 24-13 lead. With 4:27 left in the third quarter at their own 27-yard line, Rivers fakes the handoff to Tomlinson who sits to the left waiting for the screen pass. After the catch, Tomlinson sprints. And sprints. He's still sprinting. Hell, I'm parched with all of the sprinting. He's still running. Finally Tomlinson is tackled at the Cincinnati 37-yard line, picking up 36 yards. After a no-gain by Sproles, Rivers finds Jackson over the middle, catching his first non-touchdown reception of the game. On third-and-six at the Bengals 15-yard line, Rivers throws a rainbow pass to Vincent Jackson near the front left pylon. Leon Hall jumped with Jackson, separating the ball from the receiver causing an incomplete pass. The Chargers' Nate Kaeding converts the 33-yard field goal and the Chargers take a 24-13 lead. Leon Hall may have struggled throughout most of the game, but he made a play that saved four points; a deficit that makes the Bengals comeback all but impossible later.

And then the Bengals write the story about how comebacks after epic breakdowns happen. With 14:11 left in the game, Rivers lobs a pass to Antonio Gates. The football bounced around a jiffy and Keith Rivers hauls down the pass for the interception. On the first play, Palmer fakes the end around to Chad Ochocinco and then flips the pass to Chad out of the backfield, who runs left, right, forward, backward, diagonally, and picks up 26 yards down the left sidelines. Bengals at the Chargers seven-yard line. Oh, no. Redzone. After a five-yard pass to Jeremi Johnson, Palmer throws the football to Laveranues Coles towards the right side of the endzone. Coles catches the touchdown and the Bengals cut the score to 24-19. Bengals elect to go for the two-point conversion. Quarterback draw. Palmer scores. Just as we expected. Bengals down by three points.

The bookend of the Dhani. After Dhani Jones dropped Tomlinson for a one-yard loss with 12:32 left in the game, Rivers finds Jackson for a 15-yard gain on second down. After Keith Rivers sacked Rivers for an eight-yard loss, Chinedum Ndukwe was called for illegal contact and an automatic first down. After Maualuga stopped Tomlinson for a three-yard gain, Philip Rivers finds Malcolm Floyd running down the middle for a 20-yard gain. After Rivers completes two dinky two-yard passes for four yards, Dhani Jones slams into Floyd, who caught the pass out of bounds. Chargers punt. Dhani. The man that a lot of people want to run out of town so Rey Maualuga can start at middle linebacker.

And this time the game wasn't decided by another Andre Caldwell fumble... somewhat. Benson picks up ten yards down the left sidelines. J.P. Foschi is called for holding, bringing the Bengals back to their own three-yard line with 6:49 left in the game. Foschi says, "my bad boys, I'll make it up." On first-and-12, Palmer hits Foschi over the middle picking up 21 yards. On third-and-four at their own 30-yard line, Palmer hits Quan Cosby for five yards and the first down. Bengals moving. They're motivated again. They're the cardiac cats again. Palmer hits Foschi on a first down pass at their own 35-yard line, running across the field, picking up 15 yards. First down. Palmer is forced to rollout to the right with 4:39 left in the game, finds Cedric Benson, who picks up another 11 yards. He finds Benson on the next down for another eight yards.

Bengals driving... awesomely. The AFC North and possibly the second seed on the line. Benson gets the hand off and picks up 12 yards on second-and-two with 3:14 left in the game. Man, oh man. I can feel it. They're going to take it.

Then...

False start on Foschi. Palmer throws a quick pass to Andre Caldwell on the left. Tim Dobbins nails Caldwell, who losses the football. No, not just loses the football. The football shoots out of a canon about 20 yards backwards. Palmer dove on the fumble.

Cincinnati is stuck with second-and-36 at the Chargers 45-yard line. Palmer takes the shotgun snap, looks deep. Finds no one and hits Foschi on the left sidelines for a limited six-yard gain, leaving third-and-30. Cosby, lined up third wide receiver in from the right, crosses the field and picks up 22 yards, setting up game-tying field goal by Shayne Graham. I opened my eyes after the attempted kick and the field goal was made.

Bengals tied the game on a 12-play, 79 yard field goal drive. Granted, the Bengals tied the game. But how much easier would it have been to sustain the drive and picked up the first down if not for Caldwell's fumble? We still like the guy. But c'mon.

But Rivers and the Chargers offense set up Nate Kaeding's 52-yard game winner. With :54 seconds left in the game, starting at their own 20-yard line, the Bengals defense played soft coverage, especially considering the edges. Rivers completed four of five passes (the fifth being a spike) for 46 yards setting up a Nate Kaeding 52-yard field goal, that he nailed.

If you were not a fan of either team, this football game was very entertaining. If you're a fan of the Bengals, you have to appreciate how tough they played. But the same things bit Cincinnati as they have all year. Penalties. Turnovers. Lack of redzone production. Mistakes. Mistakes. Mistakes.

Cincinnati takes on the Kansas City Chiefs next week, who gave up 351 yards rushing to the Cleveland Browns.

Bengals are playing winning brand of football with powerful rushing offense and dominant defense

Kirkendall — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 17:45:57 -0000

More photos » by David Kohl - AP

23 days ago: Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Rey Maualuga holds up a sign to fans after his team defeated the Cleveland Browns 16-7 in their NFL football game in Cincinnati, Sunday, Nov. 29, 2009. (AP Photo/David Kohl)

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While watching Sunday's game between the Cincinnati Bengals and Cleveland Browns, I had this feeling I've never felt before. By the second half I felt so confident that the Bengals were going to win this football game, that I stopped moaning about failed pass protection schemes or the play-calling. Oh, we're going to punt it so our defense can play? The same defense that hasn't allowed any team to gain 100 yards rushing in seven straight games? The same defense that's allowed a third down conversion rate of 22% in the three games leading up to Sunday? The same defense that's only allowed two touchdowns once in a game since losing to the Houston Texans?

Please, bring it.

There's no doubt that the offense is struggling to put up points. Since scoring 45 against the Chicago Bears, the Bengals offense has scored an average of 16.8 points per game. The ten points scored in the second quarter against the Browns is the first time the Bengals have scored double-digit points in any quarter since the 14 points in the first quarter against the Ravens on November 8. Carson Palmer went 12 quarters without throwing a touchdown pass before completing a four-yard pass to tight end J.P. Foschi in the second quarter against the Browns. Palmer's on pace to record 3,384 yards passing, which is only 500 yards more than his career low his first season as the team's starter (not including injury-filled 2008). Even then, he missed three games. His efficiency is down. His touchdowns are down. His yards-per-attempt is down (6.9).

And yet, the belief has always been that the Bengals have to rely on Palmer's arm to win. My cousin called me Sunday night and asked me, do we rely on Palmer anymore? If Palmer were to go down to injury for the season, how much would this team lose? We saw what happened last year. But as he observed, the team was built around Palmer and the passing game. It wasn't until late in the season that a Palmer-less offense started to become efficient by successfully rushing the football with a rising defense.

What if Palmer would go down this year? It would hurt, because defenses still gameplan the Bengals passing game; always a threat, always able to score from anywhere on the field. The truth is, this Bengals team is built to succeed without Palmer. This team is built to run the football. You can see that with the talent they have at running back. You can see that with an offensive line that's built to rush block first. How many Jumbo formations have we seen with at least one extra lineman? Did you see Dennis Roland going into motion against the Browns?

My point, as some may irrationally conclude, isn't anticipating an injury to Palmer. My point is that this team can win any football game, no matter who's playing. Carson Palmer is off? Well, the Bengals only have three running backs with 100-yard rushing games under their belt (how many teams can claim that?). The offense has no rhythm and can't pick up a first down? Oh, there's that defense again, who since allowing 28 points in the loss to the Houston Texans, have only allowed 11.2 points per game and, check this out, only 232.8 yards-per game.

As of this posting, the Bengals have the best scoring defense in the NFL.

I just checked that again.

The Bengals have the best scoring defense in the NFL, allowing 15.8 points per game. There's a chance that New England takes that lead after Monday Night Football. However, the Patriots will have to hold the Saints to ten points or less. Fat chance.

If this isn't the most complete team that the Bengals have fielded since the Sam Wyche era, then I'm afraid I'll never know what a complete team is. More people stand up on this team, contributing towards a winning brand of football than we've seen in ages. This team isn't built or about a single person. This isn't about how well Palmer does, or how he's supposed to put up 30 points a game. Sure, it would be nice if the offense exploded every week. What fan in this world in any sport wouldn't love that? But that's not the reality right now. They're not an explosive offense. They are an efficient offense that consumes the clock, converts third downs and wins field position.

And then there's the defense, whose scoring defense still ranks first in the NFL. I just checked again.

What do most people say about championship football? You win by running the football and stopping the run. Again, this defense hasn't allowed any team to gain 100 yards or more in seven straight games. The Bengals offense has rushed for 100 yards or more in eight of the season's 11 games. Furthermore, the Bengals rushing offense has recorded 150 yards or more five times and 200 yards or more twice.

Powerful rushing offense. Dominant defense. Isn't that championship football? If you're still not convinced, or have a Christmas list of concerns, let's go quickly gloss over some reminders. The Bengals are 8-3. The Bengals are 6-0 in the division. The Bengals have won 11 of the past 14 games. The Bengals have a three-game lead with five games left. The Bengals, as of now, would have the second seed in the playoffs, which means a bye during wild card weekend and hosting at least one home game. Furthermore, the Bengals are a fluke pass and a fumble away from being 10-1. It's that close.

Now, that is what we've been begging for for 20 years. Soak it in. Enjoy it.

Wait. You want Carson Palmer to throw more? With five games remaining, Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer is on pace to record 489 passing attempts. As disbelieving as this may sound, that's only 20 less pass attempts than he had during the 2005 season where the Bengals made the playoffs.

	2005	2009 *
Attempts	509	489
Completions	345	298
Completion %	67.8	61.0
Yards	3,836	3,384
Yards/Att	7.5	6.9
Touchdowns	32	22
Interceptions	12	11
* Projected

Admittedly, the issue isn't just Palmer, if one can even make that assessment. No. It's all the parts. It's the offensive line struggling on stunts and blitzes on the outside. It's receivers not catching passes, or penalties that negate 15-20 yard passing plays because someone was flagged for offensive holding.

Take Sunday's game. On the Bengals first play of the game, the situation is first-and-ten at their own 20-yard line. The offense lines up off-set I with Daniel Coats motioning right. Cleveland brings their front three with eight sitting in coverage. Andrew Whitworth latched onto Robaire Smith, who took an outside step while the left tackle was clipped by Bernard Scott going into his route, knocking Smith free. Palmer, barely completing a five-yard pass to Laveranues Coles, was knocked down by Smith. A few Bernard Scott runs and a first down later, the offense lines up off-set I, strong side left. Kamerion Wimbley lines up at left outside linebacker over Dennis Roland. Wimbley took an inside slant on Roland who clearly lost the battle within the first two steps. Bernard Scott tried to help, but in his mind, he had his own blitzer to worry about in Mike Adams. Wimbley tackled Palmer as the quarterback released the pass to Jeremi Johnson for a for a five-yard gain. Furthermore, Browns cornerback Eric Wright was called for defensive holding. First down.

Two drop backs. Twice Carson Palmer is on the ground. It wasn't that Palmer was on the ground all game -- NFL's Game Center shows he was knocked down six times. However, it shows that Palmer was pressured all game long, most of the time making throws he didn't want to make.

After Larry Johnson's consecutive first down runs (more on that later), Palmer takes the snap under center. Matt Roth sprinted from the outside linebacker spot and sacked Palmer for a four-yard loss. The problem here is miscommunication by the offensive line. Defensive end Kenyon Coleman slanted in, which caused Dennis Roland to move inward with the end. Typically, Roland should have handed Coleman off to Bobbie Williams and picked up Roth, the blitzing linebacker on the outside. Williams saw the problem and pulled out as quickly as he could from his guard position take out Roth on the edge. It was a split-second too late, as Roth sped rushed far enough that there was nothing Williams could do.

Sometimes the issue was miscommunication between Palmer and the receivers. On first-and-15 at Cleveland's 29 yard line, Palmer dropped back threw it to the right with no Bengals receiver in the picture frame. Coles' route went in while Palmer looked for Coles to go out.

But mostly, it was pressure -- whether it was really there or not.

On third-and-17 at the Browns 31-yard line, Palmer takes the shotgun snap, feels pressured on the edges and scrambles up the middle. The Browns only rushed three guys. Wimbley took a wide angle around Roland, who locked up with the defensive end six yards behind the line of scrimmage. Wimbley used his upper body strength to make continued progress -- it was like Roland really wasn't there -- showing up in Palmer's peripheral vision. That was enough for Palmer, who ran for 12 yards, finished with a terribly uncomfortable dive into the turf, setting up the game's first score of the day.

And sometimes you can only say, it was a bad throw.On third-and-five at Cleveland's 47-yard line with 14:02 left in the second quarter, Palmer takes the shotgun snap. With a great pocket, Palmer overthrows Coles, nearly picked by Brodney Poole. Bengals punt. On first-and-ten at the Bengals 34-yard line, Palmer drops back and feels pressure that wasn't there. He rushed the throw to Coles running a crossing pattern, which also fell incomplete.

And sometimes you just take the hit. With 9:12 left in the first half, the Bengals lined up first-and-ten at Cleveland's 42-yard line. Palmer faked the handoff to Larry Johnson. Dennis Roland locked up with Matt Roth, who bull-rushed Roland into the pocket. Palmer saw the pressure, moved up and sidestepped behind Roland. Kamerion Wimbley lined up at the right outside linebacker spot, latched onto Daniel Coats. Once he saw the play-action, Wimbley shrugged off Coats, readjusted to Palmer stepping up and leveled him. Palmer tried to make a throw to the left in an area without any Bengals receivers -- except for Chad Ochocinco about eight yards away. Intentional grounding. On the next play, Palmer watched defensive back Mike Adams come off the edge, unblocked. Palmer let go of the football well before he was ready, forcing a terribly underthrown football to skip to a waiting Laveranues Coles. On third-and-20, Palmer drops back. Protection was very good. He had time. However, being knocked around that much that early in the game causes one to have alarm bells violently ringing in ones head well before they should. Palmer takes off, reaching the line of scrimmage and throwing across the field to Coles in the middle of the field. Incomplete. Drive comes to a merciful end. Thank the lord. Bengals punt.

And sometimes there's nothing left to do. With 11:43 left in the third quarter, Palmer completed a third-and-six pass to Chad Ochocinco for a 15-yard gain. Wimbley came off the right side, using his speed to put Whitworth in a predicament. Either hold the hell out of the defensive end, or let him crush Carson Palmer. Whitworth held, negating a 15-yard pass and a first down. Cincinnati would punt after a six-yard screen pass to Brian Leonard.

As mostly everyone else, I would love for this offense to explode. However, sometimes you have to take what you're given. And the Bengals have been given a powerful rushing offense that's working nearly every week, whereas the passing offense is struggling mightily. So the question shouldn't be why aren't the Bengals throwing the football more. We already know why. It's because it's just not working right now and forcing it to work would be -- in the great words of Mr. Mackey -- "bad, mmmkay?"

Carson Palmer said it best after the game.

“We came in with the game plan that we wanted to take some shots, but they were going to play a certain way and against two shells and have two high safeties. We had a couple plays where we were going to take some shots, but on one of them I scrambled on for seven or eight yards, and the other we took a check-down. They weren’t going to come out of what they were doing defensively. They weren’t going to give us single high looks and let us throw the ball over their heads. They let us run for 200 yards. We stuck with the game plan once we figured out what their game plan was and kept pushing the ball.”

Where the passing offense struggles, the rushing offense flourishes. Let's realize a few things. Cedric Benson has missed back-to-back games and the last 10 quarters. He's still in the top ten with 859 yards rushing. Benson's getting healthy again and when he returns, he's going to run with very, very fresh legs. If that's not scary exciting, then I don't know what scary exciting means. Actually, I don't know what scary exciting means anyway.

Benson has missed the previous two games. What have the Bengals done in Benson's absence? They've averaged 193.5 yards rushing -- which is the best two-game stretch all season. Let me put that further perspective. Before Oakland, the Bengals had the league's 11th best rushing offense, averaging 122.3 yards-per-game. With a Monday Night Football game left, the Bengals are now ranked seventh, averaging 135.3 yards-per-game. They've jumped four points in the rankings, and added 13 yards to their average.

All without Cedric Benson. In the great words of Cleveland, "that's nasty."

But as impressive as Bernard Scott was last week, Larry Johnson's performance against the Cleveland Browns was great. And guess what? It wouldn't have happened with the great effort by the Bengals offensive line.

On third-and-one at the Bengals 44-yard line with 8:34 left in the first quarter, Cincinnati lines up double tight end single back formation. Palmer does his funky right-handed exchange to Larry Johnson. Within the first frame after the ball is snapped, the Bengals offensive line had opened a hole at the point of attack. Daniel Coats and Andrew Whitworth sealed the right side. Bobbie Williams turned Shaun Rogers. Kyle Cook neutralized Cleveland's inside linebacker and the left side of the offensive line eliminated any trailing defenders protecting cutback lanes. Johnson squeezed through the hole between Williams and Whitworth on the right, dodged a tackle by Abram Elam and fell forward for a ten-yard gain and the first down.

On the next play, Johnson gets the handoff. Andrew Whitworth sealed the inside linebacker. Bobbie Williams and Kyle Cook slowed the defensive end and tackle respectively while Jeremi Johnson punishes the outside linebacker for the gull of trying to make a play in the backfield. Johnson sidestepped behind Jeremi, cut back to the right behind Williams' block and ran down the right hashmark for another 12 yard gain.

On second-and-ten at the Bengals 34-yard line with 10:59 left in the second quarter, Palmer hands the football off to Johnson. Cincinnati lined up big-formation with Andrew Whitworth outside of Dennis Roland at right tackle and Anthony Collins at left tackle. Every offensive lineman had a hat on a defensive player. The secondary made first contact on Johnson about eight yards past the line of scrimmage. On the next play, Johnson picked up another seven yards thanks to a kick out block on Wimbley by fullback Jeremi Johnson.

Even Bernard Scott had his moments. After Nate Livings was called for offensive holding, the Bengals were pushed back to their own 27-yard line with first-and-twenty. Every offensive linemen had a hat on a Browns defender. Not just that, the line was pushing back the Browns defense and not allowing the defender to shrug off the block. And it was Jeremi Johnson, once again, who made the initial block that kicked out an outside linebacker looking for glory on a stop in the backfield. Scott fought off a Mike Adams attempted tackle for ten yards, picking up 21 yards and a first down in the process.

When stargazing, you finally find the star named Andre Smith. The problem with watching the offensive line during a live game, is that you don't always know who is in the game before the snap. More than any team, the Bengals employ a rotation with their offensive tackles that no two plays will have the same personnel on the line. On the first play of the second quarter, the Bengals lined up at Cincinnati's 48 yard-line on first down. Andre Smith made his first appearance (that we could tell) at right tackle with Andrew Whitworth on Smith's outside shoulder. Kenyon Coleman was Smith's guy. At the snap, Smith rose and sat in pass protection, ready to receive Coleman, who was very slow off the ball. Smith allowed Coleman an outside move, keeping pace with the defensive end, who even resorted to a spin move. Good job, ol' rook. The play, however, did break down after outside linebacker David Bowens blitzed up the middle. Bobbie Williams did pick him up, but Bowens had already won the battle simply with a quicker step to the outside. Palmer sprinted down the right sidelines for a five-yard gain.

Smith would make sporadic appearances throughout the game. While not noticeable, he made quality blocks.

On first-and-ten at Cleveland's 32 yard-line, Smith lined up at right tackle with Whitworth on his outside shoulder. Smith attacked Robaire Smith with Bernard Scott coming from behind. While Andre didn't move Robaire, the Browns defender wasn't able to make a move on the runner either. Scott picked up 11 yards on the play. On the next play, the Bengals called a sweep to the left away from Andre Smith, who slowed Robaire's progress down the line of scrimmage, looking at the second level for any unsuspecting linebacker to break in half. Good day, ol' rook.

It's my firm belief that this is the most complete Bengals squad that Marvin Lewis has ever put together. It might be the best squad in 20 years of Bengals football. They are winning with a strong rushing offense and a powerful defense. There's things to fix. There always is. But I believe that this Bengals squad can beat any team in the NFL this year because their strengths always dictates championship football. Perhaps I'm banging the homer drum. I've done that before and I'm not afraid to show how proud I am of this squad. So I'm enjoying it. It hasn't happened a lot in my lifetime.

Week 11 Recap: Grendel Awakes

Mojokong — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 20:48:40 -0000

Somewhere hidden within the game of football lurks a sleeping beast: the mistake. The most ancient of football sages once accurately observed that football is a game of mistakes and the team that overcomes the most will win the game. It sounds simple and rudimentary, but like Aesop's fables, the moral never changes.

The Bengals fell victim to an earthquake of mistakes near the San Andreas fault line on Sunday, and panic didn't set in until it was too late.

For most of the game, everything went as planned.

Cincinnati ran out to a two touchdown lead and then went conservative in their play-calling. Running the ball, using clock and avoiding risky shots down-field make sense with the lead against an opponent like the Raiders. The Bengals were satisfied with sporadic rushing yards from Bernard Scott and Brian Leonard; Carson Palmer was on his way to throwing under 20 passing attempts---exactly how the Bengals wanted the day to unfold. Events that don't normally happen, however, sprang out at the most inopportune time and Cincinnati was unable to overcome “the mistake.”

If it's blame for which you thirst, then allow me to move the microscope over to our very own franchise-player, kicker Shayne Graham. While Graham's statistics have been hampered by some bizarre special-teams play from his teammates this season, he continues to struggle at living up to his contract. His miss from 37 yards in the third quarter is less acceptable than the fumbles later in the game. Fumbles, by nature, are freak occurrences, but missed field goals, barring a poor snap or hold, are just bad plays.

The Bengals are now a grind-house team that runs the ball, controls the clock, plays good defense and wins with field goals. I'm willing to cut Shuga Shayne some slack on the attempts from 50-yards or more, but anything inside the 40 is a must for a man getting paid the average of the top-5 wealthiest kickers.

Graham had a solid game in Pittsburgh, and he was a major reason that Cincinnati came out of there with a win, but he needs to be the consistent component to an otherwise unpredictable place-kicking unit if the Bengals are to win more of these close games. I know it's a lot of pressure and that it damn sure ain't easy, but it has to happen; it simply must.

Graham however is safe for now, because Cincinnati has its own default scape-goat for times like these. It's been scientifically proven that after any loss, Bengal fans whip themselves into a frenzy and rally a witch-hunt to wherever Bob Bratkowski is hiding; he is always to blame in the Queen City. Often times, especially this season, the scorn has been unfair, and the Oakland game is no different.

Bratkowski has been instructed to play-call under a new philosophy and he has done just that. No longer does this team wait for the few opportunities to go deep on offense. Carson's role has shifted from play-maker to game-manager, and oddly enough, makes more plays as a result. The offensive line looks comfortable devouring defensive front-sevens in the running game and Cincinnati is collecting running-backs like bobble-head dolls. We play power football now and everyone might as well get used to it.

In Oakland, the play-calling followed the new rubric of the offense. Even a first-down hand off to Jeremi Johnson inside the red-zone during the fourth quarter, with the lead, is the right thing to do these days. Sure, the day had its moments of curious strategy---none more so than the fade to Leonard on third & four on the Raider 48-yard line with 2:25 to go---but the theory was sound and would have worked were it not for the Whammy of mistakes late in the game.

Three times this season, the Bengals have followed a tough divisional win with an underwhelming performance against inferior competition (at Cleveland, Houston, and at Oakland). It appears that adrenaline dump is the biggest weakness for this team so far.

The NFL is designed for its teams to fail. It wants to cast away contenders as soon as possible. The further a team gets within such a gruesome maze, the more prevalent their mistakes become. There are difficult opponents along the way, but the most dangerous enemy for the Bengals is likely themselves. Marvin Lewis and his staff have already solved a lot of problems this season; learning the lesson of the Oakland game could put them over the top when it matters the most -- in February.

Mojokong---”Big money, big money. No whammies, no whammies.”

If you're going to blame the coaches for loss to Oakland, then blame the players too.

Kirkendall — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 15:13:31 -0000

More photos » by David Kohl - AP

7 months ago: Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis looks on during football minicamp at Paul Brown Stadium, Friday, May 1, 2009, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/David Kohl)

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This is how it works. When the Bengals win, everyone celebrates because everyone was a big part of that win. When the Bengals lose, giving up over 100 yards in the fourth quarter and 10 points in the final minute of the game, we blame Bengals offensive coordinator Bob Bratkowski. That's just how it is. Morgan Trent was covering Louis Murphy, who scored the game-tying touchdown. We blame Bob. The Bengals defense put no pressure on the Raiders quarterback. Blame Bob. Carson Palmer fumbled twice. Andre Caldwell fumbled twice, Jeremi Johnson fumbled once, all combined for three lost fumbles. Blame Bob. The Bengals committed eight penalties -- including two false starts on Chad Ochocinco, a false start on Nate Livings, encroachment on Tank Johnson, neutral zone infraction on Jonathan Fanene. We blame Bob.

Sure. There are things you could scratch your head about with Bratkowski. You could point to a Brian Leonard sweep to the right with 43 seconds left in the first half which forced the Raiders to take their last timeout. They got the ball back with 26 seconds left, at their own 36-yard line. While blaming Bob, Gradkowski completes a 19-yard pass to Zach Miller, and a short six-yard pass to Darren McFadden. Luckily Sebastian Janikowski missed a 57-yard field goal attempt to close out the first half.

I'm not defending Bratkowski here. I've never done that. But I'm not excusing the fact that the Bengals players lacked execution. I'm not letting them off the hook. A botched center to quarterback exchange should be the most natural act in football. A wide receiver should never false start. And the Bengals should have protected the goalline with the entire secondary, not just Morgan Trent covering a taller receiver, that allowed the game-tying touchdown. Three sacks allowed on third down and three lost fumbles tend to help you lose games too!

Some will claim the imbalanced rushing to passing ratio. That might be a fair argument. But the Raiders came into Sunday's game sporting the league's 29th best rushing defense. The Raiders 14 allowed rushing touchdowns was tied for 31st. They were ranked 14th against the pass. It makes sense to attack the defense's weakness. Some also claim that the rushing offense wasn't working and that Bernard Scott's rushing numbers were no good because of a 61-yard rushing play inflated his numbers. Since we believe in fairness, let's should take away Laveranues Coles' 40-yard reception and Chad Ochocinco's 30-yard reception because they inflated Carson Palmer's numbers. Now, Palmer has 137 yards passing.

Last I checked, blaming Bratkowski for bad play from the offense, defense and special teams will only get you so far. At some point the players are the ones that execute. So instead of taking the easy way out, let's just acknowledge that players and coaches were to blame for Sunday's loss. This is a team. A collection of people with a bigger picture in mind. Or give the Raiders credit. They played their butts off and took it to us. Either way, a loss is a loss. The best part? Taking it out on Cleveland.

I know that my opinion will be in the minority on this one, so go to town.

It's alright to call the Bengals 20-17 loss to Oakland a Mulligan.

Kirkendall — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 16:40:57 -0000

More photos » by Marcio Jose Sanchez - AP

about 1 month ago: Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Andre Caldwell fumbles a kickoff late in the fourth quarter of an NFL football game against the Oakland Raiders in Oakland, Calif., Sunday, Nov. 22, 2009. Caldwell's fumble was recovered by Oakland Raiders tight end Brandon Myers (83), at left, setting up the Raiders game-winning field goal. Oakland won 20-17. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

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Sometimes it just doesn't work out. That's a lesson we've learned countless times watching football, baseball, or going through the difficult trials of balancing social dominance with academics in high school. Here's what didn't work out for Cincinnati. The Bengals lost in a game that they should have won. That didn't work out. The Bengals' Andre Caldwell received the kickoff after Oakland's game-tying touchdown with :33 seconds left in the game. While trying to get as many yards as he could, Caldwell has the ball stripped by Oakland's Brandon Myers. Caldwell learned a lesson.

"I think I should have gone down. I’ll learn from it now," said the stand-up Caldwell. "Trying to get some extra when there was nothing there. That’s part of being a young guy like me. You live and you learn. I’m going to capitalize the next time I get in that situation. That was a tough feeling. That’s the worst thing in the NFL. You win some, you lose some. The next time I come out I’m going to capitalize on the next play."

What he learned is that sometimes it just doesn't work out. All game, the Bengals worked to give Oakland every chance to stay in the game. But the story just isn't about Caldwell's fumble that sealed Cincinnati's loss. It was the defense allowing 109 yards of total offense to the Raiders in the fourth quarter, when Cincinnati's defense had only allowed 166 yards through the first three quarters. It was the defense allowing 10 points in the final 40 seconds of the game. It was being outscored 20-3 after Carson Palmer's second rushing touchdown. It was reaching the red zone five times, and scoring two touchdowns. A missed Shayne Graham field goal where the Bengals offense had decided to pass on third and goal at the one-yard line. Palmer was sacked.

There were positives. Bernard Scott rushed for 119 yards on 21 carries (a 5.7-yards-per-rush average). The Bengals as a unit, while playing with the lead, remained obsessive about the rushing offense, running the football 43 times. There will be question about the unbalanced offensive attack, but the formula was working even though the Bengals brought their worst-case scenario to Oakland. Still, they converted 46% of their third downs on offense, limiting Oakland to a 36% conversion.

This is how I'm thinking about this weekend. We'll call it a Mulligan weekend. Why? Everyone in the division lost, so this game doesn't hurt the Bengals at all. Sure, they could have increased their lead. But they didn't. Realistically, after the loss, there was no change in the division. And since common-opponent and conference tie-breakers will have no bearing on the division, provided the Bengals at least tie the Steelers and Ravens, then Cincinnati is still in the drivers seat.

Mulligan weekend, I like that. It works.

What happened to Chad Ochocinco? At one point, Chad Ochocinco was on pace for 220 yards receiving on 12 receptions. In the first quarter, Chad caught three passes for 55 yards receiving. Then he disappeared for two quarters. In fact, you have to go all the way until there's seven minutes left in the game the next time Chad was targeted as a receiver in an attempted pass. Roughly 42 minutes and 27 seconds had passed between receptions for Chad.

Rec.	Quarter	Time	Result
# 3	1	:33	15-yard reception.
# 4	4	4:17	12-yard reception

Asked after the game about facing one of the top cornerbacks in the game, Nnamdi Asomugha, Chad said:

Nnamdi is the best in the game hands down, period. He will always be, he will always be until someone goes at him on a consistent basis and it seems like no one tries to, not even us.

Chad is fine though. He's not worried about the season.

Asked if his team could rebound from one of the most devastating losses in his career as the most senior Bengal, wide receiver Chad Ochocinco said, "We’ll be fine."

Asked why, The Ocho leaned forward to point to a few lockers down at Palmer and said, "He’s pretty damn good."

The Red Zone is all about missed opportunities. Often times, it's where games are won and lost. The Bengals made five trips to the red zone. If they scored all touchdowns, Cincinnati amasses 35 points on offense. After Palmer's two rushing touchdowns, the Bengals would only go on to score three points in the red zone on their next three trips.

Quarter	Time	Result
1	7:59	TOUCHDOWN. Offense had a first-and-goal from the one-yard line. Palmer snuck in for the touchdown.
2	8:58	TOUCHDOWN. Bengals ran four straight times starting at Oakland's 20-yard line. Bernard Scott picked up nine yards, Brian Leonard picked up 10 yards and Carson Palmer ran it into the endzone.
3	9:04	Missed FG. Bengals reached Oakland's 19-yard line. They ran seven plays on offense in the red zone, picked up 18 yards. On third-and-goal at the one-yard line, Palmer was sacked, forcing a 37-yard field goal attempt, in which Shayne Graham missed.
3	4:42	Field Goal. Robert Geathers returned a fumble 38 yards to Oakland's 13-yard line. The Bengals ran three plays, gained six yards and converted on a 25-yard field goal.
4	11:37	Lost Fumble. Bengals only ran one play in the red zone on their fifth trip. Jeremi Johnson fumbled rushing up the middle and Oakland recovers.

Jeremi Johnson number called. Bengals turn it over? The Bengals decided to get cute, or tried to give Scott and Leonard a spell, by calling Jeremi Johnson on a rushing attempt with 11:37 left in the game with Cincinnati hanging onto a seven-point lead. Johnson fumbled it -- or maybe he never had control of it. This was Johnson's first rushing attempt since the Bengals 23-20 win over the Cleveland Browns on October 4. Why him, and not Larry Johnson, who has more carries in his last three games with Kansas City than Jeremi does his entire career?

Now, to be fair, this is Jeremi's first fumble since the 2005 season -- and as far as I can tell, his first lost fumble since 2004. It was a first-down from Oakland's 14-yard line and Jeremi is typically good for a few yards carrying the football. And in further fairness, the Bengals defense forced a punt and then an interception after Cincinnati's three-and-out. The idea isn't that the fumble led to points for Oakland. It's that the Bengals went from having at least a field goal to hanging back onto their seven-point lead they would eventually lose.

Notes:

Cincinnati's 13 points allowed against the Raiders is the most points allowed in the second half since allowing 14 points to the Houston Texans and 13 points to the Cleveland Browns. Trends.
Oakland rushed for 92 yards as a team. This is the sixth straight game the Bengals defense hadn't allowed a 100 yards to a team since allowing 146 yards rushing to Cleveland on October 4.
The Bengals rushed the football 43 times against Oakland, the second highest of the year (Chicago, 45 attempts).
Cincinnati had six different players rush the football.

Goat of the Game. Hate to give this to Andre Caldwell, especially when so many other factors led to the Bengals losing a game they should have won -- and actually having control at one point. But if you fumble on kickoff return during a tie ballgame with half a minute left in the game, setting up a 33-yard game-winning Sebastian Janikowski field goal, what other choice do we have?

Breakout Performance. Last week, Bernard Scott won the AFC Special Teams Player of the Week. This week, Scott became the team's feature back, rushed for 119 yards on 21 carries, averaging 5.7 yards-per-rush.

What the hell is going on trend of the game. Coming into Sunday's game, Palmer had recorded six touchdowns and no interceptions in the previous three games. However, after Sunday's game, Palmer has recorded only one touchdown since his five-touchdown performance against the Chicago Bears, and has remained touchdown-less in 11 straight quarters.

On third down, Palmer completed five of seven passes for 109 yards. So why did the Bengals lose the game, you ask, if our quarterback completed five of seven passes for first downs? Palmer was also sacked three times on third down and fumbled a snap.

Joe Reedy writes that nine carries resulted in negative yards and that after going seven of eight for 121 yards in the first quarter, "Palmer was 7 of 14 for 86 yards the rest of the way."

Peter King writes, "Disgraceful loss, but Bengals shouldn't have left it so much to chance at the end in Oakland."

A Larry Johnson thing?

• It's probably just a coincidence, but the Chiefs are 2-0 since jettisoning the high-profile headache named Larry Johnson. Kansas City just won consecutive games for the first time since September 2007, and if the Scott Pioli-Todd Haley regime rebuilds the Chiefs into winners, the overtime upset of Pittsburgh might some day be looked at as the game that began the turnaround.

Bengals are 0-1 with Johnson.

Clark Judge writes, "Maybe the AFC North isn't the strongest division after all. For those keeping score at home, the division was 0-4, with the worst saved for last -- and, yes, I'm talking about the Bengals' loss to Oakland. Now you know why no one trusts Cincinnati."

Bernard Scott was suffering leg cramps, so the Bengals sent in Caldwell to return the kickoff he would eventually fumble.

Post-Game Thread: Cincinnati Bengals (7-3) 17 - Oakland Raiders 20 (3-7)

jsl413 — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 00:23:45 -0000

More photos » by Marcio Jose Sanchez - AP

Who do we blame for the loss? Larry Johnson? (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

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So, I don't really have anything to say about this one. We dominated every phase of the game but turned the ball over at some very inopportune times, including Andre Caldwell's fumble kickoff, and Jeremi Johnson's fumble in the red zone. Shayne Graham also missed a field goal that was about 35 yards long. Feel free to continue discussing the loss here, I really don't have anything to say about it, I'm too disgusted. The Bengals did not play a complete game and made terrible mistakes down the stretch, including a dropped interception by Johnathan Joseph, and did not put the game away.

Unbelievable. Enjoy the gift Oakland, Pittsburgh, and the rest of the AFC. The Bengals really served this one up on a platter.

Practice Report: Cincinnati Bengals (7-2) at Oakland Raiders (2-7)

Kirkendall — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 14:15:48 -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
RB Cedric Benson (hip)	DNP	DNP
S Chris Crocker (calf)	DNP	DNP
G Evan Mathis (ankle)	DNP	LP
LB Keith Rivers (calf)	DNP	DNP
CB Johnathan Joseph (foot)	LP	LP
RB Jeremi Johnson (chest)	FP	FP
WR Laveranues Coles (head)	--	LP

OAKLAND	WED	THUR	FRI
LB Ricky Brown (ankle)	DNP
S Hiram Eugene (shoulder)	DNP
WR Nick Miller (shin)	DNP
WR Javon Walker (hamstring)	DNP
DE Greg Ellis (knee, shoulder)	LP
LB Isaiah Ekejiuba (ankle)	FP

Oakland's practice hadn't ended by the time the injury report was released.

Final Injury/Practice Report: Cincinnati Bengals (6-2) at Pittsburgh Steelers (6-2)

Kirkendall — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 16:04:38 -0000

CINCINNATI BENGALS

DOUBTFUL	PROBABLE
G Evan Mathis (ankle)	WR Andre Caldwell (illness)
LB Keith Rivers (calf)	DE Robert Geathers (hip)
	DT Tank Johnson (illness)
QUESTIONABLE	C Jonathan Luigs (illness)
RB Jeremi Johnson (chest)
DE Frostee Rucker (neck)

PITTSBURGH STEELERS

OUT
RB Carey Davis (hamstring)
DE Travis Kirschke (calf)

Practice

BENGALS	WED	THUR	FRI
RB Jeremi Johnson (chest)	DNP	LP	FP
G Evan Mathis (ankle)	DNP	DNP	DNP
LB Keith Rivers (calf)	DNP	DNP	DNP
RB Cedric Benson (not injury related)	LP	FP	FP
DE Robert Geathers (hip)	LP	LP	LP
DE Frostee Rucker (neck)	LP	LP	FP
S Roy Williams (forearm)	FP	DNP	IR
WR Andre Caldwell (illness)	--	--	DNP
DT Tank Johnson (illness)	--	--	DNP
C Jonathan Luigs (illness)	--	--	DNP

STEELERS	WED	THUR	FRI
RB Carey Davis (hamstring)	DNP	DNP	DNP
G Trai Essex (illness)	DNP	--	--
LB James Farrior (not injury related)	DNP	--	--
DE Travis Kirschke (calf)	DNP	DNP	DNP
CB Deshea Townsend (not injury related)	DNP	--	--
WR Hines Ward (not injury related)	DNP	--	--
S Tyrone Carter (illness)	--	DNP	--

Practice Report: Cincinnati Bengals (6-2) at Pittsburgh Steelers (6-2)

Kirkendall — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 15:54:19 -0000

Practice

BENGALS	WED	THUR	FRI
RB Jeremi Johnson (chest)	DNP	LP
G Evan Mathis (ankle)	DNP	DNP
LB Keith Rivers (calf)	DNP	DNP
RB Cedric Benson (not injury related)	LP	FP
DE Robert Geathers (hip)	LP	LP
DE Frostee Rucker (neck)	LP	LP
S Roy Williams (forearm)	FP	DNP

STEELERS	WED	THUR	FRI
RB Carey Davis (hamstring)	DNP	DNP
G Trai Essex (illness)	DNP	--
LB James Farrior (not injury related)	DNP	--
DE Travis Kirschke (calf)	DNP	DNP
CB Deshea Townsend (not injury related)	DNP	--
WR Hines Ward (not injury related)	DNP	--
S Tyrone Carter (illness)	--	DNP

Practice Report: Baltimore Ravens (4-3) at Cincinnati Bengals (5-2)

Kirkendall — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 14:52:16 -0000

Practice

BENGALS	WED	THUR	FRI
RB Jeremi Johnson (knee)	LP	LP
S Tom Nelson (shoulder)	LP	LP
S Roy Williams (forearm)	LP	LP
RB Bernard Scott (knee)	FP	FP
T Andre Smith (foot)	FP	FP

RAVENS	WED	THUR	FRI
LB Prescott Burgess (illness)	DNP	FP
LS Matt Katula (elbow)	DNP	DNP
S Haruki Nakamura (chest)	DNP	LP
DT Haloti Ngata (ankle)	DNP	DNP
CB Frank Walker (illness)	DNP	FP
S Tom Zbikowski (illness)	DNP	LP
TE Todd Heap (ankle)	LP	LP
RB Le'Ron McClain (shoulder)	LP	LP
LB Jarret Johnson (shoulder)	FP	FP