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Bengals offensive line suffers another setback
Left tackle Levi Jones needs arthroscopic surgery and won't play against Carolina.
By Chick Ludwig
Staff Writer
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
CINCINNATI ? The news on the injury front just keeps getting worse for the Cincinnati Bengals.
Head coach Marvin Lewis ruled left offensive tackle Levi Jones out of Sunday's game against the Carolina Panthers with a left knee injury that will require arthroscopic surgery.
Jones got hurt in the second quarter of the Bengals' 14-13 loss at Tampa Bay on Sunday.
"I basically planted on it wrong," Jones said in Monday's open locker room. "I stayed in the game after I initially felt it, but the pain just started radiating in the wrong direction. So I came out."
Wide receiver Kelley Washington suffered a pulled hamstring, so he joins center Rich Braham (knee), wide receiver Tab Perry (hip), backup quarterback Anthony Wright (appendectomy) and Jones on the list of sidelined players.
"We'll go as we finished (the game)," said Lewis, meaning left tackle Andrew Whitworth, left guard Eric Steinbach and center Eric Ghiaciuc will start against the Panthers. "We have a different group than we started with last week, but we feel confident with those guys. We've got to settle in, get together and play."
The lack of continuity on the line has disrupted the offense's rhythm. Quarterback Carson Palmer threw for 261 yards and a touchdown against the Buccaneers, but tailback Rudi Johnson was held to 52 yards on 17 carries, a 3.1 average.
Palmer has been sacked 17 times in five games after going down just 21 times last season, and the Bengals have been held to 13 points for two straight games.
"It seems like every week somebody goes down," Palmer said. "We're shuffling offensive linemen left and right. It's tough for those guys up front to get used to each other and to understand where each other is going to be.
"Hopefully, we can get some consistency and we can get back to the way we used to run the ball."
C
ontact this reporter at (937) 225-2253 or
cludwig@DaytonDailyNews.com.
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