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Bengals tidbits

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Cincy

Bengals notebook
Ghiaciuc likely to start Sunday; Reserves' resolve means starters needn't rush back
BY MARK CURNUTTE | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER
Center Eric Ghiaciuc, who sprained his knee Nov. 30 against Baltimore, returned to practice Friday and is likely to start Sunday against Oakland.
He remained listed as questionable.
After practice, Bengals coach Marvin Lewis said he knew who would start at center but would not say.
Regular center Rich Braham, out since Week 2, remained doubtful and did not practice.
"He's dealing with an injury that takes a lot of time to heal to be right," Lewis said of Braham. "Then you put on top of that the position he plays and what he does on the field."
Starting left tackle Levi Jones (knee) is out. The play of Ghiaciuc, left tackle Andrew Whitworth and right guard Stacy Andrews has given the Bengals the luxury of not hurrying starters back.
"Because of (Braham's) presence on this football team, I've been able to hold a spot for him," Lewis said. "Because of he and Levi both, what they mean to the team, you might have made a different move. It's been good that the other guys have withstood and been good. We're giving them the benefit of the doubt (that Braham and Jones will be able to play this season) as long as we can."
OTHER INJURIES: Wide receiver Kelley Washington (hamstring) was downgraded to doubtful. He did not practice all week. He is not expected to be active.
Cornerback Tory James (illness), wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh (back) and defensive tackle John Thornton (knee) remained probable and did return to practice Friday.
BRRR: Conditions were frigid Friday, but the temperature for the game Sunday is expected to reach at least 50 degrees.
Cold days always bring about talk of an indoor practice facility. The Bengals are the northernmost NFL team without one.
"We don't talk about bubbles," Lewis said of a specific type of indoor facility.
And walking into the locker room, he added, "You can't build a bubble on a flood plain."
MCNEAL CHARGES: Bengals rookie receiver Reggie McNeal faces a drug charge stemming from his arrest earlier this week outside a Houston nightclub.
McNeal, a former Texas A&M quarterback, already charged with resisting arrest, had a cigarette that contained an antihistamine that is sometimes used as a sedative, Houston police said.
The misdemeanor charge of possession of a dangerous drug was added Tuesday, two days after McNeal scuffled with police when he was refused entry into The Red Door nightclub, Ortiz said.
McNeal is out on bond and scheduled to appear in court next week.
McNeal set an A&M record with 6,992 passing yards and rushed for 1,889 yards, the second-most by an Aggies quarterback. He set a Big 12 record with 213 consecutive passes without an interception.
McNeal was the Bengals' sixth-round pick and has played sparingly. He is the seventh Bengals player arrested this year.
The Associated Press contributed to this report. E-mail [email protected]
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McNeal faces added charge

Receiver Reggie McNeal?s scheduled court date yesterday in Houston on charges of resisting arrest was postponed until Tuesday.
McNeal also will face an additional charge of possession of a dangerous drug after police found him with Promethazine, a prescription antihistamine. The new charge is a Class A misdemeanor.
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Reportedly the drug was laced into a cigarette:

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica] McNeal, a former Texas A&M quarterback already charged with resisting arrest, had a cigarette that contained an antihistamine that is sometimes used as a sedative, Houston police spokesman Gabe Ortiz said Friday.[/FONT]
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Next in line for some blunt talk from Lewis?
 
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Dispatch

Foundation for line success laid long ago
Time-tested system helps club overcome damaging injuries

Sunday, December 10, 2006

Bill Rabinowitz
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

20061210-Pc-E11-0300.jpg

The solid play of rookie left tackle Andrew Whitworth, center, opening a hole for Rudi Johnson, has allayed Bengals? fears.


They?ve done it with a right guard who?d not started a regular-season game in his life.
They?ve done it with a center who hadn?t taken meaningful snaps since sustaining a careerthreatening knee injury in college.
They?ve done it with a left tackle given the responsibility as a rookie of protecting the blind side of a quarterback coming off reconstructive knee surgery.
Entering the season, the Bengals? offensive line was considered the foundation of a team expected to contend for the Super Bowl. Then the foundation of that foundation quickly crumbled. Center Rich Braham, considered by his linemates the brains of the operation, was lost in the second game and still hasn?t returned. Left tackle Levi Jones has missed the past seven games because of a knee injury. Right guard Bobbie Williams will return for the game today against the Oakland Raiders (2-10) after missing three games after an emergency appendectomy.
Yet with three-fifths of their starting line out, the Bengals have managed to resurrect what looked to be a doomed season. Riding a three-game winning streak, Cincinnati (7-5) has control of its playoff destiny entering the final quarter of the regular season.
Many people deserve credit for the patchwork line?s stalwart play, starting with the backups themselves. Right guard Stacy Andrews, who began playing football in his junior year of college, showed his time in apprenticeship was well-spent. Center Ben Wilkerson showed his grit by not wilting when forced to play against a tough Baltimore Ravens defense last week when Eric Ghiaciuc was injured. Wilkerson had every reason to be rusty in his first meaningful snaps since suffering a torn patellar tendon at LSU two years ago.
Left tackle Andrew Whitworth has shown each week he has the poise and ability to play such a demanding position as a rookie.
But it goes beyond that. Offensive line coach Paul Alexander credits the Bengals? longstanding blocking philosophy. Alexander has been the Bengals? line coach for 13 seasons, an unusual feat in a league that often has a revolving door for assistant coaches. He said the core concepts of the Bengals? blocking scheme date to former line coach Jim McNally?s 15-year tenure starting in 1980.
"In terms of the technical approach we use, it hasn?t really changed in years," Alexander said. "You keep evolving and growing because if you don?t, you?ll get killed. But the basic foundation is the same."
So the formula is simple: Draft smart, tough, athletic players, teach them the Bengals way of blocking and plug them in when their time comes.
"Bobbie?s the only guy we?ve got from another team," Alexander said. "I don?t like guys from another team."
So many teams founder when injuries hit the offensive line because they?re trying to blend players from different NFL systems. Bengals backups don?t know any other way.
"There?s a system," Alexander said. "They just go in and do it like the guy who?s in front of them did it."
Alexander said he?s blessed by having starters who pride themselves on their technical skill and discipline. That begins with three-time Pro Bowl right tackle Willie Anderson, who along with versatile left guard Eric Steinbach are the only starters still standing.
"The best thing you can have as a coach is when your best player does exactly what the system dictates, which is what Willie does," Alexander said. "It?s beautiful. (To) all the young players, (we say), ?Hey, see Willie? Do that.? They all fall in line. It?s a problem when your best player ? believe me, I see it on teams throughout the league ? does things outside the system. Then it?s chaos."
Braham is the same kind of technician, which has benefited Ghiaciuc, who?s likely to return today, and Wilkerson.
Mature beyond his years, Whitworth could be a special case. When coaches decided to have the second-round draft pick fill in for Jones, observers wondered whether his lack of quickness might allow passrushers to launch open season on quarterback Carson Palmer. But Whitworth has been superb.
"(As a line coach), when you have a rookie out there playing left tackle, you?re not watching the game, you?re watching that guy on every play," Alexander said. "Whitworth, I don?t even look at him. That?s probably the best thing I can say about my confidence in him."
The line?s excellent pass protection has given Palmer time to throw to his receivers. Chad Johnson is on a four-game tear and leads the NFL in receiving yards after a disappointing first half of the season.
Down the stretch, the line?s emphasis is on improving their run blocking. Rudi Johnson has run 41 times for only 111 yards the past two weeks, a paltry 2.7-yard average.
"For us to make a good run in December and beyond," Alexander said, "we have to run the ball better, more efficiently. Have to. We?ve been out of sync.
"The last two weeks, Cleveland and Baltimore gave Stacy and Ben and Ghiaciuc every little pain in the neck thing you could get. If you step with the wrong foot on a running play, the play doesn?t work."
The Raiders? third-ranked defense is expected to be another stern test for the Bengals? line. But adversity is nothing new for Cincinnati?s linemen.
"We all pull together and take pride in having an offensive line that?s known as a good O-line," Anderson said. "We don?t want to be the weak link of the team or (individually) the weak link of the group. We put pressure on ourselves to compete with each other each and every week because the pressure is put on us."
[email protected]
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Speaking of the offensive line …
Sunday, December 10, 2006



"Outside of Erik Williams, before his accident, probably the best right tackle to ever play the game. He blocks the sun. He’s been a staple on that line from day one. He’s got everything — the knowledge of the game, feet, hands, head, the heart, the love. Everything you want in a right tackle." — Oakland Raiders DT Warren Sapp on Willie Anderson
"Obviously, Willie continues to be the rock. When he’s sore and probably more injured than most guys would let on, he gets himself out there and prepares. Even when he’s not taking the practice reps, he’s there in support mentally of the guy who’s in there. His presence means a lot all the time. He keeps driving and pushing guys and bringing guys along with him." — Bengals coach Marvin Lewis on Anderson
"They’re a close group and they’ve adopted the mentality that together we can block anybody but if every man’s on their own we block nobody." — Bengals offensive line coach Paul Alexander on his linemen
"(As a line coach), when you have a rookie out there playing left tackle, you’re not watching the game, you’re watching that guy on every play. Whitworth, I don’t even look at him. That’s probably the best thing I can say about my confidence in him." — Alexander on rookie LT Andrew Whitworth "We all pull together and we take pride in having an offensive line that’s known as a good O-line. We don’t want to be the weak link of the team or (individually) the weak link of the group. We put pressure on ourselves to compete with each other each and every week because the pressure is put on us." — Anderson on the line as a unit
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Dispatch

Cincinnati avoids a slip-up
Bigger challenges than Raiders await Bengals the rest of the way
Monday, December 11, 2006
Bill Rabinowitz
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
20061211-Pc-D1-0600.jpg
</IMG> AL BEHRMAN ASSOCIATED PRESS Cincinnati safety Kevin Kaesviharn grabs Oakland?s Aaron Brooks by the jersey during a sack in the third quarter.


CINCINNATI ? Compared with the closing stretch of the Bengals? schedule, the game yesterday against the Oakland Raiders was strictly hors d?oeuvres.
But Cincinnati understood that if it gagged on the appetizer, it might not have a chance to sink its teeth into the main course of Indianapolis, Denver and Pittsburgh and have it mean much.
After all, Bengals teams have been known to slip up at inopportune times against inferior teams. They stumbled against Buffalo late last year in a loss that stopped their momentum after winning the AFC North. They lost to winless Tampa Bay two months ago to help put them into a hole out of which they have only now climbed.
The Bengals did not falter yesterday. They took control early and cruised to a 27-10 victory over the Raiders in Paul Brown Stadium.
In winning its fourth straight game, Cincinnati (8-5) increased its hold on a wild-card berth because of losses by Kansas City, Denver and the New York Jets.
"We?re peaking at the right time," receiver Chad Johnson said. "This is a big win, especially heading into Indy. We need to take the momentum into Indy next week."
Johnson (101 yards) and fellow receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh (118) each had 100-yard receiving games, and running back Rudi Johnson ran for 117 yards. It is the first time in franchise history that two receivers had triple-digits in receiving yards and a running back had 100 yards rushing in the same game.
"That?s the toughest that we?ve seen," Raiders cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha said. "Their offense is loaded. What are you going to do? They?ve got Carson Palmer, Rudi Johnson, and three wideouts. That right side of the offensive line (Bobbie Williams and Willie Anderson) just has some beasts."
The Raiders (2-11) entered the game with the NFL?s thirdranked defense, and they showed that?s no fluke. On Cincinnati?s first series, Asomugha broke quickly on a decently thrown sideline pass and intercepted Palmer, the first of three Raiders pickoffs.
This was not a revelation to the Bengals. Anderson said offensive coordinator Bob Bratkowski began a meeting Wednesday with a blunt message.
"The first thing ?Brat? said was that if any of you guys think it?s going to be an easy game, you can walk out of here," Anderson said. "These guys have been in low-scoring games. They would lose in the end, but that?s a good, well-coached defense."
The Raiders would lose because they have a horrible offense, and that again proved to be the case. On the Raiders? first play after Asomugha?s interception, Aaron Brooks completed a short pass to Alvis Whitted, who allowed Bengals cornerback Johnathan Joseph to strip him of the ball.
Cincinnati took over and drove 61 yards for a touchdown, the final 8 yards on a pass from Palmer to Chris Henry.
After Raiders kicker Sebastian Janikowski?s 51-yard field-goal attempt clanked off the left upright, the Bengals went 59 yards for another score, the first of Rudi Johnson?s two touchdown runs.
That was all the offense the Bengals needed. The Raiders failed to gain a single rushing first down, and Brooks proved to be typically inconsistent ? throwing a dart into coverage for a first down on third-andlong, then missing open receivers badly.
The Bengals built a 27-3 lead in the fourth quarter before the Raiders scored a late TD.
"It was not our best football game of the season," Bengals coach Marvin Lewis said, "but we did a lot of good things."
Against the Raiders, that was plenty. Now, bigger challenges await.
[email protected]
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Dispatch

Path to sack goal requires flexibility
Monday, December 11, 2006
Bill Rabinowitz
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
20061211-Pc-D6-0800.jpg
</IMG>


CINCINNATI ? Robert Geathers said when the Bengals drafted him in 2004, he couldn?t believe how long it had been since Cincinnati had a pass-rusher reach double digits in sacks.
Not since Alfred Williams had 10 in 1992 had a Cincinnati defender done so. Geathers ended that drought yesterday in the Bengals? 27-10 win over the Oakland Raiders.
Geathers had two sacks to give him 10?.
"Justin (Smith) and I talked about being double-digit sack guys at the beginning of the season," Geathers said. "Double-digit sack guys are among the elite, so we?ve been working toward that goal."
Geathers achieved it despite not being a starter. He started at defensive end last year but often moved to tackle in passing situations so the Bengals could use rookie linebacker David Pollack as a pass-rushing end. He added weight to play inside and lost some of his quickness.
When the Bengals signed defensive tackle Sam Adams as a free agent, they moved Bryan Robinson to end, causing Geathers to lose his starting job. Rather than sulk, Geathers rededicated himself and lost 17 pounds to make him faster.
"He played inside at tackle last year when we had David," Bengals coach Marvin Lewis said. "Not having David (because of a career-threatening neck injury), he?s been back at end, and he?s made a big difference."
Lewis added with a laugh, "Sometimes you have to overcome coaching, and he has."
A special day could have been even better for Geathers. He had a chance for an interception when Oakland quarterback Aaron Brooks had a pass batted high in the air by linebacker Brian Simmons. Geathers was in position to make the interception at the Oakland 5-yard line and possibly score, but the ball slipped through his hands.
"There was a tackle in front of me," Geathers said. "I thought he was going to go up for it. But he just stood there. I tried to jump over him and just lost the ball."
Geathers? milestone was one of several for the defense. By allowing only a field goal and a touchdown, the Bengals set a team record for fewest points allowed in a three-game period with 17.
Cincinnati held Oakland to 45 yards rushing on 16 carries (2.8) and didn?t allow a carry longer than 9 yards. The Bengals didn?t allow a rushing first down for only the third time in team history.
One weak spot, however, was Cincinnati?s performance on third down. The Bengals allowed the Raiders to convert 7 of 14 such opportunities, including a 19-yard completion on third-and-18 and a 35-yarder on thirdand-11.
[email protected]
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