BengalsLocker.com is the place where Cincinnati Bengals news comes alive. Follow the team during the comeback season where Carson Palmer leads the team toward the NFL playoffs. If you're the type who can't get your fill of "Ochocinco Madness," you have certainly come to the right place!
The Bengals have claimed kicker Aaron Elling off waivers from the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Bengals added him to protect themselves against Shayne Graham’s injured hip. The Bengals better hope Graham’s injury isn’t serious because Elling is not that good of a kicker.
The Bengals made some key mistakes that cost them this football game. Lucky for them….it’s the pre-season. Carson Palmer looked very sharp as he completed 15 of 22 passes for 136 yards with 2 TD passes. Doug Johnson finished the game as he completed 5 of 11 passes for 89 yards with 1 TD pass and 1 interception. Rudi Johnson was running hard as he carried the football 13 times for 69 yards (5.3 ypc). Chad Johnson (5 rec, 83 yards, TD) and Chris Henry (2 rec, 62 yards, TD) both had outstanding games. The Bengals finished up with 17 carries for 86 yards (5.1 ypc) and they completed 20 of 33 passes for 213 yards.
The defense was tough against the run holding the Falcons to 74 yards rushing on 32 carries (2.3 ypc). But, they had problems defending the pass as the Falcons completed 22 of 32 passes for 223 yards.
This was just what the doctor ordered for the Cincinnati Bengals. The Bengals were hurting at linebacker so they jumped at the chance to bring in Marshall after the Redskins let him go. Marshall played in 15 games (all starts) last season with the Redskins and he made 104 tackles, had 1.5 sacks and defensed 3 passes. Marshall has now played in 75 games (45 starts) in his NFL career and he has made 290 tackles, has 5.5 sacks, has defensed 9 passes and he has 4 interceptions (one of which he returned for a TD). Look for him to battle for a starting job on the Bengals.
The Cincinnati Bengals have lost linebacker Eric Henderson for the season after placing him on Injured Reserve with a fractured wrist. The second year linebacker didn’t play a down for the Bengals as a rookie but he was playing well in the pre-season this year. He had 5 tackles and a sack in the first two pre-season games. This is a bad break for Henderson as the Bengals needed depth at linebacker.
The Bengals looked sluggish on offense and that’s what cost them the football game on Saturday. Carson Palmer didn’t look sharp as he completed 5 of 11 passes for 41 yards. Doug Johnson replaced Palmer and did a semi-decent job completing 14 of 23 passes for 99 yards. Rookie Jeff Rowe was impressive completing 6 of 9 passes for 56 yards and a TD. He also carried the football 2 times for 20 yards (10.0 ypc). Quincy Wilson led the way in the running game with 19 yards on 4 carries (4.8 ypc). Kenny Watson added 18 yards on 8 carries (2.3 ypc) and Rudi Johnson added 15 yards on 6 carries (2.5 ypc). WR Skyler Green looked sharp with 3 catches for 25 yards (8.3 avg) with a TD. The Bengals rushed for 87 yards on 27 carries (3.2 ypc) as a team and they completed 25 of 43 passes for 180 yards.
The defense looked good and bad. Against the run they were tough allowing only 67 yards rushing on 23 carries (2.9 ypc) but the Saints completed 27 of 38 passes for 216 yards. So the Bengals have some things to work on defensively.
The Bengals keep re-signing Reggie Kelly to block for the running game and catch a pass or two each week. He played in 16 games (all starts) last season for the Bengals and he caught 21 passes for 254 yards (12.1 avg) with 1 TD grab. Don’t look for him to suddenly pile up the numbers as the Bengals don’t like to use the TE much because they like the vertical passing game. Kelly has now played in 121 games (103 starts) and he has caught 133 passes for 1,300 yards (9.8 avg) with 5 TD grabs.
Behind Kelly are Tim Day and Bobby Blizzard and neither of them have played an NFL down in their life.
The Bengals have a talented bunch of WRs but besides Chad Johnson and T.J. Houshmandzadeh they all come with question marks. Johnson is one of the best WRs in the NFL. He has the speed to get deep and he has a great set of hands. He started all 16 games last season for the Bengals and he caught 87 passes for 1,369 yards (15.7 avg) with 7 TD grabs and he also carried the ball 6 times for 24 yards (4.0 ypc). Look for Johnson to continue being Carson Palmer’s undisputed favorite target as he will have a monster season in 2007. Johnson has now played in 92 games (79 starts) and he has caught 466 passes for 6,925 yards (14.9 avg) with 41 TD grabs and he also has run the ball 15 times for 96 yards (6.4 ypc).
T.J. Houshmandzadeh had a breakout season in 2006 for the Bengals and their is no reason to think he won’t do it again. He almost always has single coverage and he’s a big guy who is not afraid to go over the middle. He played in 14 games (13 starts) last season for the Bengals and he caught 90 passes for 1,081 yards (12.0 avg) with 9 TD grabs and he also carried the ball 3 times for 6 yards. Look for T.J. to at least match those numbers in 2007. He has played in 74 games (44 starts) in his NFL career and he has caught 303 passes for 3,735 yards (12.3 avg) with 21 TD grabs and he also has carried the football 17 times for 119 yards (7.0 ypc) with 1 TD run.
Chris Henry has been suspended for the first 8 games of the 2006 season for repeatedly acting like a bozo off of the football field. That’s a shame because he’s a dominant #3 WR for the Bengals. He played in 13 games last season (4 starts) for the Bengals and he caught 36 passes for 605 yards (16.8 avg) with 9 TD grabs. The Bengals will miss the big plays Henry gave them last season when he was often matched up against a nickel back. Henry has now played in 27 games (9 starts) in his NFL career and he has caught 67 passes for 1,027 yards (15.3 avg) with 15 TD grabs. The Bengals hope Henry keeps his nose clean while he’s suspended because they could sure use him in the 2nd half of the season.
The Bengals would like Tab Perry to win Henry’s job in Training Camp but he will have to beat out Antonio Chatman and that will be easier said than done. Perry only played in 2 games (0 starts) last season before he injured himself pretty badly. He wound up catching 5 passes for 81 yards (16.2 avg) and he also carried the ball 2 times for 4 yards (2.0 ypc). Perry also returned 4 kickoffs for 69 yards (17.3 avg) last year. Perry has now played in 18 games (0 starts) in his NFL career and he has caught 9 passes for 102 yards (11.3 avg) with 1 TD grab and he has also carried the football 5 times for 13 yards (2.6 ypc). Perry has been a good special teams player over his career so far as he has returned 68 kickoffs for 1,631 yards (24.0 avg).
Antonio Chatman also had a short season last year as he played in only 3 games (0 starts) last season for the Bengals. He caught 3 passes for 22 yards (7.3 avg) last season. He also returned 4 kickoffs for 93 yards (23.3 avg) and 8 punts for 53 yards (6.6 avg). Chatman has a lot more experience than Perry so he might be able to beat him out for the #3 WR job. He has played in 51 games (5 starts) in his NFL career and he has caught 74 passes for 817 yards (11.0 avg) with 8 TD grabs and he also has carried the ball 12 times for 70 yards (5.8 ypc). Chatman also is a good special teams player as he has returned 70 kickoffs in his career for 1,553 yards (22.2 avg) and he has returned 118 punts for 956 yards (8.1 avg) with 1 TD return.
Reggie McNeal is a converted QB who likes hanging out with Odell Thurman and Chris Henry so who knows how long he’ll play for the Bengals. He played in 7 games in his rookie season last year and he caught 1 pass for 8 yards.
Kenny Irons tore his ACL in the Bengals pre-season game last night. He will be placed on the Injured Reserve list thus ending his season. This is a shame because Irons was expected to be the Bengals #2 running back this season behind Rudi Johnson. The Bengals only have two legit NFL running backs on their roster that are healthy in Johnson and Kenny Watson. It will be interesting to see who steps up an earns an NFL job in Cincy with Irons and Chris Perry both hurting.
The Bengals proved last night that the Lions have better scrubs than them as the Lions scored the last 17 points of the football game to prevail. Carson Palmer looked good on the field last night as he completed 7 of 10 passes for 93 yards. Doug Johnson then came in and was so-so. He completed 11 of 20 passes for 150 yards with 1 TD pass and 1 interception that was returned 81 yards for a TD. Rookie Jeff Rowe also looked pretty good completing 5 of 7 passes for 47 yards. Rudi Johnson was tough as nails like always with 5 carries for 32 yards and rookie running back Kenny Irons carried the ball 4 times for 17 yards. The star on offense was Chris Henry who caught 6 passes for 86 yards and a TD. Too bad this is the only playing time he will get until November. The Bengals carried the ball 24 times for 72 yards (3.0 ypc) and they completed 23 of 37 passes for 272 yards.
The Bengals played good defense against the run holding the Lions to 59 yards rushing on 19 carries (3.1 ypc). But, the pass defense was horrible as J.T. Sullivan (225 yards) and Dan Orlovsky (220 yards) shredded the Bengals secondary. The Lions completed 30 of 47 passes for 489 yards passing. The Bengals have a lot of work to do in the defensive backfield in the next three weeks.
http://scores.espn.go.com/nfl/boxscore?gameId=270809008
Fullback Jeremi Johnson is an underrated fullback. He’s a good blocker and a tough runner when you need to get a yard in short yardage situations. He played in 16 games (11 starts) for the Bengals last season and he carried the ball 15 times for 56 yards (3.7 ypc) with 1 run and he has caught 6 passes for 37 yards (6.2 avg). Johnson has now played in 64 games (41 starts) and he has carried the football 41 times for 116 yards (2.8 ypc) with 2 TD runs and he has caught 49 passes for 237 yards (4.8 avg) with 5 TD grabs. Chris Manderino will back up Johnson but he didn’t play a down last season as a rookie.