Cincy Post: Needing a win, Bengals mull resting injured players - Page 2

**Fire Me Boy!** · 12-27-2005, 08:59 AM

Risk-reward situation
Needing a win, Bengals mull resting injured players

By Kevin Goheen
Post staff reporter

Bryan Robinson will not play Sunday for the Bengals at Kansas City.

Other than that, head coach Marvin Lewis wasn't too interested in talking about the plans he has for the players nicked up, bruised and a little battered for the regular-season finale against the Chiefs. Lewis will have the opportunity to rest a number of players, if he chooses, given that the Bengals are guaranteed to host a first-round playoff game on Jan. 7 or 8.

At the top of that list are two Pro Bowlers, quarterback Carson Palmer and cornerback Deltha O'Neal. Palmer suffered a slight pull of the left groin late in Saturday's 37-27 loss to Buffalo, while O'Neal bruised his right knee on Buffalo's first offensive play of the game.

"We'll play to win the game," said Lewis, who added that Robinson is still one or two weeks away from returning from a sprained right foot. Robinson's foot is out of a cast and the defensive tackle is to begin rehabbing it this week, testing it to see how much pressure and weight he can put on it.

"Everybody else is eligible to play and we'll keep that option open," said Lewis.

A win against the Chiefs would assure the Bengals (11-4) the No. 3 seed in the AFC playoffs and a third game against AFC North division rival Pittsburgh, while a loss could possibly drop them to No. 4, depending on how New England finishes the season. The Patriots are 10-5 after beating the New York Jets, 31-21, Monday night. New England hosts Miami on Sunday and should the Patriots and Bengals both end up with 11-5 records the Patriots would be the third seed by virtue of a better record against AFC opponents.

Being the fourth seed would mean the Bengals would host Jacksonville in the first round and be in line to play at Indianapolis in the second round. The Bengals lost at Jacksonville, 23-20, on Oct. 9, their first loss of the season. The Bengals missed out on an opportunity to earn the No. 2 seed and a first-round bye with their loss on Saturday against Buffalo.

"Nothing has really changed," said Lewis. "I wish we hadn't lost the football game but we did and we're going to learn from it and we're going to get better. We're going to play either the Steelers, the Jaguars or the Chiefs again and we're going to work on getting better as a football team this week. We've got to play better than we did on (Saturday) in all three phases. It left a sour taste in my mouth and in our players and coaches' mouths and we have to get it out of there this week."

Whether Palmer plays or not is the biggest question facing the Bengals this week. Palmer injured himself scrambling out of bounds on the first play when the Bengals got possession of the ball trailing 30-27 with 53 seconds left to play against the Bills. A slight limp was noticeable as he ran back to the huddle. On second down, Palmer threw an interception that Buffalo cornerback Terrence McGee returned 46 yards for a touchdown that sealed Cincinnati's loss.

Lewis will have to decide how much of a risk it would be to play Palmer and have him possibly aggravate the injury. The Bengals won two of three games last season with backup Jon Kitna starting in place of an injured Palmer and, with nine seasons of experience, Kitna is more than capable of handling the Bengals offense and the hostile atmosphere that will await the team at Arrowhead Stadium.

Lewis could also choose to rest other starters or key players depending on their health. O'Neal returned to the game after hurting himself but he did say the bruise bothered him against the Bills. Running back Chris Perry has missed the last two games with a sprained ankle he suffered against Cleveland on Dec. 18. Perry is much improved, according to Lewis, but the head coach needs to assess the risk of putting him back into the lineup if he's not 100 percent.

Veterans such as right tackle Willie Anderson and center Rich Braham should start, but depending how the game plays out they could be given time off in favor of backups Scott Kooistra, Stacy Andrews and Eric Ghiaciuc.

While the Bengals know they will be playing after Sunday's game is over, the Chiefs don't have that luxury. They are still in the hunt for a playoff berth, although their fate may be sealed before kickoff. Kansas City needs to beat the Bengals and then hope both Pittsburgh and San Diego lose home games this weekend. San Diego plays Denver Saturday night, while Pittsburgh is at home against Detroit on Sunday afternoon.

Whoever Lewis decides to play, he wants a better performance against the Chiefs than the one the Bengals gave Saturday against Buffalo.

"I talk about effort, energy and execution, the poise and the passion it takes to win like we did for 14 weeks and this week we didn't quite execute well enough and consistently enough and we got beat," said Lewis. "We've got to play football and do it the way we've been taught and coached to do it. That's the most disappointing thing about the other day, it's just not executing and going out and doing the things, the details of our jobs, the way they've been coached to do. We've not had that happen in a while, consistently, and we had a little too much of that."

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**Fire Me Boy!** · 12-27-2005, 11:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dirk digler

Rudi Johnson signed a 5-yr contract extension in March for 5 yrs -$26 million

Did he leave for three weeks to visit his girlfriend for three weeks?

**dirk digler** · 12-27-2005, 11:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr. Kotter

Offensively, perhaps. What about the D? Or their O-line?

They just don't scare me at all. Of course, my opinion may change in 6 or 7 days.

IMO the Bengals remind me alot of the Cowboys of the 90's with Emmitt, Troy and Irvin.

The Bengals are loaded on offense, Rudi is top 5 in rushing yards, Palmer is #2 in passing and Johnson is #3 in receiving this year.

Now their D has holes but with Marvin Lewis as the HC you know that will get fixed sooner than later.

I am not saying they will win the SB this year but they will be a force for the next 5 yrs for sure.

**dirk digler** · 12-27-2005, 12:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fire Me Boy!

Did he leave for three weeks to visit his girlfriend for three weeks?

12-27-2005, 08:59 AM
Fire Me Boy! Cast Iron Jedi Join Date: Nov 2004 Casino cash: $9999900 VARSITY	Cincy Post: Needing a win, Bengals mull resting injured players Risk-reward situation Needing a win, Bengals mull resting injured players By Kevin Goheen Post staff reporter Bryan Robinson will not play Sunday for the Bengals at Kansas City. Other than that, head coach Marvin Lewis wasn't too interested in talking about the plans he has for the players nicked up, bruised and a little battered for the regular-season finale against the Chiefs. Lewis will have the opportunity to rest a number of players, if he chooses, given that the Bengals are guaranteed to host a first-round playoff game on Jan. 7 or 8. At the top of that list are two Pro Bowlers, quarterback Carson Palmer and cornerback Deltha O'Neal. Palmer suffered a slight pull of the left groin late in Saturday's 37-27 loss to Buffalo, while O'Neal bruised his right knee on Buffalo's first offensive play of the game. "We'll play to win the game," said Lewis, who added that Robinson is still one or two weeks away from returning from a sprained right foot. Robinson's foot is out of a cast and the defensive tackle is to begin rehabbing it this week, testing it to see how much pressure and weight he can put on it. "Everybody else is eligible to play and we'll keep that option open," said Lewis. A win against the Chiefs would assure the Bengals (11-4) the No. 3 seed in the AFC playoffs and a third game against AFC North division rival Pittsburgh, while a loss could possibly drop them to No. 4, depending on how New England finishes the season. The Patriots are 10-5 after beating the New York Jets, 31-21, Monday night. New England hosts Miami on Sunday and should the Patriots and Bengals both end up with 11-5 records the Patriots would be the third seed by virtue of a better record against AFC opponents. Being the fourth seed would mean the Bengals would host Jacksonville in the first round and be in line to play at Indianapolis in the second round. The Bengals lost at Jacksonville, 23-20, on Oct. 9, their first loss of the season. The Bengals missed out on an opportunity to earn the No. 2 seed and a first-round bye with their loss on Saturday against Buffalo. "Nothing has really changed," said Lewis. "I wish we hadn't lost the football game but we did and we're going to learn from it and we're going to get better. We're going to play either the Steelers, the Jaguars or the Chiefs again and we're going to work on getting better as a football team this week. We've got to play better than we did on (Saturday) in all three phases. It left a sour taste in my mouth and in our players and coaches' mouths and we have to get it out of there this week." Whether Palmer plays or not is the biggest question facing the Bengals this week. Palmer injured himself scrambling out of bounds on the first play when the Bengals got possession of the ball trailing 30-27 with 53 seconds left to play against the Bills. A slight limp was noticeable as he ran back to the huddle. On second down, Palmer threw an interception that Buffalo cornerback Terrence McGee returned 46 yards for a touchdown that sealed Cincinnati's loss. Lewis will have to decide how much of a risk it would be to play Palmer and have him possibly aggravate the injury. The Bengals won two of three games last season with backup Jon Kitna starting in place of an injured Palmer and, with nine seasons of experience, Kitna is more than capable of handling the Bengals offense and the hostile atmosphere that will await the team at Arrowhead Stadium. Lewis could also choose to rest other starters or key players depending on their health. O'Neal returned to the game after hurting himself but he did say the bruise bothered him against the Bills. Running back Chris Perry has missed the last two games with a sprained ankle he suffered against Cleveland on Dec. 18. Perry is much improved, according to Lewis, but the head coach needs to assess the risk of putting him back into the lineup if he's not 100 percent. Veterans such as right tackle Willie Anderson and center Rich Braham should start, but depending how the game plays out they could be given time off in favor of backups Scott Kooistra, Stacy Andrews and Eric Ghiaciuc. While the Bengals know they will be playing after Sunday's game is over, the Chiefs don't have that luxury. They are still in the hunt for a playoff berth, although their fate may be sealed before kickoff. Kansas City needs to beat the Bengals and then hope both Pittsburgh and San Diego lose home games this weekend. San Diego plays Denver Saturday night, while Pittsburgh is at home against Detroit on Sunday afternoon. Whoever Lewis decides to play, he wants a better performance against the Chiefs than the one the Bengals gave Saturday against Buffalo. "I talk about effort, energy and execution, the poise and the passion it takes to win like we did for 14 weeks and this week we didn't quite execute well enough and consistently enough and we got beat," said Lewis. "We've got to play football and do it the way we've been taught and coached to do it. That's the most disappointing thing about the other day, it's just not executing and going out and doing the things, the details of our jobs, the way they've been coached to do. We've not had that happen in a while, consistently, and we had a little too much of that." http://news.cincypost.com/apps/pbcs....512270308/1022
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