Bengals Injury Report

The official injury report is here. I place more stock in who practiced and who didn't rather than the amorphous and confusing injury status (probable, doubtful, etc.). It looks like Braham and Washington didn't practice and I'd expect them not to play. Ghiaciuc did practice so I'd expect him to start at center with Ben Wilkerson as his backup.

Left unsaid is what will happen with Deltha O'Neill given his recent DUI arrest. I'd like to see the club sit him this week. I think it should just be policy that you are going to be inactive the game after any arrest.

An Open Letter to Marvin Lewis

Coach Lewis,

I would like to offer my services to the Cincinnati Bengals. While I am attorney and have practiced law in both the private and public sector for five years, I am not offering to work for the Bengals in a legal capacity. The asset I bring to the table that would best serve the club is, in the words of fictional Cincinnati resident Raymond Babbit, "I'm an excellent driver".

My driving record speaks for itself, but let me point out that I've never had anything more serious than a couple fender benders the last of which occurred over ten years ago. While I have had a speeding ticket or two since then, I think the most important thing is that, unlike your players, I have managed to go DUI-free my whole life.

Deltha O'Neill's arrest marks the eighth Bengal to be arrested in the last year. Several of these arrest have been for DUI--O'Neill, Odell Thurman, Eric Steinbach (boating), Chris Henry (1 of 4). So, the point is, if you hire me to drive these guys around (or, in Steinbach's case, captain his boat around) you can cut the number of players arrested per annum by as much as 50%!

I'd I'm not just offering to be a designated driver, I can serve as bodyguard, entourage and posse member. When somebody, like say Reggie McNeal, gets into a dust-up with a bouncer at a club, I'll step in like Kato from the Green Hornet and do all the heavy lifting (and absorb all the legal repercussions). You pay me a generous salary, give me access to the locker room and the sidelines and all the Bengals swag I can carry and in return I keep your players off the police blotter. Its a win-win!

Have your peeps call my peeps.

Romo

I've watched Dallas a couple of times since Romo took over under center, I like what I've seen from Romo. However, I think the media is getting ahead of themselves anointing him the next big QB and slotting Dallas for the Super Bowl. Lest we forget, two months back, the media was saying the same things about Rex Grossman (and at other times, and to lesser extents: Bruce Gradkowski, Kyle Orton, etc.).

He's notched a QB rating over 100.0 in three games--against Washington, Arizona and Tampa (31st, 16th and 30th in the league in opponents QB rating). In fact, he has yet to face a top-10 pass defense in terms of opponents QB rating. The Giants, ranked 14th, have been his toughest opponent thus far and they managed to hold him (somewhat) in check in their last meeting (0 TD/2 INT with 257 yards).

His toughest test may come Week 16 against Philadelphia (8th in the NFL, with an average opp. QB rating of 74.9). The rest of his regular season opponents rate in the bottom third of the league. It is my suspicion that Mr. Romo is a good, but not elite, QB. His performance against the Eagles in two weeks will be our best indicator to date.

Bengals Injury Update

Mark Curnutte's blog on the Cincinnati Enquirer website indicates that Eric Ghiaciuc practiced and will likely start at center Sunday. This is good news, I like what little I saw of 3rd stringer Ben Wilkerson in the 4th quarter against the Ravens, but I think Ghiaciuc has grown into the role and is probably our best man at the pivot (w/ apologies to veteran Richie Braham who has been injured most of the year).

One of the more exciting developments this season has been the play of some of the young lineman pressed into service due to injury. Rookie 2nd round pick Andrew Whitworth has done an impressive job filing in for Levi Jones at left tackle. I feel confident that he can protect Palmer's blindside against even the best pass rushers. He has also seen time at guard and played pretty well there too. A backup lineman that versatile is a luxury. Unfortunately, he has probably played well enough that the club won't resign LG Eric Steinbach. Ghiaciuc has played well enough at center that I think he will probably be the starter going into next season. Finally, Stacy Andrews has shown promise filling in for RG Bobbie Williams (who should be back from his appendectomy this week).

Falling Water

Enjoy a pic of Clifton Gorge

USC Cheerleaders...

Evidently not all that football savvy.

Lloyd Carr--Wwhiner

"I hope that, in the future, we can have a system where all of the answers are decided on the field," an understandably peeved Lloyd Carr said Sunday night. "We need to get away from anything that's not decided by the players themselves."

While I recognize that the BCS system is less than perfect, I think all the boo-hoo Michigan got jobbed business is ridiculous. Honestly, can Michigan claim they got screwed? Didn't they already get their shot at the title? Granted, they got an imperfect shot--on hostile ground at the Horseshoe--but a shot nonetheless. Wouldn't it have been more unfair to deny Florida any chance while giving Michigan a second bite at the proverbial apple? In any case, Carr's "decide it on the field" line seems a little ironic since, you know, it was decided on the field. Michigan had their shot to take care of business and came up just short.

Everyone is boo-hooing because they figure if Michigan narrowly lost to OSU at home, a neutral site would make for an even closer matchup. Here I think we assume too much. In spite of playing at home, the Buckeyes lost the turnover battle 3-0. Two of the turnovers were fumbled center-quarterback exchanges--simple mistakes by OSU that the Michigan D didn't create. I'd wager that Michigan wouldn't enjoy the turnover advantage it did in any rematch and OSU would win by a wider margin.

New Reds Unis

I'm no fan of the alternate Sunday uniform (all red jersey, white pants), but it's no real change from last year. However, I really like the return to red as the dominant color (no black on road jerseys) and I'm a really glad they ditched the sleeveless jerseys. The new home and road jerseys look like the gear I remember the club wearing when I grew up--so I'm all for it. Article here.