American Idol 2012 finale
Rollover crash injures 2
News hounds (5/24/12)
Home > Blogs > Cincinnati Bengals > Archives > 2009 > October
October 2009
Bengals’ Palmer named Player of the Week
Carson Palmer is quickly putting himself back in the conversation as one of the best quarterbacks in football.
Palmer, continuing his successful comeback after missing 12 games with an elbow injury in 2008, was named today by the NFL as AFC Offensive Player of the Week, according to a press release from the team.
Palmer posted a career-high 146.7 passer rating in last week’ 45-10 Bengals victory over Chicago. He completed 20-of-24 passes (83.3 percent) for 233 yards, with five TDs and no interceptions. His plus-five differential between TDs and INTs was his career-best and tied a Bengals record set only once previously, by Boomer Esiason against Tampa Bay in 1989.
In the first seven possessions against the Bears, Palmer led the offense to six TDs and one field goal. He threw first-half TD passes of nine yards to Chris Henry, eight yards to Chad Ochocinco, three yards to J.P. Foschi and eight yards to Laveranues Coles. He threw a second TD pass to Ochocinco in the third quarter. He played only one snap in the fourth quarter.
This is the second AFC Offensive Player of the Week award for Palmer. He won in 2004 for a comeback win at Baltimore. In September 2005, Palmer was named AFC Offensive Player of the Month.
The most recent Bengal to win AFC Offensive Player of the Week was WR Chad Ochocinco, for a 2007 performance vs. Tennessee that included 12 catches for 103 yards and three TDs.
The most recent Bengal to win any league Player of the Week award was DE Antwan Odom, who earned the defensive award for a five-sack performance on Sept. 20 of this season at Green Bay. Odom also won September’s nod as AFC Defensive Player of the Month.
Permalink | Comments (1) | Post your comment |
Bengals sign DL, need to make move at TE
The Bengals have made a move to shore up one of two units that are falling apart.
Cincinnati signed defensive tackle Orien Harris Tuesday, Oct. 20, to add depth to its depleted line, but we’re still waiting for the move everyone is clamoring for — activate and start rookie tight end Chase Coffman.
The knock on Coffman is that he can’t block, having played in a wide-open offense in college, but we know he can catch. I think we’ve seen enough dropped balls and fumbles by Dan Coats and J.P. Foschi.
There’s a reason the Bengals made this kid a third-round pick. Here’s your evidence straight from his profile: “Finished his college career at Missouri as the NCAA’s all-time leader in receptions (247) by a TE, winning the John Mackey Award during his senior year as the nation’s top TE.”
Coach Marvin Lewis and his cohorts say it’s not his time yet, citing concerns about not just his blocking, which they admit is vastly improved, but his inability to play special teams.
Enough of the excuses. Time to learn on the job.
In signing the 6-3, 300-pound Harris, the Bengals bring back a familiar name.
He played in 16 games for the Bengals in 2008, with 14 starts, logging 24 tackles. The Bengals traded him to St. Louis on May 7 of this year, with Cincinnati acquiring HB Brian Leonard.
St. Louis traded Harris to Detroit on July 22, and he was with the Lions in preseason. He made the Lions’ opening 53-player roster, was inactive for the season opener, and was waived on Sept. 16, according to a press release from the Bengals.
Harris first entered the NFL in 2006, as a fourth-round draft choice of Pittsburgh. He opened the 2008 preseason with New Orleans and was acquired by the Bengals for 2008 on an Aug. 31 waiver claim.
Harris fills a Bengals roster spot opened yesterday, when DE Antwan Odom was placed on the Reserve/Injured list.
Permalink | Comments (15) | Post your comment |
Free Bengals tickets being given away as TV blackout lifted
Cincinnati Bengals fans now have a choice - take a shot at getting free tickets or watch the game live from home.
The Bengals announced today that Sunday’s game against the Houston Texans at Paul Brown Stadium will not be blacked and will be aired live locally.
The Bengals, Local 12 (CBS affiliate WKRC-TV in Cincinnati) and Motorola worked together to ensure the blackout would be lifted. As part of this plan, Motorola will give away 1,200 tickets (600 pairs of tickets) to Bengals fans for free, starting at 11:30 am Saturday at the North Ticket Office (next to the Bengals Pro Shop) at Paul Brown Stadium. Motorola is a long-time sponsor of the Bengals and has a newly aligned partnership with Bengals WR Chad Ochocinco.
For Saturday’s ticket giveaway, complimentary parking will be available in Lot D, located on Mehring Way east of Elm Street. Tickets will be given away on a first-come, first served basis to fans 16 and over.
“We are thrilled with the response from our fans, Motorola and Local12, and we are pleased that Bengals fans across the region can watch our game on Sunday,” said Katie Blackburn, Bengals executive vice president. “We have great fans, and a sold-out Jungle will give us a real home field advantage.”
The lifting of the blackout means that the Bengals will extend to 47 their franchise-record streak of consecutive sellouts for regular and postseason games. The streak is now sure to reach at least 48, as the next home game — Oct. 25 vs. Chicago — had previously been declared a sellout.
Permalink | Comments (37) | Post your comment |
Lewis fined $25K for hit on Bengals’ Ochocinco
Well, better late than never.
ESPN is reporting that Baltimore linebacker Ray Lewis has been fined $25,000 for what looked to me — and apparently commissioner Roger Goodell — to be a helmet-to-helmet hit on the Bengals’ Chad Ochocinco Sunday, Oct. 11.
Good, and it’s about time.
Lewis is apparently going to appeal, but it looked to me like he let frustration get the best of him. He hit Ochocinco in a very deliberate and dangerous manner. Shots like that cannot be tolerated and I congratulate the commissioner on his decision.
Permalink | Comments (8) | Post your comment |
Bengals more than 3,000 tickets from sellout
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE; THURS., OCT. 15, 2009 FROM CINCINNATI BENGALS PUBLIC RELATIONS
BENGALS SECURE 24-HOUR EXTENSION FOR BLACKOUT DECISION ON HOUSTON GAME
The NFL today extended by 24 hours the deadline by which a sellout must be reached to permit local television coverage of Sunday’s 1 p.m. Bengals game vs. Houston at Paul Brown Stadium.
Games normally must be sold out 72 hours prior to kickoff for lifting of the local TV blackout, but the deadline for this week has been shortened to 48 hours, giving the club until 1 p.m. tomorrow (Friday).
“We thank our fans for stepping up with a good run of support the last few days, bringing us close enough to get this extension,” said Katie Blackburn, Bengals executive vice-presidentÂ.
“We are continuing to work to lift the blackout. It’s unclear if we will make it - we have more than 3,000 tickets to go - but we have great fans and hope we can reach the level that allows our sellout streak to continue.”
The Bengals have sold out their last 46 regular-season and postseason games, breaking a franchise-record streak of 43 that was set at Riverfront Stadium between 1988 and 1992.
If the game is sold out by 1 p.m. Friday, it will be televised live in the Bengals home market on CBS affiliates WKRC-TV (Channel 12) in Cincinnati, WHIO-TV (Channel 7) in Dayton and WKYT-TV (Channel 27) in Lexington, Ky.
Permalink | Comments (29) | Post your comment |
No TV? Bengals may be blacked out Sunday
The first-place Bengals may be greeted home by a lot of empty seats Sunday.
Without “a significant increase” in the pace of ticket sales this week, Sunday’s Bengals vs. Houston game at Paul Brown Stadium will not be a sellout, the team’s ticket office announced today.
Under NFL policy, if the 1 p.m. Sunday game is not sold out 72 hours before kickoff — by 1 p.m. this Thursday — the CBS television broadcast will be blacked out in the Bengals’ home market, which includes Cincinnati, Dayton and Lexington, Ky.
The Bengals have sold out their last 46 regular-season and postseason games in time for local television coverage. The last Bengals home game not to sell out was against Houston on Nov. 9, 2003.
Permalink | Comments (65) | Post your comment |
Wife of Bengals assistant coach passes away
Extremely sad news today:
STATEMENT FROM THE CINCINNATI BENGALS FRI., OCT. 9, 2009
Vikki Zimmer, the wife of Bengals defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer, passed away Thursday in Cincinnati.
The Zimmers were married for 27 years, with three children. Vikki Zimmer was born in Layton, Utah. She and Mike met during Mike’s coaching tenure (1981-88) at Weber State University in Ogden, Utah.
“We are stunned and saddened to learn of Vikki’s passing,” said Bengals president Mike Brown. “She was a warm and popular person in the Bengals family, and our immense respect and affection for Mike makes this especially hard. Our hearts go out to Mike and his family.”
“Mike is part of our Bengals family, and we’ll support him in every way we can,” said Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis. “We will dearly miss Vikki. She was a friend to all of us, and a big supporter of Mike’s players. Her thoughtfulness to them in so many ways will also be greatly missed.”
Funeral arrangements are incomplete.
Mike Zimmer, a 10-year defensive coordinator in the NFL, is in his second season with the Bengals.
Permalink | Comments (26) | Post your comment |
Ray Lewis fondly remembers Marvin Lewis
Some nice thoughts this week from Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis on Marvin Lewis, the man who coached him in Baltimore before he became the head coach of the Cincinnati Bengals.
Ray Lewis said this week that the Sunday Ravens-Bengals matchup against Marvin Lewis is a special one for him:
“Yeah, the teacher and the pupil from day one,” said Ray Lewis of Marvin Lewis . “It’s always about what he’s thinking over there and what he’s telling the guys. So the bottom line is that you always have to prepare for that. You always have to prepare for the little things that he’s going to tell them about you or tell them that they can do this or they can do that. You’re always trying to counter it one way or another.”
Marvin Lewis has stated a similar appreciation for Ray Lewis in the past. Here’s a nice read from 2007 which suggested Marvin Lewis was desperately looking for a defensive leader like Ray Lewis.
“There’s some stability there,” (Marvin Lewis) said. “And Ray’s been not only that as a player, but also as the leader in setting the standard of how things are done.”
One wonders what Marvin Lewis could’ve done if he really could have build a defense like he coaches in Baltimore, centered around Ray Lewis.
Regardless, the two men seem to have kept a fondness for one another.
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment |
St. Louis in the spotlight for Bengals
At least the Bengals aren’t scratching and clawing for, say, a quarterback.
But there are concerns with long snapper Brad St. Louis. Enough that the Bengals on Tuesday brought in former Arizona long snapper Nathan Hodel for a look.
St. Louis, who has played 142 games with the Bengals, has raised some jitters after making four bad snaps in the first four games, including two in the overtime win against Cleveland on Sunday.
One way to look at it is if long snapper is the team’s biggest concern, then other things are going right. At the same time, long snapper is actually an extremely key position in pro games often decided late by just a few points.
St. Louis, to his credit, patiently answered questions about the snaps against the Browns after the game on Sunday. From the story:
Just the opposite, he was a picture of calm, practically unemotional in his responses.
St. Louis said about all a long snapper can do is to keep his thoughts positive and keep in rhythm by making a lot of practice snaps.
“You want that opportunity (to be a part of the game-winning field goal),” St. Louis said.
If we wanted to be jerks about it, we could send St. Louis a primer on long snapping, which includes instructions about practicing by throwing a ball with both hands and holding it with the dominant hand, laces out.
One of the really interesting aspects of sports is the response to adversity it forces upon the participants. St. Louis has probably faced the most adversity of any player on the team, but the Bengals seem to be keeping him in the long snapper spot, so he’ll likely have more chances against the Ravens on Sunday.
We all know the snaps will be scrutinized.
Permalink | Comments (8) | Post your comment |
Bengals’ Odom joins Fulcher, Krumrie on short list of award winners
Antwan Odom has become just the third Bengal ever to be named AFC Defensive Player of the Month for September, according to a press release from the team.
Odom, a sixth-year veteran, led the league with 7 sacks in September. He led the Bengals defensive line with 16 tackles (13 solos), and he had two passes defensed.
The only other two Bengals to win the award since it was instituted in 1986 were safety David Fulcher (December, 1989) and nose tackle Tim Krumrie (November, 1988).
Odom was named AFC Defensive Player of the Week for Week 2 at Green Bay, when he tied a franchise single-game record with five sacks. Odom also recorded two sacks against Denver in week 1.
