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December 2009
Bengals end Maualuga’s season, sign 2 tight ends
Any faint hopes rookie linebacker Rey Maualuga had of returning this season were ended Wednesday when the Bengals placed him on injured reserve.
Maualuga, a rookie from Southern California, suffered a left ankle fracture this past Sunday at Paul Brown Stadium against Kansas City. He has started every game this season and ranks tied for fourth on the team in tackles (80) while ranking first in forced fumbles (three), according to a press release from the team.
In other moves:
The Bengals signed rookie TE Darius Hill to the roster. Hill (6-7, 245; Ball State) had been on the Bengals practice squad since Sept. 6. He entered the NFL with Cincinnati last May as a college free agent and played in all four Bengals preseason games (no statistics).
They also signed rookie TE Carson Butler to the practice squad. Butler (6-4, 260; Michigan) was originally signed by Green Bay in May as a college free agent, but was waived and signed Aug. 6 with Detroit. He played in all four Lions preseason games, with four catches for 59 yards and a touchdown. He was waived by the Lions on Sept. 5. He spent Week 7 of this season on the San Francisco practice squad.
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TweetBengals get slap in face from Pro Bowl
The Bengals got a slap in the face Tuesday night from NFL fans, players and coaches.
Not a single Bengals player was named to the AFC Pro Bowl roster released Tuesday.
According to Bengals.com, it is the first time since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger that a division champion hasn’t had a Pro Bowler.
There’s always debate over who makes the Pro Bowl, but the Bengals certainly have worthy candidates in running back Cedric Benson, cornerbacks Leon Hall and Jonathan Joseph and even wide receiver Chad Ochocinco.
Ocho was unfazed by the snub and sent a message to his Twitter followers Tuesday evening: “bengal fans we wouldn’t be able to play in it anyway! SUPER BOWL BABY!”
He was, of course, referencing his belief that the Bengals won’t be able to play in the Pro Bowl because they’ll be preparing for the Super Bowl. The Pro Bowl will be held the week before the Super Bowl this season instead of a week after.
If the Bengals don’t end up in the Super Bowl, they could end up with alternates being named to the Pro Bowl when others back out.
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TweetBengals can win by losing Sunday in New York
The Cincinnati Bengals can win by simply losing Sunday in New York.
A loss guarantees that the Jets will be visiting Paul Brown Stadium for a rematch the following week in the first round of the playoffs.
I’ll take that matchup any day over a third meeting with Baltimore or Pittsburgh. And although revenge would taste sweet against the Denver Broncos, grinding out a win in New York just isn’t worth it.
By losing, the Bengals get to rest a weary defense that’s been playing way too many minutes thanks to the inconsistent offense.
The only concern would be that the offense might be out of sync by taking a week off. But let’s face it, the offense has been far from a well-oiled machine. Perhaps a little rest for the big names will recharge their batteries.
All this talk about playing for the third seed isn’t worth risking injuries and an undesirable first-round matchup.
Let’s get a playoff win at PBS before we worry about where the next game will be played.
PLAYOFF SCENARIOS
Check out this nifty tool from Yahoo! You can select the teams you think will win Sunday and see all the various playoff possibilities.
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TweetBengals-Jets moved to Sunday night
The Bengals regular-season finale at the New York Jets has been moved from a 1 p.m. start to 8:30 p.m. and will be aired nationally on NBC’s Sunday Night Football, the NFL announced Sunday night.
Cincinnati is 10-5 this season and has clinched the AFC North Division championship and a playoff berth. The Jets (8-7) can earn an AFC Wild Card berth with a win over the Bengals.
The Bengals last appeared on Sunday Night football in 2007 when they dropped a 24-10 decision to Pittsburgh.
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TweetBengals lose coach to Princeton; Henry to be honored Sunday
Princeton University has hired Bengals assistant coach Bob Surace as head coach.
Surace will, however, continue working with the Bengals in his position of assistant offensive line coach through the completion of the 2009 season.
“We will work with the Bengals to accommodate what works best for the Bengals and for Princeton, until the Bengals’ season is completed,” said Princeton athletic director Gary Walters.
“We are sad to see Bob go,” said Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis, “but we’re excited for him and his family that he has achieved a career goal, being named head coach at Princeton. Bob has been a huge part of our staff and of the success we’ve had. We wish him only the very best, and I know he will do a fine job for Princeton.”
Surace, 41, played center at Princeton from 1987, earning All-Ivy League recognition. He has been on the Bengals coaching staff since 2002. He was head coach at Western Connecticut State for two seasons before joining the Bengals, leading his teams to an overall 18-3 record and ranking in both seasons among the top 25 rankings for NCAA Division III schools.
“It’s a tremendous opportunity for me to return to my alma mater as head coach,” Surace said. “I have thoroughly enjoyed being a part of the Bengals coaching staff for the past eight years. I have the utmost respect for the Brown family, Marvin Lewis, all the coaches and our players and the entire organization. Although my family and I will greatly miss Cincinnati, we are thrilled to continue to wear Orange and Black.”
DECAL GIVEAWAY AND SPECIAL CEREMONY WILL HONOR MEMORY OF CHRIS HENRY
Fans attending Sunday’s Bengals-Chiefs game at Paul Brown Stadium will receive a commemorative ‘15’ decal in honor of the late Chris Henry.
The Bengals will also hold a special pregame ceremony in recognition of Henry, the fifth-year WR who died last Friday.
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TweetBengals owner: Henry’s heart ‘always in right place’
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE; FRIDAY, DEC. 17, 2009
FROM CINCINNATI BENGALS PUBLIC RELATIONS
BENGALS MOURN PASSING OF CHRIS HENRY
The Bengals were informed today by authorities in Charlotte, N.C., that WR Chris Henry died this morning from injuries sustained in an accident in Charlotte yesterday.
Henry played in this season’s first eight games with the Bengals, but was sidelined for the remainder of the season with a left forearm fracture he suffered on Nov. 8 at Baltimore. Henry was in Cincinnati last weekend for an exam by the team’s medical staff. As there was no rehab indicated for his injury beyond periodic adjustments of his cast, he was cleared at that point to return to Charlotte to be with his fiancée, Loleini Tonga (first name pronounced ‘LAY-nee’) and her family.
The couple had announced plans to be married in March. Henry leaves two sons, Chris Jr., two, and DeMarcus, one.
Funeral arrangements are incomplete.
Bengals president Mike Brown and head coach Marvin Lewis addressed news media today regarding Henry’s passing.
“Here at the Bengals, we knew Chris as a teammate and a close friend,” Brown said. “To us, he was a warm, pleasant and easygoing person. He was popular with the players, coaches and team management. This is a painful feeling, a tragedy, and we will miss him.”
Henry’s hometown was Belle Chasse, La., near New Orleans. He played in college at West Virginia and joined the Bengals as a third-round draft choice in 2005. He had a succession of legal problems early in his career, resulting in multiple NFL suspensions. But the last offense for which he was convicted occurred in 2006.
“Peeople were surprised that we stood by Chris during his problems,” Brown said. “The reason was, we knew Chris to be different than his public persona. To the best of his ability, Chris reached out to the team, his friends and his family. Everyone tried to help, and sometimes it went awry. But Chris’ heart was always in the right place. He was a good person, and he was on the road to doing well in his football career.”
Born May 17, 1983, Henry played during five Bengals seasons (2005-09). He saw action in 55 games with 12 starts, catching 119 passes for 1826 yards and 21 touchdowns.
“We had seen Chris expand this year as both a person and on the field,” said Lewis. “He had grown and matured. We extend our deepest condolences and prayers to Chris’ family and to everyone else who held him dear.”
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TweetInjuries force Bengals to juggle roster; Simpson could play
Injuries — and perhaps the ineffective passing game — are forcing the Bengals to play chess with their roster.
Wide receiver Maurice Purify, regarded as invaluable during his time on the practice squad, was waived Wednesday to make room for the re-signing of defensive tackle Shaun Smith.
This could mean that Jerome Simpson, a 6-foot-2 wide receiver in his second year, could finally get a chance to play. Simpson has been active in only 6 games since being drafted in the second round in 2008.
Smith was signed and then released last week when the Bengals needed to promote rookie Rico Murray (Kent State) from the practice squad to help fill the void left by an injury to safety Chris Crocker, who is out this week.
The Bengals will likely look to put Purify back on their practice squad, but the first-year player from Nebraska must pass through waivers first.
With starter Roy Williams out for the year, Crocker nursing an ankle and Kyries Hebert also ailing, Cincinnati could be down to 3 healthy safeties Sunday at San Diego — Chinedum Ndukwe and rookies Tom Nelson and Murray.
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TweetDonkey costume provides laughs after Bengals’ loss
At least something funny came out of the Bengals’ loss at Minnesota Sunday.
And, no, I’m not talking about the Cincinnati passing game.
Our very own Carlos “Big C” Holmes brought smiles to people in the office and along Main Street in Dayton Monday by donning a donkey costume — complete with Viking horns — and selling newspaper subscriptions for an hour.
Holmes, our resident NFL insider who has his own blog, was forced to “take one for the team” after losing a bet to Brian Kollars, the Dayton Daily News sports editor and Minnesota native who predicted a Vikings’ win.
“I didn’t sell one subscription, but a lot of the ladies blew kisses at me,” Holmes said while trotting around the newsroom. “You’ve got to be a special person to wear one of these all the time. It’s hotter than a desert in here.”
While he didn’t sell any subscriptions, Kollars said the costumed-Holmes provided plenty of inspiration.
“Every time I drive by someone wearing an outfit like this,” Kollars said pointing to Holmes, “I tell the kids — ‘that’s why you’re going to college.’”
Had the Bengals won Sunday, Kollars would have had to spend an hour taking pies in the face for $5 donations.
Maybe next time, Bengal fans.
“That was one the home team was going to win,” Kollars said. “If it was in Cincinnati, the Bengals would have won.”
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TweetBengals sign “Mouth of the South,” end Coffman’s season
The man quarterback Carson Palmer used to jokingly call “The Mouth of the South” is back with the Cincinnati Bengals and rookie tight end Chase Coffman’s disappointing season is over.
Defensive tackle Shaun Smith, known for his constant trash-talking, is back with the team after stints with the Cleveland Browns, Detroit Lions and, most recently, Las Vegas of the United Football League.
The 6-foot-2, 325-pound Smith played in 29 games with 6 starts for the Bengals from 2004-06 and went to Cleveland as an unrestricted free agent in 2007. He played for the Browns in 2007 and 2008. He has 60 career NFL games played, with 26 starts, and has compiled 184 tackles, two sacks, two forced fumbles and three passes defensed.
Coffman, a third-round pick in the 2009 draft, was expected to give the Bengals a lift at the tight end position this season. Although he’s a prolific pass-catcher at the college level, Coffman struggled all preseason to pick up blocking techniques required at the NFL level.
Coffman was placed on the Reserve/Injured list, due to bone spurs in his left ankle.
Also Wednesday, the Bengals signed cornerback Antonio Smith, a second-year NFL player from Ohio State, to the practice squad.
Smith (5-9, 190) is in his second stint this year with Cincinnati, having previously been on the practice squad from Nov. 24 through Nov. 30. He entered the NFL in 2007 as a college free agent with Indianapolis, and spent the regular season on the Colts’ Reserve/Injured list. He was waived by Indianapolis during the 2008 preseason and was briefly on the Detroit practice squad during the 2008 regular season. He was with Detroit and San Diego during the 2009 preseason.
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TweetBengals avoid TV blackout, again
The Bengals have avoided another TV blackout with their 51st consecutive sellout in regular season and postseason play. Sunday’s game against the Detroit Lions will air on WRGT-TV (Channel 45) in Dayton and WXIX-TV (Channel 19) in Cincinnati at 1 p.m.
The NFL granted the Bengals a 24-hour extension to sell out the game for the fourth time this season.
Fox19, Fifth Third Bank and Kroger led the way in helping ensure the blackout would be lifted, and the Bengals purchased tickets for distribution to local military families.
However, tickets are still available for the game.
The Bengals have not had a regular season or postseason home game blacked out for local TV since Nov. 9, 2003, but there are still a substantial number of tickets unsold for the Dec. 27 home finale vs. Kansas City.
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TweetTV blackout looms again for Bengals
Get your radios ready, Bengal fans.
Once again, the Cincinnati Bengals face the prospect of having their home game blacked out locally.
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. Detroit 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 hope to avoid a blackout,” said Andrew Brown, Bengals ticket sales manager, “but we will need strong closing sales to clear the remaining ticket inventory.”
The Bengals have sold out their last 50 regular-season and postseason games, setting a franchise record for consecutive sellouts. The former record was 43, set at Riverfront Stadium between 1988 and 1992.
If the Detroit game is sold out by 1 p.m. Friday, it will be televised live in the Bengals home market on Fox affiliates WXIX-TV (Channel 19) in Cincinnati, WRGT-TV (Channel 45) in Dayton and on WDKY-TV (Channel 56) in Lexington, Ky.
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