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Cincinnati is enjoying its day off for the bye week today, so here are 10 fun facts to help tide you over until the Bengals play the Buccaneers in Week 6:

1. Dog day afternoon

Quarterback Carson Palmer and his wife, Shaelyn, have a 135-pound male Rottweiler named Homer. "He's a big fella," Palmer said, "and he's mean."

2. Pre-game ritual

Cornerback Deltha O'Neal "gets about 50 towels out of the restroom, then comes in and lays them in front of his locker. He just kind of sits on them and lays on them," defensive end Bryan Robinson said. "He wastes a lot of towels while getting ready."

Said O'Neal: "There's an old saying that a prince walks on rose petals. I want towels in front of my locker to make sure my feet ain't getting all that crust on 'em."

3. Worst 'ride'

Tight end Ronnie Ghent's '79 Chevy Caprice. He calls the color "Gatorade Blue," but he forgot to mention the rust.

It has a flashing-light alarm, television and exotic stereo sound system, but doesn't run smoothly.

"He got that thing cranking up one day, and it took him about three times to get it started," a teammate said. "Some people had to push it to get it going."

It's at a body shop in Louisville.

4. 'Fee-fi-fo-fum'

Defensive line coach Jay Hayes pinned that nickname on defensive tackle Daniel Watts, a London native and international practice squad player.

"It's the worst nickname in NFL history, but I'm getting used to it," Watts laughed. "One day in practice, coach Hayes says, 'You know what? I'm going to call you Fee-fi-fo-fum, I smell the blood of an Englishman.' They've shortened it to 'Fee-fi.' It stuck."

5. All inked up

Cornerback Keiwan Ratliff's body is covered with 22 tattoos. The ink fetish started at the University of Florida and snowballed.

"I got one and liked it, and it just became an addiction," he said.

Ratliff's favorite tattoo: a picture of his mother, Rosalind, on his left bicep, with the inscription: No Woman Like My Momma.

6. Very nutritious

Wide receiver Chad Johnson is attempting to change his fast-food diet. A recent Wednesday lunch consisted of white rice, baked chicken, deviled eggs and green peas.

"I have to stop eating McDonald's," he said.

7. Parking perk

Center Rich Braham, defensive tackle Sam Adams, offensive tackle Willie Anderson, cornerback Tory James and defensive end Bryan Robinson have reserved spots in the players' parking lot at Paul Brown Stadium. "It rewards them for where they are in their careers," head coach Marvin Lewis said. "It's a neat thing. It's something for the other guys to walk by every day and look up to."

8. Kinda creepy

"They call me Spider-Man," third-year cornerback Greg Brooks said. "That's because I was bit by a spider. Twice. The first time was during two-a-days at Southern Miss. I woke up in the dorm one night and felt something crawling on me. I hit it and knocked it off — killed it — but not before it bit me.

"Then I got bit on my hip when I was in Los Angeles training for the NFL Scouting Combine. It was more painful than the first bite and it made a bigger hole. It was about the size of a quarter. It was real, real deep. I couldn't work out at the Combine, and that hurt my stock. I wasn't drafted until the sixth round."

9. Vanity plates

Offensive tackle Stacy Andrews' 2004 blue Lincoln Navigator features "BIG BOY" license plates. He also has a blue '94 Chevy Caprice with "COUNTRYBOY" plates.

10. Play it again

Lewis is an intense coach, but he has a soft side. His favorite love song: Cruisin', by Smokey Robinson.

— Chick Ludwig,

Dayton Daily News