Cincinnati Bengals (7-2) at Oakland Raiders (2-7)

Transcription

1 Cincinnati Bengals One Paul Brown Stadium Cincinnati, Ohio (513) administrative offices (513) administrative fax (513) 621-TDTD (8383) ticket office WEEKLY NEWS RELEASE NOV. 17, 2009 Cincinnati Bengals (7-2) at Oakland Raiders (2-7) Kickoff: 4:15 p.m. EST. Television: CBS broadcast with Kevin Harlan (play-byplay) and Solomon Wilcots (analyst). The game will be aired regionally on CBS affiliates WKRC-TV (Channel 12) in Cincinnati, WHIO-TV (Channel 7) in Dayton and WKYT-TV (Channel 27) in Lexington, Ky. Radio: Coverage on the 28-station Bengals Radio Network, including a triple-cast in Cincinnati on flagships WLW- AM (700) The Big One, WCKY-AM (1530) Homer (all sports) and WEBN-FM (102.7). Broadcasters are Brad Johansen (playby-play) and Dave Lapham (analyst). Game information Week 11, Game 10 Sunday, Nov. 22 at Oakland Coliseum Next up: Week 12, Game 11 Nov. 29 vs. Cleveland A 5-0 overall AFC North record, sure to be the division s best and sure to prevail in any possible three-way tie. A performance record that goes beyond numbers. From winning in cardiac comeback fashion early in the year, to dominating favored Baltimore on Nov. 8, to beating Pittsburgh despite the injury loss of star HB Cedric Benson, the Bengals have done whatever it takes to reach center court for the playoff run. This is not a situation where we re just more athletically gifted than the other team when we step on the field, said Palmer. But I believe we want it more. This team works hard, and it has done what it takes to win. Now we need more hard work, more hard work than ever. Setting the scene: The Bengals this week head to Oakland a city in which the Cincinnati franchise has never won following a victory that may be long remembered as the War of In the estimation of head coach Marvin Lewis, Cincinnati s victory at Pittsburgh last week was the most physically grinding win I ve ever been on the sidelines to experience. The Steelers had been a landslide choice among pregame pundits, but the Bengals now appear to be done with their underdog image, at least for a while. I feel like there s a red dot on all our backs now, said CB Johnathan Joseph. That s because the Bengals are 7-2, with a tiebreakerenhanced one-game lead in the AFC North, and they presently hold the No. 2 AFC playoff seed which would come with a firstround bye. Now we re going to get the pub, said Joseph, himself a legitimate Pro Bowl candidate, and we ve got to live up to it. As noted above, the Bengals are winless (0-9) in Oakland. And though the Raiders are only 2-7, and though Cleveland (1-8) and Detroit (1-8) are next in line on the schedule, the road from here to early December looks scary to Cincinnati QB Carson Palmer. We re at a point where we re going to be expected to win, Palmer said, but we can t let that make us let up. We have to play to the same standard, because if we don t... these teams have pride and talent, and they ll beat you. We re not good enough right now to win a Super Bowl, Palmer continued. We re not good enough to make a dominant playoff run. We still have a lot of improving to do, and we d better know that. But after toughing out a hugely physical win at the defending NFL champions, the Bengals have multiple reasons to believe that hard work will continue producing positive results. Besides their one-game division lead over 6-3 Pittsburgh, they have: Head-to-head sweeps of the Steelers and the 5-4 Baltimore Ravens, insuring a tiebreaker win in any two-way tie. The series: The Raiders lead, 19-8, including 2-0 in postseason. Among teams that have not been division rivals of the Bengals, the Raiders hold the most victories. The Bengals won the last meeting, in Cincinnati in 2006, but the Bengals are 1-13 on the road against the Raiders and have never won in Oakland (0-9). The Raiders were based in Los Angeles from , and Cincinnati claimed its only road win in the series during the Bengals 1988 Super Bowl season, winning at the Los Angeles Coliseum. The Bengals were 1-4 overall in Los Angeles. In all games, home and road, the Bengals are 4-13 against the Oakland Raiders and were 4-6 against the L.A. Raiders. The series includes two playoff games. The Raiders won in a divisional game at Oakland in 1975, and won in a divisional game at Los Angeles after the 1990 season. Team bests from the series: Bengals MOST POINTS: 45, in a win at Los Angeles in LARGEST VICTORY MARGIN: 24, in the game in 88. FEWEST POINTS ALLOWED: 10 (twice), most recently in 2006 at Paul Brown Stadium. Raiders MOST POINTS: 38, in a victory at Cincinnati in LARGEST VICTORY MARGIN: 34, in a 34-0 win at Cincinnati in FEWEST POINTS ALLOWED: 0, in the 34-0 win in 68. The last meeting: Complete summaries of the two most recent Bengals-Raiders games in 2003 at Oakland and in 06 at Cincinnati are on page 17 of this news release. Bid for a bye: If the regular season were over, the 7-2 Bengals would hold the No. 2 playoff seed in the AFC. Indianapolis is first at 9-0. But a long seven weeks remain, and a No. 2 seed is not an easy prize to hold. Four formidable teams New England, Pittsburgh, San Diego and Denver lurk just a game behind the Bengals at 6-3. Page 1

2 (Bid for a bye, continued) Were the Bengals to finish in a two-way tie for second-best AFC record with New England, San Diego or Denver, the tie would be broken as follows: Head-to-head play: The possible scenarios for this to apply would be a tie with Denver or San Diego. Denver defeated the Bengals on Sept. 13. The Bengals and Chargers play at San Diego on Dec. 20. Conference record: This would be the first tiebreaker in the event of a two-way deadlock with New England. The Bengals are presently 5-2 in AFC play, and New England is 4-3. Record against common opponents: If the Bengals tied with New England and were also tied with the Patriots in conference record, the tiebreaking process would reach this stage. A two-way Bengals tie with Pittsburgh for the No. 2 seed would be broken first at the divisional level, and the Bengals hold all possible division tiebreakers against the Steelers. Bengals lead; lock tiebreakers: Last week s Bengals win at Pittsburgh gave Cincinnati a one-game lead over Pittsburgh in the AFC Central Division that is really more like a game and a half. That s because in the event of any possible tie for the title, the Bengals are assured of owning the tiebreaker advantage. Having authored head-to-head sweeps of Pittsburgh and Baltimore, the other two possible serious contenders, the Bengals would win the division in the event of a two-way tie with either of those teams. And with a 5-0 overall division record, the Bengals would have the best division record even if they were to lose to Cleveland in their final division game. The overall division record would hand them the division title in the event of a three-way tie. The Bengals started their run through the division in historically hair-raising fashion. In Weeks 3-5, they defeated each division rival by three points, becoming the first team since the 1970 merger to win division games that closely in three successive weeks. The Bengals have had at least a share of the AFC North lead after games of the last seven weeks, and this week marks their second time to have sole possession of the lead. Cincinnati first pulled into first place on Oct. 4, tying Baltimore at 3-1 by winning at Cleveland while the Ravens were losing at New England. The Bengals took sole possession of first place on Oct. 11, when they won at Baltimore to go 4-1. On Oct. 18, when the Bengals lost to Houston, Pittsburgh pulled into a first-place tie by beating Cleveland for its third straight win. The Bengals and Steelers remained tied until the Bengals moved ahead with their win at Heinz Field last week. The standings: TEAM W-L DIVISION NEXT TWO Cincinnati at Oakland; vs. Cleveland Pittsburgh at Kansas City; at Baltimore Baltimore vs. Indianapolis; vs. Pittsburgh Cleveland at Detroit; at Cincinnati Steelers, Bengals face similar roads: The remaining schedules for the Bengals and Pittsburgh Steelers are a dead heat in difficulty, based on aggregate 2009 records of the two teams opponents. Both teams are scheduled against foes with a combined record (winning percentage of.387). The Steelers have three games against teams with current winning records, and the Bengals have only two. But the Steelers do not play a team currently better than 5-4, while the Bengals have a tough two-week road trip to Minnesota (8-1) and San Diego (6-3). Take away common foes on their remaining schedules and the Bengals and Steelers schedules match up as follows: Cincinnati must play Detroit (1-8), Minnesota (8-1), San Diego (6-3) and the N.Y. Jets (4-5). Aggregate record: Pittsburgh must play Baltimore (5-4), Green Bay (5-4), Baltimore (5-4) again and Miami (4-5). Aggregate record: Record on the road: The Bengals have won a franchise-record five consecutive road games, dating back to last season s road finale at Cleveland. The Bengals previously had won four straight road games on four occasions , 75, 81 and If the Bengals defeat Oakland, they ll establish a new record for consecutive road wins in the same season (five). With their 4-0 road record to date in 2009, they are on equal footing with some of the best clubs in Bengals annals for road win streaks within a season. The 1975 team finished 11-3, for the best regular-season winning percentage (.786) in franchise history. The 1981 team went 12-4 and reached Cincinnati s first Super Bowl. The 2005 team went 11-5 and claimed the AFC North championship. The best full-season road record in Bengals history is 6-2, posted by the 1981 and 2005 teams. Red-zone reports: The battle of field goals won by the Bengals in Pittsburgh last week was not good for Cincinnati s league standing in red-zone touchdown percentage. The Bengals settled for field goals on all three of their penetrations of the Pittsburgh 20, and after leading the NFL for two straight weeks in TD percentage, they now stand fifth at But for the defense, last week s game was a red-zone winner. The Bengals forced Pittsburgh to settle for field goals on four forays inside the 20, and the defense rose from eighth to third place in TD percentage, now at Oakland has had the fewest total red-zone possessions in the NFL (12). The Raiders rank tied for 27th in offensive TD percentage (41.7). Defensively, the Raiders rank ninth in TD percentage (44.4). Bengals red-zone report OFFENSE DEFENSE Inside-20 poss.: 29 Inside-20 poss.: 23 Total scores: 26 (89.7%) Total scores: 18 (78.3%) TDs: 18 (62.1%) TDs: 9 (39.1%) FGs: 8 (27.6%) FGs: 9 (39.1%) TD% rank: 5th TD% rank: 3rd No scores: 3 (10.3%) No scores: 5 (21.7%) Missed FG: 2 (6.9%) Interceptions: 2 (8.7%) Lost on downs: 1 (3.4%) End of game: 1 (4.3%) Blocked FG: 1 (4.3%) Fumble: 1 (4.3%) Raiders red-zone report OFFENSE DEFENSE Inside-20 poss.: 12 Inside-20 poss.: 36 Total scores: 10 (83.3%) Total scores: 28 (77.8%) TDs: 5 (41.7%) TDs: 16 (44.4%) FGs: 5 (41.7%) FGs: 12 (33.4%) TD% rank: T-27th TD% rank: 9th No scores: 2 (16.7%) No scores: 6 (22.2%) A pair of 100s for Chad: WR Chad Ochocinco is the only current Bengal whose Cincinnati playing experience against the Raiders predates the teams 2006 meeting in Cincinnati. Ochocinco also played at Oakland in 2003, catching eight passes for 131 yards in a losing effort. Ochocinco caught five-for-101 in the Bengals home victory over Oakland in the 2006 contest, giving him two-game totals against the Raiders of 13 catches for 234 yards (18.0 avg.). Other Bengals individual results from the 06 game are included in the game summary on page 17 of this release. Records vs. Raiders: The two longest rushing gains ever against the Bengals were both by Bo Jackson of the Raiders. Jackson had a 92-yarder for a TD at Los Angeles on Nov. 5, 1989, and he had an 88-yarder (no score) on Dec. 16, 1990 at Los Angeles. Also: Four times, the Bengals have posted 5 interceptions against an opposing quarterback. The first of those instances came against Oakland s Daryle Lamonica on Nov. 2, The second-longest rush in Bengals history was 87 yards Page 2

3 (Records vs. Raiders, continued) for a TD by Paul Robinson at Oakland on Oct. 27, The Bengals record is 96 by Corey Dillon at Detroit in Bengals-Raiders connections: Bengals TE J.P. Foschi was with the Raiders from and also opened the 2009 preseason with Oakland... Raiders LB Ricky Brown (Boston College) is from Cincinnati (Elder HS)... Raiders DE Jay Richardson played at Ohio State... Raiders S Mike Mitchell played at Ohio University and played in high school at Fort Thomas (Ky.) Highlands... Raiders RB Michael Bush played at Louisville... Bengals running backs coach Jim Anderson coached at Stanford from Raiders LBs coach Mike Haluchak was Bengals LBs coach in Ravens quality control coach Bert Leone attended Ohio State. Bengals-Raiders NFL rankings BENGALS RAIDERS SCORING (AVG. POINTS): Points scored... 17th (22.0) 31st (9.8) Points allowed... 2nd (16.3) 25th (24.1) NET OFFENSE (AVG. YARDS): Total... 19th (334.2) 31st (222.0) Rushing... 11th (122.3) 20th (103.4) Passing... 19th (211.9) 31st (118.6) NET DEFENSE (AVG. YARDS): Total... 11th (314.4) 24th (367.1) Rushing... 2nd (83.4) 29th (155.6) Passing... 21st (231.0) 14th (211.6) TURNOVERS: Differential... T-8th (plus-3) 31st (minus-8) Marvin Lewis is in his seventh season as Bengals head coach, one year from tying former head coaches Paul Brown and Sam Wyche for the franchise s longest tenure of eight seasons. In Bengals head coaching victories, he also ranks third (behind Wyche and Brown). Lewis Bengals record is in the regular season, 0-1 in postseason and overall. He needs two victories to tie Paul Brown ( ) in Bengals annals and is 11 wins behind Wyche (64-68). His Bengals log includes an AFC North Division championship in Lewis entered 2009 tied for fifth in the NFL for current consecutive seasons as a head coach (seven). He has also cracked the active top 10 for most total seasons as an NFL head coach, sharing ninth place at seven with Jacksonville head coach Jack Del Rio. Lewis was named the ninth Bengals head coach on Jan. 14, In 2002, he directed the NFL s fifth-ranked defense with Washington, serving as assistant head coach in addition to his role as defensive coordinator. Prior to his year with the Redskins, he was a record-setting defensive coordinator for the Baltimore Ravens. His six seasons ( ) with the Ravens included a Super Bowl victory following the 2000 season. In the 2000 regular season, Lewis Baltimore defense set the NFL record for fewest points allowed in a 16-game campaign (165). Lewis entered the NFL as linebackers coach with Pittsburgh from , guiding the careers of Pro Bowl selections Kevin Greene, Chad Brown, Levon Kirkland and Greg Lloyd. Born Sept. 23, 1958, in McDonald, Pa., near Pittsburgh, Lewis played linebacker at Idaho State and earned All-Big Sky Conference honors in each of his three seasons ( ). He began his coaching career as an assistant at Idaho State University in Thou shalt not score: The Bengals enter the Oakland game ranked second in the NFL in scoring defense, allowing only 16.3 points per game. The NFL leader is unbeaten Indianapolis at The Bengals yield of only 12 points to Pittsburgh last week moved them up from a fifth-place ranking the previous week. The top five teams in scoring defense are all in the AFC. New England is third, Denver is fourth and Pittsburgh is fifth. And it should be no surprise that those five teams account for five of the top six won-lost records in the AFC, because scoring defense has proven a key barometer for Super Bowl runs. Of the last 25 Super Bowl champs, 15 ranked in the NFL s top three in scoring defense. And 23 of the 25 ranked in the top 10. The Bengals have never ranked as high as second in scoring defense for a full season. Cincinnati s best full-season ranking has been fifth, achieved in The 72 club, which finished its 14- game season with an 8-6 record, allowed 16.4 points per game (229 total). The Bengals record for fewest points allowed per game for a season, however, is 15.0, set by the 1976 club that yielded 210 The head coaches Page 3 Lewis can pass P.B.: With 53 career wins as Bengals head coach, Marvin Lewis is three behind team founder Paul Brown, who won 55 while guiding the Bengals from expansion in 1968 through Lewis can tie Brown s total as early as Nov. 29 vs. Cleveland, and he can pass it as early as Dec. 6 vs. Detroit. Brown is currently second in all-time Bengals wins behind Sam Wyche, who won 64 from Complete Bengals coaching records for Lewis, Brown and Wyche are in the previous item. Tom Cable is in his second season, and his first full season, as Raiders head coach. His record is Cable took over as head coach upon Lane Kiffin s release in 2008 and went 4-8 over the final 12 games. He was Raiders offensive line coach prior to his promotion, joining the team in Cable entered the NFL in 2006 as offensive line coach for Atlanta. He spent the previous 19 years in college coaching, beginning in 1987 at his alma mater, Idaho. He later coached at San Diego State, Cal State-Fullerton, Nevada-Las Vegas, California and Colorado, and he returned to Idaho as head coach from His last assignment before the NFL was at UCLA in Cable was an offensive lineman at Idaho and was signed for one year as a player by the Indianapolis Colts. He is a native of Merced, Calif. Lewis vs. Raiders: Tied 1-1, from a Raiders win at Oakland in 2003 and a Bengals win in Cincinnati in Lewis vs. Cable: No previous meetings. Bengals information Cable vs. Bengals: No previous meetings. points in 14 games while posting a 10-6 record. But 1976 was a tough defensive year in the NFL, and that team s ranking was only No. 7. The current Bengals team s average of 16.3 points allowed would rank second in franchise history for a full season. The 2009 Bengals have allowed 147 total points, on pace for 261 at season s end. That would be the team s best-ever mark for a 16-game season, topping the 285 yield by a 1989 team that finished 8-8. Bengals still second against run: Stout rush defense has been a hallmark of the Pittsburgh and Baltimore clubs that together have captured six of the seven previous AFC North Division championships. And now the Bengals are in the club, ranking second in the NFL in rush defense for the second straight week.. Cincinnati dropped its season yield to 83.4 yards per game last week while holding Pittsburgh to 80 yards on 18 carries. That s more than 10 yards better than the franchise record of 93.7, set in The Bengals No. 2 ranking also betters the top

4 (Bengals still second against run, continued) full-season performance in franchise history, which was tied for second by the 1983 team. Baltimore and Pittsburgh have set the tone in the AFC North, said Bengals QB Carson Palmer. They were the ones to come up with the formula, which is good solid defense, run the football, and control the field position. But now that s something we ve turned into. Our defense is giving us the chance to play that kind of game every week. Pittsburgh leads the NFL in rushing defense at To continue to be good against the run, says head coach Marvin Lewis, we ve got to do a great job of tackling and of letting guys work together. That s how you play good run defense. It starts from the perimeter guys all the way through. Teams that don t play the run very well usually have secondary guys who don t tackle very well. It s really never as much a reflection of the front guys as it is maybe of the perimeter players. You don t see most teams rip up and down the middle of the field. What happens that the secondary guys don t play the leverages and forces correctly. Scrap Iron is tough: It s traditional for successful NFL defenses and particularly for ones lacking superstar identity to have a nickname. The 2009 Bengals defense is now in that category, as players are adopting the name Scrap Iron Defense. The nickname fits because the Bengals were still considered hugely unproven entering 2009, and because they owe much of their high standing to players whose recent NFL resumes have been shaky. We ve got a lot of pieces that nobody wanted, says LB Brandon Johnson, but when we all come together, we re a hell of a machine. Johnson himself is a true piece of scrap iron. The fourth-year pro from Louisville, who has been a defensive leader since replacing injured starter Keith Rivers the last two weeks, was denied a relatively routine tender offer by Arizona in 2008, after two seasons in which he played only nine games, with no statistics on defense. The Bengals grabbed him as a free agent for 08, and in a prequel to this season, he came on strong after getting an opportunity via injury to Rivers. He wound up playing every game with nine starts last year, and he finished second on the team in tackles (112). For the nine games he started, he led the team. More on the Scraps: Bengals defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer has been playing the scrap-iron theme, without coining the nickname, since the preseason. Nobody wanted us has been his mantra to the group. Besides LB Brandon Johnson (see previous item), defenders who fit the Scrap Iron mold include: MLB Dhani Jones was released and jobless for almost three weeks before the Bengals, racked by LB injuries, signed him in September of He was the team tackling leader in 2008 and is also in first place this year. FS Chris Crocker joined Cincinnati in midseason 2008, after being released by Miami. He has 43 tackles and two INTs, and he has been credited as a mentor to younger players in the secondary. Rookie SLB Rey Maualuga despite a stellar career at USC, was notably bypassed in the first round of the 2009 draft. Rookie DE Michael Johnson, seen as a playmaker in the making, was also drafted significantly lower (third round, 70th overall), than he had hoped. DE/DT Jonathan Fanene and DE Frostee Rucker, recently among the top playmakers on the defensive line, both entered this season with performance records that spelled backup, Rucker in part due to injuries and Fanene in part to having entered the NFL with very little combined high school and college football experience. DT Tank Johnson, though coming to Cincinnati for 2009 as an unrestricted free agent, was not pursued aggressively by his former team (Dallas). Injured SS Roy Williams (out for the season) was released by Dallas last season, and after helping the defense get off to a good start, Williams has been effectively replaced by Chinedum Ndukwe, a seventh-round supplemental selection by Cincinnati in the 2007 draft. Rookie CB Morgan Trent, who has moved into the nickel back role, was a sixth-round choice (179th overall) by Cincinnati in the 2009 draft. More on the castoffs: The Bengals defense (see previous items) is not the only side of the team which has prospered from the efforts of players coach Marvin Lewis has affectionately called castoffs. A roundup of that group on offense and on special teams would include: Running backs: HB Cedric Benson was released by Chicago in June of 2008 and out of football until the Bengals signed him in late September of 08. FB Jeremi Johnson was released by Cincinnati in November of last year due to conditioning issues and not re-signed until this past April. HB Brian Leonard was traded to the Bengals by St. Louis last May for DT Orien Harris, and HB Bernard Scott was a sixth-round pick (209th overall) in the 2009 draft. Receivers: WR Laveranues Coles, despite a 70-for-850 season with the Jets in 2008, became a free agent by mutual consent with the team, due to a contract issue. TE J.P. Foschi was released in August by Oakland before joining the Bengals, and TE Daniel Coats entered the NFL as a college free agent. WR Chris Henry, whose promising season was ended Nov. 8 by a forearm fracture, was waived by the Bengals in April of 2008 before later being offered a final chance to resurrect his career from off-field problems. Offensive linemen: Starting C Kyle Cook entered the NFL undrafted, as a college free agent with Minnesota, and was cut by the Vikings before climbing onto the Bengals roster via the Cincinnati practice squad. Nate Livings, who started last week at LG, was a college free agent in 2006 and did not play until 08. Evan Mathis, the starting LG for seven games this season, joined the Bengals last year after being waived by Miami. Dennis Roland, promoted to the starting lineup at ROT in Game 6, was a 2006 college free agent for Dallas who waited more than two years, mostly on practice squads, before playing. Specialists: K Shayne Graham, though a top performer since 2003, was released five times by NFL clubs before gaining a foothold. PR Quan Cosby was undrafted last April and joined the Bengals as a college free agent. Rashad Jeanty and Kyries Hebert, who share the team s special teams tackles lead with LB Brandon Johnson, both started their careers in the Canadian Football League. A rapid rise: In their pivotal wins the last two weeks against AFC North contenders Baltimore and Pittsburgh, the Bengals have held the opposing offenses to a four-for-25 reading on third down conversions. That s a 16.0 percent success rate. Baltimore went one-for-10, and Pittsburgh s three-for-15 reading last week included a zero for its last 10 tries. Prior to the Baltimore game, the Bengals ranked tied for 21st in the NFL in defensive third-down percentage, at Now the Bengals are at 34.5 and ranked tied for sixth. Since 1981, when third-down performance became a regularly recorded portion of team statistics, the Bengals have bettered a 34.5 defensive percentage only once for a full season. In the strike-shortened nine-game season of 1982, Cincinnati finished at 33.7 percent. Coincidentally, that team s final record was 7-2, same as the current Bengals team. In the 28 seasons from , the Bengals were under 40 percent on defense only six times. In Marvin Lewis six previous seasons as head coach ( ), the Bengals were under 40 only once and at 41.3 or above the other five years. An excellent omen? Last week s Bengals win at Pittsburgh not only put Cincinnati in early command of the AFC North Division race, it played into a historical pattern that bodes well for the Bengals. The game marked only the fourth time the division rivals have both had winning records when playing each other in the second half of the season. All four games have been in Pittsburgh, the Page 4

5 (An excellent omen?, continued) Bengals have won all four, and though this season s postseason picture is far from clear, the first three such Bengals wins proved to parts of successful Cincinnati playoff drives. Here s a recap of those previous three big-game wins in Pittsburgh: On Dec. 4, 2005, the Bengals and Steelers each brought 7-3 records into their matchup at Heinz Field. The Bengals won, 38-31, and went on to win the AFC North championship at On Dec. 2, 1990, the 6-5 Bengals met the 6-5 Steelers at Three Rivers Stadium. The Bengals win helped them gain a three-way tie at season s end for the AFC Central Division title. The Houston Oilers and Pittsburgh were also 9-7. Tiebreakers gave the Bengals the division title, gave Houston a wild card berth and left the Steelers out of the postseason. On Dec. 13, 1981, a 10-4 Bengals team won against an 8-6 Steelers club, continuing it s drive to the AFC Central title and an eventual AFC Championship. Seeking division perfection: The Bengals have started 5-0 in play inside their own division for the first time in franchise history. Prior to last week s win over Pittsburgh, 4-0 was also a franchise first. The Bengals had a number of previous 3-0 starts, but none since 1989, and all the previous 3-0 starts were followed by a loss in the fourth division game. Cincinnati has already locked up best record within the division for the season, but the Bengals need a win Nov. 29 vs. Cleveland to post the first perfect division record in club annals. The best Bengals record for a full season in division play has been 5-1, most recently by the 2005 AFC North championship team. Cincinnati s other 5-1 division records have come in 1984, 1989 and The Bengals are now in division play under head coach Marvin Lewis. Accessing play-action: The Bengals are making play-action run fakes a bigger part or their passing game this season, and the move has been a hit, thanks in large part to the increased rushing threat presented by HB Cedric Benson. The benefits are that it keeps the rush off you a little bit, and it gives you a different style of pass, says quarterbacks coach Ken Zampese. The pass rushers aren t just up the field all the time. It holds the linebackers down a little bit. and having to attempt to throw it behind them instead of trying to just throw between guys on drop-back passes. Zampese says the Bengals studied the success of other offenses using the same plan. We looked around and said, How are these guys able to stand back there forever and throw the ball on some of these actions? OK, which ones? There is something to those. Because if we get (Carson Palmer) time to stand down a little bit and we can suck up a few people with a run-fake, we ve got a chance to be deadly. QB Palmer says the play-fake is an art that must be practiced continuously. You have to make it look real, Palmer says. It s easy to do it halfway and not put all your effort into it. But you have to put all your effort into it and work on it over and over. We work on it every day. It s never perfect. It can never be done, where you can say, We ve got this. Offensive linemen are also in on the deceptive act. We ve definitely gotten a lot better at it, says LOT Andrew Whitworth. We ll continue to work at it and get better and better at it because it s something that will help us down the road. It doesn t matter if teams know you run play-actions. If they look just like your runs, it puts teams in tough situations. Stepping up to the pressure: Bengals defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer opened the year by putting his starting cornerbacks both Cincinnati first-round draft picks on the spot. Those two cornerbacks, they ve got to play good for us to be good, Zimmer said of LCB Johnathan Joseph and RCB Leon Hall. If they don t, we re probably not going to be very good. What s fact at the nine-game point is that the defense is playing very well, and that Joseph and Hall could be considered the foundation of that effort. They share second place in the AFC for the season with four picks each, and their overall play has made them both legitimate candidates for Pro Bowl honors. Last week at Pittsburgh, Joseph and Hall helped hold the Steelers to a three-for-15 reading on third down. Joseph had four passes defensed, a forced fumble and five tackles. Hall had seven tackles and a pass defensed. The previous week, on Nov. 8 against a Baltimore offense ranked 10th in the NFL in passing, Joseph and Hall led the way as no Ravens WR caught a ball of more than 15 yards, and Baltimore was held to one-for-10 on third-down conversions. I don t know of a better tandem, said Bengals QB Carson Palmer. The two guys in Green Bay are really good, but I don t think I would take either of those guys over our guys. Our guys are young, fast and physical, and they both have been working on their hands to make big plays. Johnathan Joseph was always getting his hands on the ball, but he worked hard in the offseason and he is converting tipped balls and interceptions. I don t think I would take any two corners over our guys. Joseph, from South Carolina, was the Bengals first-round draft choice in 2006 (24th overall). Hall, from Michigan, was Cincinnati s top pick in 2007 (18th overall). Hall has played in every game since joining the Bengals, and his 35 starts at RCB include the last 33 games in a row. He leads the team in INTs (12) and passes defensed (51) over his Bengals tenure. Joseph had one of his INT returns this season for a TD, a crucial score in the Sept. 27 win vs. Pittsburgh, and he has scored one TD in each of the last three seasons. There s still room for improvement, but I think everything has carried over from last year, Hall says. We ve been contesting balls and making sure there are no catches. The potential and expectations are very high. Joseph has had a bit rockier a road as the LCB. Over , he missed nine games and played at less than 100 percent in some others due to foot injuries. He entered 2009 feeling fully healed for the first time since his rookie year of 06. I ve shown flashes, but I m going to put it all together now and stay healthy for 16 full games, he says. Zimmer is counting on Hall and Joseph to handle top receivers with minimal help, allowing the defense to focus on improving the pass rush. It s like always man-to-man, Joseph says. We have to stay on point all the time. Pressure is a big thing in this league, and there s pressure on us. Coaches on the corners: Regarding CBs Leon Hall and Johnathan Joseph, Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis has said: They are playing both fundamentally sound and smart, and I put a big capital on Smart. That s key to playing cornerback in this league. Both guys have tremendous athleticism, speed and ability to play the ball in the air. And from DBs coach Kevin Coyle: Those two guys are tied at the hip. They re in the meetings together, talking to each other, and I think they feed off each other. And now they ve got a good, competitive deal going. Every time one makes a pick, the other one is going out there to make a pick. More on the INTs race: Bengals starting CBs Leon Hall and Johnathan Joseph did not manage an interception last week at Pittsburgh, but with four each for the season, they held their spot as the only two players tied for second in the AFC. Buffalo rookie Jairus Byrd leads the AFC, and the NFL, with eight. Joseph and Hall are among three players tied for sixth in the NFL interceptions race. The Bengals are one of only two NFL teams to have two players with at least four INTs. Philadelphia has CB Asante Samuel with five and CB Sheldon Brown with four. Sacks (by foes) are disappearing: The Bengals rebuilt offensive line had a middling start this season in leading the team s efforts at pass protection. In the first four Page 5

6 (Sacks (by foes) are disappearing, continued) games, Cincinnati gave up nine sacks. But in the last five games, the Bengals have allowed only five sacks. Through Week 10 play, the Bengals rank sixth in the NFL in fewest sacks allowed with 12. In sacks allowed per passing play, the Bengals rank eighth. Banged-up Benson dips to sixth: Bengals HB Cedric Benson had only 22 rushing yards (on seven carries) at Pittsburgh last week before he was sidelined in the second quarter with a hip flexor strain. He did not play in the second half, and he fell from second to sixth place in the NFL rushing race, with 859 yards for the season. Benson is only one yard out of a tie for fourth place however, as Maurice Jones-Drew of Jacksonville and DeAngelo Williams of Carolina are at 860. Benson ranks third in the AFC. Tennessee Chris Johnson leads the league and the AFC by a wide margin with 1091 yards. Jones-Drew of Jacksonville is second in the AFC. Johnson is averaging a scalding 6.4 yards per carry. He s on pace for 1939 yards for the season, which would rank seventh in league history and would be the most since 2003, when Baltimore s Jamal Lewis had Benson led the league in rushing through games of Week 5 and Week 7. He has an early listing of questionable for Oakland. Cedric s will and his drive is something we feed off offensively, says QB Carson Palmer. The group we have in front of him is creating holes, and when you combine their power and Cedric s will, speed, explosiveness, that s what we expect. We re going to expect that all year long. Here s a look at the NFL s top six rushers through Week 10: PLAYER, TEAM YARDS ATT. AVG. TDS Chris Johnson, Tenn Adrian Peterson, Minn Steven Jackson, StL DeAngelo Williams, Car Maurice Jones-Drew, Jax Cedric Benson, Cin It would be a first: HB Cedric Benson (see previous item) is pursuing what would be the first AFC or NFL rushing championship by a Bengal. In 1968, Cincinnati s Paul Robinson won the rushing title in the 10-team American Football League, with 1023 yards. But in NFL play (since 1970 for Cincinnati), no Bengal has finished higher than fifth for a full season. In 2000, Corey Dillon was fifth in the NFL with 1435 yards. In AFC rankings, the highest rushing yards finish for a Bengal has been second, by James Brooks in 1986 (1087 yards). Give him the ball: HB Cedric Benson has a solid 4.1- yard average per carry, and in filling the workhorse role the Bengals envision for him, he leads the NFL in carries (205), despite sitting out the second half at Pittsburgh last week with a hip flexor strain. Benson is on pace for a 364 total that would top the franchise record of 361, set by Rudi Johnson in Benson s 37 carries on Oct. 25 vs. Chicago are the most by a rusher in an NFL game this season. Benson has 14 more carries than the second-place player, Steven Jackson of St. Louis at 191. The highest Bengals rank in NFL rush attempts for a full season has been second, by Corey Dillon in 2001 (340 attempts) and by Rudi Johnson in Paul Robinson led the AFL for the Bengals with 238 attempts in 1968, and Dillon was the AFC leader in Benson is averaging 22.8 carries per game, despite having had only seven last week. I didn t sign up for running back not to carry the football, Benson has said. I prepare well to be as fresh as I can going into every week. I love the ball in my hands. If it s every play of the game or 30 times a game, so be it. Benson also has 10 receptions for 66 yards. He has led the Bengals in yards from scrimmage in seven of the nine games. In the NFL scrimmage yards rankings through Week 10, he ranks fourth in the AFC and seventh in the NFL with 925 yards (102.8 per game). Powerful projections: Nine games into the 2009 season, HB Cedric Benson has 859 rushing yards and is on pace for a season total of 1527, which would erase the current team record 1458 yards by Rudi Johnson in 05. To pass Johnson s record by just one yard, with a 1459 total, Benson needs 600 yards in the last seven games. Presuming he plays all seven, that s an average of 85.7 per outing, some 10 fewer yards per game than the 95.4 norm he has managed through Games 1-9. To become the first Bengal reaching 1500 rushing yards in a season, Benson needs 641 more yards, or 91.6 over the final seven games. Prior to the season, QB Carson Palmer opined on the chance of Benson becoming the first Bengal to hit the 1500-yard mark. It s easily doable if he stays healthy, Palmer said. He s the type of guy that always falls forward, always lunges forward. There may not be a big hole, but he ll get two or three yards out of it. If there is a big hole, he s the type of guy that can go 80 yards and no one s going to catch him from behind. That s something we haven t had in the past. He s exciting to watch. Benson s ratio tops the leaders: Cedric Benson is the 20th player in Bengals history to have rushed for 100 yards in a game, and he has seven total 100-yarders in 19 Cincinnati starts. That s an average of one 100-yarder for every 2.7 starts, better than the ratios posted by Corey Dillon and Rudi Johnson, the players who rank 1-2 in most 100-yard rushing games for Cincinnati. Dillon got his team-record 28 games of 100 rushing yards in 96 starts, an average of one every 3.4 starts. Johnson got his 19 games of 100 in 59 starts, one for every 3.1 starts. Here s a listing of the 20 Bengals players to rush for 100 yards in a game, with their number of 100-yarders in parentheses: Ten or more games Corey Dillon (28), Rudi Johnson (19), James Brooks (17), Pete Johnson (14). Five-to-nine games Harold Green (eight), Cedric Benson (seven), Paul Robinson (six), Essex Johnson (five), Ickey Woods (five). One-to-four games Larry Kinnebrew (four), Boobie Clark (three), Archie Griffin (three), Jess Phillips (three), Kenny Watson (two), Ki-Jana Carter (one), Virgil Carter (one), Doug Dressler (one), Marc Logan (one), Deacon Turner (one), Stanley Wilson (one). Benson has eight 100-yard rushing games for his NFL career. He had two for Chicago, one in 2006 and one in 07. Most 100-yarders in a season? Bengals HB Cedric Benson has four 100-yard rushing games in the season s first nine contests, and he can manage two more in the last seven games, he ll set a club record with six for the season. The current record of five 100-yard rushing games in a season has been reached eight times by five different players. Corey Dillon did it three times, Rudi Johnson twice, and it was accomplished once by James Brooks, Harold Green and Ickey Woods. 25 does the trick: The Bengals are 26-1 in 27 games under coach Marvin Lewis in which a rusher has carried 25 or more times. Cincinnati is 6-0 when HB Cedric Benson has turned the trick. Four of his six 25-carry games have occurred this season, including three times in the last five contests. Cincinnati was 18-1 when Rudi Johnson had 25 or more carries (over ), and the Bengals were 2-0 when Kenny Watson had a pair of 25-plus games in 07. It s not always the yardage total that s most important, says Lewis. When your back is carrying 25 times, it means that even though the yardage will vary, you re controlling the ball, controlling the clock, and keeping your defense off the field. As it shows for us, that is very likely going to be a winning combination. Cincinnati s only loss under Lewis with a 25-carry rusher was Dec. 24, 2006 at Denver, when the Broncos overcame a 30-for- 129 day by Rudi Johnson in a win. Factors that contributed Page 6

7 (25 does the trick, continued) to the game being the lone exception to the 25-carry formula included a minus-two turnover differential for the Bengals and a missed PAT in the closing seconds that kept Cincinnati from forcing overtime. On Benson s comeback: HB Cedric Benson and the Bengals have been on roughly parallel paths since In 2005, the Bengals won a division championship, and Benson joined the Chicago Bears with high hopes as the No. 4 overall pick in the NFL draft. But the Bengals have been out of the playoffs since, and Benson has been largely out of the spotlight. He was released by the Bears after 2007, carrying mediocre numbers and a reputation of not being a good team player. But things started picking up again in An injury-ridden Bengals team rallied from a disastrous start to post a record over the season s second half, and Benson was a big part of it. Rescued from the ranks of the NFL unemployed in late September, he went on to post three 100-yard rushing games, to lead the team in rushing yards (747) and yards from scrimmage (932), and to earn a new reputation as a valued teammate and friendly figure to media. This season, of course, Benson has shot into contention for the NFL rushing lead while remaining a team leader, and the Bengals are 7-2. Ced has not taken a play off since he s been here, says QB Carson Palmer, in a game or in practice. Even in T-shirts and shorts, he s going 100 miles an hour. Maybe some people wondered about him personally when he first got here, but he put that to rest in a hurry and earned everyone s respect. I believed it myself, OT Andrew Whitworth said of the reputation Benson brought to Cincinnati. But he has taught us all a lesson about not judging people you don t really know. Cedric is just a team guy who quietly does his job and works really hard. Benson was completely exonerated from off-field charges which had contributed to Chicago s decision to release him in June of But he concedes he did not always carry himself or his emotions well while with Chicago. He says the rough period after his release helped effect the changes his teammates and Bengals fans have seen. I m proud to have gone through what I did, and to have turned things around, he says. Keep the chip: Given his early career disappointments, including being released by Chicago in June of 2008, HB Cedric Benson has often been asked about playing with a chip on the shoulder. And though he made an emphatic statement to the Bears on Oct. 25, rushing for a career-high 189 yards, Benson has made clear he still values the motivational factor of his troubled start. I kind of like the chip on my shoulder, he said with a smile. I think I m going to keep it. Praise flows for Palmer: Two-time Pro Bowl selection Carson Palmer has been much higher in the NFL statistics derbies than he is presently, but he has never been higher in the esteem of his coaches or teammates. We have a great leader at quarterback, and the numbers don t really concern me, head coach Marvin Lewis said. He is so poised, so calm under duress. When things start to break down and get chaotic, he s lights out in the way he stays in control. Four times in the first five games, while Cincinnati was posting a 4-1 start, Palmer drove the offense 70 yards or more for at least a tie in the last two minutes of regulation. But at that 4-1 point of the season, Palmer had a passer rating of only 76.9, ranked 24th in the NFL. In the three games since the 4-1 start, Palmer has brushed up his statistics a bit. Including a career-high rating on Oct. 25 vs. Chicago, he has moved up to 16th in the NFL in passer rating, at Minnesota s Brett Favre leads at Palmer s comebacks: The Bengals wins in Weeks 3-5 over Pittsburgh, Cleveland and Baltimore marked the eighth, ninth and 10th times that QB Carson Palmer has rallied the team from behind to win in the fourth quarter or overtime. Palmer has turned the trick twice against each of Cincinnati s AFC North Division rivals. Here s recap of all 10 games: DATE CLEVELAND *DEFICIT FINAL SCORE CLEVELAND Bengals, Bengals, Bengals, Bengals, CAROLINA Bengals, BALTIMORE Bengals, N.Y. JETS Bengals, PITTSBURGH 9-20 Bengals, Bengals, (OT) Bengals, * Largest Bengals deficit in fourth quarter. Palmer rates with greats: The Bengals were looking forward to QB Carson Palmer s full return in 2009, and a comparison of top team QBs shows why. Despite not playing as a rookie in 2004, as well as playing only four games in 08, Palmer already stands tall in team passing records against Ken Anderson and Boomer Esiason, the Bengals two Super Bowl QBs. Palmer owns the franchise s career records for passer rating and completion percentage, and he holds season marks for TD passes, rating, yards and completions. He also holds the game record for TD passes. Here s how Anderson, Esiason and Palmer compare, with a chart of team records held by each player: Career records (minimum 1000 passes) ANDERSON ESIASON PALMER Attempts (4475) Yds./att. (7.62) Comp. pct (63.5) Completions (2654) 300-yd. games (23) Rating (88.8) Yards (32,838) TD/INT ratio (1.6/1) TD passes (197) Season records (minimum 350 passes) ANDERSON ESIASON PALMER Comp. pct. (70.6) 300-yd. games (5)* Completions (373) TD/INT ratio (2.9/1) Yards (4131) TD passes (32) Rating (101.1) 300-yd. games (5)* * Esiason and Palmer share record. Game records ANDERSON ESIASON PALMER Completions (40) Yards (490) TD passes (6) Comp. pct. (90.9) Longest pass (94) Palmer the rusher: Bengals QB Carson Palmer has rushed for 52 yards at the season s halfway point, already the most in a season for his career. His previous high was 47 in 2004, when he played for the first time after seeing no action in his rookie year of More importantly, Palmer scrambles on fourth down were key plays in the Bengals wins Oct. 4 at Cleveland and Oct. 11 at Baltimore. On the winning FG drive in overtime against the Browns, Palmer converted a fourth-and-10 with a 16-yard run. On the winning TD drive at Baltimore, Palmer ran for six yards on fourth-and-one. Bengals QBs coach Ken Zampese doesn t point to any scheme changes when discussing Palmer s improved effectiveness as a rusher this season. We re not doing anything differently, Zampese said. But Zampese does credit Palmer s own adjustments within the scheme. You saw that mobility on his college tape, but it kind of dried up here, Zampese said. But now he s more comfortable in the offense, he s had success with it, and he s seen other guys do it, Page 7

8 (Palmer the rusher, continued) too. You make it part of your game when your mind decides you can make it part of your game. Strong on fourth down: The Bengals had no fourth-down conversion attempts last week at Pittsburgh, but they still rank highly in the NFL for season fourth-down performance. With an eight-for-12 reading on the year, Cincinnati ranks tied for fourth in conversion percentage (66.7) and third in total successful conversions. Chad s push for 10,000: With 668 receiving yards through nine games, Chad Ochocinco is averaging 74.2 yards per game, on pace for a 16-game total of Ochocinco entered this season with 8905 career receiving yards, needing just 1095 to reach the 10,000 mark. His current pace for this season would put him at 10,093 if carried for the final seven games. Ochocinco now has 9573 career yards (all with the Bengals), and to reach just the 10,000 mark, he would need to average 61.0 yards over the last seven games (427 total). Ochocinco has been held to seven catches for 95 yards over the past two games. But he had season highs of 118 yards and 10 catches on Oct. 25 vs. Chicago, and had 103 yards the previous week vs. Houston, his first back-to-back 100-yard efforts since Games 2-3 of His 9573 career total has him more than 2400 yards ahead of second-place Isaac Curtis (7101). With two receptions (for 29 yards) at Pittsburgh last week, Ochocinco pushed his franchise-record receptions total to 658. He now is 128 ahead of the second-place player, Carl Pickens, who caught 530. And Ochocinco is just 31 years old, presumably with many more opportunities to fatten his leads. By the time he s through, says QB Carson Palmer, these records are going to be shattered. The current top five for all-time Bengals receptions: PLAYERS YEARS SEASONS RECEPTIONS Chad Ochocinco * Carl Pickens T.J. Houshmandzadeh Cris Collinsworth Isaac Curtis * Nine games into ninth season. And the current top five for all-time Bengals receiving yards: PLAYERS YEARS SEASONS REC. YARDS Chad Ochocinco * Isaac Curtis Carl Pickens Cris Collinsworth Eddie Brown * Nine games into ninth season. Chad s streak in top five: WR Chad Ochocinco has caught at least one pass in 114 straight games a Bengals record and his streak is the fifth-longest active one in the NFL. Pittsburgh s Hines Ward leads at 171 games. Ward is followed by Jacksonville s Torry Holt at 162, Atlanta s Tony Gonzalez at 141 and Green Bay s Donald Driver at 120. Ochocinco has the third-longest active streak accomplished all with one team, as Holt and Gonzalez have carried their streaks through free agency moves. Ochocinco first established a new Bengals mark at 94 on Sept. 14 of last season vs. Tennessee, breaking a tie at 93 with Carl Pickens. Ochocinco has played in 130 total Bengals games and has had a catch in all but four of them. His last game played without a catch was Game 4 of his second season, in 2002 vs. Tampa Bay. Chad s 100-yarders: Chad Ochocinco s 118-yard game on Oct. 25 vs. Chicago was his 28th career contest with 100 or more receiving yards. He is the club record-holder in the category, with Isaac Curtis ranked second at 20 and Carl Pickens third at 19. Ochocinco is a three-time holder of the Bengals record for most 100-yard games in a season five. He shares it with Carl Pickens (twice), Eddie Brown (once) and Tim McGee (once). Chad moves toward TD crown: WR Chad Ochocinco has 58 career touchdown receptions (all with Cincinnati). He needs five more to tie all-time leader Carl Pickens (63). Ochocinco is nine games into his ninth season. Pickens played eight seasons for Cincinnati ( ). Ochocinco holds fourth place in total Bengals TDs (58). The record is 70 by FB Pete Johnson, while Pickens shares second place with RB James Brooks at 64 each. In addition to his 63 receiving TDs, Pickens had one on a punt return as a rookie. For the record: Here s current list of the Bengals records held by WR Chad Ochocinco: Receptions, career: 658. Receiving yards, career: Receiving yards, season: 1440 in Receiving yards, game: 260 on vs. San Diego. 100-yard games, career: yard games, season: Five (tied for record). Consecutive games with reception, career: 113 (streak is active). Only Chad predates Marvin: WR Chad Ochocinco is the only player on the Bengals roster whose Cincinnati tenure predates the 2003 arrival of Marvin Lewis as head coach. Ochocinco opened in 2001 under head coach Dick LeBeau, as a second-round draft choice (36th overall). Ochocinco became the lone player in this category on Oct. 13 of this year, when the Bengals released LS Brad St. Louis, a 10th-year vet. St. Louis had joined the Bengals in 2000, under head coach Bruce Coslet. At 31, Ochocinco is not the oldest Bengal. The team has several older players who began their NFL careers with other teams. Youth movement still in gear: Head coach Marvin Lewis said it entering the season this is a really young team. Then the NFL s annual analysis of Kickoff Weekend rosters confirmed it, and since that point, Cincinnati s roster has gotten even more noticeably younger. The Bengals entered the season with an average of 3.77 years of NFL experience per player, the lowest among the 32 teams. Green Bay was second-lowest at Cincinnati s average age of players on the 53-player roster was 26.13, thirdlowest in the AFC and tied for fifth-lowest in the league. And since Kickoff Weekend, the Bengals have made five roster moves that have heightened the youth factor: Following the season opener, Cincinnati released fourthyear HB DeDe Dorsey and replaced him with rookie OT Andre Smith. On Oct. 8, second-year CB Geoffrey Pope was waived and replaced by rookie LB Dan Skuta. On Oct. 13, tenth-year long snapper Brad St. Louis was released, and was replaced by first-year pro Clark Harris. On Oct. 20, second-year DT Orien Harris was signed to fill the roster spot of injured sixth-year DE Antwan Odom. Over Nov. 3-4, the Bengals released seventh-year G Scott Kooistra, filling his spot with rookie FB Fui Vakapuna. On Nov. 9, the experience level rose slightly when seventhyear vet Kooistra was re-signed and took the spot of injured fifthyear pro Chris Henry. But on Nov. 13, the youth factor increased again when eighth-year S Roy Williams went to Reserve/Injured, and his roster spot was taken by first-year WR Maurice Purify. The moves above have taken the average experience on the 53-player roster down to 3.49 years. We ve got athleticism and ability, but we have to set the goal of being the best-prepared team in the NFL, Lewis has said. We Page 8