Jacksonville Jaguars (3-4) at Cincinnati Bengals (0-8)

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 OCT. 28, 2008 Jacksonville Jaguars (3-4) at Cincinnati Bengals (0-8) Kickoff: 1 p.m. EST. Television: CBS broadcast with Gus Johnson (play-byplay) and Steve Tasker (analyst). The game will air in the Bengals home market on WKRC-TV (Channel 12) in Cincinnati, WHIO-TV (Channel 7) in Dayton and on WKYT-TV (Channel 27) in Lexington, Ky. Radio: Coverage on the 27-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). Setting the scene: Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis is fighting to hold his players spirits high as they prepare, winless, to open the season s second half against a Jacksonville team also badly in need of a win. We ve got to find a way to flip the psyche, Lewis said after last week s 35-6 loss at Houston. Our guys are going to feel beat down, but it s our job to find a way out of that, to have a great week of practice, and to win a football game at home. Detailed analysis of the Houston game will not be a part of the plan. We ll apply the 24-hour rule in this case, Lewis said. We re going to flush this bad boy down. Not much good occurred in the second half of that game. If there was a bright spot in the locker room after the Houston loss, it was players not hiding from the media, players facing up to a bad situation with no apparent dissension. This team is not into finger-pointing, said OT Levi Jones. I could never have believed we would be in this position, said WR T.J. Houshmandzadeh. But if you tuck your tail and give up, it only gets worse. Against the Texans, the Bengals did manage their most yards (253) in their four games under backup QB Ryan Fitzpatrick, who will start again against Jacksonville as Carson Palmer continues to rest a sore elbow. The Bengals were eight-for-14 offensively on third-down conversions, their best success rate (57.1 percent) in any game this year. But this game was just like Pittsburgh the week before, said Fitzpatrick. We went into halftime (down just 14-6) feeling like we were doing some good things. Then things fell apart in the second half again. When it was noted to Chad Ocho Cinco that he and Fitzpatrick missed by seemingly just inches on connecting for a TD pass just before halftime, the wide receiver replied: Close is not good enough. That s the way it was last week (on a near-miss bomb vs. Pittsburgh). That s the way it s been all year. All I can do is stay positive and try to do my job. Jacksonville enters this game in much better shape than the Game information Week 9, Game 9 Sunday, Nov. 2, 2008 at Paul Brown Stadium Next up: Bye Week struggling Bengals. But at 3-4, the Jaguars will have much of their playoff hopes clearly on the line. Jacksonville lost at home last week to Cleveland. The series: The Jaguars lead, 11-5 overall. The series is tied 4-4 in Cincinnati, but Jacksonville has won the last two Cincinnati meetings, and the Jaguars have won four straight overall. The last meeting was a Jaguars win in Jacksonville in It was the Bengals first loss after a 4-0 start, but they went on to finish 11-5 and win the AFC North championship. The last meeting in Cincinnati was a Jaguars win in The Bengals and Jaguars were rivals in the AFC Central Division from 1995 through 2001, playing twice yearly. This week s game is their third meeting since the 2002 realignment that put Cincinnati in the AFC North and Jacksonville in the AFC South. Team bests from the series: Bengals MOST POINTS: 31, in a victory at Cincinnati in LARGEST VICTORY MARGIN: 7 (twice), most recently in a win in 1996 at Cincinnati. FEWEST POINTS ALLOWED: 13 (twice), most recently in a 13-0 loss at Jacksonville in Jaguars MOST POINTS: 41, in a win in 1999 at Cincinnati. LARGEST VICTORY MARGIN: 31, in the win in 99. FEWEST POINTS ALLOWED: 0, in a 13-0 win at Jacksonville in The last meetings: Complete summaries of the last two Bengals-Jaguars meetings in 2005 at Jacksonville and 02 at Cincinnati are on page 11 of this release. Individually vs. Jaguars: Bengals WR Chad Ocho Cinco has played three career games against Jacksonville, with 14 catches for 190 yards (13.6 avg.) and one TD. In the clubs last meeting, at Jacksonville in 2005, he caught five-for-52 with a 14- yard TD. Other career performances by current Bengals while playing for Cincinnati against Jacksonville include: QB Carson Palmer: One game; 22-of-33 passing for 239 yards, two TDs and no INTs; passer rating of HB Chris Perry: One game, seven rushes for 55 yards (7.9); two receptions for 21 yards (10.5). WR T.J. Houshmandzadeh: Three games; nine receptions for 103 yards (11.4). WR Chris Henry: One game; three receptions for 85 yards (28.3); one TD; Henry had a 25-yard TD catch in the 2005 game at Jacksonville. TE Reggie Kelly: One game; One reception for five yards. Page 1

2 (Game information, continued) Records vs. Jaguars: On Dec. 9, 2001 at Paul Brown Stadium, the Bengals tied the club record with eight sacks. Cincinnati s other eight-sack game was at Pittsburgh on The Bengals record for most receiving touchdowns by a player in a game is three, accomplished 11 times. WR Carl Pickens did it against Jacksonville on Dec. 1, Red zone reports: The Bengals defense is still looking for its first true stop of an opponent inside the 20-yard line, but Jacksonville s offense has the NFL s highest percentage of failures to score inside the red zone. The Jaguars have been unable to score on 26.3 percent of their chances (five of 19). The Bengals have allowed scores on 27 of 28 defensive chances, with the only stop coming as time ran out at Baltimore. Bengals red-zone report OFFENSE DEFENSE Inside-20 poss.: 16 Inside-20 poss.: 28 Total scores: 13 (81.3%) Total scores: 27 (96.4%) TDs: 7 (43.8%) TDs: 17 (60.7%) FGs: 6 (37.5%) FGs: 10 (35.7%) TD% rank: 25th TD% rank: 26th No scores: 3 (18.8%) No scores: 1 (3.6%) Interceptions: 1 (6.3%) End of game: 1 (3.6%) Missed FGs: 1 (6.3%) Fumbles: 1: (6.3%) Jaguars red-zone report OFFENSE DEFENSE Inside-20 poss.: 19 Inside-20 poss.: 22 Total scores: 14 (73.7%) Total scores: 21 (95.5%) TDs: 9 (47.4%) TDs: 15 (68.2%) FGs: 5 (26.3%) FGs: 6 (27.3%) TD% rank: 20th TD% rank: 31st No scores: 5 (26.3%) No scores: 1 (4.5%) Bengals-Jaguars connections: Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis and Jaguars head coach Jack Del Rio were together for three seasons ( ) on the Baltimore Ravens staff, Lewis as defensive coordinator and Del Rio as linebackers coach... Bengals WRs Chad Ocho Cinco and Glenn Holt are both from Miami, Fla.... Bengals S Corey Lynch (Reserve/Injured) is from Cape Coral, Fla.... Bengals LB Keith Rivers (Reserve/Injured) is from Lake Mary, Fla.... Bengals DT Pat Sims is from Fort Lauderdale, Fla.... Bengals LB Rashad Jeanty played at Central Florida and is from Miami... Bengals S Dexter Jackson played at Florida State and is from Quincy, Fla.... Bengals WR Andre Caldwell played at Florida and is from Tampa, Fla.... Bengals LB Abdul Hodge is from Lauderdale Lakes, Fla.... Bengals offensive coordinator Bob Bratkowski was on the Miami (Fla.) staff from Bengals staff assistant Paul Guenther coached at Jacksonville University in Jaguars linebackers coach Mark Duffner was on the Bengals staff from and coached in college at Ohio State from and at Cincinnati from Jaguars quarterbacks coach Mike Shula is the brother of former Bengals head coach Dave Shula... Jaguars LB Lamar Myles (practice squad) played at Louisville. Bengals-Jaguars NFL rankings BENGALS JAGUARS SCORING (AVG. POINTS): Points scored...32nd (13.0) 25th (20.1) Points allowed...27th (27.1) 14th (21.6) NET OFFENSE (AVG. YARDS): Total...32nd (229.0) 20th(317.0) Rushing...30th (77.8) 14th (116.0) Passing... 31st (151.3) 20th (201.0) NET DEFENSE (AVG. YARDS): Total...22nd (338.0) 23rd (338.6) Rushing...28th (146.9) 17th (108.0) Passing...8th (191.1) 22nd (230.6) TURNOVERS: Differential... T-28th (minus-six) T-14th (plus-one) Marvin Lewis is in his sixth season as Bengals head coach. Only Paul Brown and Sam Wyche have had longer tenures (eight seasons each), or more career victories. Lewis record is in regular season, 0-1 in postseason and overall. Lewis guided the franchise s fourth season of 11 or more wins in 2005, when his club captured the AFC North Division championship with an 11-5 mark. Lewis five previous teams have drawn the five highest season attendances in Bengals history, and the Bengals have an active sellout streak of 39 home games (regular and postseason). In the last 59 TV ratings weeks in which there has been a Bengals game (all during the Lewis era), the Bengals have been the highest-rated show among all programming in the Cincinnati market. 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 defensive coordinator s role. 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, The head coaches Lewis played linebacker at Idaho State and earned All-Big Sky Conference honors in each of his three seasons ( ). He began his coaching career at Idaho State in Jack Del Rio is in his sixth season as Jaguars head coach. His record is 49-41, including 1-2 in postseason. He led the team to Wild Card playoff berths in 2005 and 07, and last year s team claimed the franchise s first playoff win since 1999, winning at Pittsburgh. Del Rio was Carolina s defensive coordinator in 2002, and the team s defense ranked second in the league after ranking 31st in 01. From , Del Rio was LBs coach for the Baltimore Ravens, working under current Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis, who was Ravens defensive coordinator from Lewis and Del Rio helped the Ravens win Super Bowl XXV, after the 2000 season. After playing LB in the NFL from for New Orleans, Kansas City, Dallas and Minnesota, Del Rio began his coaching career from with the Saints. He was a four-year starter at LB at the University of Southern California, where he earned consensus All-America honors and was runner-up for the Lombardi Award. Lewis vs. Jaguars: Jacksonville leads, 1-0, from a win at Jacksonville in Lewis vs. Del Rio: Del Rio leads, 1-0. Del Rio vs. Bengals: Del Rio leads, 1-0. Page 2

3 Chad could hit 600: Bengals WR Chad Ocho Cinco has not managed more than eight receptions in a game this season, but if he could grab nine against the Jaguars, he would become the only player to reach the 600 mark for a Cincinnati career. Ocho Cinco has had 11 games of nine or more catches in his career. Ocho Cinco and T.J. Houshmandzadeh rank first and third, respectively, in Bengals all-time receptions. Ocho Cinco rose to the 591 mark by grabbing five at Houston last week, and Houshmandzadeh is at 469 after an eight-catch game against the Texans. Houshmandzadeh has led the team or tied for the team lead in catches for six consecutive games, and he now is 61 catches behind second-place Carl Pickens on the all-time list. Houshmandzadeh started this season in fifth place in Bengals catches, but he has passed Cris Collinsworth and Isaac Curtis. The current top five for all-time Bengals receptions: PLAYERS YEARS SEASONS RECEPTIONS Chad Ocho Cinco * Carl Pickens T.J. Houshmandzadeh * Cris Collinsworth Isaac Curtis * Eight games into eighth season. T.J. holds second: WR T.J. Houshmandzadeh s eight-catch game against the Texans kept him in second place for the second straight week in the NFL receptions race. Houshmandzadeh is a defending co-champion after sharing the lead last year. With 54 catches this season, Houshmandzadeh trails only Houston s Andre Johnson (56). Johnson was tied for third place last week, but he shot to the top with an 11-catch game against the Bengals. Denver s Brandon Marshall, whose 49 catches led the league through Week 7, dropped to a tie for third place last weekend as Denver had a bye. Also tied for third place at 49 is New England s Wes Welker, who shared the NFL lead with Houshmandzadeh last season at 112. Houshmandzadeh has the disadvantage at this point of having only eight games left to play, while Johnson, Welker and Marshall all have nine games. The Bengals will not have their bye until Week 10, the last week for teams to have byes this season. Houshmandzadeh s 12 receptions on Sept. 21 at the N.Y. Giants are the second-most in an NFL game this year, behind only an 18-catch bonanza by Denver s Marshall against San Diego. Bengals information Eddie Brown is fourth at 41. Houshmandzadeh has 37 TDs overall, having scored one rushing in Houshmandzadeh led the team last year with 12 TDs (all receiving). That tied for the second-most receiving TDs by a Bengal in a season. Go-to guy: T.J. Houshmandzadeh is tied with Dallas TE Jason Witten for the NFL lead in third-down receptions (20). He leads the AFC by seven, as three players are tied for second at 13, and he leads all NFL wide receivers by six, as the next-highest WRs in the league are Green Bay s Greg Jennings and Atlanta s Roddy White at 14. Houshmandzadeh is tied for second in the NFL in third-down TD catches (three). The leader is Pittsburgh s Hines Ward at four. In total first downs, Houshmandzadeh ranks second in the AFC with 33. Houston WR Andre Johnson leads at 41. Dhani s lead keeps growing: MLB Dhani Jones, voted by his teammates as a 2008 team captain, was held to a season-low five tackles in the Houston game. But he still continued to widen his edge in the team tackles race. Jones has 86 tackles for the year, and he now leads by 32 over DT Domata Peko (54). Entering the Houston game, Jones led by 31 over LB Keith Rivers (81-50), but Rivers is out for the remainder of the season after suffering a jaw fracture on Oct. 19 vs. Pittsburgh. Jones has the team s four highest tackle totals in a game this year, with three 15-tackle outputs and one game of 13 tackles. No other Bengal has had more than 11 tackles in a game this season. Entering this season, Jones was credited for 665 career tackles over eight seasons with three teams, but he never had led his team in tackles for a full season. That appears likely to change this year, of course. Last year, Jones did not join the Bengals until Game 3, but he finished second on the club with 111 stops. The University of Michigan product was something of an emergency addition, signed as a free agent when the Bengals were suffering with a rash of injuries to linebackers. Jones had been released by Philadelphia in April and by New Orleans in late August. But, it goes without saying, the Bengals consider him to have been a most fortunate find. Dhani is an excellent guy in the passing lanes and the passing zones, whether it be zone or man, says head coach Marvin Lewis, and he makes a lot of plays in preventing the ball from going in some of the areas the offense is trying to get it in. And he s got a great command of what s going on. He sees the game as the coaches are seeing the game, which makes a big difference when you re out there in the huddle on game days. Another 100? Bengals WR Carl Pickens caught 100 passes in 1996, and he reigned for 11 years (through 2006) as the only Bengal to reach triple figures. But WR T.J. Houshmandzadeh is on pace at this season s midway point to pass 100 for the second consecutive year. The eighth-year pro from Oregon State wiped out Pickens record with 112 catches last year, also becoming the first Bengal to lead or tie for the lead in the NFL receptions race (he tied New England s Wes Welker). This year, with 54 catches through Week 8, Houshmandzadeh is on pace for 108 receptions. Another 1000? In receiving yardage, Cincinnati s T.J. Houshmandzadeh has 512 and is on pace for That would be his third straight 1000-yard season, making him the third Bengal to accomplish that. Chad Ocho Cinco has an active streak of six 1000-yarders ( ), but is on pace this year for only 624. Carl Pickens had three straight 1000-yarders from T.J. s TDs: T.J. Houshmandzadeh leads the Bengals in touchdowns (three). His two TD catches on Oct. 5 at Dallas raised his career total for receiving TDs to 36, pushing him into the Bengals top five all-time. Cris Collinsworth and Darnay Scott also have 36. The all-time leader is Carl Pickens at 63. Isaac Curtis is second at 53, current Bengal Chad Ocho Cinco is third at 50, and Seventh-round steal: S Chinedum Ndukwe was the last Bengals draft choice in 2007, taken with a supplemental selection. He was the 253rd of 255 draftees. Can anyone say, Big Value? The Ohio native (from Powell, near Columbus) was a promising reserve player as a rookie out of Notre Dame, contributing big plays in victories at Baltimore, vs. Cleveland and at Miami. In 2008, he leads the secondary with 51 tackles (ranked third on the team), and he is the only Bengal who has managed a sack, an interception and a fumble recovery. He s also third in passes defensed (five). He had his second career fumble return for a TD on Oct. 12 at the N.Y. Jets, going 15 yards with a Brett Favre fumble, and he ranks second on the team in solo tackles (30). Ndukwe missed the entire preseason schedule, and the season opener, due to a foot injury suffered the first week of training camp. But his return coincided with the loss of starting SS Dexter Jackson to a thumb injury, and he has held the starting spot for Games 2-8. Jackson returned to action on Oct. 19 vs. Pittsburgh, but he was moved to FS while Ndukwe has stayed in the SS spot. We knew Chinedum had the ability to come on for us this year as a starting player, says head coach Marvin Lewis. He s smart and physical and comes from a great program. He s still Page 3

4 (Seventh-round steal, continued) learning, but he s showing us he s a factor. Ndukwe s prime goal for the present is becoming a more secure tackler. Though the 6-2, 220-pounder can unquestionably deliver the big hit, he has had a couple of key missed tackles this season. Sometimes you have to take a better angle or stay lower, Ndukwe says. I just want to get them on the ground. I like to take my shots when I can. That s the kind of player I am. But I ve got to be a little smarter. If I don t have anybody behind me, it s probably not the best time to take a shot. Coach Zim (defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer) was telling me that good safeties are secure tacklers. And that not every tackle has to be a big hit. Rivers lost for season: LB Keith Rivers, the Bengals top draft pick, had a promising first six games, but was lost for the remainder of the year on the fourth scrimmage play in Game 7 vs. Pittsburgh. He suffered a broken jaw on a hit from Pittsburgh WR Hines Ward. Rivers led the Bengals in preseason tackles, and through eight games of the regular season, he still ranks fourth on the club with 50 stops. He also had a 39-yard INT return on Oct. 5 at Dallas, a play on which he showed excellent hands and speed to go along with his well-demonstrated tackling ability. I thought all along that Keith would hit the ground running, said head coach Marvin Lewis. He did, and it s a shame this year has to end like this for him. But he s shown us from the very start that he knows how to be a pro, and he ll work through this the same way. He will just keep getting better and better. Chad logs 100 straight: With the first of his five receptions last week at Houston, Chad Ocho Cinco extended to 100 his Bengals record for consecutive games with at least one catch. Ocho Cinco first established a new Bengals benchmark at 94 on Sept. 14 vs. Tennessee, breaking a tie at 93 with Carl Pickens. Ocho Cinco has played in 116 total Bengals games and has had a catch in all but four of them. His last game without a catch was Game 4 of his second season, Sept. 29, 2002 vs. Tampa Bay. His streak does not include carryover through any games missed due to injury. He has played in 111 consecutive games. Chad keeps churning: Playing through a sore shoulder from a preseason injury, Bengals WR Chad Ocho Cinco is approaching the hallowed ground of the top five in all-time Bengals streaks of consecutive games played. He ran his streak to a current team high of 111 last week at Houston. He has not missed a contest since Game 9 of his rookie 2001 season. That was the fourth of a four-game absence due to a fractured left clavicle. That is the only injury that has ever caused Ocho Cinco to miss action. If Ocho Cinco plays in every game this season, he ll end the year with a streak of 119 games. Fifth-place all-time on the Bengals is currently held by former TE Tony McGee, who logged 117 in a row from The top spot on the all-time list is held by a former punter, Lee Johnson, who played in 169 straight. Second place at 149 belongs to Pat McInally, who saw time as a Bengals receiver but was primarily a punter for his 10 seasons ( ). The longest Bengals streak of consecutive games by a non-kicker is 137, set by LB Reggie Williams between 1980 and 89. Chad soars in career yards: Chad Ocho Cinco continues to pad his margin as the Bengals all-time receiving yards leader. His 44 yards last week pushed his career total to 8677, more than 1500 yards ahead of second-place Isaac Curtis. Ocho Cinco has posted the top five receiving yards seasons in Bengals history. It is easy, at this point, to ponder if any Bengal other than Ocho Cinco will ever wear the team s career receiving yards crown. Chad s going to shatter this record, says QB Carson Palmer. He s just getting started. Thus far in 2008, here s the Bengals top five: PLAYERS YEARS SEASONS REC. YARDS Chad Ocho Cinco * Isaac Curtis Carl Pickens Cris Collinsworth Eddie Brown * Still active in WR T.J. Houshmandzadeh s 54-yard receiving day at Houston lifted him to 5390 yards for his career. He became the sixth Bengal to hit the 5000 mark on Sept. 21 at the N.Y. Giants. He is 744 yards from cracking the all-time Bengals top five in receiving yards, with Eddie Brown (6134) as his target. Dizzy heights from a numbers game: Carson Palmer exaggerated a bit when he said (previous item) that Chad Ocho Cinco is just getting started. Ocho Cinco is 30 years old as he plays through the 2008 season. But in the numbers exercise that follows, we ll float the idea of Ocho Cinco becoming only the second NFL player to reach 15,000 career receiving yards. Here goes: Ocho Cinco has not missed a game since a rookie shoulder separation in If he keeps playing through 2013, when he ll be 35, he ll have the chance (injury-free) to play in 88 more games (rest of this season plus five more seasons). Ocho Cinco has played 116 games to date, and has missed only four games due to injuries. Allowing three more games missed for injury, let s say he s fortunate enough to play 85 of those possible 88 more games. If he were to play those 85 with the 74.8-yard average he has posted through his first 116 contests, he would add 6358 yards to the 8677 he already has. He then would have 15,035 career yards, surely in strong contention for second-most in NFL history, no matter what others may do in the meantime. The all-time NFL leader is Jerry Rice, at a stratospheric 22,895 yards, but the second-place player is currently Tim Brown at 14,934. And no one is saying Ocho Cinco might not play beyond Chad, Chad, Chad, Chad... and Chad: In most major categories, the Bengals official media guide record pages note the top five performances. Such is the case in 2008 in the category of Receiving Yards in a Season, but the entry lists only one name Chad Johnson (the guide was printed before Johnson changed his surname to Ocho Cinco). Ocho Cinco entered 2007 already claiming the top four receiving yards seasons in club history. And during his seventh season, he not only bumped Eddie Brown from the top five, he broke his own Bengals record with 1440 yards (Brown had claimed the No. 5 spot entering 2007, by virtue of a 1273-yard year in 1988). Here s the listing entering 2008 (with surname updated): PLAYER SEASON YARDS Chad Ocho Cinco Chad Ocho Cinco Chad Ocho Cinco Chad Ocho Cinco Chad Ocho Cinco Chad and T.J. sky s the limit: Chad Ocho Cinco and T.J. Houshmandzadeh joined the Bengals in the same draft (2001) from the same school (Oregon State). Though they and the offense are still looking to hit full stride this season, they have become by far the most productive receiving duo in Bengals history. And based on the last few years leading up to 2008, they have been the NFL s best: Houshmandzadeh was the only NFL player with 200 receptions from He caught 202 for a 12-catch margin over second-place Reggie Wayne. Ocho Cinco ranked fourth for with 180 catches. Over the last three years ( 05-07), Houshmandzadeh was Page 4

5 (Chad and T.J. sky s the limit, continued) second in catches (280) and Ocho Cinco was third (277). The leader was Torry Holt of St. Louis at 288. Over the last four years ( 04-07), Ocho Cinco was second in catches (372) and Houshmandzadeh was third (353). Holt of St. Louis was the leader at 382. Though Houshmandzadeh was not in the top five in receiving yards for the last two, three or four seasons, no other teams are represented twice, either. As for Ocho Cinco in receiving yards: He ranked second the last two seasons ( 06-07) with 2809, behind 2820 by Indianapolis Reggie Wayne. He ranked first over the last three years ( 05-07) with 4241 as well as first over the last four years ( 04-07) with One more note on T.J.: He ranked fifth in the league in touchdown catches for the last two years ( 06-07) with 21 and also was fifth for the last three years ( 05-07) with 28. In Bengals annals, Chad and T.J. hold the top three years by a WR duo in catches, and four of the top five years. In receiving yards by a Bengals duo, Chad and T.J. claim the top four years. Holt at No. 10: Bengals KOR Glenn Holt ranks 10th in the NFL in kickoff return average at 25.8 yards. He dropped one spot from ninth place after averaging 20.5 yards on four returns last week. Holt suffered a shoulder injury at Houston, however, and has an early listing of questionable for Jacksonville. Were Holt to hold a 25.8-yard average for the full season, it would rank third in Bengals history, behind only 27.1 by Tremain Mack in 1999 and 25.9 by Mack in 98. A third-year pro from Kentucky, Holt joined the Bengals from the humble beginnings of unsigned tryout player status at a rookie minicamp. He has returned kickoffs in all three of his Bengals seasons, and this is his second year as the primary KOR. In all of his three seasons, he has been above average, based on the NFL s 22.6-yard average for KOR in Holt averaged 24.3 yards in 07 and was at 24.6 yards for brief action in Holt has one TD on a kickoff return, a 100-yarder last season at Buffalo. Holt s totals: Glenn Holt leads the NFL in total kickoff return yards (826) and ranks tied for first in number of returns (32) with Dante Hall of St. Louis. Holt s pace projects to 64 returns and 1652 yards for the full season, which would both be Bengals-record material. The 1652 yards would break Tab Perry s 2005 record of 1562, and the 64 returns would tie the mark Perry set in 05. Holt s 2007 totals of 59 returns and 1432 yards were both second-most in club history. Hold that ball: Despite his good numbers from 2006 and 07 (see previous items), Bengals WR Glenn Holt entered 08 with his kickoff return spot less than secure. The reason was his three fumbles in 07, two of which were recovered by the opponent. But Holt outlasted his preseason competition to again claim the job. He has not fumbled, and no NFL player has had more opportunities to fumble this year, as Holt is tied for the league lead in total returns (32). Stacy ready for spotlight: Heading into the 2008 season with the Bengals franchise player designation, ROT Stacy Andrews surely rated as one of the lesser-known NFL players to wear that tag. Andrews is in his fifth NFL season, but became a starter only last year. A fourth-round Bengals draft choice in 2004, the 6-7, 342-pounder was selected for his tremendous physical potential, not for his college football resume. A nationally recognized track thrower at Ole Miss, he took up football late and played in only five Rebel games. But the Bengals saw him as an excellent long-term prospect, and when he became an unrestricted free agent after last season, the club utilized the franchise tag, proclaiming its belief that he is now ready to fulfill his promise and become much more of a household NFL name. Stacy is as athletic a guy as you ll see for his level of size and strength, said Paul Alexander, Bengals assistant head coach and offensive line coach. We knew we d have to invest a lot of time to make up for his lack of football experience, but we think that s paying off now. A very tight race: Bengals K Shayne Graham made both his field goal attempts (43 and 32 yards) at Houston last week. He improved his NFL career FG accuracy to percent, good for third place all-time. He was unable, however, to gain any ground on No. 2 Nate Kaeding of San Diego, who went three-forthree against New Orleans and improved his percentage to Kaeding and Graham are both closing in on all-time leader Mike Vanderjagt, who has been out of the NFL for more than a year. They are both less than a full percentage point behind Vanderjagt. If Kaeding makes his next three FG tries without a miss, he will take over the all-time lead, at compared to Vanderjagt s static Graham had a long run in second place all-time before Week 5 play this season, when Kaeding debuted in the rankings at No. 2 after reaching the minimum qualification of 100 made FGs. Here is the all-time NFL top five through Week 8: PLAYER FG FGA PCT. Mike Vanderjagt Nate Kaeding Shayne Graham Matt Stover Phil Dawson Better than the best? As far as Bengals coaches are concerned, K Shayne Graham is the true No. 1 in all-time field goal accuracy. Though Graham (85.79) trails Mike Vanderjagt (86.47) and Nate Kaeding (86.18) in career percentage, Graham s career totals (163-for-190) include a 19-for-26 performance in previous NFL stops at Buffalo and Carolina. As a Bengal, Graham is 144- for-164, an percent accuracy rate which is Cincinnati s alltime best and also tops Vanderjagt s and Kaeding s career marks. Comparing the big three: In his sixth NFL season and his fifth season of actually seeing action Carson Palmer is holding his own in team passing records against Ken Anderson and Boomer Esiason, the Bengals two Super Bowl quarterbacks. 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 (63.7) Completions (2654) 300-yd. games (23) Rating (88.9) 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) Strong fumbles pace takes a dip: In their first five seasons under Marvin Lewis, the Bengals averaged only 8.8 lost fumbles per year. That easily beat the NFL average of 12.0 fumbles lost per team for the same period. Prior to Lewis tenure, Page 5

6 (Strong fumbles pace takes a dip, continued) the Bengals average for 16-game seasons was 13.9 fumbles lost. But Cincinnati has lost seven in eight games this season. That projects to a loss of 14 for the season, which would be the most by a Lewis club, topping a final figure of 11 in A stat that matters: The Bengals are 29-5 in regular-season play under head coach Marvin Lewis when logging a plus in turnover differential. That s an.853 winning percentage. The Bengals are.429 (9-12) under Lewis when the differential has been even, and are.121 (4-29) with a minus. More extensive league-wide numbers also bear out the Bengals experience. Since the start of the 2000 season, here are the aggregate records of NFL teams with varying turnover differentials (minus differentials are not included because they are the exact reverse of the plus figure for the same numbers): DIFFERENTIAL W-L PCT. Plus Plus Plus Plus Plus-5 or more Overall, combining the five differential levels listed above, NFL teams with any plus have a winning percentage of.799 since The combined W-L record is In Week 8, teams with a turnover plus went 10-3 (.769). For the full season, teams with a plus have a record (.769). Foes have thrived on turnovers: Though the Bengals are mired with a minus-six turnover differential this season, they rank third in the NFL during Lewis tenure (2003- present) with a plus-36 reading. For the same period, Jacksonville ranks fifth in the league at plus-24. Prior to Lewis tenure, the Bengals had posted a minus differential for five straight years ( ). Here are the top five teams in differential since 2003: TEAM TAKEAWAYS GIVEAWAYS DIFFERENTIAL Indianapolis New England Cincinnati San Diego Jacksonville The Bengals lead the NFL in total takeaways (180) during Lewis tenure. In points off turnovers, Elias Sports Bureau credits the Bengals with 542 in the Lewis era, third-most in the NFL for that span. Baltimore leads at 547, and Indianapolis is second at 545. Record sellout streak in view: It should be over but the actual filing in. The Bengals 2008 home season is sold out in advance, and the Dec. 28 finale against Kansas City will mark a franchise-record 44th straight sellout (including regular season and postseason). The streak began against Kansas City on Nov. 16, It stands at 39 after a crowd of 65,860 on Oct. 19 vs. Pittsburgh. The record 43-game streak that will be surpassed was set at Riverfront Stadium from the 1988 opener through the 92 finale. Total home attendance (regular season) was 526,320 for the 2007 campaign. That ranked third in club history, behind 527,870 in 2006 and 526,469 in 05. TV streak goes to 59: For the last 59 TV ratings weeks that have included a Bengals regular-season or postseason game, the Bengals have been the top-rated show among all programming in the Cincinnati market. The streak began in 2004, and it hit 59 during the week of Oct when the Oct. 19 Bengals-Steelers game drew a 23.6 rating. The second-place program in Cincinnati was CSI at The streak could go to 60 with last week s Bengals-Texans game, but Cincinnati rankings for the week (Oct ) were not available for this release. The rating number indicates the percentage of market households tuned to the game including those not watching TV at the time. The highest Bengals rating during the streak has been 45.5 for the Pittsburgh playoff game on Jan. 8, The high rating of Bengals games has occurred despite the fact that most games are played in the afternoon, when overall TV viewership is not as high as it is during the evening. NFL s medal sweep: Twice this season, during the weeks of Sept. 1-7 and Sept , NFL games took the top three ratings spots of all TV programming in Cincinnati. The Bengals game was first each week, and other NFL games took the second and third spots. NFL tops baseball playoffs: Further illustrating the NFL s dominant position among TV sports fans, The New York Times reported that on Oct. 5, NFL games easily outpaced major league baseball playoff games in four markets which had home teams in each sport playing that day: In Milwaukee, the Packers-Falcons and Brewers-Phillies games aired simultaneously. The Packers drew a 28.7 rating to the Brewers In Philadelphia, the Eagles-Redskins and Phillies-Brewers games aired simultaneously The Eagles drew a 22.7 rating to the Phillies In Chicago, the early afternoon Bears-Lions game out-rated the late-afternoon White Sox-Rays game by 21.9 to 9.6. In Boston, the late-afternoon Patriots-49ers game out-rated the prime-time Red Sox-Angels game by 30.7 to Football (especially NFL) reigns again: Pro football has long dominated all competition in major polls on Americans favorite sports, and such was the case again during a survey by Harris Interactive following the 2007 season. The survey asked Americans who follow more than one sport to identify one as their favorite. Pro football led at 30 percent, double the total of the second-place sport, baseball, at 15 percent. Close on the heels of baseball was college football (12 percent), giving football overall a percent margin over baseball. Since Harris Interactive began asking this question in 1985, pro football has always been on top, and its popularity is now six points higher than it was in 85 (24 percent). None closer: The 41-year long Battle of Ohio between the Bengals and Cleveland Browns stands as the most tightly contested of all the NFL s long-running series. The Browns tied the rivalry at with their win Sept. 28 at Paul Brown Stadium. The Browns and Bengals will break the tie unless they tie on Dec. 21 of this season at Cleveland. Below are the five closest NFL series comprising 50 or more meetings, based on the leader s winning percentage (includes postseason play): SERIES LEADER WINNING PCT. Bengals vs. Browns... Tied, Cardinals vs. Eagles... Cardinals, Jets vs. Patriots...Patriots, ers vs. Bears... 49ers, Browns vs. Steelers...Steelers, Team captains: Bengals players have voted five of their number as 2008 team captains. The captains are WR T.J. Houshmandzadeh, S Dexter Jackson, LB Dhani Jones, QB Carson Palmer and G Bobbie Williams. This is a great representation of the veteran leadership of our team, said head coach Marvin Lewis. It represents a diversity of positions, and we ll be looking to these guys many times for their professionalism in giving direction to the younger segment of our roster. The Bengals also will designate a special teams captain for each week s game. 7-1 in orange: The Bengals are scheduled to wear orange jerseys and white pants against Jacksonville. The Bengals Page 6

7 (7-1 in orange, continued) have worn orange jerseys twice each season since 2004 and have posted a 7-1 record in orange. The orange jerseys are designated by the NFL as a specialty jersey and may be worn only twice per season. Since 2004, when the Bengals uniforms were redesigned, a number of different color options have been available. Below is the team record since 2004 in the different combinations of jerseys and pants: JERSEY PANTS W-L PCT. Orange Black Orange White Black Black White Black Black White White White Final four: Only four players remain on the Bengals from the conclusion of the 2002 season, just before Marvin Lewis was hired as head coach. No players remain from the defense of the pre-lewis era. The four survivors are: WR T.J. Houshmandzadeh, WR Chad Ocho Cinco, OT Levi Jones and LS/TE Brad St. Louis. Bengal bites: LS/TE Brad St. Louis is the current roster leader for most Bengals career games played (131). WR Chad Ocho Cinco is second at 116 games, followed by WR T.J. Houshmandzadeh (98), K Shayne Graham (86) and DT John Thornton (84)... TE Reggie Kelly leads the Bengals roster in most total NFL games (144), with DT Thornton second (135) and St. Louis third (131)... Kelly also leads the roster in career NFL starts (126), with Thornton second (119)... The heaviest Bengal on the current roster is G Bobbie Williams at 345 pounds; the shortest Bengal is WR Antonio Chatman (5-8); and Chatman is tied with CB Jamar Fletcher for lightest Bengal (185)... The tallest Bengals are OT Stacy Andrews and G Andrew Whitworth, both at Half the Bengals regular-season games this year will be against foes who finished in the NFL s top 10 in rushing yards last season... The Bengals were 2-0 in 2007 in games when one player had 25 or more rushing attempts, and they are 20-1 in the last 21 regular-season games with a 25-carry runner. Cincinnati has not had a 25-carry rusher this season... DT John Thornton holds the unusual distinction of being the last Bengal to block an opponent s field goal, as well as being the last opponent to block a Bengals field goal. He actually has authored the Bengals last two blocks, a 49-yard attempt by Seattle s Josh Brown on and a 48- yarder by Pittsburgh s Jeff Reed on And the last opponent to block a Bengals field goal attempt was Thornton, playing for Tennessee against Bengals K Neil Rackers on a 35- yard attempt on Since 1994, when the two-point conversion was added to the NFL rulebook, the Bengals are 13- for-36 (36.1 percent), and opponents are 16-for-35 (45.7 percent). The Bengals are zero-for-two on two-point tries this season, while opponents are zero-for-one... Two Bengals LB Keith Rivers and FB/TE Daniel Coats have different uniform numbers than they did when the Bengals 2008 Media Guide was published. Rivers, who previously was assigned No. 58, now wears No. 55. Coats, previously assigned No. 86, now wears No. 49. Head coach Marvin Lewis, on the 0-8 start: In coaching, when you are calling plays and get things matched up exactly, and then you don t make the play... that s disappointing. But nobody s going to ride in and save you, because we are playing with the best guys we ve got. So we are going to have to find a way to get these players better, and put them in the right holes and the right gaps on offense, defense and special teams. Lewis, on QB Carson Palmer s possible return to action later this season: The timeline on Carson remains the same. He ll continue to follow the program of rehab. He will not throw on the field with us this week. At some point, they ll try to evaluate him a little further. Carson wants to play and says he s feeling good. As soon as he can progress back into throwing on the field, we ll have a better indication. Lewis, on the team s continuing effort: I like the way our team works. I don t have any malingerers, and people like that are tough to deal with on a day-to-day basis. A lot of people have to deal with stuff like that in professional sports, and I don t. When I come downstairs and it s time to work, people are ready. That s a big point. But it doesn t add up to anything yet, because the ultimate goal is to win football games, and we are not doing that. WR T.J. Houshmandzadeh, on the offense s struggles: We worked so hard to reach the point where teams feared us offensively. But it s not been that way at all now. We re just worried about how far we re off offensively. I m sure Carson (Palmer) feels like if he we re playing, that he could make a difference. But this year? It s tough. Houshmandzadeh, on contending for a second straight NFL receptions title: It might be cool looking back on it, but when the game is over, you don t say I had X amount of catches, X amount of yards, X amount of touchdowns. All you re thinking about is you re (angry), you re sad because you lost the game. Bengals quotes Page 7 Houshmandzadeh, on battling through a thus-far winless season: Sometimes your effort wavers here and there. That s human nature. You just have to fight against it. That s all you can do. WR Chad Ocho Cinco, on the offense: It used to be, no matter what you did, we were going to get it to whatever individual s hands we wanted to get it to. We re not at that point where we can do that right now. What we have to do is stay basic and make the basic stuff work. Like I m going to keep saying every week, until we execute the basic stuff, we can t go any further outside that general playbook. Like the first day of training camp. Lewis, on HB Cedric Benson: He runs well behind his pads. He is decisive and quick at the cuts. We want to keep working hard with him in all the other areas, but he s done a good job as a ball carrier. Offensive coordinator Bob Bratkowski, on the team having allowed 28 sacks in eight games after posting a team record with only 17 allowed all last season: The protection issues have varied from week to week. The backs have missed protections. Guys (receivers) haven t shaken free, so the quarterback holds the ball longer. We ve had issues in individuals blocking people up front, or have had issues with sometimes the ability of two or three people to work together on a certain pass-rush stunt teams have done. OT Levi Jones, on the 0-8 start: Of course there s a lot of frustration. If there wasn t, it would mean guys didn t care. And that s not what I see in this locker room. Guys are out there fighting. Guys are trying to make plays. Guys are trying their hardest. So people are shoveling. It s not just a slogan. It s not just a catch phrase. It s what we ve been doing. People are out there playing extremely hard. Cedric Benson is running the ball hard. He s a hard runner. Chicago let him go, we re happy to have him. L. Jones, on slow starts and the accompanying criticism: The first thing is not listening to the media, seriously. I get

8 (Bengals quotes, continued) back here and get back to work. This is the professional ranks. You have to keep composed. You just have to stay focused. When you stay composed and focused, you re able to move on. You have to have a short memory. DT Pat Sims, on seeing his first NFL action the last three games, following a slow start due in part to a turf toe injury: I was ready. I ve been waiting. The more you wait, the more you want to play, the more effort you re going to give. It s a business; and I waited my turn. I was unhappy I wasn t playing, but Coach (Jay Hayes) had just told me, when my time comes, just be ready. Now I want to get back in the backfield and get a couple of sacks, put some pressure on the quarterback, make some tackles in the backfield. DT John Thornton, on rookie DT Pat Sims: He s going to be a good one. He doesn t play like a typical big guy. He can move a little bit. He s got some shakes getting in and out of blocks. I keep on him about his tempo. It has to be up constantly; he can t be lazy (on some snaps). Most young guys take it easy sometimes. That s the biggest thing. You don t want to slow up ever. Bratkowski, on working WR Chris Henry back into the scheme: We re bringing him along, and he ll get more and more playing time. Since day one, Chris has always been an extremely coachable player. That means when you correct him or talk to him about something, he takes it to heart and tries do it the right way. That has never been an issue with him, and that helps him when he gets in this situation to get himself back up to speed. WR Antonio Chatman, on taking on a larger offensive role in his third Bengals season: It was kind of hard to get going my first two years. The first year, I had a sports hernia. The second year, both of my hamstrings. But this year, (offensive coordinator Bob Bratkowski) came to me and told me I ve got to step up and just make plays, and that s what I m trying to do. Each game you ve got to just prove that you can do it, so every day I just try to show that I can do it in practice. K Shayne Graham, on his physical play as a coverage player on kickoffs: Guys will come to me and say, Hey, I have a new respect for you. Guys like to see that, because then they know I m not just out there to kick the ball and collect a paycheck. Lewis, on K Shayne Graham taking on a leadership role: I ve been around few kickers and specialists, really, that have taken the leadership role that Shayne has. Sometimes those guys end up on the periphery, but Shayne takes advantage and embraces his standing on the team. LB Dhani Jones, on K Shayne Graham: I get nervous for the kicker, because when you go out there, you really have to make that. You have no choice. I don t think I could really do that. But you can see Shayne s confidence in the way he walks, the way he talks. In turn, that translates to him being that confident player when he steps on the field. When everybody else might have butterflies in their stomach, his stomach is like steel. And he kicks that ball through the uprights. Lewis, on QB Carson Palmer: Carson is so down-to-earth, you used to think it was almost an act. And he s never changed. He is what he is. That s part of his makeup, and it probably always has been. He s so unflappable. He can focus in and see right through the eye of that storm, and that may be the greatest quality he has. I thinks everybody around him feels the confidence that kind of oozes out of him, and it makes them feel good about things. QB Ryan Fitzpatrick, on Palmer: He s one of the most down-to-earth guys I ve met in this league, especially considering how high his station is. He could be such a pain if he wanted to be. But that s just not him. Position-by-position roundup Quarterbacks: Last week at Houston, fifth-year pro Carson Palmer missed his fourth game of the last five. He continues to be held out due to elbow soreness, and he will not play against Jacksonville. Palmer entered this season with a Bengals-record 90.1 career passer rating, but he is at 69.0 for this season, with 75 completions in 129 attempts (58.1 percent), for 731 yards with three TDs and four INTs. Palmer is a two-time Pro Bowl selection, and last year he became the fifth-fastest passer in NFL history to reach 100 TDs, hitting the century mark in his 59th game played. Fourth-year vet Ryan Fitzpatrick made his fourth start in the Texans game. He had a season-best completion percentage of 62.5 (on 20-of-32), but he suffered two INTs and had no TDs while totaling 155 yards. He also had a season-best 42 rushing yards on seven carries (6.0). For the season, Fitzpatrick has a 61.5 passer rating, having completed 82 of 135 (60.7 percent) for 627 yards with two TDs and five INTs. First-year pro Jordan Palmer was in the No. 2 QB role at Houston but did not play. Jordan Palmer made his NFL debut in the Oct. 19 Pittsburgh game, relieving Fitzpatrick for the game s final series and passing three-for-four for 11 yards. Jordan Palmer was the designated third QB on the inactive list for Games 1-3 and 5, and he was active-dnp as the No. 2 QB for Games 4 and 5 as well as for the Houston game. Running backs: HB Cedric Benson made his second straight Bengals start in the Houston game, leading the team with 49 rushing yards on 13 carries (3.8). He also had 20 yards on two receptions and led the team in yards from scrimmage (69) for the second straight week. The former Chicago Bear, who joined the NFL as a No. 4 overall draft selection, signed with the Bengals as a free agent on Sept. 30 and has played in the last four games. He has 137 rushing yards on 41 carries (3.3 avg.) and is averaging 10 yards per reception (three-for- 30). HB Kenny Watson had one rush for five yards against the Texans. Watson has a 4.5-yard rushing average on the year (12-54). He also has three catches for four yards. Watson led the Bengals in rushing last season with 763 yards, and also posted career highs for receptions (52) and receiving yards (374). Fifth-year pro Chris Perry started Games 1-5 at HB and is the Bengals leading rusher (96-for-253), but his low Page 8 average (2.6) and fumbling problems (five) have led to him getting only limited action (no statistics) in the last two games. Perry does have two rushing TDs on the year and is 14-for-47 receiving. Second-year pro Daniel Coats was in the No. 1 FB role for the Houston game, and he also saw action at TE. Coats has one catch for 11 yards on the season. He has played in all eight games. Reagan Maui a, waived Oct. 11 as the Bengals made room for an extra kicker, was re-signed on Oct. 22 but suffered a severe hamstring injury in practice on Oct. 23. He was placed Oct. 24 on the Reserve/Injured list. He played in two games (Games 3-4), with no statistics. Wide receivers: T.J. Houshmandzadeh, a Pro Bowler last season, led the team in catches (eight) and receiving yards (54) in the Houston game. He ranks second in the NFL for the season in catches, and his midseason numbers (54-for-512) project to season totals of 108 catches and 1024 yards. He has led the team or tied for the team lead in catches for the last six games. In addition to leading the team in catches and receiving yards, he also leads the team in TDs (three). Last year, Houshmandzadeh tied for the NFL receptions lead (112) and posted a career-high 1143 yards. Houshmandzadeh missed all four preseason games while rehabbing a hamstring pull. Chad Ocho Cinco, who has played in the last five Pro Bowls, had five catches for 44 yards at Houston. Ocho Cinco is 32-for-312 receiving on the year (9.8 avg.). At Houston, he extended to 100 his Bengals record for consecutive games with at least one reception, and he also made his 102nd Bengals start (most on the current roster). He has not missed a game in 2008 despite having missed the last two preseason games due to a shoulder injury suffered Aug. 17 vs. Detroit, and he has played in 111 straight games. Last season, he broke his own Bengals season receiving yards record, posting 1440, and he is the franchise s all-time leader in receptions (591) and receiving yards (8677). Sixth-year pro Antonio Chatman is in the No. 3 WR role but did not have a catch against the Texans. For the season, he ranks third on the team in catches (19) and receiving yards (181). Chatman is also the team s No. 1 punt returner, with an 8.8-yard average on 15 returns. Fourth-year pro Chris Henry played in his fourth game of the year in the Texans contest. He served an NFL suspension