WEEKLY NEWS RELEASE SEPT. 25, 2012 CINCINNATI BENGALS (2-1) AT JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS (1-2)

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 SEPT. 25, 2012 CINCINNATI BENGALS (2-1) AT JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS (1-2) Kickoff: 4:05 p.m. EDT. Television: CBS broadcast with Marv Albert (play-by-play) and Rich Gannon (analyst). The game will air live in the Bengals home market on WKRC- TV (Channel 12) in Cincinnati, WHIO-TV (Channel 7) in Dayton and WKYT-TV (Channel 27) in Lexington, Ky. Radio: Coverage on the Bengals Radio Network, led by Cincinnati flagship stations WCKY-AM (1530) Homer (all sports) and WEBN-FM (102.7). Broadcasters are Dan Hoard (play-by-play) and Dave Lapham (analyst). The game also will be aired nationally by Dial Global Radio Sports, with broadcasters Chuck Cooperstein (play-by-play) and Tony Boselli (analyst). Setting the scene: A Cincinnati season that started with a thud is now looking much more like the team blueprint. The Bengals have weathered an initial weekend in the dunking booth and enter Week 4 with their heads well above water, tied with Baltimore for the AFC North lead. Resilience and encouraging maturity have been on display the last two weeks in hard-fought wins vs. Cleveland and at Washington. A young team with many new elements hopes to keep building steam this week at Jacksonville. The Bengals won at Jacksonville last season, but they had lost seven straight on the road against the Jaguars prior to that contest. We re a work in progress, by no means a finished product, head coach Marvin Lewis said after last week s adventure against Washington. But this team can be on the verge of something special if we keep believing in everything we re doing. Now we ve got anther big game on the road an AFC game against a team that won last week and has always played us tough. It s no time to be too happy with ourselves, just like we didn t get down on ourselves after the opener (loss at Baltimore). Jacksonville is 1-2, but coming off a road win against Indianapolis. After going from a 24-7 lead to a tie at Washington, the Bengals responded to take a lead with 7:08 to play, coaxing some early departures among a FedEx Field throng of 80,060. But Cincinnati still had to fight to its last breath to prevail, as the NFL s top-scoring team logged a TD with 3:35 to play and then drove to the Bengals 19. It wasn t until the :07 mark that Pro Bowl DT Geno Atkins essentially ended things with a 15-yard sack of Robert Griffin III. That s NFL football you just played out there, Lewis told his team in the locker room, so get ready to strap it up for the rest of the ride. The other team is going to make plays and come back, and you ve got to just keep chiseling, keep responding and keep believing. That s team football. That s what good teams do. The Bengals were a team led mostly by a seventh-ranked NFL defense in That defense is still looking to find its stride in 11, but in the Washington game it showed signs of progress, including big pass-rush games from DEs Michael Johnson and Carlos Dunlap. The offense, meanwhile, stole the show with a diversity of personnel and formations, and resulting big plays. Lewis told the players: If your time in the chamber wasn t today, or the week before, you better know it might be this week. Right, Mo Sanu? Mohamed Sanu, a rookie WR from Rutgers, barely played in Games 1-2. But the coaches sent him out as the Wildcat for the game s first scrimmage play, with QB Andy Dalton flanked wide as a decoy. And before the huge opposing crowd, in a brilliant sun s spotlight, Sanu took a direct shotgun snap and threw a picture-perfect deep pass that WR A.J. Green hauled in for a 73-yard GAME NOTES 1 WEEK 4, GAME 4 SUNDAY, SEPT. 30 AT EVERBANK FIELD NEXT WEEK: WEEK 5, GAME 5 OCT. 7 VS. MIAMI touchdown. The ball was right in my breadbasket, said a smiling Green, who went on to log a career-best 183 yards. But exceptional as Green has proven himself to be, the real story for Bengals team success continues to be the contributions of a supporting WR cast that entered this season with far more hope than proven accomplishment. Firstyear player Armon Binns and second-year pro Andrew Hawkins both made huge plays against the Redskins. Fourth-year pro Brandon Tate had a big game vs. Cleveland, and rookies Sanu and Marvin Jones are both seen as potential big receiving contributors, based on their preseason performances. The Bengals are opening the season with three of their first four games on the road for only the third time in franchise history. A win at Jacksonville would give them their first 3-1 record over such a stretch. They were 2-2 after playing three of four on the road in both 1973 and The series: The Jaguars lead 11-7 overall, a margin that has been built with a 7-2 mark as the home team. The Bengals, however, won their last visit to EverBank Field, prevailing last season. That win broke a seven-game losing streak in Jacksonville. Cincinnati has won two straight against Jacksonville, including a win in 2008 at Paul Brown Stadium. The last Jaguars win in the series was in 2005, by in Jacksonville. The Bengals and Jaguars were rivals in the AFC Central Division from 1995 through 2001, playing twice yearly. This week s game is their fifth 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: 10, in last year s win at Jacksonville. 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: Summaries of the last two Bengals-Jaguars meetings in 2008 at Cincinnati and in 11 at Jacksonville are on page 12 of this news release. Records vs. Jaguars: On Dec. 9, 2001 at Paul Brown Stadium, the Bengals tied the club record with eight sacks, all against Jacksonville s Mark Brunell. 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, Individually vs. Jaguars: Statistical leaders from last year s Bengals-Jaguars game are included in the game roundup on page 12 of this release. Only five players on the current Bengals roster have played the Jaguars for Cincinnati outside of that game. Those who also played in Cincinnati s 2008 game against Jacksonville are OT Anthony Collins, DE Robert Geathers, CB Leon Hall, NT Domata Peko and OT Andrew Whitworth.

2 (Individually vs. Jaguars, continued) Bengals C Kyle Cook, currently on Reserve/Injured, also was on R/I in the 08 game. OT Dennis Roland, on the roster this season, was on the Bengals practice squad for the 08 game. DT Pat Sims, currently on Reserve/PUP, played in the 08 game. BENGALS-REDSKINS NFL RANKINGS BENGALS REDSKINS SCORING (AVG. POINTS): Points scored... 8th (28.3) T-29th (17.3) Points allowed... T-30th (34.0) 17th (23.3) NET OFFENSE (AVG. YARDS): Total... 8th (391.7) 30th (268.3) Rushing...15th (100.7) 10th (121.0) Passing... 4th (291.0) 31st (147.3) NET DEFENSE (AVG. YARDS): Total...29th (416.7) 28th (412.3) Rushing... 31st (155.0) 30th (154.3) Passing... T-22nd (261.7) 21st (258.0) TURNOVERS: Differential... T-24th (minus-3) T-14th (even) Bengals-Jaguars connections: Jaguars offensive coordinator Bob Bratkowski was the Bengals offensive coordinator from Bengals S Reggie Nelson is from Melbourne, Fla., played at the University of Florida, was drafted by the Jaguars in 2007 and played there from Bengals DE Carlos Dunlap also played at Florida... Bengals C Jeff Faine is from Sanford, Fla.... Bengals WR Armon Binns entered the NFL with Jacksonville in 2011 and spent the 11 preseason with the Jaguars... Jaguars linebackers coach Mark Duffner coached at Ohio State from , the University of Cincinnati from and with the Bengals from Jaguars FB/RB Brock Bolen (reserve/injured) is from Germantown, Ohio (Valley View HS), and played at the University of Louisville... Jaguars G/C Jason Spitz (reserve/injured) also played at Louisville... Jaguars C Mike Brewster played at Ohio State... Jaguars RB Jalen Parmele played at the University of Toledo... Jaguars DL C.J. Mosley is from Fort Knox, Ky.... Jaguars WR Taylor Price (reserve/injured) is from Hilliard, Ohio, and played at Ohio University... Bengals offensive coordinator Jay Gruden Marvin Lewis is in his 10th season as Bengals head coach, having posted the most wins (69) in franchise history, and on July 31 of this year, he signed a contract extension through Under Lewis the Bengals are one of only 10 NFL teams to reach the playoffs in at least two of the last three years. Lewis Bengals were one of the NFL s surprise teams in 2011, a young squad with new stars that posted a 9-7 record and earned a Wild Card playoff berth. Lewis was the consensus choice as NFL Coach of the Year in 2009, when the Bengals won the AFC North title while sweeping all six division games. Lewis also led Cincinnati to an AFC North title in Lewis record is , including postseason. On Oct. 23 of last season at Seattle, he passed Sam Wyche ( ) for the most wins in club history. Lewis is also the Bengals leader in all-time head coaching tenure. The second-longest tenure is eight seasons, shared by Paul Brown ( ) and Wyche ( ). Lewis has risen to third in the NFL for longest current head coaching tenure with one team, trailing only Philadelphia s Andy Reid (14th season in 2012) and New England s Bill Belichick (13th). Lewis was named the ninth head coach in Bengals history 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), and the 2000 Ravens are always included in discussions of the best single-season NFL defenses of all time. 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 THE HEAD COACHES was head coach of the Orlando Predators (AFL) from and 04-08, and he played quarterback there from Gruden was also head coach of the Florida Tuskers (UFL) from Bengals linebackers coach Paul Guenther was on the Jaguars coaching staff in Jaguars assistant head coach/defensive coordinator Mel Tucker coached at Miami (Ohio) in 1999 and Ohio State from Jaguars assistant special teams coach Craig Aukerman was born in McComb, Ohio, played DB/WR at University of Findlay from , coached at Findlay in 2000, Miami (Ohio) from and 05-08, and at Western Kentucky from Jaguars tight ends coach Bobby Johnson played at Miami (Ohio) from and coached there from Jaguars defensive assistant Brandon Blaney coached at Ohio State in Jaguars wide receivers coach Jerry Sullivan coached at Ohio State in Jaguars assistant secondary coach Marlon McCree played safety/linebacker at the University of Kentucky from BENGALS RED ZONE REPORT OFFENSE DEFENSE Inside-20 poss.: 9 Inside-20 poss.: 9 Total scores: 8 (88.9%) Total scores: 8 (88.9%) TDs: 4 (44.4%) TDs: 6 (66.7%) FGs: 4 (44.4%) FGs: 2 (22.2%) TD% rank: T-21st TD% rank: T-25th No scores: 1 (11.1%) No scores: 1 (11.1%) JAGUARS RED ZONE REPORT OFFENSE DEFENSE Inside-20 poss.: 6 Inside-20 poss.: 13 Total scores: 6 (100.0%) Total scores: 11 (87.5%) TDs: 2 (33.3%) TDs: 6 (37.5%) FGs: 4 (66.7%) FGs: 5 (50.0%) TD% rank: T-27th TD% rank: T-10th No scores: 0 (0.0%) No scores: 2 (12.5%) Next home game: After a sellout for last week s win over Cleveland, the next home game on the Bengal schedule is Oct. 7 vs. Miami, at 1 p.m. The Dolphins are 1-2 on the season after a loss last week to the Jets last week, but they have the NFL s No. 4 rushing offense and No. 3 rushing defense. his three seasons ( 78-80). He began his coaching career as an assistant at Idaho State University in Mike Mularkey is in his first season as Jaguars head coach and in his third season as a head coach in the NFL. He was Buffalo Bills head coach in His Bills record was and his combined record is Mularkey was an assistant coach for the Miami Dolphins in , and was offensive coordinator for the Atlanta Falcons from , with three playoff appearances. He was named Coordinator of the Year by The Sporting News in Prior to his stint as head coach of the Bills, Mularkey had 10 years experience as an NFL assistant coach and nine years as an NFL player. He coached two seasons ( ) with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers before spending the next eight in Pittsburgh. He was tight ends coach for five years for the Steelers before becoming offensive coordinator for , a three-year span in which the Steelers offense twice ranked in the NFL s top five. Mularkey played his nine seasons as a tight end in the NFL with Minnesota ( ) and Pittsburgh ( ). His career statistics include 102 catches for 1222 yards and 9 TDs. Mularkey was born Nov. 19, 1961 in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. He played in college at Florida, where he caught 55 passes for 628 yards and 3 TDs. Lewis vs. Jaguars: Lewis leads 2-1, with a loss at Jacksonville in 2005, a win at Cincinnati in 08 and a win in Jacksonville last year. Lewis vs. Mularkey: Mularkey leads, 2-0, with wins as Buffalo head coach in 2004 and 05. Mularkey vs. Bengals: Same as Lewis vs. Mularkey. 2

3 Andy in ascent: Three games into a season, two career-best passer ratings will do wonders for your league ranking. After accomplishing the above, Bengals QB Andy Dalton has a season rating of 105.0, second in the AFC behind Ben Roethlisberger (109.2) and fourth in the NFL. Atlanta s Matt Ryan (114.0) is on top league-wide, and Arizona s Kevin Kolb is third behind Roethlisberger at (108.6). Dalton ranks second in the NFL in average yards per attempt (9.13), tied for fifth in TD passes (six), fifth in completion percentage (68.4) and eighth in yards (867). Dalton struggled along with the whole team in the season opener, posting a 65.3 rating at Baltimore. But in the last two games, he has set and re-set the highest game ratings of his fine young career. He was at for the Sept. 16 home win vs. Cleveland, and he went to in last week s win at Washington. His Redskins numbers were 19-for-27 (70.4 pct.) for 328 yards, three TDs and one INT. A.J. also in ascent: Bengals WR A.J. Green leads the AFC through three games in receiving yards (311), and he s second in the NFL to Detroit s Calvin Johnson (369). Green has a 17-yard AFC lead over Indianapolis Reggie Wayne (294). Green s 12 receptions rank third in the AFC, and he is tied for seventh in the NFL. Green is on an early pace for 1244 yards on the season. Last season he had 1057 yards, leading all NFL rookies. The last time a Bengal led the AFC in receiving yards was 2006, when Chad Johnson led the AFC and NFL with 1369 yards. Johnson led the AFC for four straight years from , the only player since the 1970 merger to lead either the AFC or NFC four years in a row. A.J. s lead really no surprise: A.J. Green s AFC lead in receiving yards (see previous item) will not qualify as the most shocking statistical news of this early NFL season. Ever since the curtain was drawn down on Green s 2011 rookie Pro Bowl season, Bengals fans have been salivating over what more he might do as an NFL sophomore. The 6-4, 207-pound Green was the No. 4 overall draft pick in 2011, the earliest WR selected since 2007, when Detroit took Calvin Johnson at No. 2. And so impressive has Green been to watch, that with all due respect to the players drafted ahead of him in 11, some might say No. 4 was too low for him. His combination of size, speed, hands, jumping ability and toughness is simply too much for almost any defender to match one-on-one. He was a cut above most players in the league from the start, says Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis. He really was the most impressive rookie I ve ever been around. Nothing A.J. does surprises the people who watch him every day, and we fully expected he would be even better this year. This is not a guy you worry about having a sophomore slump. Indeed, those around the Bengals camp know that after a year s pro experience, Green has come back for 2012 with greater maturity, focus and assurance. His rookie season accomplishments may someday seem just a small first step, but here s a quick recap: Despite a knee injury that caused him to miss a game and a half, he led NFL rookies in receptions (65) and receiving yards (1057). The 1057 was a Bengals rookie record. He tied for second among rookies in TD catches (seven). He had 11 receptions of 35 or more yards, tied with Calvin Johnson and the N.Y. Giants Victor Cruz for most in the NFL. His total was the most by an NFL rookie since His four 100-yard receiving games set a Bengals rookie record. In his pro debut at Cleveland on Sept. 11, he put the Bengals ahead to stay with a 41-yard TD catch from Bruce Gradkowski. It was the longest gamewinning TD catch in league history by a rookie playing in his team s first game. On Sept. 18 at Denver, Green hooked up with rookie QB Andy Dalton for 10 receptions. It stands as the only time in league annals that a rookie passing duo has hit double figures in completions. Andy handles adversity: QB Andy Dalton s game at Washington was a microcosm of the Bengals 2-1 season. He began poorly, but was lights out the rest of the way. Dalton s first pass at FedEx Field turned into a Redskins TD when LB Rob Jackson intercepted an attempted dump-off in the end zone. But take away that first throw, and Dalton s rating over his final 26 passes was 153.5, not far from the system max of We know Andy is unflappable, said head coach Marvin Lewis. He continues to show that week in and week out. He really settles and plays. He BENGALS NOTES 3 may have a play that he d want back, but he lets it go. He moves on to the next one, and that s it. He understands it s one play at a time. He has great personality and makeup that way. He has confidence now. He knows he can do this. There is nothing that happens out there that he can t handle. He s a great leader. He did everything that was asked of him a year ago, and now he s better. We didn t run the ball that well (at Washington) we didn t rip up and down the field so he had to throw it, and he did a nice job. Marvin s new look: Marvin Lewis earned his way into the NFL head coaching fraternity as a record-setting defensive coordinator. But as boss of the 2012 Bengals, he s sporting one of the NFL s most intriguing young offenses. But this has happened, he d freely admit, with some rather significant input from one of the league s most promising offensive coordinators. Under the hands-on direction of Jay Gruden, the offense over the last two games has done direct snaps to non-quarterbacks (two going for TDs), rushing sweeps by wide receivers (some key first downs) and short passes turned into long TDs. The Bengals have scored nine TDs in the last two games, and six of them have come on plays of 40 or more yards. Lewis called last week s game plan the most innovative in his 10-year Bengals tenure. We ve got a lot of young guys with special abilities, Lewis said, and the coaches are doing a great job of fitting them in, giving them the chance to do what they do best. They re doing a nice job and we ve got to keep it up. C Jeff Faine, with more NFL games and starts (both 120) than anyone on the Cincinnati offense, credits Gruden for backing up his thoughts on the Washington game with action. Jay had been talking early in the week about using a lot of stuff, Faine said. But lots of offensive coordinators talk about using that stuff. Jay stuck to it. Added OT Andrew Whitworth, whose 53 consecutive starts lead the team: It wasn t just one play today. Our young guys were out there running all over the place. And Andy (QB Andy Dalton) was making smart decisions. Best in 44: The Bengals 38 points at Washington last week was their highest point total in 44 games, since a win vs. Chicago on Oct. 25, The Bengals have scored 38 or more points 11 times since 2003, when Marvin Lewis took over as head coach. The high total under Lewis has been 58, in a win vs. Cleveland in AFC sacks leaders: The Bengals lead the AFC in sacks (11). They rank fourth in the NFL, behind Chicago (14), Arizona (12) and Green Bay (12). Three AFC teams Buffalo, Cleveland and Houston are tied for second in the conference at nine. DE Michael Johnson leads the team with 4.0, ranked tied for second in the AFC and tied for fourth in the NFL. DT Geno Atkins has 3.0 sacks, tied for second among NFL interior linemen. A cast of (seemingly) thousands: The Bengals offense has three skill position players from last year s Pro Bowl QB Andy Dalton, WR A.J. Green and TE Jermaine Gresham. It also seems to have a bunch of other guys who d like to be in this year s Pro Bowl if only they could get the ball often enough. Head coach Marvin Lewis performed an excellent roll call after the Washington game: We used all our guys, and that was good. (WR) Andrew Hawkins had big plays. Big play by (WR) Armon Binns. (WR) Brandon Tate continues to do things, and (rookie TE) Orson Charles had a big catch. (HB) BenJarvus Green- Ellis is key for us. He got another touchdown, we know he can score. (HB) Brian Leonard got into action. We didn t really get his motor running good enough, but he showed some of what we ve got to have offensively. The only thing Lewis left out, he had already been asked about at length rookie WR Mohamed Sanu s 73-yard TD pass to Green. We really are a team with a lot of weapons, said LOT Andrew Whitworth. It s exciting to be blocking for this group. Jones could spell big trouble: Now in his third Bengals season, CB Adam Jones has only 12 punt returns during his Cincinnati tenure. Injuries have played a part on two fronts. He s been limited by his own injuries, and at other times, injuries to others have limited his special teams availability, making him more needed in the secondary. The latter was the case last week at Washington, as CB Leon Hall was out with an injury.

4 (Jones could spell big trouble, continued) But if Jones gets regular work this season returning punts, watch out. He is second among active NFL players with five career punt returns for touchdowns, including an 81-yarder on Sept. 16 vs. Cleveland, and another of his 12 Cincinnati returns went for 63 yards (in 2011 at Seattle). For his NFL career, Jones has had only 96 total returns, and his average of one TD for every 19.2 returns is exceptional. It s only slightly behind Chicago s Devin Hester, whose average is Hester is by a landslide the NFL all-time leader in punt return TDs, with 12, and he has 212 total returns. And Jones has a far better TD average than celebrated threats such as Deion Sanders (TD every 35.3), Dante Hall (TD every 36.0) and Billy White Shoes Johnson (TD every 47.0). I marvel at Adam s abilities in many ways, says Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis. He is amazing with the ball in his hands. He s amazing when the DBs do their tackling drills, and he s the ball carrier. He s very, very difficult to get your hands on. He s done a wonderful job of becoming responsible with the football, and of understanding the schematics of the return game. He s come light years in that way. He s electrifying, he gets everybody excited when he s back there. Jones TD against Cleveland was a difference-maker. The Bengals won by a touchdown (34-27), and his was the only special teams or defense TD of the game. Jones 2nd in NFL: Bengals CB Adam Jones ranks second in the NFL in punt return average through three games. He s averaging 19.6 yards on five returns. The leader is Buffalo s Leodis McKelvin at The Bengals rank fifth in the NFL in team punt return average, at WR Brandon Tate has averaged 8.8 yards on four returns. A depth-chart squeeze, and a good one: Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis faced plenty of questions entering 2012 about his team s depth at wide receiver. There was speculation that No. 1 wideout A.J. Green, a spectacular talent, might be hounded into ordinary-ness by double and tripleteams. But Lewis steadfastly contended that wouldn t be the case, and seldom has he been proven more correct. Green is off to a great start, with 21 receptions for 311 yards, including nine for a career-high 181 last week at Washington. He s tied for the team lead in TDs (two). And one reason Green is doing just fine is that his supporting cast of WRs who had only 27 NFL catches combined last year is performing at a tremendously high level. People have been asking me, Who is your No. 2 wideout? Lewis says, and my answer is that I think I have about four of them. We have guys who have produced when given the chance, and some others who haven t had a great chance yet, but I m confident they ll make the most of it when they do. The other WRs held their own in the opener at Baltimore, they essentially stole the show from Green in Game 2 vs. Cleveland, and last week at Washington, their five catches for 129 yards included two TDs of 48-plus yards: Second-year pro Andrew Hawkins, who had a 50-yard TD vs. Cleveland, had a 59-yarder against the Redskins. It produced the eventual game-winning points, giving Cincinnati a lead in the fourth quarter. Hawkins also had two rushes for 16 yards, converting a third down on each try. First-year pro Armon Binns was three-for-63 receiving against the Redskins, including a 48-yard TD in the second quarter that began as a five-yard out route. But Binns slipped his coverage near the sideline and the lanky 6-2, 210-pounder showed excellent speed in beating Washington s pursuit down the sideline for a TD that put the Bengals up Binns has also shown himself to be tough across the middle. Rookie Mohamed Sanu contributed as a Wildcat passer at Washington, taking a direct snap before throwing a 73-yard TD on Green on the game s first scrimmage play. Fourth-year man Brandon Tate did not have a catch at Washington, but the week before vs. Cleveland, he showed great flat-out speed down the sideline on a 44-yard TD, and he was three-for-71 for the day, leading the team in receiving yards. The Bengals have seven WRs on the 53-player roster the first time in head coach Marvin Lewis 10 seasons the number has been above six. More on the six players behind Green are in the next item. Who are these guys? The six Bengals WRs who joined A.J. Green on the 53-player roster combined for only 27 catches in the 2011 NFL season, but they have shown plenty of talent in the first three games. Here are capsules on the six: 4 Andrew Hawkins (second-year; 5-7, 180): Hawkins is dart-quick, and though short, he s not a little guy in the strength department. He has the ability to turn short passes into significant gains, and he has TDs of 50 yards vs. Cleveland and 59 yards at Washington. He is tied for the team lead in TDs (two), ranks second in receiving yards (208) and is tied for second in catches (12). He steadily increased his role as an NFL rookie last year and finished the season with 23 catches for 263 yards. In 2009 and 10, he played for Grey Cup championship teams for Montreal in the Canadian League. Armon Binns (first year; 6-3, 210): Binns has good size, speed and hands. In a best-case comparison, he s in the A.J. Green mold. He did a good Green impersonation on his 48-yard TD play at Washington, eluding his defender on a short sideline catch and then outrunning the rest of the Redskin defenders down the sideline. He s proving tough over the middle, unafraid to risk taking the big hit. He s 12-for-157 over three games. He s playing for the first time in 2012, having spent most of his 2011 rookie campaign on the Bengals practice squad. He had a pair of 1100-yard seasons at the University of Cincinnati, scoring 21 TDs in those two campaigns. Brandon Tate (fourth-year; 6-1, 200): Tate did not have a ball thrown his way at Washington, but he caught three for a team-leading 71 vs. Cleveland, including a 44-yard TD. He was obtained late in the 2011 preseason and didn t work much on offense last year, concentrating instead on being the team s primary kickoff and punt returner. But he had 432 receiving yards with three TDs for New England in He was a third-round draft choice of New England in Mohamed Sanu: (rookie; 6-2, 210): The third-round draft pick from Rutgers has not yet had a pass thrown his way, but he has contributed with his versatility. Taking a direct center snap at Washington, he launched a perfectly thrown ball of about 45 yards that A.J. Green turned into a 73-yard TD. He threw four TD passes in college. But Bengals coaches see his receiving skills outpacing his passing arm before long. He scorched Big East defenses for a conference-record 115 catches last season, shattering a mark of 93 set by current NFL standout Larry Fitzgerald. Marvin Jones (rookie; 6-2, 195): The fifth-round draft pick from California doesn t have a reception, but while briefly replacing a shaken-up Binns vs. Cleveland, he drew a 31-yard pass interference penalty against the Browns. He played in Games 1-2 and was inactive (coaches decision) for Washington. In preseason, Jones made folks wonder how he lasted to the 166th overall selection. He was a smooth playmaker, with gains of 42 and 45 yards that contributed to a team-leading 150 receiving yards. He is perhaps the most athletically graceful and stylish of the cast supporting Green. Ryan Whalen (second-year; 6-1, 200): The sixth-round 2011 draftee has been inactive for Games 1-3, but the coaching staff still expresses firm belief that he can help the offense when his next opportunity comes along. He was a top target at Stanford for QB Andrew Luck in 2010, and he s known as an ultradependable route-runner who can catch the ball in traffic. The Elias report: The Bengals passing game has been keeping researchers busy at the Elias Sports Bureau, the NFL s official statisticians. Reports from Elias include: In Games 2-3, for the first time in franchise history, the Bengals have had four receivers with 50 or more yards in back-to-back games. Last week s Washington game saw three different receivers with TDs of 48 yards or more a Bengals first. A.J. Green had a 73-yard score, Andrew Hawkins a 59-yarder and Armon Binns had a 48-yarder. Also at Washington, the Bengals had four receivers with 63 or more yards for only the third time ever, and for the first time since Who s making the movie? In the space of three games this season, WR Andrew Hawkins has emerged as Human Interest Story No. 1 on the Bengals roster. Hawkins bloomed as a subject of media interest in the Sept. 16 Cleveland game, when he did a SportsCenter Special on a 50-yard TD catch, covering the last 40 yards on the ground with the moves of a water bug. The play put the Bengals up by two scores in the fourth quarter. And Hawkins kept the interest alive last week, as his sprint after a medium-range catch turned into a 59-yard fourth-quarter TD for the eventual winning points. Hawkins is 12-for-208 through three games, with a 17.3-yard average and two TDs. And as for the human interest side, toss in these elements: He s a little guy in a big man s world 5-foot-7. He was unsigned in the NFL after leaving the University of Toledo in 2007, getting only an unsuccessful tryout at a Cleveland Browns rookie minicamp. He spent a part of 2008 sleeping on a friend s couch in Toledo, trying to

5 (Who s making the movie?, continued) earn some cash. He later found work as a laborer at a company manufacturing wind turbines. And he caddied at Toledo s Inverness Country Club. He briefly had an NFL job with the nearby Detroit Lions, but it was as a scouting intern, not as a player. He sent film of himself to a Michael Irvin reality show on Spike TV, on which the winning contestant was to get a spot on the Dallas Cowboys 80-man offseason roster. He finished second. He landed for two years with Montreal of the Canadian League, helping the Alouettes win Grey Cup titles in 2009 and 10. His CFL work earned him his first NFL contract, in January 2011 with the St. Louis Rams, but he was waived the first week of training camp. The Bengals claimed him on waivers from the Rams, and though he started last year on the practice squad, he wound up caching 23 passes for 263 yards. The performance set the stage for his success thus far in 2012, some five years after he left college. Hawkins is not a guy to make a point of belaboring his past, but when media thronged his locker after the Cleveland game, pressing for details and feelings on his climb, he said:. I didn t think I d be at this point ever. I ve come from the lowest point nights crying, coaches telling me to give it up, living on my friend s couch... hearing No so many times I got used to it. But that was then. I know there s a fine line between me playing here and me not playing anywhere, says Hawkins, the younger brother of former Bengals CB Artrell Hawkins. That s the approach I take every week. And I can t say it enough: I thank God every day that he s blessed me the way he has. A.J. s an admirer: You could say that A.J. Green is everything Andrew Hawkins isn t as a receiver. He s tall (6-4), so obviously gifted that any layman can see it, and he has been a sought-after player at all levels. But Green sounds as impressed as anyone by the belated success (see previous item) of teammate Andrew Hawkins. I guess he got overlooked early on because teams saw a 5-7 guy, and they thought he was not high-powered, said Green. But man, this guy is powerful. He s explosive. He s quick. He s fast. He s elusive. He s all of the above. Andy told you so: When QB Andy Dalton opened training camp by singing the praises of the WRs being counted on to draw some defensive heat away from A.J. Green, it was hard not to suspect he was just trying to be a good and encouraging teammate. But the play of the WR group behind Green has been one of the young season s biggest stories, and Dalton has reminded reporters: We are talented there, and that s what we said on day one. I know these are guys who hadn t proven anything coming into the season, but we have the talent and I m excited about the group we ve got. Hopefully they ll just keep getting better and better each week. Dalton and WR A.J. Green, of course, were instant hits as rookies last year. Using that experience, Dalton tried to inject more confidence into this year s young group. I think back to what A.J. and I thought last year, Dalton said. We thought, We may be rookies, but we re going to be playing, so we better play well. I think what we were able to do last year has shown these guys, I don t have to wait for my turn. I can go ahead and do this now. The new look at halfback: Cedric Benson earned respect over four Bengals seasons as a hard-charging and powerful HB who loved having his number called. He topped the 1000-yard mark in each of his three full years ( ). But the Bengals were looking for something a little different in 2012, and the revolving door of free agency saw Benson exit while BenJarvus Green-Ellis entered. And though Green-Ellis is not quite the sheer power back Benson was, he hits plenty hard and brings other assets to the table. Green-Ellis and the Bengals rushing game didn t rock the world last week at Washington. The fifth-year pro was held to 38 yards on 17 carries. But he did score his second TD, and for the season he is still averaging 79.3 yards from scrimmage, with 204 rushing yards and 34 as a receiver. I think BenJarvus is a little more patient, says HB Brian Leonard, Cincinnati s most effective third-down back in recent seasons. He sees the hole and then hits it hard. Cedric would put his head down and run as hard as he could and try to run someone over. BenJarvus isn t as much of a punisher, but 5 he sees more and makes some good cuts. Slow to, fast through. That s what we say. Slow to the line and fast through it. If you re patient, the holes will open up. You find your hole and you can go. For LOT Andrew Whitworth, the perception is similar. The offensive line s plan doesn t change, no matter who the back is or how they run, Whitworth says. But it s nice to see BenJarvus make people miss and get the extra, tough yards. He does that thing you see out of other good backs in short-yardage situations, where you need to get those yards. He has great balance. He doesn t just fall down or just run into people. He s able to keep his balance and keep his feet churning and move them, and when you can do that as a back, it also gives us time to help him and push the pile and do all those things that help you get those extra yards. Long name masters short yardage: Through three games, BenJarvus Green-Ellis is five-for-six as a rusher on converting third and fourthdown plays with two or fewer yards to go. He has converted two third-and-ones, two fourth-and-ones, and one third-and-two. He has been stopped short on one third-and-two. The NFL tracks statistics on third-and-one rushers, and through Week 2, Green-Ellis is among 14 rushers who have at least two conversions and no failures. Historic streak comes to rest at 589: The bad news was that Bengals HB BenJarvus Green-Ellis fumbled last week at Washington. In the third quarter, struggling for extra yardage against what had all day been a stout Redskins front, Green-Ellis was stripped of the ball by CB Josh Wilson, who also recovered the loose ball. But the impressive news was and is that before the fumble, Green-Ellis had reached 589 career combined rushes and receptions without a fumble. Elias Sports Bureau reports the 589 as essentially the longest such streak to start a career in NFL history. For devotees of detail, the official declaration is that it s the longest streak since 1945, when individual player fumbles were first recorded on a regular basis. Research in this area is incomplete in other respects, and there is no identified record holder for the longest streak not necessarily tied to the start of a career. Green-Ellis did pass one non-start-of-career streak earlier this season, as he moved past a streak of 561 by Steven Jackson of St. Louis. Green-Ellis also has 52 career rushes/receptions without a fumble in postseason play, covering four games for New England. Support for Green-Ellis: BenJarvus Green-Ellis solid rushing performance thus far (see previous items) has been accomplished with an offensive line whose patched-up interior has been surprisingly strong. Major injuries to veterans Travelle Wharton (LG) and Kyle Cook (C) have helped lead to starting roles for a second-year player in G Clint Boling and a just-acquired player in C Jeff Faine. And by design, the starting RG is a rookie, first-round draft choice Kevin Zeitler. It s a real tribute to those three guys that are running the ball as well as we are, said LOT Andrew Whitworth, who together with ROT Andre Smith forms the established part of the line. Faine actually has the most NFL starts on the line, now at 120 including postseason, but he has been with the team only since Aug. 29. The 10th-year vet was not in an NFL camp until that point, and was signed as a replacement for injured veteran C Kyle Cook. But he started 15 games for Tampa Bay last year and was familiar with the Bengals offense, which has similar principles to what he played for much of his Bucs career. He has proven to be a much-needed quick study to fill a sudden hole. As for the young guards, OT Andrew Whitworth says: They re younger, more agile guys. They re not quite as big as the guys we had before (Bobbie Williams and Nate Livings), but they re going to run around and get on guys and maintain blocks, maybe a little longer, just because of their speed and having young legs and being a little lighter. And we have that attitude that we re going to finish every play. That s going to help us run the ball effectively. Zeitler emerging: The Bengals opened preseason with very high hopes for upgraded guard play in Those hopes are still high, but with half the original plan gone veteran free agent Travelle Wharton shelved by a major knee injury there s a bit more pressure on first-round draft choice Kevin Zeitler to debut in top form. Line coach Paul Alexander is not one to sugarcoat. He noted to media early in preseason that Zeitler was struggling in practice to block Pro Bowl DT Geno Atkins. Alexander says now, however, that Zeitler is doing fine.

6 (Zeitler emerging, continued) He cares. He really wants to be good. It s infectious, Alexander said. I see him play now and I ve gone beyond feeling like he s going to be good. He s showing enough where I think he is good. And highly motivated to stay that way. He s not like some first-rounders, like when there s a break they re going over to check their stock portfolio, Alexander said. He s just watching football. This guy is all about football, agrees OT and team leader Andrew Whitworth. He almost gets too charged up. You d like to see him relax a little bit and enjoy it. So we ll kid around with him and try to loosen him up some. Geno gains ground: Bengals DT Geno Atkins had a key 15-yard sack of Robert Griffin III last week at Washington, and not only did it help close out the win, it moved the 2011 season Pro Bowler to within a half-sack of the NFL lead among interior linemen. Atkins tied for the NFL sacks lead among interior linemen last year with 7.5. Atkins now has 3.0 for this year. The leader is Dwan Edwards of Carolina, who had one sack last week to push his total to 3.5. Other interior linemen at 3.0 are Henry Melton of Chicago, Gerald McCoy of Tampa Bay and Kyle Williams of Buffalo. Atkins 15-yard sack last week lifted the Bengals from a scary situation. The Redskins, trailing by seven, had moved to a first down at the Bengals 19 with 0:29 to play. But the Redskins were forced to spike the ball to stop the clock after Atkins spilled RG III back at the 34. The Redskins then were pushed back to their own 41 with a pair of penalties, and on the game s final play, a Hail Mary attempt by Griffin fell incomplete far short of the end zone. No flash in the pan: When the Bengals drafted DT Geno Atkins in 2010 in the fourth round, 120th overall the choice was met with a general yawn by analysts and media. He wasn t huge (290 pounds at the time). He was a bit short at 6-1. His college career at Georgia lacked SportsCenter moments. But Atkins has shown from practice day one as a Bengal that he simply has the stuff to make plays, and there s rarely a snap when he isn t some sort of factor. He wound up leading the team as a rookie in QB pressures, and last year he tied for the NFL sacks lead (7.5) among interior linemen. For 2012 he is the defense s lone returning Pro Bowler, and his consistency leads folks to believe he ll be back again often. No. 97 may be the best inside pass rusher there is, offensive line coach Paul Alexander said during preseason, calling Atkins uniform number. We don t have anybody that can block 97 right now. That s the best thing going for (firstround drafted guard) Kevin Zeitler. He gets to pass block 97 in practice. Says fellow DT Domata Peko: I see some of the things Geno does and I say, Man, how does he do that? I think he s in the top five, top three defensive tackles in the league. He s so quick and he s got the strength of a 350-pound guy. That s the one thing that scares offensive linemen. Not only his quickness, but his strength. I ve seen him bull-rush the best of the best at offensive guard. And defensive line coach Jay Hayes: He s getting better because he hasn t changed the approach he brought with him when he came in trying to prove himself. He still plays 150 miles an hour. He stays low. He s still into the playbook. Atkins himself is a young man of few words. But the 24-year-old will give you three to sum up his success: Outwork, outhit, outrun, he said. Ends make a breakout: Though DT Geno Atkins heads the Bengals defensive line corps due to his 2011 Pro Bowl selection (see previous item), his mates combine with him to form a unit that earned some preseason notice as potentially one of the NFL s best. The starting DEs, fourth-year pro Michael Johnson and third-year Carlos Dunlap, made a run at living up to that billing last week at Washington. Johnson had three sacks and was credited by coaches with five additional QB pressures. He has a team-leading 4.0 sacks for this season, tied for third in the NFL. His 3.0 sacks at Washington were the most in a game by a Bengal since Sept. 20, 2009, when DE Antwan Odom tied the club record with 5.0. Dunlap, meanwhile, playing in his first game since the preseason opener due to rehab from a knee strain, had an immediate impact. In the second quarter, he sacked Griffin III for a four-yard loss at the Washington 19 and forced a fumble that he recovered himself at the 12. Two plays later, BenJarvus Green- Ellis scored on a one-yard run for a 24-7 Bengals lead. Both DEs are physically imposing, Dunlap at 6-6 and 280 and Johnson at 6-7 and 270. Dunlap was a Bengals second-round draft pick, and Johnson was a 6 third-rounder. Dunlap s 9.5 sacks in 2010 set a Bengals rookie record, and last year, though he was slowed by injuries, he led the team in QB pressures (27) and still logged 4.5 sacks. Johnson came out of Georgia Tech with recognized high potential, but had the rap of a player who didn t maintain a high motor on every snap. As a pro, he has not missed a game and has increased his contribution each year. Last year he posted career highs in sacks (6.0), tackles (51) and passes defensed (six). Johnson also leads the line this season in total tackles with 14. At the other starting tackle spot, the Bengals have rock-solid seventh-year pro Domata Peko, an overall team leader and the line tackling leader the last four years. Peko is second on the line to Johnson this season in tackles, with 12. Maualuga leads but won t brag: MLB Rey Maualuga led the Bengals in tackles for the second straight week in the Washington game, logging 13, the team-high for the season. He has 32 tackles for the year, nine ahead of S Reggie Nelson (23). Maualuga was tied for the team lead after Game 1 and took sole possession of the lead after Game 2. Maualuga has come back at full speed for the games that count, after sitting out the last three preseason games due to a knee strain. But the defense as a whole has started slowly, ranked 29th in fewest yards allowed (416.7 per game). And the team is tied for 30th in fewest points allowed (34.0). Thus Maualuga professes to be far from satisfied with his own play. Last season the Bengals ranked seventh in the NFL in fewest yards allowed and ninth in fewest points allowed. Maualuga had 115 tackles for that club, second on the team despite missing three games with an injury. I have a picture in my mind, that I know our defense can look like, how we can play, he says. And I know we can, and there s still a lot of football left. As a unit, we ve got to get some things fixed, and for myself, I just want to be a leader out there, making every play possible. And defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer is watching closely. In the offseason, we talked a lot about how we can help Rey become a better player, Zimmer said. One thing is to not be so complicated with him. Dhani Jones (previous starting MLB) knew what everybody did on every single play and wanted to tell them what to do. Rey has tried to be Dhani Jones, but he s not Dhani. He just needs to know what he does. Another thing Rey does at times is reading plays so fast, he gets there before the ball does, and then he s out of position and has to fall back. I m trying to get him to be a little more patient on his initial read and once that happens, then he can go attack it and go downhill at full speed. If he ll just be a little more patient, he ll be good. Two-man tandem replaces Howard: The Bengals last week played the second of 15 games in which they ll be without LB Thomas Howard, the 2011 team tackling leader who suffered a season-ending knee injury in practice on Sept. 13. Third-year pro Vincent Rey and rookie Vontaze Burfict have split time at Howard s WLB position, with good results. Burfict had seven tackles last week, and Rey had four, along with a pass defensed. They both have 13 tackles for the season, tied for sixth on the team, and Rey s total includes a sack. Both players are original college free agent signees with Cincinnati, bypassed in the draft. Rey has been the more low-profile of the two, coming from a mid-level college program (Duke) and working his way steadily into defensive opportunities with strong special teams play. His nine stops vs. Cleveland on Sept. 16 were his first NFL tackles on defense. Burfict was an explosive player for much of his college career at Arizona State, ballyhooed at times as a potential NFL first-round draft choice, but by the time the draft was over this past April, Burfict s future prospects seemed to be in tatters. He went undrafted due to a reputation for immaturity and a reckless, penaltyplagued playing style. He wound up on the outs with his coaching staff, essentially benched, and he was said to be unimpressive at the Scouting Combine. But the Bengals took a flyer on Burfict after the draft, and the results thus far have the coaching staff excited. His preseason play included a sack, and also a diving interception that showed outstanding ball skills. Just as importantly, he has gone through four preseason games and three regular-season contests with no head-scratcher personal fouls. Also, he has displayed a pleasing personality with fans and the media. I don t know the guy from Arizona State, head coach Marvin Lewis said of Burfict and his college travails. I don t need to know about anything in the past. Vontaze has done everything he needs to do to keep developing into a productive linebacker in the National Football League, on special teams and defense. He was the guy who played the best (in competition for the No. 2 MLB