League honors Palmer, Thurman for September

By Mark Curnutte
Enquirer staff writer

The Bengals’ early team success has contributed to a pair of major individual league awards for September.

Quarterback Carson Palmer was named this morning as AFC Offensive Player of the Month, and linebacker Odell Thurman was announced as NFL Defensive Rookie of the Month.

Palmer was 69-for-97 passing 786 yards, eight touchdowns and just two interceptions. His 114.0 passer rating is second in the NFL.

“It’s definitely an honor,” Palmer said this afternoon, “but you want awards at the end of the year. It’s a great honor for this team. It says something about this team.”

Palmer said the run game and defense accumulating 16 takeaways have contributed to the success of the pass game.

Thurman leads the Bengals with 26 tackles as the middle linebacker. He has 14 solo tackles, one interception, one pass broken up and one forced fumble in three games.

“Rookie of the month is a great accomplishment, but I’m trying to win it next month and the month after,” Thurman said.

Drafted in the second round, Thurman said he should have been picked in the first round but doesn’t have the traditional chip on his shoulder.

“That’s behind me,” said Thurman, who thanked his defensive linemen and fellow rookie and former Georgia teammate David Pollack for their help.
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Anderson, five others probable for Houston game

By Mark Curnutte
Enquirer staff writer

Bengals coach Marvin Lewis this afternoon listed six players as probable for the game Sunday against Houston.

Right tackle Willie Anderson (back) was upgraded from questionable Monday to probable. He has made 83 consecutive starts and said he would play. Lewis said there was a chance that coaches might spell Anderson, giving him a series or two off. Scott Kooistra played well over the last almost three quarters at Chicago.

All tests on Anderson’s back came back negative, Lewis said.

Also probable for the Bengals on Sunday are: running back Rudi Johnson (knee), punter Kyle Larson (back), linebacker Brian Simmons (neck), defensive lineman Carl Powell (knee) and running back Chris Perry (hamstring). Lewis said he expects all six to play.

Lewis also gave a hint that he would activate more than seven offensive lineman, which he had done the past two games.

“We were thin the last couple of weeks,” Lewis said. “We’ll address that this week.”

Lewis also said, when asked, that the Bengals had no interest in trading backup quarterback Jon Kitna. Kitna was rumored as possible bait to the Jets, who have lost starter Chad Pennington and backup Jay Fiedler.

The Bengals will be looking for their sixth consecutive victory, dating to the final two of the 2004 season. The last Bengals team to win six in a row was the 1988 Super Bowl team, which was 6-0 at the start of that season.

Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer will be the guest on the Five Good Minutes segment of ESPN’s “PTI” at 5:30 p.m. today.

Lewis and the Bengals players all said that Houston is more of a threat than its 0-2 record would indicate. The Texans are last in the league in scoring at seven points a game but have faced two of the NFL’s top defenses in Buffalo and Pittsburgh.

The Texans will play their first game since the firing of offensive coordinator Chris Palmer. Joe Pendry was promoted from offensive line coach to coordinator, and quarterback David Carr said Pendry is holding all players accountable, not just skill players.

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WR Washington to sit for second week in row

By Mark Curnutte
Enquirer staff writer

CHICAGO – For the second consecutive week, the Bengals are not dressing Kelley Washington for their game this afternoon against the Bears.

Washington, the third-year receiver, is sitting in favor of rookie Chris Henry for the second game in a row.

The Bengals announced their inactive players just moments ago. Beside Washington, the Bengals inactives are cornerback Rashad Bauman, fullback Nick Luchey, center Eric Ghiaciuc, offensive tackle Stacy Andrews and defensive tackle Matthias Askew.

Henry had four receptions last week against Minnesota for 45 yards in his NFL debut. Former Bear Craig Krenzel is the third quarterback.

The Bengals are 2-0 coming into the game against the 1-1 Bears.

A victory would give the Bengals their first 3-0 start since 1990, the last time the franchise had a team qualify for the playoffs.

Conditions this morning at Solider Field are overcast, and a light rain has fallen for a couple of hours on the Chicago lakefront.

Muddy conditions of the natural grass field would be good for Bengals tailback Rudi Johnson, who runs exceptionally well in mud and on slow fields. For the Bears, a wet, slower field might mean more carries for rookie running back Cedric Benson instead of starter Thomas Jones.

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K. Washington inactive; Henry active for Vikings

By Mark Curnutte
Enquirer staff writer

The Bengals this morning declared third-year wide receiver Kelley Washington inactive for the game against Minnesota.

Rookie wide receiver Chris Henry will make his NFL debut against the Vikings.

The other Bengals inactive players are cornerback Rashad Bauman, fullback Nick Luchey, center Eric Ghiaciuc, defensive end Jonathan Fanene, offensive tackle Stacy Andrews and defensive tackle Matthias Askew.

Craig Krenzel is the third quarterback.

Ghiaciuc was active at Cleveland last week but did not play. Third-year lineman Scott Kooistra, inactive against the Browns, will dress today.

The Bengals have just seven active offensive linemen – the five starters, Kooistra and Larry Moore.

They also have just six defensive linemen active, not counting linebacker-end David Pollack.

Linebacker Hannibal Navies and cornerback Greg Brooks will be active today. They were down last week.

For Minnesota, starting middle linebacker Sam Cowart will not dress. Rod Davis will start for Cowart, out with an injured calf.

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Rudi not starting; WR Henry among inactives

By Mark Curnutte
Enquirer staff writer
CLEVELAND -- Rookie wide receiver Chris Henry is one of the Bengals’ inactive players for the opener today against the Browns, the team announced this morning.

Third-year wide receiver Kelley Washington, who had been listed all week as questionable with a hamstring injury, will play.

Tailback Rudi Johnson also will not start because he violated an unspecified team rule, a Bengals spokesman said this morning. Chris Perry will start, but Johnson could play the second snap and in the first possession.

The violation is believed to be minor, such as being late for a meeting. Johnson is habitually the last player to get onto the field for practice or into meeting rooms.

Other inactive Bengals players are cornerbacks Rashad Bauman and Greg Brooks, defensive end Jonathan Fanene, guard Scott Kooistra, linebacker Hannibal Navies and defensive tackle Matthias Askew. Craig Krenzel is the third quarterback.

The Browns inactive players are defensive backs Gary Baxter and Antonio Perkins, tailback Lee Suggs, offensive linemen Dave Yovanovits and Nat Dorsey, tight end Aaron Shea and linebacker David McMillan. Doug Johnson is the third quarterback.
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Team healthy; Brooks' family safe after hurricane

By Mark Curnutte
Enquirer staff writer

The Bengals are a healthy team heading into their opener Sunday at Cleveland.

The first official injury report lists only wide receiver Kelley Washington (hamstring) as questionable and cornerback Tory James (foot) as probable.

Cornerback Greg Brooks also was back at work, having gone to his hometown of New Orleans and finding all seven of his immediate family members alive and well.

Though his property was destroyed by floods wrought by Hurricane Katrina, Brooks found his mother, young son and grandparents. They had evacuated to Baton Rouge, La., in the middle of last week.

Brooks flew into Jackson, Miss., on Monday – when he still did not know if his relatives had survived – rented a car and drove to New Orleans, he said. He was stopped at a police roadblock on the interstate but allowed in because his grandfather was at a New Orleans hospital.

“It’s 10 times worse than it looks on TV,” Brooks said this afternoon at Paul Brown Stadium.
“I could see my grandfather’s house from the hospital. The roof is gone.”

The seven family members are driving to Greater Cincinnati, where they will stay indefinitely with Brooks.

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Lewis: Team healthy for Browns game

By Mark Curnutte
Enquirer staff writer

The Bengals went back to work today in preparation for their opener Sunday at Cleveland.
Coach Marvin Lewis said this afternoon that the team is as healthy as it has been in more than a year.

This afternoon, he listed wide receiver Kelley Washington (hamstring) and cornerback Reggie Myles (groin) as questionable.

Wide receiver Kevin Walter (concussion) would he held out for another day, Lewis said.

Looking ahead to the Browns, Lewis said he anticipated an entirely different team with Romeo Crennel as the coach.

“They’re playing hard,” Lewis said. “We have to go do our thing. It’s a little more challenging. Our guys are going to have to pay attention on the sideline.

“We’ve worked hard. I’ve pushed hard. We came through healthier than we came in.”

Lewis also said that cornerback Greg Brooks, a New Orleans native, has been excused for a couple of days to attend to personal business. Brooks had not been able to contact several family members, who include his young son, since Hurricane Katrina struck.

Declining to elaborate because of the personal nature of the situation, Lewis did say, “It’s moving in a positive way.”

Bengals players, coaches and front office personnel have created a fund but have yet to decide, Lewis said, whether to contribute directly to teammates now housing displaced relatives or to the Red Cross.

Cornerback Tory James and wide receivers Chris Henry, who said he has 11 people at his home in Florence, Ky., are two of the players with full houses.

“We’re strongly supporting our guys,” Lewis said.

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Jones, Body among 7 signed to practice squad

By Mark Curnutte
Enquirer staff writer

The Bengals this afternoon announced the formation of a seven-player practice squad, consisting entirely of players they had waived Saturday.

The seven are cornerback Patrick Body, safety Herana-Daze Jones, wide receiver Jamall Broussard, linebacker Derek Curry, fullback-tight end Ronnie Ghent, offensive lineman Pete Lougheed and running back Quincy Wilson.

Practice squad players are not part of the 53-man roster, from which coaches choose the active 45 players and third quarterback that dress for regular-season games.

As the name implies, practice squad players practice with the team. They are paid a flat rate of $4,000 a week for each week they are on the practice squad, for a maximum of 17 weeks.

Other teams can sign players off another team’s practice squad to their 53-man roster. Broussard, as a rookie in 2004, was signed off the Bengals’ practice squad and onto Carolina’s active roster. He played in eight games for the Panthers and returned 24 kickoffs and 10 punts.

Jones and Body, as undrafted rookie free agents, had especially impressive training camps with the Bengals. Jones could easily be signed to the 53-man roster to play special teams.
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Bengals cut Bramlet; Clemons suspended

By Mark Curnutte
Enquirer staff writer

The Bengals today waived quarterback Casey Bramlet, making former Ohio State star Craig Krenzel their third quarterback.

Waiving Bramlet was one of 15 roster moves announced by the Bengals this afternoon to reach the league’s 53-player roster requirement.

The Bengals:
-- Waived fourth-year wide receiver Cliff Russell;

-- Waived second-year players Bramlet, wide receiver Jamall Broussard and defensive tackle Langston Moore;

-- Waived first-year fullback Ronnie Ghent, offensive tackle Pete Lougheed, cornerback Brandon Williams and tailback Quincy Wilson;

-- Waived five rookies in cornerback Patrick Body, linebacker Derek Curry, safety Herana-Daze Jones, wide receiver Dante Ridgeway and kicker Carter Warley;

-- Placed second-year linebacker Caleb Miller on the Reserve/Physically Unable to Perform list. Miller has been unable to practice because of ankle injuries that occurred before the start of training camp. He will be eligible to return to practice Oct. 18 and can practice for 21 days before his non-exempt roster status must be changed.

Defensive lineman Duane Clemons was placed by the NFL on the Reserve/Suspended by Commissioner list for violating the league’s substance abuse policy. He is suspended for the first four games and eligible to be reinstated to the active roster Oct. 3. He does not count on the 53-man roster.

Among the players waived today, all except Russell, Moore and Williams are eligible to be signed to an NFL practice squad. Teams may sign players to an eight-player practice squad beginning Sunday.
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