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.

E-mail mcurnutte@enquirer.com