Three backs to share load

By Mark Curnutte
mcurnutte@enquirer.com
Rudi Johnson’s hamstring might have been strained.

But the running back’s self-confidence was unaffected by his four-week battle with the first major injury since he became the Bengals’ featured tailback.

Johnson, who missed three of the past four games, practiced today for the first time on a Wednesday since Sept. 19. He was injured four days later during the game at Seattle.

Kenny Watson made four starts and averaged 85.2 yards a game. He did not practice Wednesday because of the concussion he suffered at the end of the Steelers game Sunday. Watson will be back today.

"I'm going to go out and play just like I normally play," Johnson said when asked today if he and Watson would share carries. "That's why I made sure I was going to come back 100 percent before I stepped onto the field. … My leg is fine."

Coaches will check on the health of both running backs at the end of the week and then decide how to proceed.

"We'll just integrate them both into the gameplan and go from there," head coach Marvin Lewis said.

Johnson’s hamstring could fatigue quickly if he plays too much.


"We want to make sure we’re not going to overload Rudi at this point, either, so we have to use both guys, actually use all three players," Lewis said in reference to Johnson, Watson and DeDe Dorsey. "We'll use all three backs and try to five everybody a little piece of the pie."

Quarterback Carson Palmer likes having both Johnson and Watson to turn to.


"They're both too good of players not to," Palmer said. "It's always a good thing when you're not sure which running back you want to play because Kenny does so many good things and Rudi does so many good things. They're so different it fives us a great change-of-pace."

Regardless of who's carrying it, the Bengals will want to run the ball Sunday at Buffalo. The Bills are 24th in the NFL in rush defense at 127.9 yards a game. Lewis called it a priority. The Bengals have averaged more than 4 yards a carry in each of the past three games. The return of starting center Eric Ghiaciuc has helped, Lewis said.

"We've huddled more, which is important," Lewis said of turning away from the no-huddle offense. "We’ve had more called plays."

Johnson, who has rushed for more than 1,300 yards and 12 touchdowns in each of the previous three seasons, wants to get back into the action.

"As long as I'm getting my groove, yeah," Johnson said, yes, he's OK with using two running backs. "But everybody’s going to need to get into their groove."


Johnson returns to Buffalo, where he made his first NFL start Oct. 5, 2003. He carried 20 times for 69 yards and one touchdown in place of the injured Corey Dillon. The Bengals lost 22-16 in overtime. They head back to western New York this season in dire need of a victory, having lost five of six and limping with a 2-5 record.


"We didn't win the game," Johnson said of his first start. "We're trying to get to get a win. Whatever is called upon, we have to go out and do it."

Johnson had played in 64 consecutive games, starting 53 times, before missing the New England game Oct. 1. Sitting out was difficult. Johnson tried to come back after the bye week, Oct. 14, at Kansas City. He carried four times for eight yards.

"It was frustrating," offensive coordinator Bob Bratkowski said of Johnson’s layoff. "He was in getting treatment on a regular basis and in the meeting room mentally preparing."

Johnson now is as physically ready as he is mentally prepared.


With Watson running well – "He did a great job. Kenny filled in well. He did a lot of great things," Johnson said – there have been whispers around the edge of the team and among fans. Rudi might be done. He has lost a step. He’s 28 now and showing a lot of wear. Johnson will hear none of it, though he rushed more times, 1,039, from 2004 though 2006 than any running back in the NFL. This year he has run 62 times for 185 yards (3.0) and no touchdowns.

"I don't care what they say. Have I ever?" Johnson said with a hearty laugh. "Have I ever? That's one thing about me. I don't care what anybody says about me. I know how I play. I'm not worried about that all. I came here with Corey Dillon in front of me. I don't care what nobody is saying. It’s something that happens.

"You go through certain things in your career and your life. You just have to bounce back from it. I'm up to the task. That's nothing but a small thing to me."

Then there’s the matter of Lewis' decision not to go for the first down and touchdown on fourth-and-1 from the Steelers 2-yard line Sunday.


"Yes, I would try to get him to go for it," said Johnson, who would lobby Lewis to run him. "At the end of the day, it's his call."


Faced with the same decision Sunday, what might Lewis do?


"I would try to get him to go for it," Johnson said. "I think he would."