PHOTO: Cincinnati Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis congratulates
his players after they scored a touchdown against the Dallas Cowboys, Sunday,
Nov. 7, 2004, in Cincinnati. Cincinnati won 26-3. Halfway through the season
the Bengals are beginning to look more likethe team everyone expected. (AP Photo/Al
Behrman)
INSIDERS REPORT
Jon Kitna, reluctantly, is likely to make his first 2004 start at quarterback
for the Bengals on Sunday against the Buffalo Bills at Paul Brown Stadium.
Starter Carson Palmer, who suffered a left knee sprain during the New England
game Sunday, revealed late Wednesday that his chances of playing against the
Bills are "bleak" and that he would be "shocked" to start.
Welcome back, Jon. Kitna played every offensive snap for the Bengals in 2003,
leading them to just their second 8-8 record in the past 13 seasons. The other
11 seasons ended with losing records. He threw 26 touchdowns and just 15 interceptions,
was named AFC Offensive Player of the Month in November and was the NFL's Comeback
Player of the Year.
But Kitna lost his job in the offseason. Coach Marvin Lewis decided to promote
Palmer, the first overall pick of the 2003 draft.
Kitna accepted the decision with grace and has done nothing to disrupt team
chemistry. He told offensive teammates who supported him to throw their support
to Palmer. All the while, Kitna kept himself ready, and he was 9-for-13 passing
for 126 yards, one touchdown and one interceptions last week against the Patriots.
In the age of selfish athletes who speak of team unity but behave otherwise,
Kitna walks the walk even better than he talks the talk.
"People have said they've been impressed with my character and integrity,"
Kitna said this week. "It's not me. It's Jesus Christ who lives in me.
All I do is the best I can. There are certain things I can't control, so I'm
not going to worry about them and fret about them and pitch a fit or anything
like that. That's not for me to do. I'm to accept the role and things that I've
been given and to do whatever my role is whole-heartedly.
"People want to say, 'Aw, it's a disappointment you didn't get the chance
to start again this year.' I didn't have a chance to be in this league and this
is Year 9, so how could anything be a disappointment then? I'm not going to
allow people's expectations of me and what they think should be fair to affect
what I am."
Kitna has embraced the defined role as Palmer's backup, teacher and mentor.
The two have become close friends, Kitna calling Palmer his closest friend on
the team. They play golf, pool and cards and compete fiercely.
What Kitna has not done is lobby behind Palmer's back to get the job back.
He said this week he hopes, if he does indeed start against the Bills in Week
15, that Palmer is back for the Week 16 game against the Giants.
"I know Jon's excited. I am happy for him," Palmer said. "He
is a competitor. He's getting the chance to play. I, and the rest of the team,
are completely confident in him that he's going to go out and not really lose
a step where this offense has left off. Even though we are playing the No. (3-ranked)
defense in the league, he's going to go out and have a great day."
Palmer said the injury is to his medial collateral ligament and that surgery
is not necessary if there is no further damage.
Palmer was one of the league's hottest quarterbacks. His passer rating in Games
8-13 was 96.9 with 13 touchdowns and eight interceptions. His passer rating
for Games 1-7 was 62.6 with five touchdowns and 10 interceptions.
"They're telling me (the MCL) not strong enough to protect it from me
moving around and having to get around out of the pocket," Palmer said.
"It's not strong enough to protect it from ripping or tearing and having
to go through reconstructive knee surgery and missing the whole offseason.
"I'm just trying to get it healthy and strong enough to play so I can
get a couple of more shots and finish the rest of the year."
The Bengals will play the Giants on Dec. 26 before traveling to Philadelphia
for the finale Jan. 2.
They enter the Buffalo game with slim playoff hopes. At 6-7, though, the Bengals
trail four teams, including Buffalo, in the chase for the last AFC wildcard
spot.
SERIES HISTORY: 21st meeting -- The Buffalo Bills lead the Cincinnati Bengals
11-9. The Bengals have won both of the team's meetings in the playoffs. The
Bengals lead 8-4 in home games, but the Bills will be making their first visit
to Paul Brown Stadium. The last meeting was a 22-16 Bills victory in overtime
last season in Buffalo.
NOTES, QUOTES
- Four former Bengals coaches will return as members of the Buffalo staff:
Sam Wyche (quarterbacks), Tim Krumrie (defensive line), Jim McNally (offensive
line) and Frank Verducci (tight ends).
- The Bengals are 5-1 when leading after three quarters this season.
- For the second consecutive week, the Bengals will face another high-profile
former teammate. Last week: Running back Corey Dillon at New England. Sunday:
Bills linebacker Takeo Spikes.
The importance of the game, both the Bengals and Bills are still fighting
for an AFC wild card berth, transcends the personal rivalry. But there is
no denying Spikes' popularity leftover from his five years with the Bengals
and how his celebrity - not to mention his level of play - has blossomed in
Buffalo.
"The emotions are going to run wild, man," Spikes said of his homecoming.
"It's where it all started. When I was young and greener than the grass,
Cincinnati is where I started my career and being the player I am."
Spikes parted ways with the Bengals as an unrestricted free agent in March
2003. The Bengals used the transition tag on Spikes, which allowed the club
to match any offer he would receive. The Bengals chose not to match the six-year,
$32 million offer sheet he signed with the Bills.
- Right tackle Willie Anderson, a player known to have a compassionate heart
in proportion to his 340-pound frame, was announced this week as the Bengals'
nominee for the NFL's Walter Payton Man of the Year award. Each of the NFL's
32 teams nominates a play for the award, named for the former Chicago Bears
running back who died in 1999.
- The award is the only one presented by the league that recognizes off-the-field
community service as well as playing excellence. Anderson, a ninth-year player,
was voted to his first Pro Bowl in 2003 and is a likely repeat performer in
the league's annual all-star game.
"It's a responsibility we as athletes have to uphold and give back to
the communities we live and work in," Anderson said. "It shows youngsters
a game-plan to follow. Instead of just following athletes for their exploits
on the field, we can show we can be a positive model in other ways."
- The Bengals have achieved a franchise first in the past three games. The
478 yards of total offense at New England on Sunday gave them 450-plus yards
in each of their last three games. The Bengals gained 504 yards against Cleveland
on Nov. 28, 453 yards at Baltimore on Dec. 5 and the 478 at New England in
a loss Sunday.
- The Bengals hired Marvin Lewis as coach Jan. 14, 2003. They will face their
two other outside candidates in the next two weeks.
- Bills first-year coach Mike Mularkey, whose team is 7-6, was the Steelers'
offensive coordinator at the time he was interviewed. Buffalo will play Sunday
at Paul Brown Stadium.
- Tom Coughlin will bring his New York Giants, now 5-8 and losers of the last
six in a row, on Dec. 26. Coughlin had been freshly fired as Jacksonville
coach at the end of the 2002 season.
- The Bengals committed three turnovers and had no takeaways against the
Patriots. In 29 games under coach Marvin Lewis, the Bengals are 8-1 with a
plus differential in turnovers, 4-2 when the differential is even and 2-12
when they have a minus differential.
BY THE NUMBERS: 10 -- Consecutive sellouts for the Bengals at Paul Brown
Stadium. The Bills game this Sunday is the seventh of the season and seventh
sellout. A sellout of the home final Dec. 26 against the Giants would give the
Bengals their first home schedule sellout since 1992.
QUOTE TO NOTE: "This thing has been running pretty good without
me in there, so my thing is I don't want to go in and disrupt a whole bunch
of things and try to put my personality on it. This is Carson's (Palmer's) football
team. I just want to try to continue and be an extension of him and do the things
that I'm strong at doing." -- Quarterback Jon Kitna, on his approach if
he starts Sunday against the Bills for the injured Palmer.
STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL
In addition to their quarterback, Carson Palmer, the Bengals might on Sunday
be without the other offensive starter who touches the football on every play.
Center Rich Braham, who injured his knee Sunday at New England, was downgraded
to doubtful for the upcoming game against Buffalo. Jerry Fontenot, who started
Games 2-4 this season for the Bengals, would make his fourth start if Braham
were unavailable.
Palmer said late Wednesday that his chances to start against the Bills were
"bleak" because of a medial collateral ligament sprain in his left
knee. Ninth-year quarterback Jon Kitna is expected to start.
Fontenot, a 16th-year pro, signed Sept. 16 as a free agent and started Sept.
19 against Miami. Coach Marvin Lewis recently said Fontenot did a solid job
in such dire circumstances but should be even more effective after having had
almost three months to learn the offensive scheme more thoroughly. Fontenot
will face a challenge in helping against Buffalo's two large defensive tackles,
Sam Adams and Pat Williams.
PLAYER PERSONNEL NOTES
- -- WR Chad Johnson is second in the NFL with 80 receptions and is trying
to become the first Bengal in franchise history to lead the league. The Saints'
Joe Horn leads with 81.
- -- RB Chris Perry dressed for the game Sunday for the fifth time this year.
The rookie did not play for the third time and has been inactive eight times.
"He has got to have a good week of practice. He has to have confidence
in himself physically, and then gain confidence in everything we are doing
in order to have an opportunity," coach Marvin Lewis said of Perry. "I
was hopeful he would have a chance (Sunday), but it didn't happen that way
with the flow of the game."
- -- WR T.J. Houshmandzadeh played in only two games because of a hamstring
injury last season, and Bengals coach Marvin Lewis referred to him as a "China
doll."
"I can't call him that anymore. He's tough as nails," Lewis said.
"He's taken three of the cheapest shots I've seen in NFL this year have
been leveled on this guy. He keeps getting up from them and going."
Houshmandzadeh took those hits in the Dallas, second Cleveland and New England
games. In his past three games, Houshmandzadeh has 26 catches for 395 yards
and three touchdowns.
- -- TE Matt Schobel will face his brother, Bills defensive end Aaron Schobel,
on Sunday. Aaron leads the Bills with seven sacks. Matt has 16 receptions
for 164 yards and three touchdowns and has been used as an H-back on passing
downs. Matt's blocking has helped give quarterback Carson Palmer extra time
in the pocket.
GAME PLAN: The Bengals have one of the NFL's hottest offenses, and it
will face Buffalo's No. 3-ranked defense. The Bills held Cleveland to 17 total
yards Sunday. Even with the likely quarterback change to Jon Kitna, the Bengals
will attack the defense aggressively. The Bengals will run Rudi Johnson 20-25
times and mix in a downfield passing game to wide receivers Chad Johnson and
T.J. Houshmandzadeh. On defense, the Bengals will have to stop red-hot tailback
Willis McGahee, who has six 100-yard games in his eight NFL starts. The Bengals
did a good job on New England's Corey Dillon last week (22 carries for 88 yards)
but gave up too many big plays in the pass game to Patriots quarterback Tom Brady. Buffalo's Drew Bledsoe is not in Brady's class and is far less mobile.
The Bengals will need to pressure him into turnovers.
MATCHUPS TO WATCH: Bengals kickoff coverage team vs. Bills KR Terrence McGee, who has three returns for touchdowns this season and an NFL best 26.5-yard
kickoff return average. The other deep man employed by special teams coach Bobby April on kickoffs is linebacker London Fletcher, who is McGee's devastating
lead blocker. The Bengals can't give up field position in the kickoff return
game.
C Jerry Fontenot vs. Bills DTs Sam Adams and Pat Williams. Adams played for
Marvin Lewis when Lewis was Baltimore's defensive coordinator. The two tackles
clog the middle of the line and are a reason for Buffalo's No. 4-ranking against
the run (92.3 yards). The Bengals will need to have a balanced attack with Rudi
Johnson getting his carries. Fontenot will be starting for the injured Rich
Braham.
INJURY IMPACT: Defensive lineman Duane Clemons (knee), safety Rogers Beckett (neck) and cornerback Deltha O'Neal (ankle) were listed as questionable.
Clemons, who leads the team with 6.5 sacks, wore a leg brace in the locker
room. He would be the most difficult Bengal to replace because he plays both
end and tackle well. He moves inside on pass downs to make room for rookie end
Robert Geathers, who has 3.5 sacks.
Rookie Keiwan Ratliff, a good tackler and solid cover corner, would make his
fourth start in place of O'Neal.
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