Bengals tidbits

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Cincy

Vick, victory elude Bengals
Atlanta QB rushes for 55 yards, buys enough time to pass for 291 yards, 3 TDs
BY KEVIN KELLY | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER

Domata Peko thought the quarterback had nowhere to go except to the turf.
The Bengals defensive tackle and his teammate, cornerback Keiwan Ratliff, zipped past the line of scrimmage on a third-and-5 in the fourth quarter Sunday at Paul Brown Stadium and found themselves alone in the Falcons backfield with Michael Vick.
"I thought we had him," Peko said. "But he's got quick feet. He just backed up and threw off his back foot.
"He not only showed his quick feet on that play, but he showed his good arm strength. That's what a lot of people don't know about Vick - he's got a great arm, too."
On the run and off balance, Vick rifled a 13-yard completion to wide receiver Roddy White that pushed another scoring drive in a 29-27 win against the Bengals before 65,978 fans a little farther down the field.
The Falcons brought the NFL's top-ranked run game to Cincinnati and, for the second consecutive week, beat an AFC North team with significant assistance from Vick's arm.
"You've got to try to contain a guy like him," Ratliff said, "and we didn't do a good enough job of it today."
Vick threw for 291 yards and three touchdowns on 20-of-28 passing for a 140.6 quarterback rating Sunday. He also rushed for 55 yards on nine carries.
The Falcons finished with 420 total net yards to the 331 gained by the Bengals.
"He's like nobody else in this league - like a Reggie Bush-type player," Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer said. "He's one of those few guys in this league that you would pay to go and watch him play. He lived up to the hype, threw the ball great and made plays with his feet when he needed to."
The Bengals closed to within two points late in the game when Palmer found Chris Henry open over the middle and completed a 55-yard touchdown pass to the wide receiver with 3:41 remaining.
Cincinnati got the ball back at its 17-yard line with 19 seconds remaining. Atlanta took possession 17 seconds later after Palmer was sacked and fumbled.
"It was a tough football game," Bengals coach Marvin Lewis said. "What I told our guys in (the locker room) is that we didn't make enough plays when we had opportunities to make them."
The Bengals' record dropped to 4-3 this season. The defending AFC North champions play the division-leading Ravens (5-2) on Sunday in Baltimore.
"We've got to toughen up in spots," Bengals right tackle Willie Anderson said. "Either that or make changes. Guys have got to be shaken up. ... Yeah, I'm mad because we lose these kinds of games. The games we should win. I get tired of hearing, 'We would've won if that.' We've got to toughen up."
The Falcons finished the game with a sizeable advantage in time of possession, holding the ball for more than 37 minutes.
Third down conversions also favored Atlanta.
The Bengals went 4-for-10 on third downs while the Falcons were 7-for-13.
"When they're out there for 35 minutes, it's hard," Bengals left guard Eric Steinbach said. "Their offense did a good job of keeping our offense off the field and controlling the tempo of the game."
The Bengals carried a four-point lead into halftime, but the Falcons came out in the second half and controlled the tempo.

QUICK HITSWHAT HAPPENED

The Falcons gained 420 total net yards to the Bengals' 331 and quarterback Michael Vick threw for 291 yards and three touchdowns on 20-of-28 passing. He also ran for another 55 yards.

The Bengals lost for the third time in the past four games and fell to 4-3 with a critical game against the Ravens coming up Sunday in Baltimore.

BIG PLAYS

On third-and-16 on the 47-yard line with 12:21 remaining, Vick had plenty of time to find wide receiver Roddy White for a 21-yard gain. Three plays later, on third-and-5 on the Cincinnati 27-yard line, Vick again found White for a 13-yard gain. The drive ended with a 39-yard field goal by Morten Andersen that made it 29-20 with 7:42 left in the game.

Later in the fourth quarter, on the first play of a drive, Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer threw a pass over the middle that wide receiver Chris Henry took to the end zone for a 55-yard touchdown with 3:41 remaining.

SHINING STARS

Vick has thrown seven touchdowns over his past two games, and his 140.6 passer rating Sunday was just shy of his career-best mark of 141.7 against the Panthers in 2002.

A 51-yard field goal by Shayne Graham pushed the Bengals' lead to 17-13 just before halftime. It was Graham's longest field goal this season and second longest with the Bengals.

NUMBERS GAME

Halfback Rudi Johnson gained 32 yards on five carries and scored on a 1-yard run on the Bengals' first drive of the game. Cincinnati finished with 73 yards rushing on 18 carries.... Palmer had a quarterback rating of 106.9, his highest so far this season.... The Bengals had the ball for 11 minutes, 18 seconds in the first half and 22 minutes, 52 seconds for the entire game.... The Falcons ended the Bengals' eight-game win streak against NFC teams.

THEY SAID IT

"We've got to toughen up in spots. Either that or make changes. Guys have got to be shaken up.... Yeah, I'm mad because we lose these kinds of games. The games we should win. I get tired of hearing, 'We would've won if that.' We've got to toughen up." - Bengals right tackle Willie Anderson.

WHERE THEY STAND

The Bengals have fallen a game behind the AFC North Division-leading Ravens, whom they play Sunday at 1 p.m. in Baltimore.

--Kevin Kelly

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Dispatch

Bengals sunk by execution, strategy errors

Monday, October 30, 2006

Bill Rabinowitz
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH


Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer fumbles on a sack by Patrick Kerney in the final seconds of the game as the Falcons? Josh Mallard closes in.

Bengals receiver Chad Johnson leaps into the end zone with the Falcons? Lawyer Milloy in tow in the first half.


CINCINNATI ? Yes, Michael Vick is a breathtaking player. When the Atlanta Falcons quarterback?s passes are accurate, as they were yesterday in a 29-27 victory over the Bengals, there might not be much an opponent can do.
The Bengals gave Vick his due. They said he was as good or better than advertised. They said he did things that were impossible to simulate in practice.
But the Bengals did not say Vick made it impossible to beat the Falcons yesterday in Paul Brown Stadium. They blamed themselves for the loss, which booted them out of a firstplace tie in the AFC North with Baltimore, their opponent next week.
Rudi Johnson questioned why the Bengals (4-3) abandoned the run game. After gaining 34 yards in the first quarter, Johnson carried only six more times for 12 yards.
"Our offensive line could have manhandled them all day and they know that," he said. "Up and down the field. We could have lessened the pressure on our defense."
Right tackle Willie Anderson questioned the team?s mental and physical toughness.
"When we lose games, we usually lose games because we get outsmarted and outtoughed," Anderson. "You saw this game today. They exploited us in both areas."
Perhaps the best exhibit of mental breakdowns was a seemingly small gaffe that ended up looming large. After Atlanta (5-2) scored to take the lead for good at 26-20 late in the third quarter, the Bengals had to call timeout because they had only 10 men on the kickoff-return unit.
They could have used that timeout late in the game. After Chris Henry caught a 55-yard touchdown pass with 3:41 left to make it 29-27, the Bengals allowed one first down ? on a throw under pressure by Vick ? before forcing a punt. But because of the earlier timeout, Atlanta was able to run the clock down until only 30 seconds remained. The Bengals then needed a prayer that wasn?t answered.
The Henry touchdown catch was about the only offense Cincinnati could muster in the second half. The Bengals had only 77 yards excluding that play and converted only 1 of 6 third-down chances after halftime. With the run game a non-factor, Atlanta cranked up its blitz packages and the Bengals struggled to counter.
"In the second half, we mixed up some of our looks," Falcons coach Jim Mora Jr. said. "We got a little bit more aggressive with some of our calls. We put in some new calls at halftime. We felt as coaches that it was up to us to put our players in position to make plays."
Meanwhile, the Bengals defense could do little to stop the Falcons? main playmaker. Vick, who entered the game with a 52.4 completion percentage, connected on 20 of 28 passes for 291 yards and a career-high passer rating of 140.6. He also ran for 55 yards.
The dual threat proved too much. At times, the Bengals used only three pass rushers to reduce the chance of Vick scrambling. That allowed him plenty of time to throw. When they did try to chase him down, the Bengals resembled Wile E. Coyote to Vick?s Road Runner.
"It?s like chasing a wide receiver who can throw," Bengals cornerback Keiwan Ratliff said. "He?s just as fast if not faster than most of the receivers in the NFL. He?s back there scrambling and it?s hard to ask a 300-pound guy to chase him down."
Vick continually came up big on third down, on which the Falcons converted 7 of 13 chances. He completed a 21-yarder on third-and-16 on the drive that put Atlanta ahead 29-20. Cincinnati forced one three-and-out all game.
"What I told our guys is that we didn?t make enough plays when we had opportunities to make them," Bengals coach Marvin Lewis said. "At the end of that day, we?ll look back at third downs on both sides of the football and that will have been the difference."
brabinowitz@dispatch.com

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Dispatch

Bengals struggle to get a grip on elusive Vick
Monday, October 30, 2006

BOB HUNTER
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CINCINNATI ? Michael Vick has always been part ballerina, part magician, part sprinter. What he hasn?t always been is part John Elway, at least when it comes to passing.
On the days when he is ? and yesterday was one of those ? containing him is like trying to catch a hummingbird with your hands. The Bengals lunged, grabbed and then uncupped their grubby paws repeatedly. They looked inside and found nothing."On film, he looks pretty fast, but when you?re on the field with him, he looks even faster because there?s no simulation for that," Bengals defensive tackle Domata Peko said.
"In practice, we had Reggie McNeal being Michael Vick, but when you get on the field, it?s a whole different speed."
Well, sure it is. As good an athlete as the Bengals rookie receiver is, if it had been McNeal playing quarterback for Atlanta yesterday, the Bengals would have won handily.
Having McNeal prepare a defense to play Vick is a lot like having Andrew Bogut simulate the play of Lebron James in basketball.
While it?s worth a try, it probably explains why a capacity crowd in Paul Brown Stadium was forced to watch the tricky quarterback-illusionist and the Falcons beat Cincinnati 29-27 and make the Bengals? share of the AFC North lead disappear.
If the Bengals didn?t expect to get their hands on Vick, they also didn?t expect him to complete 20 of 28 passes for 291 yards and three touchdowns.
"He?s usually not as accurate throwing across his body to the left side of our defense," defensive tackle John Thornton said. "We sort of contained their running game a little, even though they got 140 yards. They usually get 230.
"He just hit some big plays on third down and threw it downfield and really hurt us."
Vick made some third-down plays that were pure magic. A third-and-9 that saw him scramble in the backfield for what seemed like an eternity, make a move to get out of a triangle of tacklers and then hit former Ohio State standout Michael Jenkins for a 26-yard touchdown pass was probably the most damaging to the Bengals; it gave Atlanta a 20-17 lead. But a similar escape route on third and 16 in the fourth quarter ? he found Roddy White for 21 yards ? kept alive a drive that ended with a 39-yard Morten Andersen field goal that made it 29-20.
"That?s hard on everybody," Thornton said, "because you did what you?re supposed to do and he still makes a play because he?s faster than everybody."
With the Bengals having lost two games in the previous three weeks, the timing for a Vick visit was horrendous.
The Bengals played a decent game, probably good enough to win at home most weeks, and got burned by a guy who is capable of doing things no one else in the league can do.
Now the Bengals face a tough game in Baltimore next Sunday with a decent chance of dropping their fourth in five games and falling to 4-4.
It?s not time to panic ? this game may say more about Vick than it does the Bengals ? but it?s fair to say that what started as a banner season is slowly sliding toward mediocrity.
"They were able to keep some drives alive with some third downs and we weren?t," Bengals coach Marvin Lewis said.
That reflects on the Bengals offense certainly, but it wasn?t horrible.
While the running game didn?t rack up yardage, Carson Palmer completed 24 of 36 passes for 266 yards and two touchdowns.
The outcome was determined mostly by a dancing, speeding, bullet-throwing football ballerina named Vick.
As painful as it was, the Bengals know this experience was unique. They know that there are no more quarterbacks on their schedule who can do the things that Vick can.
"Nobody in this league," defensive end Robert Geathers said. "Nobody that I?ve ever played."

Bob Hunter is a sports colum nist for The Dispatch .

bhunter@dispatch.com

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Dispatch

BENGALS NOTEBOOK
No clear winner in Johnson-Hall matchup

Monday, October 30, 2006

Bill Rabinowitz
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH


NEAL C . LAURON DISPATCH The Bengals? Chad Johnson, right, exchanges words with the Falcons? Edgerton Hartwell.


CINCINNATI ? Call the Chad Johnson-DeAngelo Hall duel a draw.
Johnson was back to his brash ways last week in anticipation of his showdown with the Falcons? Pro Bowl cornerback.
The Bengals receiver didn?t flop, but he didn?t dominate, either. He caught six passes for 78 yards, including a 12-yard touchdown when he caught a short pass and juked Jason Webster, not Hall, for the score.
Johnson had hoped Hall would line up almost exclusively against him, but that didn?t happen.
On the first play, Hall tried to send Johnson a message with a hard hit. Safety Chris Crocker added a second hit that drew a personal foul.
"For the first play of the game, I asked for a particular coverage to the coaches," Hall said. "I told him that was the only time I was going to be in coverage and I wanted him to feel it."
Johnson made a couple of dazzling catches, but he and quarterback Carson Palmer were out of sync on several others, which is nothing new this season. On the first play of the second half, Johnson made a double move on Hall and got behind him, but Palmer overthrew the receiver.
Johnson said he had fun going against Hall.
"I enjoyed it," he said. "It?s not every day that you get to play against one of the best in the NFL. It?s something I look forward to."
Hall had similar feelings.
"There was something about this game that motivated me," he said. "Maybe that?s just how it is when you go up against some of the best. He drew a lot of attention this week with his comments and all those other things. I definitely wanted to come out here and give him a great show."
Hall said Johnson made sure the cornerback had somebody rooting for him.
"He came over to the hotel and brought my mom tickets to the game," he said. "They had met during the Pro Bowl, so she sat with his family. He was putting on a nice show for the fans. Chad?s an entertainer."
Costly penalty

After Atlanta scored a touchdown to make it 26-20, the Bengals called timeout on the ensuing kickoff because they had only 10 players on the field. That timeout proved costly when Atlanta was able to run down the clock in the fourth quarter.
"There was a player who wasn?t on the field who was supposed to be," special-teams coach Darrin Simmons said. "He was standing on the sideline. It was a critical error in the game. It had nothing to do with any injury. We weren?t on point."
Kaesviharn hurt

Bengals defensive back Kevin Kaesviharn left the game in the third quarter because of a left knee injury sustained when he dived in an unsuccessful attempt to make an interception in the end zone.
There were no details about the severity of the injury.
Bengals bits

Defensive end Justin Smith was credited with five solo tackles and seven assists. ? Neither team committed a turnover until Palmer fumbled when hit in the final seconds as he tried to make a desperation throw. Atlanta fumbled twice but each time recovered. ? Atlanta won the time-of-possession battle by 14 minutes, 16 seconds.
brabinowitz@dispatch.com

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Dispatch

Bengals turn away from run offense
Monday, October 30, 2006
Bill Rabinowitz
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH



CINCINNATI ? The players never mentioned Bob Bratkowski?s name, but it was hard to hear their words and not interpret them as criticism of the Bengals offensive coordinator.
A week ago, Bratkowski received credit for making a gutsy fourth-and-1 pass call to Chad Johnson that proved to be the pivotal play in a victory over Carolina.
Yesterday, Bengals players, particularly Rudi Johnson and Willie Anderson, were frustrated by the offensive strategy in a 29-27 loss to the Atlanta Falcons.
Johnson ran for a seasonlow 46 yards against Atlanta?s fast but undersized defense. After running for 32 yards on Cincinnati?s first possession, which ended with a touchdown, Johnson carried only seven more times for 14 yards.
He expected to be a workhorse.
"If I was a betting man, I would think that?s the way we would play the whole game," he said. "Good thing I don?t bet, huh? "
What made it more frustrating was Johnson?s belief that Cincinnati stopped running before Atlanta figured out a way to stop it.
"We changed before they did," Johnson said. "They changed at halftime. We changed after the first quarter.
"If it ain?t broke, don?t fix it. If they find a way to stop it, then you change up. You change up throughout the game. But don?t just coldturkey something for no reason."
Anderson?s opinion was similar. He said, with much frustration, that the Bengals are not a run-oriented team.
"That?s not our identity," the right tackle said. "We have a 1,400-yard back, but we?re not a running team."
He wished they had been yesterday. He agreed with Johnson that Cincinnati?s line of himself, Bobbie Williams, Eric Ghiaciuc, Eric Steinbach and Andrew Whitworth could have worn down Atlanta?s defensive line.
"I?m not criticizing ? make sure you print this ? but it?s a joke when you put who they put in front of me and Bobbie and Steinbach and Ghiaciuc and Whit and say you can?t run against that," Anderson said. "It?s a joke."
With a game next week against a Baltimore Ravens team featuring an imposing defense, Anderson said the Bengals must get their act together.
He pointed the finger at his teammates as well.
"We?ve got to toughen up in spots," Anderson said. "Either that or make changes. Make changes. It?s got to be shaken up.
"We?ve got to toughen up. Everybody. Coaches have to toughen up." Sometimes he said he wondered, "Do the coaches even respect our toughness when we don?t ? "
Anderson then paused and thought better of it.
"You finish the statement," he said as he walked away. brabinowitz@dispatch.com

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Dispatch

Lewis doesn?t take the bait as players carp over play-calling
Tuesday, October 31, 2006
Bill Rabinowitz
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
</IMG> NEAL C . LAURON DISPATCH Bengals running back Rudi Johnson (32) wanted more carries in Sunday?s loss to the Falcons. He finished with 12 for 46 yards.


CINCINNATI ? A day after losing for the third time in four games and a couple of players questioning the team?s strategy, coach Marvin Lewis tried to put a smiley face on the Good Ship Bengals:
The Bengals aren?t the Titanic. They?re the S.S. Minnow, soon to be fine after a three-hour detour.
Lewis spoke about the good things the Bengals did in their 29-27 loss to Atlanta. He dismissed the criticisms made by running back Rudi Johnson and offensive tackle Willie Anderson as mere frustration that comes after a loss.
"We won the first three and I was just the same," Lewis said of his upbeat demeanor. "We?re not going to change. Unfortunately, there is only one team that has gone undefeated in the NFL. You are going to come up short once in a while.
"But if we keep doing things the right way, we are going to be right where we want to be at the end of the year. We?ve got to keep doing things right, do it better, more efficiently and more often."
Johnson complained that the Bengals stopped trying to run the ball against Atlanta?s smallish defense.
"Do what works," Johnson said after the game. "I?m not saying I have to run 50,000 times, especially if it?s not working. I?m just saying you move up and down the field with what?s working. You do what you do until they find a way to stop it."
Anderson isn?t sure what type of offense the Bengals are trying to be.
"We try to figure everything out every week," he said Sunday. "We have no identity."
He added that the team?s toughness as a whole was "spotty."
"The good teams have that," Anderson said. "We don?t. Point blank, we don?t. I don?t care what everybody says tomorrow. We don?t have that. We?ve brought guys in here like that, but we don?t have enough. You?ve got to have enough guys like that."
If the comments bothered Lewis, he shrugged it off.
"It comes with the territory," he said. "It certainly doesn?t surprise me."
He did take issue with Johnson?s complaint. Lewis said the running back touched the ball on 50 percent of the snaps he played.
As for not pounding the ball after the first quarter, Lewis said, "We did pound Atlanta until they hit us for a 7-yard loss in the third quarter. Second-and-17, I don?t know how m