Bookends with a story (Bengals.com)

[oldschooler]

[quote][size=5][b]Bookends with a story [/b][/size]
By GEOFF HOBSON
October 18, 2007

If there are two guys who are savoring the chance to play Sunday, it is the Bengals' battered but proud bookend tackles.

Right tackle Willie Anderson because he thought he couldn't play for at least another month with his tattered knee and foot. Left tackle Levi Jones because he didn't know if the coaches would give him a chance to redeem himself after the worst game of his life.

"Let's face it," Jones said after Thursday's practice, "some people don't get that."

For the last two months Jones warred publicly with the coaches to convince them he was healthy in an effort to get back into the lineup after missing nearly a year with a knee injury. He finally played the bulk of the third game and all of the fourth.

But when Chiefs defensive end Jared Allen beat him for 2.5 sacks and a forced fumble of Carson Palmer in last Sunday's first 17 minutes, Jones was back on the bench and wondering if he would be iced for good.

"That was the first thing I thought," said Jones, who went to head coach Marvin Lewis and told him not to spare him in the team meetings. "For once I was like, 'They've got every right.' I'm thankful that's not the direction they decided to go in."

Anderson is thankful to a higher power.

"They said it's up to me to play with the pain," Anderson said. "I think God put me in a position to come back early for a reason. I really believe this week is the start of something special for me and this team."

After injuring his knee on the last offensive play of the Seattle game, then playing only the first three snaps of the New England game with the torn ligament in his foot also balking, and then ending his 116-game consecutive streak against Kansas City, the fear was Anderson wouldn't be back for the Nov. 11 game in Baltimore, never mind the Oct. 28 game against pissburgh.

But Game No. 179 for Anderson comes against a formidable pass rusher from last season in Jets outside linebacker Bryan Thomas, an 8.5-sacker with just half a sack this season. The reason Anderson bowed out is that the injuries prevented him from playing like a four-time Pro Bowler as he openly worried, "I'm going to get somebody killed."

"I think I'm needed to come back and for me to play at that level," Anderson said. "I don't know how it's going to be. Do I plan on playing at a high level from here on out? I do."

His first break since Jan. 2, 2000, on top of the bye week, seems to have invigorated him. For what seems to be the first time in a few years he practiced both Wednesday and Thursday this week, even if it's in limited fashion.

After the pounding of 12 years, Anderson will only say "I'm all right ... no one is 100 percent," but he also credits his gnawing feeling of awkwardness to getting him back quicker than people thought.

When he escaped to Atlanta last weekend to continue his rehab, Anderson was appalled that his friends wanted to gather at his house and have a certified get-together to watch the game, the first regular-season game he hadn't attended since he was drafted in 1996.

It would have to be watched in solitude.

"To watch those guys out there fighting, it felt awkward for me," Anderson said. "Those guys are out there fighting, I can't be a part of it, so that probably helped my healing, too. Everybody thought I'd be out for a month, now I'm back after the first week and ready to get this thing started up again."

The heat the club is taking for re-signing Anderson and Jones on the eve of the 2006 season isn't sitting well with the fiercely proud pair. They are scheduled to collect a combined $40 million from 2006-2008 with critics raging that at 31 Anderson was too old and at 27 Jones was too brittle.

Some see it as perfect 20-20 hindsight. The deals were done before Jones suffered a second knee injury (the first one was complicated by donating his body to the first playoff run of 2003 when he had arthroscopic surgery) and before Anderson aggravated the ligament in his foot. Anderson had bounced back from a career-threatening microfracture knee surgery after the 2004 season to post one of his strongest years in the 2005 AFC North title season. And, still, he hobbled last year to another Pro Bowl that included shutouts of Julius Peppers, Derrick Burgess and Aaron Smith in that Season of Cortisone.

The two have endured a lot of physical pain for this offensive line, which has protected Carson Palmer well enough in his first 50 NFL starts to put up numbers rivaling Tom Brady and Peyton Manning, even in context of the last three games.

While some wonder if Jones' second knee problem has irrevocably affected his signature athleticism, he has been insisting he's been healthy for two months. Grateful for redemption, Jones also thinks part of his technique problems can be traced to not being put in the lineup earlier.

"All that confusion and all that distraction is coming from the fact that I know I need these technical issues and technical kinks to be worked out during that period of time to get right for the season," Jones said. "Naturally I'm not going to be on point when I do get in there. I'm not going to have all the ingredients for the recipe. I'm just going to try and throw it together."

But if Jones and Lewis have been arguing over the groceries, Jones also appreciates Lewis' gesture on Monday when he declined to show Jones' blowups against Allen during the team critique.

"I went to him to let him know that I needed that to help me out," Jones said. "That it's not fair to my other teammates not to show that. I understand why he didn't do it. I've been struggling this preseason, this regular season and I understand that's part of it. I just let him know I needed to see that under that circumstance.

"I appreciated the thought. That says a lot about him. It's just my psyche, I needed to see that."

It's only 20 short games or so ago that Jones had such a good season against several of the NFL's top pass rushers that he was named a Pro Bowl alternate. That's what he's seeking as he looks at film of the Allen incident.

The 310-pound acrobatic Jones has, at times, adopted the 340-pound mashing style of his backup, Andrew Whitworth.

"I got caught up in things that I don't do," Jones said. "I got caught up in trying to transform into Whitworth, a bigger guy with a different style.

"Over my career, any time I am struggling, it leads back to the same thing: Not playing my game."

Sunday is a big game for a lot of reasons. The Bengals have to get back to their game, and much of it relies on Anderson and Jones, the guys that would like to show that these $40 million bookends are valued property and not antiques.

"Not only as an effective player," Anderson said, "but as a leader."

At this point, it begins to sound like the commercial.

Proven protection for a franchise quarterback?

$40 million.

Leadership at 1-4?

Priceless.[/quote]




[url="http://www.bengals.com/news/news.asp?story_id=6370"]http://www.bengals.com/news/news.asp?story_id=6370[/url]

[BengalsOwn]

Former bookends.

[-GoBengals-]

[quote name='BengalsOwn' post='572892' date='Oct 18 2007, 10:52 PM']Former bookends.[/quote]

alas we agree. levi could return to good play, willie has BEEN done.

[|BlackJesus|]

[size=4][b]Willie [color="#FF8C00"]>[/color] Levi[/size]


... always was ... and always will be [/b]

[claptonrocks]

Im not real optomistic about either one of them this week..
Hopefully they prove people wrong and play well....

[TheBZ]

Even though professional football eats studs like these for breakfast...It is still good karma to recognize their efforts and give them the chance to go out on their shields.

Here's hoping that one (or both of them) go out in February and not some time in 2007.

BZ

[oldschooler]

[quote][size=5][b]Jones back to work [/b][/size]
[size=3][b]LT past poor performance[/b][/size]

By Kevin Goheen
Post staff reporter


Levi Jones was prepared for the worst on Monday. He was ready to enter the Bengals team meeting room, sit down with his teammates and take his punishment like a man. Up on the large projection screen for everyone to see, and for Jones to relive, would be the plays that got him benched for the first time in his career.

Except they weren't. For whatever reason, head coach Marvin Lewis had decided not to show the sacks Jones had allowed in the previous day's 27-20 loss at Kansas City. The Bengals' left tackle believes it was to spare him any further embarrassment, but it still was no relief to Jones.

"I went to coach Lewis and told him that's not going to help me by trying to spare me by not showing that," said Jones on Thursday. "Those meetings right there are what I use for myself to get in gear. There is nobody on this team that wants to get called out in that meeting and they will do everything and fight as hard as they can the next time not to have that happen."

Jones will get another chance to redeem himself this Sunday against the New York Jets. Lewis announced on Wednesday that Jones would be back in the starting lineup, with Andrew Whitworth at left guard. Whitworth replaced Jones in the second quarter at Kansas City after Chiefs defensive end Jared Allen had beaten him for 2½ sacks after just 14 plays.

For that, he is grateful. He knows he could very well be watching from the sidelines again this Sunday.

"That was the first thing I thought," said Jones. "For once I was like 'They've got every right to now.' I'm thankful that's not the direction they went and that they're giving me that shot to redeem myself because, let's face it, some people don't get that shot."

The Bengals signed Jones, their No. 1 draft choice in 2002, to a six-year, $40 million contract extension last year but a knee injury last October that required two surgeries has hindered him since the offseason. He missed all of the team's organized workouts in the spring, the mini-camps and the start of training camp. He was able to play in the final two preseason games; he played extensive minutes in both games. Jones voiced his concerns about the extensive action because he had not taken what he believed to be enough snaps in practice to be properly prepared to play that much.

Jones did not play in the season opener against Baltimore and came off of the bench in games at Cleveland and Seattle before starting the last two games. He admitted Thursday that much of his struggles this season have been due to poor technique, a technique he said he didn't properly hone through the offseason and preseason.

Jones quit playing his game, a game built around his athletic ability and speed more than just brute strength.

"Whenever you have a week like that it forces you to refocus and go back to the drawing board and figure out exactly what's wrong," said Jones. "I got caught up in doing things that I don't do. I got caught up in trying to transform into Whitworth - a bigger guy with a different style. I went back to the dark room with my coach (Paul Alexander) and the things he'd seen. Any time in my career, whenever I have struggled, it leads back to the same thing.

The Jets have just six sacks as a defense this season - only Carolina and Buffalo have fewer - and that is part of the reason opposing quarterbacks have a passer rating of 100.1 against New York this season.[/quote]







[url="http://news.cincypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071019/SPT03/710190306/1022/RSS0302"]http://news.cincypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/ar...06/1022/RSS0302[/url]

[LeonardWheeler]

Why doesn't Levi play LG and Whit play LT?

I think that this alignment would work better considering the skill sets of the players. If Levi lost a few lbs, he could be a very good pulling LG: He is agile enough. Whit has shown that he is more than capable of holding down the LT position. This alignment could also provide extra flexibility. We could play Levi at LT when facing a finesse/speed guy like Freeney and Whit when we play teams with more traditional D-Ends.

[bengalsfan850]

fuck levi jones and his damn 40 mil, whit is twice the production and half the price

[ThurmanMunster]

[quote name='BlackJesus' post='572981' date='Oct 19 2007, 01:17 AM'][size=4][b]Willie [color="#FF8C00"]>[/color] Levi[/size]


... always was ... and always will be [/b][/quote]
pff

[-GoBengals-]

[quote name='bengalsfan850' post='573419' date='Oct 19 2007, 06:01 PM']fuck levi jones and his damn 40 mil, whit is twice the production and half the price[/quote]

i assume your ignoring how good levi was previous to injury. which doesnt make a ton of sense. whitworth is solid, but he isnt levi jones when healthy. levi got a deal for a reason. he gets paid well for a reason.

[oldschooler]

[quote][size=5][b]Jones keeps starting job[/b][/size]
[size=3][b]Tackle appreciates coach's confidence after very bad day [/b][/size]
Saturday, October 20, 2007 3:26 AM
By Bill Rabinowitz

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

CINCINNATI -- Bengals left tackle Levi Jones appreciated the gesture, but, truth be told, he would rather have been raked over the coals.

As is his custom, coach Marvin Lewis showed clips of blown plays during a team meeting after a loss to Kansas City. Jones was surprised that his failed blocks on Jared Allen that resulted in three sacks weren't among them.

As painful as it would have been to have the plays dissected in front of the team, Jones was disappointed not to suffer through it. Afterward, he approached Lewis.

"I told him that's not going to help me by trying to spare me by not showing that," Jones said. "Those meetings right there are what I use for myself to get in gear. There is nobody on this team that wants to get called out in that meeting, and they will do everything and fight as hard as they can the next time not to have that happen."

Jones hasn't always felt appreciated by Lewis. So a part of him was touched that the coach passed up a chance to rip him.

"I did appreciate the thought," Jones said. "That says a lot about him, but, for me and my psyche, I needed to see that because that adds an extra element of wanting to get it right."

Jones will get another chance to get it right Sunday. He'll be back in the starting lineup against the New York Jets.

He wasn't sure whether the Bengals would stick with Andrew Whitworth at left tackle.

"I'm thankful that's not the direction they went and that they're giving me that shot to redeem myself because, let's face it, some people don't get that shot," Jones said.

Jones said it is not a mystery what happened in Kansas City. Instead of using his quickness and agility, Jones tried to rely on brute strength.

"I got caught up in doing things that I don't do," Jones said.

"I got caught up in trying to transform into Whitworth -- a bigger guy with a different style. He's long and he's a big guy who can lean and use his girth on people. I'm not that type of guy."

Jones said the practice time he missed while he rehabbed his surgically repaired knee contributed to his problems. He sat out all of training camp and didn't start the first three games of the season, which left him in a sour state of mind.

"I think all of that confusion and all of that distraction was coming from the fact that I know I need these technical issues and these technical kinks to be worked out during that period of time to get ready for the season," he said. "If I wasn't going to be allowed that then, naturally, I wasn't going to be on point when I do get in there."

brabinowitz@dispatch.com[/quote]



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