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Steelers Week Notes Part Deux

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Andrew Whitworth, the Bengals' de facto offensive captain, turned 32 Thursday, and the best birthday gift for him is a bunch of running plays Sunday (8:30 p.m.-Cincinnati's Channel 5) in Pittsburgh. Whitworth's move from left tackle to left guard the past two games has spurred a revival of sorts for the run game. They've run it 73 times at 4.4 yards per clip and in a five-game stretch they've run it at least 31 times.

It's a number that seems to work. The Bengals are 2-0 with Whitworth at left guard, 3-2 in the last five games and 19-3 with quarterback Andy Dalton when they run it at least 30 times.

But in the 22 games Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis has faced the Steelers, the Bengals have never run it 30 times. That's in part because Pittsburgh has always had top 5 defenses from coordinator Dick LeBeau that are absolutely miserable to run against. As late as last Dec. 23 they could only manage 14 yards on 16 tries.

Here's a weird one. The last time the Bengals rushed more than 30 times against the Steelers, LeBeau was the Bengals head coach in a 48-28 loss to Pittsburgh at Paul Brown Stadium on Nov. 26, 2000.

But this is not the usual for LeBeau. Gone is nose tackle Casey Hampton, inside backer Larry Foote is on injured reserve, and Hall of-Fame safety Troy Polamalu is playing a lot of linebacker. Now they are an unheard of 24thagainst the run and it will be interesting to see if the Bengals approach the run game with more carries than they have in the past because of the success they've had and the problems the Steelers have had.

"It will be important again this week to run the ball effectively. It always is against those guys. You almost have to be able to run the ball against them because they just so such a great job of mixing things up on the back end and bringing pressure in the pass game," Whitworth said. "You have to run the ball effectively to take some heat off of being able to throw the ball."

Whitworth has made no bones about his desire and that of the offensive line to flex the muscles with more runs. Lewis said they used the Nov. 24 bye to look at getting more balanced and Dalton is now tied for ninth in attempts in the NFL after leading the league at one point last month. Whitworth wouldn't exactly call himself a lobbyist, but he's happy with the direction of the offense.

"I think it’s more about lobbying to keep it as part of what you do. You’ve seen it from the great offenses. The Saints, when they’re offense is rolling they’re running the football well," Whitworth said. "I mean, sure, they have a couple games where they light people up through the air, but when they keep sustained offense it’s running the football effectively. The Patriots. Over time Tom Brady has transitioned to running the ball really effectively and then being really efficient when throwing. Aaron Rodgers this year. When Green Bay’s offense was rolling earlier in the year, it was because teams were so worried about him throwing it that they were running it really effectively. Running the ball effectively is the ultimate thing. It takes momentum and energy out of the game for the other team. It will always be that way."

Of course, 30 rushes and a 100-yard aren't always guarantees against Pittsburgh. The Bengals have had just two 100-yard rushers against the Steelers in this century, Corey Dillon in 2000 and Rudi Johnson in 2004, and they lost both games. Since Johnson went for 100, the Bengals have won six games against Pittsburgh but Whitworth knows it’s a lot easier to keep LeBeau's zone blitzes at bay with some runs.

"Being able to run it will always change the game and will always put a team in a situation to win. When you can do it successfully, you create a confidence where week in and week out you’re teeing off more, you’re being more aggressive," he said. "You almost start to run the ball better and better the more you can do it successfully. You’ve seen it with Houston; you’ve seen it with other teams that have bought in and had stretches where they just ran the ball like crazy. That’s really the key. You have to put your down and commit to it and be."

SLANTS AND SCREENS

There is a bug going around the locker room and it knocked three starters out of practice Thursday in the University of Cincinnati bubble. But it's not expected to lay them low for the game: WILL backer Vontaze Burfict, SAM backer James Harrison, and running back BenJarvus Green-Ellis. Green-Ellis, who also missed Wednesday, had suited up and was at Thursday's walk-through, but had to go back to PBS before practice….

More evidence cornerback Terence Newman (knee) won't go. They promoted Chris Lewis-Harris fro mthe practice squad and cut safety Tony Dye. Over the past rwo seasons, Lewis-Harris has played in five games, three this season. Dye, who figures to re-sign with the practice squad, has an impressive one NFL game played. He ran in a blocked against Cleveland Nov. 17 for a touchdown...

The early forecast is for 24 degrees Sunday night in Pittsburgh. Punter Kevin Huber and kicker Mike Nugentkicked outside Wednesday and will do it again Friday...

Think it's going to come down to a punt or a kick or both? Check out the last four years of the rivalry. Bengals running back Bernard Scott scored the only TD of the War of 18-12 in 2009, then fumbled away the opening kickoff the next time they played in 2010, gave up a TD and the Bengals got beat by six. In the Steelers' win in Pittsburgh in 2011, wide receiver Antonio Brown scored the last punt return TD against the Bengals. Last season, Josh Brown kicked the winning field goal with four seconds left, and Huber and punt cover tilted the game with a 48.3-yard net on six punts…

Matchup? Huber is fifth in the league with a 41.6 net. Mat McBriar doesn't have enough attempts, but his 35.6 would be third from the bottom…

Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, the 10-year vet, says he's never been on a losing team. At 5-8, the next loss guarantees it: "We’ve got three games to get to .500," he said Thursday…

 

 

 

http://www.bengals.com/news/article-1/Notes-Band-on-the-run-Ill-winds-Lewis-Harris-promoted/2572b55d-b893-4e5f-a747-c94da97d318f?campaign=cin:fanshare:twitter

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http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/10126639/ryan-clark-pittsburgh-steelers-says-fans-cheer-james-harrison

 

Clark: Harrison should be embraced

 

Updated: December 12, 2013, 5:23 PM ET

By Scott Brown | ESPN.com

 

 

PITTSBURGH -- Former Steelers wide receiver Mike Wallace heard his share of boos Sunday while playing his first game in Heinz Field for the opposing team.

Will James Harrison receive a similar reception from fans Sunday night when the Cincinnati Bengals visit the Steelers? Former teammate Ryan Clark and defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau hope not.

"I hope they show him the respect he deserves for what he did for this team, this organization, for the way he approached football, the passion he played with, the passion he worked with in this building," Clark said. "Was he the nicest guy ever? Not really. But what he was paid for he did exceptionally hard and exceptionally well, and I hope the fans here recognize that and understand that him leaving was just business; nothing was personal."

 

Harrison signed with the Bengals in April, about six weeks after the Steelers released the five-time Pro Bowler when the two sides could not agree on a salary reduction.I hope they show him the respect he deserves for what he did for this team, this organization, for the way he approached football, the passion he played with, the passion he worked with in this building. Was he the nicest guy ever? Not really. But what he was paid for he did exceptionally hard and exceptionally well, and I hope the fans here recognize that and understand that him leaving was just business; nothing was personal.” -- Steelers safety Ryan Clark,
on James Harrison returning to Pittsburgh

He has played in every game for the Bengals this season and recorded 27 tackles and two sacks. Harrison, whose role has increased as the season has progressed, also has an interception.

Before leaving the Steelers, Harrison had been the face of a hard-hitting (and oft-fined) defense and one of the most productive players in franchise history.

Harrison is fourth on the Steelers' all-time sacks list (64) despite not starting until 2007, his fourth full season with the team. Sixteen of those sacks came in 2008 when Harrison won NFL Defensive Player of the Year honors and led the Steelers to a sixth Super Bowl title.

He returned an interception 100 yards for a touchdown at the end of the first half of Super Bowl XLIII, and LeBeau has said that may be the greatest play in the game's history.

"He's one of the greatest Steelers defenders," LeBeau said of Harrison, who was cut three times by the Steelers before finally sticking with the team. "I'm not going to wish him success in the game, but I do love the man."

As for the reception Harrison will receive from Steelers fans, LeBeau said, "I know what he'll get from me."

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Khatmandude Hall Of Fame

Khatmandude

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Wish you could bro. What's it called? Ak47 or purple Cush :lol: I'm kidding. What is it really?

 

Hahah...no, it's concentrated oil of oregano.  A few drops diluted in some type of oil, extra virgin olive oil, and whatever was trying to make you sick will be obliterated within 12 or so hrs.   Ask my brother about it next time you talk to him.  I made him a believer.....and he's a doctor.  

 

Scienctology?

 

:lmao:

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|Bunghole|

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Hahah...no, it's concentrated oil of oregano.  A few drops diluted in some type of oil, extra virgin olive oil, and whatever was trying to make you sick will be obliterated within 12 or so hrs.   Ask my brother about it next time you talk to him.  I made him a believer.....and he's a doctor.  

 

 

:lmao:

http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/oil-of-oregano/

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Cris Collinsworth, who retired 24 years ago as the Bengals' all-time leading receiver, isn't retiring about his old team's chances to get to the Super Bowl this season.

Collinsworth, calling Sunday's game in Pittsburgh for NBC with Al Michaels (8:30 p.m.-Cincinnati's Channel 5), can see them going back to the big game for the first time since he played his last  game in Super Bowl XXIII.

"If they can win this week, the Patriots get beat in Miami and they somehow hold on to that No. 2 seed," Collinsworth said Thursday, "I don't know of any of the rest of the teams in the AFC that can come in here and beat them in a playoff game. Then you've got one shot, probably against Denver, to go to the Super Bowl and I don't think you can ask for a better scenario. I'm not sure if anyone can beat Peyton Manning the way he's playing right now. But look what Baltimore did last year in Denver. Who could have called that late pass and they go on and win the Super Bowl.. Absolutely they have a chance. If you've got the No. 2 seed, you've got a chance."

Collinsworth loves the move of left tackle Andrew Whitworth inside to guard and Anthony Collins replacing him. Plus, he says not many teams can  beat defenses in as many ways the Bengals can.

"That's a huge move with Whitworth. That makes it," Collinsworth said. "To put a guy who is athletic enough to play tackle inside and replace him with a guy at tackle that is even more athletic, that's going to be huge for them."

 

http://www.bengals.com/news/article-1/Notes-Collinsworth-bullish-on-Bengals-Band-on-the-run-Ill-winds-Lewis-Harris-promoted/2572b55d-b893-4e5f-a747-c94da97d318f

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CINCINNATI -- Is James Harrison a living, breathing, 300-acupuncture-needle-taking oxymoron?

Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis described the linebacker as a "respectful bully" this week. After thinking about that one for a second or two, scratching your head and then uncurling your eyebrows, it's not a bad description.
 
Nobody likes a bully, unless he's playing on your football team and helping your team win. James Harrison has helped the Bengals win this season no matter how much he has played in a game. What was already a good defense has benefitted from Harrison's presence on the field, in the locker room and in the meeting rooms. It is a better unit because of Harrison.

Harrison isn't a fan of the media and outside distractions. That doesn't make him a bad guy. He's just focused. Very focused. 

Harrison returns to Pittsburgh for the first time this Sunday as the enemy. For nine seasons he was the embodiment of what it meant to be a defensive player for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Harrison was to the defense what Hines Ward was to Pittsburgh's offense. You didn't have to like him but you had to respect him and how he prepares and plays the game. It's always on the edge of that line between hard-nosed sportsmanship and over-aggression.

He's not necessarily out to hurt someone but if someone is in his way he's going to take the most direct path to the ball. 

"He's going to be gruff about everything he can be," said Lewis in trying to describe what he meant by respectful bully. "That's his fun. We spend a lot of time together and guys have to have fun. That's his fun, to always be on edge, to keep people on edge."

Harrison deserves a warm, enthusiastic welcome from the Steelers crowd when he comes out onto the field. He meant too much to the accomplishments and success of the franchise the past decade.

"Hopefully (he gets) a good one. James did a lot of great things here. A lot of those No. 1 defenses were in large part to the efforts of James Harrison," said Pittsburgh safety Ryan Clark. "Hopefully they cheer him. (Miami wide receiver) Mike Wallace got booed last week but his situation was a lot different than James' situation. So hopefully they give him the reception he deserves."

Once the game kicks off, he will be just another guy wearing a striped helmet.

Harrison missed practice on Thursday with an illness. He usually makes himself available to the media on Thursdays but due to the illness wasn't around the locker room today. 

He has expressed previously that he doesn't care much how he is welcomed Sunday night or in any other game. It's a sentiment pretty much everyone else around him repeated.

"I hadn't really thought about it, and I'm sure he hasn't either," said Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin about the fan reaction. "If anybody knows James, it's me and I promise you James is not overly concerned about the reception."

What Harrison is concerned with is helping the Bengals get another win. That would push them to 10-4 on the season and put them on the brink of locking up the AFC North division. It also keeps them in contention for the No. 2 seed in the AFC and a bye in the first round of the playoffs.

Harrison's playing time has fluctuated this season. When the season began he was expected to play mostly in the base defense as an outside linebacker, meaning he would be getting limited snaps. He played just 14 defensive snaps against the Steelers when the Bengals beat them 20-10 on Sept. 16. As the season has gone on, injuries and game situations change. Harrison saw his most extensive action of the season last week against Indianapolis, playing in 52 of the 60 snaps against the Colts. 

The loss of defensive tackle Geno Atkins to a torn ACL has had defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer looking for other options when it comes to pressuring quarterbacks and stopping the run. That's Harrison's wheelhouse. His interception against Cleveland flipped momentum and helped turn a 13-0 deficit into a 31-13 halftime lead and eventual 41-20 win.
 
"For me as a coach, he's a good guy to have who really has helped the young group of linebackers continue to prepare and push forward like a pro, and not allow them to have the ups and downs that seem to creep in when you have young players too much. His eyes are on the target, and that's a good thing," said Lewis.

Vontaze Burfict has taken notes from Harrison. Their lockers are cattycorner from each other at PBS. How they play the game is similar. How Burfict approaches playing has been shaped by being around Harrison the past seven months.

Burfict is interested in how Heinz Field reacts to Harrison.

"I am pretty sure there will be some boos and probably cheering going on," said Burfict. "That's the game. That's the NFL. I am pretty sure I'm going to be walking out with him so I can absorb that. It's going to be great for him to go back there and be able to play against his crowd. I am kind of excited to see if there is going to be more cheers or boos."

So are a lot of people. James Harrison just won't be one of them.

 

http://www.foxsportsohio.com/nfl/cincinnati-bengals/story/Harrison-returning-to-Pittsburgh-in-stri?blockID=972341&feedID=3724

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|Bunghole|

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Can we please, please not institute another late-season rotation among the offensive linemen?

 

If I am forced to observe another such witless grabasstic display of fuckery I am afraid I will wax quite wroth indeed.

I think a center rotation would do wonders for our team. It worked out so well last season.

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Well in that case, maybe you shouldn't use it.....I'll continue to allow experience to dictate my next move.  

 

And there are however, plenty...plenty of other studies showing the opposite.  Just as anything...the source of it matters, the way it was processed, stored, etc..... but hey, you saw an article when you googled it and decided this was information everyone should see.   

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Cris Collinsworth, who retired 24 years ago as the Bengals' all-time leading receiver, isn't retiring about his old team's chances to get to the Super Bowl this season.

Collinsworth, calling Sunday's game in Pittsburgh for NBC with Al Michaels (8:30 p.m.-Cincinnati's Channel 5), can see them going back to the big game for the first time since he played his last  game in Super Bowl XXIII.

"If they can win this week, the Patriots get beat in Miami and they somehow hold on to that No. 2 seed," Collinsworth said Thursday, "I don't know of any of the rest of the teams in the AFC that can come in here and beat them in a playoff game. Then you've got one shot, probably against Denver, to go to the Super Bowl and I don't think you can ask for a better scenario. I'm not sure if anyone can beat Peyton Manning the way he's playing right now. But look what Baltimore did last year in Denver. Who could have called that late pass and they go on and win the Super Bowl.. Absolutely they have a chance. If you've got the No. 2 seed, you've got a chance."

Collinsworth loves the move of left tackle Andrew Whitworth inside to guard and Anthony Collins replacing him. Plus, he says not many teams can  beat defenses in as many ways the Bengals can.

"That's a huge move with Whitworth. That makes it," Collinsworth said. "To put a guy who is athletic enough to play tackle inside and replace him with a guy at tackle that is even more athletic, that's going to be huge for them."

 

http://www.bengals.com/news/article-1/Notes-Collinsworth-bullish-on-Bengals-Band-on-the-run-Ill-winds-Lewis-Harris-promoted/2572b55d-b893-4e5f-a747-c94da97d318f

 

 

 

Yeah, Collinsworth is such a jerk.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

:lol:

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Bengals1181

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collins130120_645.jpg
Anthony Collins

Cris Collinsworth of the Fort Thomas, Ky., Cris Collinsworths doesn't get to see the hometown team that much. Not with a game in a different city every week on the way to winning another Emmy. And Collinsworth now has as many Emmys analyzing pro football as he had catches in his final season for the Bengals that Super Bowl season of 1988 with 13.

So when he does watch the Bengals on tape for a single, intense week like he's doing now in preparation for NBC's Sunday night broadcast in Pittsburgh (8:30 p.m.-Cincinnati's Channel 5), they jump out at him in either huge leaps or stunning drops. And on Thursday afternoon he was raving about how good the tape is looking.

"Compared to where I was before I put on the tape to where I am now, I think they are better than I thought they were," Collinsworth said. "When they get Leon Hall and Geno Atkins back next year, they'll be favorites. … Believe me, this team is good. They really are, they're tough."

 

When Collinsworth retired as the Bengals all-time leading receiver after playing in Super Bowl XXIII, he left the NFL's top-ranked offense fueled by the league's best offensive line. In the wake of left tackle Andrew Whitworth's move to left guard and Anthony Collins replacing him at left tackle, Collinsworth knows what a top offensive line is supposed to look like.

 

"When I was finished with (the tape), I said this offensive line is as good as anybody I've seen," Collinsworth said.  "They're much better than most. They can run inside. The real difference is the mobility of those two guys on the left side. Obviously they have the mobility at tight end when they bring them into block, but now the screen game, the pitch game … when you can go outside a defense and still cram it down their throat a little bit, which they can do with (running back) BenJarvus (Green-Ellis), that's big."

The one play that has caught Collinsworth's attention this week is running back Giovani Bernard's sweep left that rolled for 20 yards against the Colts on the way to last Sunday's 42-28 victory at Paul Brown Stadium.

"Hardly anyone in the NFL is making yards on the toss sweep; that's like a high school team," he said. "The Bengals can beat you in a lot of ways."

Collinsworth says the biggest addition is Bernard and how he reminds him of Darren Sproles of the Saints. And he believes the two tight-end sets of Jermaine Gresham and Tyler Eifert have given the Bengals Old School Patriots-like diversification. But he can't stop talking about that offensive line.

"They've now got two big, athletic guys on that left side running out and pulling powers across the formation. They're a little more secure now blocking in front of Andy Dalton," Collinsworth said. "Collins has feet like an NBA forward. He can move, he's a very athletic guy and to hold off a guy like (Colts NFL-leading sacker) Robert Mathis … it was big bringing in that second tight end. To have those two tight ends, flex them out and play them like the Patriots and then bring them in tight and play a little power football … ."

After watching center Kyle Cook, Collinsworth invoked the name of one of those folk heroes from the other side of the line on that '88 team, nose tackle Tim Krumrie, the 10th-round pick who went to two Pro Bowls.

"Cook is a technician. I always thought of him as being the other guy, but he is tenacious," Collinsworth said. "He stays on blocks, he gets out in space and his effort really shows through. Maybe it's part of his (undrafted) pedigree. It's kind of like that Krumrie workmanlike attitude to him on the field. This time of year, finishing blocks pays off."

Yes, Collinsworth says Dalton can get the Bengals to the Super Bowl. "The way he played the other day, absolutely," he said. And a big reason is because a defense can't possibly cover all of Dalton's weapons, starting with the two outside receivers.

"Andy seems to be getting the ball out of his hands so quickly now. They're not getting pressure on him. You can tell he's really growing up at the quarterback position," Collinsworth said. "A.J. (Green) is one of the best players in the game right now. For Marvin Jones to occasionally get behind the defense and make a touchdown catch like he did the other day, it unsettles the defense. Now what do you do? You can't cover both tight ends. They're good receivers. Bernard is incredible coming out of the backfield and I think he's only going to get better. We know what A.J. is. Now you've got that other side where you have to play coverage … there aren't many teams that can attack you in as many ways as the Bengals can."

For all that, Collinsworth calls Sunday's game a virtual tossup. The Steelers are a different and healthier team than the one that lost to the Bengals in the second week of the season with the return of tight end Heath Miller and running back Le'Veon Bell. Plus, they're difficult to beat at Heinz Field. But he also thinks the Bengals are one of the few teams that have a real shot at winning the AFC.

"If they can win this week, the Patriots get beat in Miami and they somehow hold on to that No. 2 seed," Collinsworth said. "I don't know of any of the rest of the teams in the AFC that can come in here and beat them in a playoff game. Then you've got one shot, probably against Denver, to go to the Super Bowl and I don't think you can ask for a better scenario. I'm not sure if anyone can beat Peyton Manning the way he's playing right now. But look what Baltimore did last year in Denver. Who could have called that late pass and they go on and win the Super Bowl? Absolutely they have a chance. If you've got the No. 2 seed, you've got a chance."

Collinsworth is always careful to walk that Emmy line. And yes, once a Bengal, always a Bengal. But, well, the tape never lies.

"I cheer for the guys. I try to watch as many of their games as I can, but I always wonder if I'm biased in what I see," Collinsworth said. "But when I put on the game tapes, that's when I can really be objective. I'm used to critiquing teams in that way."

And right now, the tape looks pretty good.

"They've got a lot of ways to beat you and we'll talk about that some in the game," he said.

 

http://www.bengals.com/news/article-1/Prime-time-line/d3e123b3-7d9b-44fc-ad75-e3996617a031

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#Bengals Line Monday @holygrailbanks Special guests: Andre Smith and Mike Nugent.


#Bengals are holding today's walkthrough on their practice fields. First time on grass all week. Gotta get ready for Heinz Field.


come and get it…your ugly Who Dey Christmas sweater from @CincyShirts #Bengals http://www.espn1530.com/pages/lancesBlog.html?article=11905700 …

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