Thursday Injury/Practice Report: Dunlap, Benson Still Out for Bengals
The Cincinnati Bengals took the practice field on Thursday with a slightly brighter outlook on the team's health status. On one hand defensive backs Nate Clements, Chris Crocker and Brandon Ghee all returned to practice as did wide receiver Jerome Simpson, but on the other hand, defensive end Carlos Dunlap, running back Cedric Benson and defensive tackle Domata Peko sat out again. This marks the fifth straight practice that Dunlap has missed which mean's he's likely to miss his second game in a row.
For the Steelers, Troy Polamalu returned to full practice on Thursday after sitting out on Wednesday and center/guard Maurkice Pouncey returned to practice, although he was limited. Ben Roethlisberger also showed up on the Steelers' practice report on Thursday as a limited participant in practice due to his hand injury. It's highly doubtful that he would miss the game on Sunday, though.
Click the jump to see the Bengals' and Steelers' practice report from Thursday.
| BENGALS | WED | THUR | FRI | STATUS |
| TE Donald Lee (foot) | LP | DNP | ||
| CB Nate Clements (non-injury related) | DNP | LP | ||
| DE Carlos Dunlap (hamstring) | DNP | DNP | ||
| S Chris Crocker (bicep) | DNP | LP | ||
| CB Brandon Ghee (groin) | DNP | LP | ||
| RB Cedric Benson | DNP | DNP | ||
| LB Dontay Moch (non-injury related) | DNP | DNP | ||
| DT Domata Peko (foot) | DNP | DNP | ||
| WR Jerome Simpson (knee) | DNP | LP | ||
| DT Pat Sims (ankle) | LP | LP | ||
| Steelers | WED | THUR | FRI | STATUS |
| WR Arnaz Battle (hamstring) | LP | DNP | ||
| LB Chris Carter (hamstring) | DNP | DNP | ||
| LB Larry Foote (hamstring) | LP | LP | ||
| SS Troy Polamalu (head) | DNP | FP | ||
| C/G Maurkice Pouncey (illness) | DNP | LP | ||
| LB Stevenson Sylvester (calf) | FP | FP | ||
| LB LaMarr Woodley (hamstring) | FP | FP | ||
| QB Ben Roethlisberger (hand) | -- | LP |
DNP - Did Not Participate
LP - Limited Participation
FP - Full Participation
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What's wrong with Benson??
If Benson can’t go, would we maybe see Peerman and Leonard running the ball since the Scott experiment pretty much failed when Benson was suspended?
I represent the Bengals of Cincinnati with extreme passion and prejudice and make no apologies for it!
From the mothership
Running back Cedric Benson and defensive tackle Domata Peko, both nursing foot injuries, didn’t practice for the second straight day but since they finished Sunday’s game they should be OK.
by Oregonbengalsfan on Dec 1, 2011 6:50 PM EST up reply actions
We will get Dunlap back
Just in time to make a nasty run at the Superbowl. Im more concerned about Ced.
by quickslant on Dec 1, 2011 6:30 PM EST via mobile reply actions
I'm the most concerned
with Peko and Sims
"At the very end, somebody took a dump right where I stood in the dugout every day." Dusty Baker
I can't express how glad I am to see Sims with limited participation.
Seeing him lying motionless on the ground for a little bit with a knee injury, I thought for sure it was a torn ACL. Even if he doesn’t play this week, he’ll be back this year.
Yeah a lineman's knee came down on his ankle
it was pretty gnarly.
by Oregonbengalsfan on Dec 1, 2011 7:48 PM EST up reply actions
They seemed to be focusing on his ankle
But it really looked like a knee injury on the replay. The way he came off the field and then went to the cart I would have bet good money he tore his ACL. The fact he’s even AT practice this week is great news.
by eric nyc on Dec 1, 2011 7:59 PM EST via iPhone app up reply actions
as long as green and Dalton are healthy
Its not like anything else matters as much other then our O-line and front 7 on D
by DEWITT330 on Dec 1, 2011 7:00 PM EST via mobile reply actions
for what its worth
We haven’t lost a afc north game that aj green has finished. Don’t tell me he’s not a difference maker!
by Jasonistheman11 on Dec 1, 2011 7:06 PM EST via mobile reply actions
I get your point but the difference is that was Cleveland not Pittsburgh or Baltimore
We will need to play our best game of the year without Dunlap.
"If we always agree, one of us is not necessary"
Pekonis the most worrisome
That being said, this is the time of year that some of the big guys start getting a lot of rest during the week. Peko has been known to sit out a lot of practices late in the year but he is a trooper on game day. As for Benson, I actually think if he couldn’t go it might help us. Scott is a better back for taking on the Steelers. Benson hasn’t been anything special this year. I can’t imagine a rotation of Scott, Peerman, and Leonard couldn’t carry a solid running game.
Would love to get Dunlap back but not looking good…Still we got to Ben without him just fine last time.
by eric nyc on Dec 1, 2011 7:25 PM EST via iPhone app reply actions
The running game is only there to keep the D honest. If we win it will be thru the air.
"If we always agree, one of us is not necessary"
We do need Ced
He drives all of us crazy sometimes, but he is clearly the best option. I love Leonard, but he and Scott are not every down backs.
i'm so confused by this train of thought.
in the one game where scott filled in for benson he put up pretty much the exact same performance against a good run defense as benson has been putting up against poor run defenses. scott isn’t amazing, but ced is no improvement. a mixture of scott and leonard can and will get just as much done as ced can get done.
i hate hearing that ced is the “heart” of this offense. guess what happened when we played without him in seattle? our run game was serviceable and we won. guess what happened when we played without him twice in 2009? we plugged in scott and he went for over 100 yards in one game and we plugged in larry johnson and he went for over 100 yards in the other game.
we’re fine without ced so long as we have a comparable RB core available, and we certainly have that as long as scott, leonard, and peerman are healthy.
I'm so confused by Peerman.
I’m not sure why anyone mentions Peerman when it comes to discussions on running backs. The man never gets a shot to play his chosen position. As far as I can tell, the coaches see him only as a special teams specialist, not as an option at backup running back.
I’d like to see him in game action, but I don’t consider him an option to help carry the load if Benson is out until the coaches show they are interested in seeing what he can do.
I'm OK with Ced
I do not dislike him but I do not love him either I guess you could say I think he’s a little better than average. Having said that, I think Scott might actually be a better type of back against the Steelers. If you watched the first game against Pittsburgs and the Steelers last game against KC the B. Scott type of runs (delays, sprint draws, etc.) were what was appeared to be successful rather than trying to run it right down there throats
I was amazed at how few drops CED had last week
He looks TERRIFIED while the ball is in the air and it usually causes problems when you rely on him in the screen game. A good game plan would be to make Scott the feature back so we can implement the smokes and screens. Build a lead…. and we can use more Benson and when hes in there you can open up play action.
Benson is the Man
Are you guys joking right now with this Scott talk. You want to know why we can compete in the AFCN is because of BENSON. He keeps the defense honest on the run because of his potential. If Scott was in the game the defense would drop in to cover two and dare Andy to throw. Benson is a work horse that pounds the ball. 3 and 3 or 3 and 5 is a hell of a lot easier to convert then 3 and 10. Need I remind everyone that it was benson with his 169 yard performance in the playoffs against that amazing jets run defense….When benson rolls the bengals roll…so let’s quit complaining and get behind the guy we have cuase guess what, corey dillon isn’t walking through that door…..GO BENSON…WHO DEY
by TDOG on Dec 2, 2011 10:35 AM EST via mobile reply actions
no, we compete because we have andy dalton, aj green, and a good overall defense.
benson is average as average can be. any feature back starter from any team can do what he can do, and most of them can do it better.

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