Thursday Injury/Practice Report: Dunlap, Benson Still Out for Bengals

by Jason Garrison on Dec 1, 2011 6:00 PM EST in Injury

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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Comments

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!

by Law1951 on Dec 1, 2011 6:12 PM EST reply actions

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

How did scott failed he wasnt any worse then ced

by bengals&buckeyenation on Dec 1, 2011 6:46 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

by featherman on Dec 1, 2011 6:48 PM EST reply actions

Me too

by Unbeliever on Dec 2, 2011 8:44 AM EST up reply actions

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.

by sexsalad on Dec 1, 2011 6:59 PM EST reply actions

my bad, it was ankle injury?

Shows what I know.

by sexsalad on Dec 1, 2011 6:59 PM EST up reply actions

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"

by JUNGLEJOHN on Dec 2, 2011 8:47 AM EST up reply actions

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"

by JUNGLEJOHN on Dec 2, 2011 8:49 AM EST up reply actions

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.

by txbengal29 on Dec 1, 2011 9:02 PM EST reply actions

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.

by dqniel on Dec 1, 2011 9:19 PM EST up reply actions

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.

by CBJKing on Dec 2, 2011 10:57 AM EST up reply actions

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

by biggie22 on Dec 1, 2011 10:12 PM EST reply actions

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.

by keithster on Dec 2, 2011 12:04 AM EST reply actions

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