Monday Morning Happy Joy-Joy

by Josh Kirkendall on Nov 27, 2006 10:49 AM EST in Game Recaps

When Jim Brown speaks, do you listen? Maurice Clarett will probably tell you advice from Brown eventually led him to a life of prison. And I fully believe that. If Clarett had advice to stay in school and not challenge the league’s policy of joining the NFL too early, Clarett could be a big-time NFL back by now. But if one of the greatest running backs of all-time tells you to go this way as a teenager, you’ll most likely listen. I'm not blaming Brown for Clarett, believe me; Clarett is suffering consequences of his own actions. But if Brown would have left Claret alone and let him serve his one year suspension rather than egging him on to join the NFL early, Clarett could have had a chance to change things.

Perhaps perception can create unneeded scrutiny. Braylon Edwards Sunday was viewed as going after quarterback Charlie Frye. However, that's just the perception.

Three witnesses said Edwards told Frye something like, "We've got to keep you clean," after Frye's pass intended for Edwards was picked off. It was one of four interceptions Frye threw during a 30-0 loss Sunday to visiting the Cincinnati Bengals.

The Chris Perry story is starting to become depressing. He missed 14 games his rookie season, two games last season and when it's all said and done, he'll miss 10 games this year. He'll have missed 26 games out of 48 (54% missed). It's parallels the Ken Griffey Jr. story. He comes to Cincinnati as a relatively healthy person but then major injury -- not of his own doing -- after major injury plagues their career here.

Now the Bengals are preparing for Baltimore. Monday will be a typical week's Wednesday as the ridiculous NFL Network forces a change in the way team's must prepare and recover from tough NFL Sunday games. But when we say we trust our head coach to get the team ready, we're not lying.

"We've been planning for it all week, and we're ready to go," Lewis said of the quick turnaround. "We took things out and rested all week, knowing that we had a two-game stretch coming up. We wanted to make sure we had enough gas in the tank."

Now here's an interesting question: "What do you do when Rich Braham returns?" The one angry guy discussed this topic early Monday morning. Personally, I don't take a second to think. If Braham is healthy, he starts. Eric Ghiaciuc has went from a novice snapper to trusted center in half a season. But Braham is the guy you want for big games down the stretch. His experience and leadership are still qualities we need. However, now that we've seen Guiachic for an expanded timeframe, I feel confident that when Braham retires or moves on, Ghiaciuc will be a fine replacement.

Here's the breakdown of our offensive line and when they started.

Lineman	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11
Willie Anderson	x	x	x	x	x	x	x	x	x	x	x
Levi Jones	x		x	x	x
Eric Steinbach	x	x (T)	x	x	x (C)	x	x	x	x	x	x
Bobbie Williams	x	x	x	x	x	x	x	x	x
Rich Braham	x	x
Eric Ghiaciuc			x	x		x	x	x	x	x	x
Andrew Whitworth		x (G)			x (G)	x (T)	x (T)	x (T)	x (T)	x (T)	x (T)
Stacey Andrews										x (G)	x (G)

Week 1: Kansas City. Week 2: Cleveland. Week 3: Pittsburgh. Week 4: New England. Week 5: Tampa Bay. Week 6: Carolina. Week 7: Atlanta. Week 8: Baltimore. Week 9: San Diego. Week 10: New Orleans. Week 11: Cleveland.

Jim Brown not happy with Browns [Tribune Chronicle]
Browns say Edwards just venting [Mercury News]
Notes: Bengals peaking for Ravens? [Bengals.com]
Perry’s season ends with broken leg [Columbus Dispatch]
TB Perry's woes continue with season-ending right foot injury [Enquirer]
Short break no problem [Enquirer]
Improved line makes impressive gains [Enquirer]
Mini-streak revives playoff chances [Enquirer]
Effective pressure yields four INTs [Enquirer]
Shutout vindicates defense [Columbus Dispatch]
Bengals masterful in one-sided win over squabbling Browns [Columbus Dispatch]