Ahmad Brooks and Willie Anderson will sit Sunday. I'm not sure how much more time Brooks needs to recover from a groin pull, but one has to wonder if we've seen the last of him this season. And depending on Odell Thurman's return, one has to wonder if Brooks' starting days are in serious jeopardy when healthy. Rudi Johnson still hasn't practiced. With Kenny Watson's performance against the Jets, one has to wonder how long this team can go with Watson and DeDe Dorsey.
Reader Edward passed along an excellent analysis in reference to this archived story on Kenny Watson.
Watson, who played the entire second half for an injured Stephen Davis, knew what was needed. He didn't need to repeat what his excited offensive linemen were already barking about as loud as they could.
"We knew we had to pound it," Watson said.
That the Redskins did in that final drive to hold off the Colts 26-21 on Sunday night at FedEx Field. And they did it by relying on an undrafted free agent who entered with just 14 career NFL carries.
Watson didn't gain the most yards for his team, but he had the most critical, 42 on 10 carries in the final drive. The Redskins ran down the clock and preserved a much-needed victory to improve to 3-4. The Colts (4-3) had 18 seconds remaining after Washington's fateful drive resulted in a 22-yard James Tuthill field goal.
Reader Edwards then provides excellent commentary.
All of which raises the issue: why haven't the Bengals made better use of Watson? My guess it has to do with reputation, the fact that he was not drafted. He didn't play in 2003, and the Bengals really didn't know what they had in Rudi Johnson, whether he could produce consistently, year after year. In retrospect, maybe they shouldn't have drafted Chris Perry; but, again, they didn't know what they had in Watson; and to a great extent, they still don't. I think he's worth a second look as a second RB rather than a backup RB. And if that means Rudi loses out when Chris Perry returns, so be it.
For the last two years, Rudi Johnson has come into camp at a lighter weight. He's a power runner, and I don't see where losing weight is all that good for his game. If Rudi lost weight with hopes of improving his running game, it doesn't seem like it's worked out all that well. Last year, his yards per carry were the lowest of his career, and among the lowest in the league for runners with 1,000 yards (give or take a few hundred). This season, his efficiency is even lower than last year's. His reduced efficiency makes the Bengals' offense less efficient, and contributes to their problems sustaining drives and converting 3rd downs..
You wonder how much better the Bengals offense can be. Better 3rd down efficiency, better red zone efficiency, a higher yards per play average. Those are the measures to look at.
Kenny Watson won the FedEX Ground Player of the Week for week #7.
Ian Preuth asks who is the biggest Bengals rival?
Lonnie Wheeler suggests that coaching Chad is hard. But we should deal with him.
Will the Bengals passing game challenge the Steelers secondary?