GAME: Cincinnati Bengals @ Detroit Lions
WHEN: Thursday, August 9, 2007 at 7:30 p.m.
LOCATION: Detroit
BROADCAST: Channel 12 (Cincinnati)
SB NATION: Pride of Detroit
PERSONNEL: Out for tonight's game is: Johnathan Joseph, Jeremi Johnson, Willie Anderson, Levi Jones, Antonio Chatman, Tab Perry, Frostee Rucker, Glenn Holt, Ethan Kilmer, Bobby Blizzard, Tim Day, Sean Mulcahy, Blue Adams, Adam Kieft, Jimmy Verdon, Stan White, John Busing, Chris Perry and David Pollack.
REPLACEMENTS
- Andrew Whitworth is starting for Levi Jones at left tackle.
- Scott Kooistra will start for Willie Anderson at right tackle.
- Chris Manderino will start for Jeremi Johnson at full back.
- Keiwan Ratliff will start for Johnathan Joseph at cornerback
(keep refreshing for updates)
8:57: Alright fellas. I need to grab a bite to eat. I'll sit back and watch the remainder of the game with our 3rd and 4th teamers. Thanks for joining me for the first half and make sure you come back. You're always welcome to comment. This is your place as well as mine.
8:54: 1st and Goal, Doug drops back and throws right. Henry runs up about five yards and goes out. Doug hit Henry in stride and the receiver makes it into the end-zone. TOUCHDOWN, Bengals lead 16-7.
8:53: After a badly thrown pass to the left end-zone for incomplete, Doug drops back and throws left to Bennie Brazell for about 9 yards. Quickly, the Bengals offense sprint to the line of scrimmage and Doug sneaks for the first down. BENGALS TIMEOUT. One left.
8:52: Nice job by White. He recognized the route and smothered the receiver out-fighting him for the pick.
8:50: Ed Hartwell ran step for step with a running back running into the flats and turning upfield. Incomplete. Third and five at the DET 7, Lions QB drops back into the end zone, scrambles up the middle and INTERCEPTION by Marvin White!
8:49: IRONS UPDATE: A cart took Irons off from the sidelines.
8:48: Welcome fans from Australia, Michigan and Japan.
8:47: After a false start putting the Lions offense inside their own 1-yard line, the Lions QB, on a quick slant pattern threw left for six yards bringing up 2nd and 5 at the DET 7 at the TWO MINUTE WARNING.
8:46: INTERCEPTION: Doug looked left and floated a pass to Chris Henry. The Lions DB just out-fought Chris Henry. He was out of position to make a play, but you could argue that Henry's effort could have been better.
8:44: Irons UPDATE: The injury is his left ankle. His shoe is off and he's walking on it -- but not much weight being pushed on his weak left.
8:42: Man, injuries. Irons landed his left foot on the turf and his left went into a different direction. It's either his ankle or his knee. Not too sure.
8:42: After an illegal contact that awarded the Bengals a new first down, Watson picked up four yards around the left edge.
8:40: Kenny Irons hurt. After a 7 yard run, Irons gets up slowly and it looks like his left knee is hurt. Either the knee was driven into the ground or the foot stuck to the turf.
GET RID OF TURF! We're in the age where science and innovation can eliminate turf that crushes these guys careers.
8:39: Welcome fans from Virginia, Illinois and Montana.
8:38: TOUCHDOWN DETROIT: The Lions QB fakes a handoff and throws deep down the middle of the field. #84 catches the pass and there was blown coverage. Marvin White was the deep safety. No one was within a mile to the Lions receiver. It looked like the slot guy went out and the secondary, on that side, went after the out guy while #84 ran a seam route. Blown coverage.
8:35: I finally watched 300 (more later) and it's probably one of the best movies I've seen in a long time. I'm a sucker for Frank Miller based stories.
8:33: Severe Thunderstorm warning for Grant County pointing towards Grand Ridge. There. I'm doing a service..................... for you.
8:33: Kenny Irons gets his first hand off. The left end had no one blocking him, came across the line and dropped Irons for a one-yard loss. On second down, Irons takes the hand off on a stretch-like play and lost more yards. Lions are CRASHING hard off the edges. Lap suggests, reverse. Third and 11, with four receives in close and a back, Doug drops back and has the ball swatted out of his hands by Corey Smith. He recovers. Shayne Graham kicks a nice 47-yard field goal..... down the middle.
8:30: On third and 19, the QB, while in the end zone, tosses to Duckett. Ndukwe comes up and takes out Duckett's legs. Nice stop against a big back. Lions punt.
THEN, Skyler Green gets the punt, dodges an immediate defender but cutting up field and breaks free for 37 yards setting up the Bengals at the Detroit 21.
8:29: Peko makes another good stop and Landon Johnson put the finishing touches against T.J. Duckett for five yards.
8:28: On first down, Michael Myers breaks through the LOS and nearly sacks the QB. The Lions QB panicked against the roar and threw the ball away. Problem: Not outside the pocket. PENALTY: Intentional grounding. Woot!
8:26: Bengals on third and 2. Doug drops back and throws left to Daniel Coats. Wicked horrible pass. Larson has become a very reliable punter with a big leg.
8:26: After a false start by Chris Henry, Doug passes to the right and hits Bennie Brazell for about 14 yards. Wow. This guy has promise. He's slippery and a spinner like ol' Booker T.
8:25: Wide receivers penalized for false start. Is there anything more frustrating? Chris Henry jumped making him the second wide receiver to jump on three total jumps.
8:24: Best show on Television. Family Guy.
8:23: Welcome fans from California, D.C., New York and Arkansas.
8:21: On third and one, the Bengals stuffed the Lions at the LOS. Nice play by Kendrick Allen and Jonathan Fanene. Lions punt and our old friend Nick Harris finalized the poor Lions drive with a poor 36 yard punt.
8:21: OK, forgive me at this point. I won't know many of the player's names.
8:19: Andre Frazier has missed several tackles. However, the Lions ran to the left against a Bengals defensive front that stuffed the Lions offensive line. 2-yards at the most.
8:18: Well, I'm recording the Colts/Cowboys game broadcasting on Fox right now. But I feel bad for Lions fans that have to wait until the replay of the game because it's not sold out. Ah, Lions fans remind us during the Age of Helplessism.
8:18: After a Kenny Watson hand off to the right for minimal yards, Doug gets dropped against an untouched blitzing linebacker. Doug got the ball out of hands but drove the pass into the ground. On third and 10, Doug drops back and throws right to Bennie Brazell. The pass was awful -- either bad pass, bad route or bad timing. Either way, it looked bad. Bengals punt. Kyle Larson smoked a punt for 58 yards. Who-Dey.
8:14: On 2nd and 10, Doug drops back to and rips a pass to Reggie McNeal to the right. Nice job by McNeal to catch the pass and put it away.
8:14: Doug Johnson is now at quarterback. Doug fakes the handoff and float s a pass, on a naked bootleg, to Skyler Green. Incomplete.
8:12: I'm seeing readers from Arizona, Florida and Maryland online. Say hello. Local Bengals fans, if you're not totally giddy and mindless watching Bengals football on the screen, bring your best/worst impressions.
8:11: On third down and five, Kitna drops back and Bryan Robinson swats the ball. PENALTY: Illegal formation, six men on the line of scrimmage. Declined. Fourth down. Lions punt.
FIRST QUARTER NUMBERS
Bengals - 126 total yards, 33 yards rushing, 93 yards passing, 7 first down, 1-3 on 3rd down conversions.
Lions - 63 total yards, 19 yards rushing, 44 yards passing, 3 first downs, 1-2 on 3rd down conversions.
8:08: NICE PLAY PEKO. Bell, pitch right with the left side of the line pulling. Peko fights through the blocks and drops Bell. END OF THE FIRST QUARTER.
8:07: Third down and eight, Kitna drops back and slings the ball over the middle in a big void against the Bengals defense picking up 24 yards.
8:05: On the Lions first play, Bell ran to the left dropped by Madieu Williams. Williams is playing well. Hitting well and flying around. Second down, Caleb Miller did well slowing up Bell up the middle by fighting off his block.
BENGALS OFFENSE: Not bad. The offense moved the ball well, but stalled towards, or inside, the Red Zone.
First team offense:
Palmer: 7/10 for 93 yards.
Rudi: 5 carries for 32 yards
Chad: 2 receptions for 40 yards
T.J.: 2 receptions for 34 yards.
DRIVES:
1 - 7 plays, 71 yards, 3:28, Field Goal
2 - 11 plays, 50 yards, 5:00, Field Goal
8:00: FIELD GOAL: After a 1-yard run by Watson (and false start on Whitworth), Palmer over throws Chad Johnson running a deeper slant and then incompletes on a screen pass to the left. Incomplete. Shayne Graham kicks a 48-yard field goal down the middle. Bengals up, 6-0.
7:59: Kenny Watson gets his first carry on a pitch to the left. Watson slowed and went off the hip of Andrew Whitworth. The guy he blocked slowed Watson and the running back picked up minimal yards. PENALTY: On the next play, Whitworth false starts.
7:56: On first down, Palmer looked down field and dumped off to Reggie Kelly flying out towards the right sidelines for about 4 yards. On 2nd and 6, Palmer drops back and throws a missile to Chad Johnson to the right. Incomplete. PENALTY: Defensive Holding on #21.
7:56: On first down, Palmer play action and hits Chad Johnson down the right sideline picking up about 20 yards.
7:55: On 2nd and 5, Palmer drops back and, on a nice timing out route, hits Chris Henry picking up about 7 yards and the first down.
7:53: Palmer hands off on third down and picked up the first down. Nice job by Lions to get off the blocks. Stacy Andrews pulled... seemed a bit slow.
7:52: First down. Rudi runs left and the Lions secondary came up and stuff Rudi at the line. Second down, Palmer drops back, looks down field and dumps off to Rudi in the right flats bringing up 3rd and 3.
7:49: Pressure by the Bengals linemen forced Kitna to under throw a middle screen to the running back. Incomplete. Lions punt and kick into the end zone. Bengals will have the ball at the 20. Bengals secondary is coming up strong against the run and underneath passes.
7:48: Justin Smith SACK. Smith just blew by the left tackle and dropped Kitna on 2nd and 5.
7:46: First play of the Lions drive, Tatum Bell ran a counter play to the left. The Bengals were manned and Bell picked up 11 yards. Second play, Smith penetrated the line and forced Bell to run parallel and Madieu Williams smacked him to the ground.
7:44: Quick notes: The Bengals offensive looks very in synch. The offensive line did a nice job allowing Rudi Johnson to break for 24 yards on his two rush attempts. Palmer orchestrated another good no huddle offense and Chad and T.J. appear to be in mid-season form.
7:42: FIELD GOAL. After a four-yard Rudi Johnson run and wide incomplete pass to Chris Henry, Palmer hits T.J. over the middle on 3rd and 6 for 4 yards. Shayne Graham kicks a 23-yard field goal down the middle. Bengals lead 3-0.
7:40: Nice play. Palmer drops back, T.J. to the right. T.J. runs up the field about 20 yards and cuts in. Palmer hits T.J. between the numbers. First down after 30 yard pass.
7:39: Chad down by contact. No fumble. Bengals have the ball
7:38: If you want to talk quality football with Lions fans, head to Pride of Detroit.
7:37: Bengals challenge the turnover. Possible that Chad didn't have full control of the ball.
7:36: TURNOVER: Palmer throws to Johnson and Chad gets laid out by Daniel Bullocks. Chad lost the ball and came up loopy.
7:35: Hard count by Palmer forces Chad Johnson to false start.
7:35: Game on, the Bengals start the game at their own 24. Bring on the comments. First play, Carson Palmer runs draw to Palmer with Manderino sealing off the edge. Rudi Johnson runs for 20 yards on the left.