Good morning everyone! Time to rise and shine....or something of that nature. Grab yourself something to eat and get ready to catch up on the latest from Bengals Nation.
Nothing new on Andy Dalton as of this moment. And truth be told that worries me. On Wednesday Dalton did participate in practice, but he only ran a few hand-offs. If Dalton isn't ready for Sunday's game against the Denver Broncos then Bruce Gradkowski is going to be starting. That kind of worries me truth be told.
Yes, Gradkowski did lead us to victory against the Browns, but here's the thing, he got lucky on the 41-yard touchdown pass to A.J. Green. Had he not caught the Browns defense napping and just coming out of the huddle then who knows if the Bengals would have won the game. We can't expect something of that nature to happen again. When Gradkowski first came in he looked out of rhythm. His timing seemed off and his passes weren't always that accurate.
If Gradkowski starts then I have a feeling we'll be seeing a lot more from the running game on Sunday. Which if you think about it isn't all that bad. Benson had an outstanding performance and we all know Bernard Scott and Brian Leonard are threats to do some damage on the ground as well.
The odds are against the Bengals to defeat the Broncos, but hopefully the Bengals are able to claw their way to victory and start the season off with a two-game winning streak.
Alright here is a look at what you may have missed or overlooked from Wednesday.
- On every sport team there are going to be "stars," hell there are probably at least a handful of "stars" on every team, but not all of those athletes are truly stars and Bengals left tackle Andrew Whitworth believes the media has a tendency to create "stars."
- Typically when you have two quarterbacks, one being a rookie and the other being a veteran, the veteran quarterback usually helps the rookie grow. But in the Bengals case both Andy Dalton and Bruce Gradkowski have helped each other grow as quarterbacks.
- Week in and week out there is going to be that one player that goes above and beyond, but isn't necessarily expected to and don't get the type of recognition that others receive. This player is known better as the "Unsung Hero" and this week that player is......
- While the Bengals offense didn't put on a clinic against the Browns, Andy Dalton was pleased with the overall performance from the offense.
- Marvin Lewis is excited about the acquisition of tight end Donald Lee who will provide the Bengals with a much needed veteran presence at tight end. Lee is known as a blocker and a receiver, but what role does he play for the Bengals?
- In order to gain a better understanding at where certain players stand for Sunday's match-up against the Denver Broncos check out the practice report from Wednesday for the Bengals. Andy Dalton did participate in practice, however he wasn't throwing during that time. Also Otis Hudson and Kelly Jennings returned to practice.
- Heading into the second game of the year, the Bengals and Ravens are atop the standings in the AFC North. Check out the latest from the Bengals foes in the AFC North.
- It appears as if the Bengals are going to be the underdogs on a weekly basis and that remains the case this week against Denver, despite the Broncos sloppy loss to the Oakland Raiders.
- With Sunday being opening day for a majority of the league it's little surprise that the NFL dominated TV ratings. And even Bengals fans tuned in for the opener!
- Bengals running back Cedric Benson was nominated for AFC Offensive Player of the Week. Unfortunately Justin Bieber....er I mean Tom Brady (they both look the same to me) won.
- Every week there's going to be that player that stands out on the Bengals. Someone who performs well under the pressure of being a professional athlete. Someone who is considered an MVP. And this week the MVP for the Bengals is.....well click to find out. I'm not telling you.
- The Bengals battle it out against the Broncos on Sunday and there are connections for both squads.
- A breakdown of snaps from the offense and defense against the Cleveland Browns.