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Bengals Bites (9/10) - Opening Night is Here

News from around the NFL. What to look for in the Patriots / Steelers game. What other week one games are intriguing? Could the Browns sign Montee Ball?

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An NFL Opening Night Primer — NFL — The Sports Quotient
The NFL season starting on a Thursday is actually a fairly new idea. The first official NFL kickoff game was introduced in 2002. It featured the San Francisco 49ers playing at the New York Giants and it was supposed to be a boost to the New York area, given that, as a country, we were still in the first year of grieving following 9/11.

Montee Ball to the Browns rumors heat up - Waiting For Next Year
The Cleveland Browns put themselves in a precarious spot when they traded Terrance West with barely a week to go before their first real game against the Jets. They left themselves with second-year, undrafted runner Isaiah Crowell and a rookie engaged in the NFL’s concussion protocol, Duke Johnson. After that it was Shaun Draughn on the practice squad rounding out the Browns’ list of available ball carriers. Something had to give, right? Well Montee Ball passed through waivers and the Browns name started popping up, most notably with 92.3 the Fan’s Adam the Bull.

Ranking every Week 1 game by excitement level.
It's finally the first week of NFL season, which means excitement is in the air. But some of these games will be more compelling than others. Here are all 16 games, ranked by watchability. Aren't you glad we can focus on other things than the 'gates?

Lewis says return to Oakland is huge for Hue | Cincinnati Bengals
Earlier this week Cincinnati Bengals offensive coordinator Hue Jackson tried to downplay his return to Oakland to face the Raiders, the team that fired him after he went 8-8 in his first season as head coach in 2011.

Burfict: 'I feel good,' confident he'll be ready for Steelers
Burfict speaks: Pro Bowl linebacker says knee feels good but understands decision to place him on PUP.

Predicting the 2015 NFL season: Picks for 256 games, playoffs, Super Bowl - CBSSports.com
Which teams win their division in 2015? Who makes the playoffs? Who wins the Super Bowl. Here are game scores and predictions for every single game.

'Madden' predicts nail biter for Bengals opener
Football season is finally upon us and we're looking to have some fun midweek as we wait for Sunday. Every week this season we'll run a computer vs.

At 6-foot-7, Cincinnati Bengals' Andrew Whitworth is a 6-handicap - Cincinnati Bengals Blog - ESPN
Though his 6-foot-7 frame has been an advantage on the field, the Bengals' Andrew Whitworth admits his size makes golfing a challenge.

Bengals tap rushing tradition

2015 NFL Preview: The Ravens, Bengals, Steelers And, Yes, Even The Browns Will Fight For The AFC North | FiveThirtyEight
Twenty-one of their 22 starters are back from a year ago, which ties for the second-most returning starters any NFL team has carried into a season since 2006.

Gear Up!: How the Bengals train once the season hits - NFL.com

Players go through rigorous training to improve their game in the offseason. But when the season kicks off, it's a different story. See how the Bengals change up their training regimen come kickoff.

Sam Bradford is among long-shot NFL MVP candidates for 2015

You rarely see surprise candidates in the mix for the NFL MVP award, but players such as Sam Bradford and Jeremy Hill could crash the party.

Bengals preparing for a dirty game in Oakland | www.mydaytondailynews.com

The Cincinnati Bengals haven’t played a season opener at Paul Brown Stadium since Brandon Stokely and the Denver Broncos dropped jaws and broke hearts in 2009.

Matchup of the Game: Turning the Tide

An intriguing matchup all the way around in Sunday’s opener (4:25 p.m.-Cincinnati’s Channel 12) in Oakland. And not just because they are Nick Saban products out of Alabama. Kirkpatrick is the first-round pick (No. 17 in 2012) the Raiders gave up as part of the trade for quarterback Carson Palmer. The man who swung that deal for Oakland with Bengals president Mike Brown, then Raiders head coach Hue Jackson, was fired after that 2011 season and ended up the next year taking the struggling rookie Kirkpatrick under his wing as a Bengals defensive assistant.

Cops: Deputies Ignored NFLer Who Taunted, Then Sprayed Champagne At Clubgoers

New Orleans police are investigating what happened at a New Orleans nightclub this week after a couple said Saints defensive end Cameron Jordan harassed one of them, then sprayed both with champagne. The police released their initial report today, and it includes several snicker-inducing details, like when the boyfriend said Jordan told him "I can have any bitch that I want." Less amusing are all the ways in which the report outlines how Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Deputies working a detail at the club refused to investigate, ignoring requests both from the offended couple and a fellow law enforcement officer.

New England Patriots: Four things to watch for against the Steelers | isportsweb

A fourth banner will be unveiled tomorrow night in Foxboro, as the defending Super Bowl champion New England Patriots host the Pittsburgh Steelers in the first game of the NFL season. The two teams will meet in Gillette Stadium, for the 8:30 p.m. kickoff of the 2015-16 football year. Pittsburgh, 11-5 last season won the AFC North, only to fall to Baltimore in a first-round wild card matchup. The Steelers will be without their star running back Le’Veon Bell, who will serve a two game suspension for violating the leagues drug policy.