:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/52212647/usa_today_9637508.0.jpeg)
The Bengals' team chaplain is tight with Andy Dalton
From the South Side of Chicago to Bible study at Andy Dalton's house, meet LaMorris Crawford, the chaplain who is the spiritual confidant and counselor of the Cincinnati Bengals.
Bengals Walkthru: TE injuries span far beyond Eifert
Bengals fans should find a piece of wood furniture near you. Knock on it. I'm about to talk about tight end injuries. The oft-injured Bengals tight end Tyler Eifert has stayed healthy since missing the first six games of the year with ankle and back injuries. Those piled on top of injuries to his head, neck, elbow, etc.
The Bengals thought they had drafted their tackles of the future in the first two rounds of the 2015 NFL Draft in Cedric Ogbuehi and Jake Fisher. But offensive line coach Paul Alexander says he's taking it game by game.
Here's a tip: the Dunlap Effect
Think of it like this. With 14 passes defensed already, Bengals left end Carlos Dunlap has as many right now as Ken Riley had for all of 1976, when one of the two greatest Bengals cornerbacks who ever lived led the AFC with nine interceptions.
For most of us, the fantasy playoffs are here and we are now in the one-and-done part of the football season. Win and you move on; lose, and you drop into the consolation bracket and get to fight for the toilet bowl title.
Thursday quick hits: RGIII is XVII; Iloka limited
Browns head coach Hue Jackson tapped quarterback Robert Griffin III to start Sunday (1 p.m.-Cincinnati’s Channel 12) in Cleveland. RGIII becomes the Browns' 17th different starting quarterback to face a Bengals team coached by Marvin Lewis, one of the reasons Lewis is 19-8 against Cleveland heading into his 28th Battle of Ohio.
Ced moves to the left: 'Might as well start now'
It appears the era of Cedric Ogbuehi as a right tackle is over and the new one as a left tackle has begun. So don’t look for him on the right side in any role starting Sunday (1 p.m.-Cincinnati’s Channel 12) in Cleveland. “I’m purely mentally everything left,” Ogbuehi said after Thursday’s practice.
Bengals notes: Zeitler a steady influence; run game excels vs. Browns
Since the Cincinnati Bengals made a change at right tackle in New England back on Oct. 16, the right tackle position has rotated in three different players. Center Russell Bodine went down with an injury in that game against the Patriots, and then offensive line coach Paul Alexander yanked him out of the game in Baltimore for two series.
AFC North Bytes
Steelers players want to help pay Ramon Foster’s fine
Steelers guard Ramon Foster wasn’t penalized for pulling Giants linebacker Kelvin Sheppard off of running back Le’Veon Bell in last Sunday’s victory, but he did hear from the league this week.
Hue Jackson: I want to know more about RG3
The Browns will give quarterback Robert Griffin III his second start of the season against the Bengals this Sunday, a point they would have liked to reach in the second week of the regular season.
Ravens’ Pitta: NFL career ‘was looking kind of bleak last year’
It reached a point where Dennis Pitta wasn’t sure if he would ever play again. Recurring hip injuries limited his availability and production for the better part of the past three seasons.
Random Bytes
Can I Kick It? | The Players' Tribune
I'll never forget it. August 2012. Oakland Coliseum. We were playing the Cowboys in my first preseason game. I wasn’t even supposed to play in the first half, but our starter, Shane Lechler, got hurt in warmups and the coaches told me I would be the guy a few minutes before kickoff.
James Conner blessed to receive Disney Spirit Award
Pittsburgh RB James Conner expresses his gratitude for receiving the Disney Spirit Award. He also dedicates the award to all those who are battling cancer and talks about his relationship with Shelley Smith and Holly Rowe.
Full of stories and emotion, college football bids farewell to Verne Lundquist
Lundquist's storied career at CBS will continue, but he will leave the pageantry of college football behind. On the eve of his last SEC on CBS game with Lundquist -- the two will link up one last time for the Army-Navy game on Saturday, marking a record-setting ninth call of the game by Verne -- producer Craig Silver began the usual Friday production meeting last week with a lump in his throat.
The best NFL player at every age, from 21-44
Ezekiel Elliott gets the nod for age 21, and Adam Vinatieri wins for age 44 -- because he's the only one. There are tough decisions elsewhere.
My 5 Dream Matchups | The Players' Tribune
One thing I think people often forget about professional athletes is that, to a large extent, we’re fans, too. Not the "Can I get a picture with you?" or "Can you sign my baby?" kind of fans, but we enjoy watching the best athletes in the world compete at the highest level as much as the next person.
Agent's Take: 10 NFL players chasing big bonuses in 2016's final stretch
Peyton Manning had one of the most notable performance bonuses during the salary cap era last season. The future first ballot Hall of Famer took a $4 million pay cut to remain with the Broncos in what turned out to be his NFL swan song. Manning earned the money back in the playoffs. He made $2 million when the Broncos got to the Super Bowl because he played at least 70 percent of the offensive plays in the AFC Championship Game. Manning got the other $2 million for winning Super Bowl 50 after hitting that same playing time threshold.
Chart Party: Scorigami, or the story of every NFL final score that has ever happened
A few times every NFL season, you see final scores that have never happened in the history of the league. This is the 95-year history of this fine art.
Exclusive interview: Giants player describes racist slurs in his home
When Giants fullback Nikita Whitlock first realized his home had been broken into on Tuesday night, his immediate thought, he told The Record on Thursday morning, was to make sure his 6–year-old son and 4-month-old daughter and wife were safe. But once the police allowed him back into his home, he had time to reflect on the words such as "KKK," "Trump," and other racially charged language and large swastikas that now littered his home.