By Adam Kiefaber
Rudi Johnson is finally 100% after his hamstring injury he suffered in the Seattle game (week three) this season.
After a couple of weeks with Kenny Watson being the starter, Bengal fans have to wonder if they even want Rudi back.
In four games (three starts), Rudi has rushed for 185 yards on 62 carries (3.0 yards per carry) with zero touchdowns.
Watson was cleared to practice on Thursday after suffering a concussion in the Pittsburgh game. In seven games (four starts), Watson has rushed for 401 yards on 85 carries (4.7 yards per carry) with four touchdowns.
Bengals.com writes- “Just how good is the Bengals offense?”
“Cincinnati has played the top three defenses in the NFL in the first seven games (Pittsburgh, Baltimore and New England) basically without its top three running backs, its No. 3 and No. 4 receivers, and its Pro Bowl right tackle as well as eight different different line combinations and is still rated fifth in the NFL.”
Let me answer that -
Not good at all!
Rudi had a terrible start to the season. Watson is the better choice as the starter.
Who is the No. 4 receiver, Tab Perry? He never proved that.
Don’t start me on the offensive line, it hasn’t looked any better with Willie Anderson in there. However, it has been solid all year.
Finally, the Bengals are always behind - so the team piles up garbage yardage.
That’s why they are fifth.
To Rudi’s credit, he has rushed for over 1300 yards in each of his three seasons as the Bengals full-time starter.
All that aside, Rudi better run with a purpose this Sunday if he wants to keep his job.
Injury Update
Bengals
Offensive tackle Willie Anderson (knee) and middle linebacker Ahmad Brooks (groin) have been ruled out for Sunday’s game.
Linebacker Caleb Miller (back), defensive end Justin Smith (hamstring), defensive tackle John Thornton (neck) and running back Kenny Watson (head) didn’t participate in practice on Wednesday.
Safety Herana-Daze Jones participated in a limited portion of practice on Wednesday.
-NOTES- Watson should practice Thursday and be able to play this Sunday. Rudi Johnson finally had full participation in practice and is supposedly 100%. Fellow RB Chris Perry is a couple of weeks away from seeing the field.
Bills
Quarterback Trent Edwards (wrist) and LB Leon Joe (back) did not participate in practice on Wednesday.
DE Ryan Denney and cornerback Ashton Youboty (ankle) participated in a limited portion of practice on Wednesday.
-NOTES- After starting the last four weeks, the rookie Edwards won’t start. While the Bills have won three of those four, Edwards hasn’t played that well. QB J.P. Losman will start in his place. In Losman’s three starts this season, the Bills lost all of them. In his defense, those three games were against Denver (14-15), at Pittsburgh and at New England. Edwards’ wins came against the Jets (twice) and Baltimore, but he should have got the win in the Dallas (24-25) game. Last year, Losman started all 16 games for Buffalo and finished with 3,051 yards, 19-14 touchdown-to-interception ratio and a 84.9 QB rating. Since Losman is starting against the Bengals, he has become a popular fantasy pick up this week.
Check out Bengals odds at the best place to do football betting.
9 comments ↓
Poor Rudi…he hasn’t even had a chance this season. How can you compare the 4 games he had to the 7 that Watson had. Of course Watson is going to have more yards, thats just simple math. I also think Watson owes some of his numbers to the wide recievers, as we can’t seem to rely on them to complete passes we’ve been forced to keep the ball on the ground, which is a great advance for Watson and his stats. I’m not saying that Watson hasn’t proven to be an assest this season, but I think it’s unfair to write Rudy completly off and make Watson into a hero. He ain’t all that a bag of chips…if he were we wouldn’t still be losing games. Thats the bottom line, we still come up with big “L”s.
I say go Rudi. I’m now inspired to wear my R.Johnson jersey to support my man on Sunday.
RUUUUUUUUU-DI!!!
Keep Rudi & Chad…Dump Marvin.
I agree, qb JP Losman will probably get a qb rating of over 130 after Sunday’s game. The Bengals defense would make the quarterback for the Centerville Elks look like a NFL all-star!
[…] Bengal Stripes: “Rudi had a terrible start to the season. Watson is the better choice as the starter…Rudi better run with a purpose this Sunday if he wants to keep his job.” Cardinals at Buccaneers: […]
Where is the after game blog? Why do we suck soo much. It’s heartbreaking…
Ok well I’ll be waiting for the Bills blog.
I was at Jock’s and Jills for the game on Sunday. After that play in the 4th quarter when THREE Bengals had Lynch in the backfield for a 6 yard loss–and he still managed to get away for a TD–I threw my coke. Three people around me got wet, including the annoying Bills fan to my right. I did not apologize.
I think if we’d have beaten the Bills we still could have turned it around and made a run at the playoffs. That run by Lynch made it official for me. RIP 2007 Whodey.
Has Adam Kiefaber died and gone to heaven? Where in the world is he and why has he stopped blogging?
I thought Chuck Ludwig in the Dayton Daily had some good ideas that the coaches showed note>1. put Geathers back at right defensive end and let him blitz every down. >2. spread the field with 4 wide receivers and become the greastest show on turf, dump Rudi and just use Kenny Watson out of the backfield for receiver number 5. >3. Bring Ed Hartwell back. He had some other so-so ideas and if interested refer to the wed Nov 7 article.
Joe, I know you’ll be back at Jock’s for the Raven game, douse as many Baltimore fans as you can without getting killed. Also say high to my sweatheart Courtney.
(i’m just going to keep posting on this article until their is a new one).
Thoughts from the Ravens Game:
MVP for this game is hands down McNair. Thanks for all the turn overs and fumbles…we couldn’t have done it without you.
Honorable mention goes to Shane Graham. Thanks for ALL our points!!! And that new kid from Notre Dame, with the really difficult name. Way to go rookie.
Seems like the Ravens are the only team we can beat this year. But I’ll take it, it’s still a “W”. Who Dey!!
Bring back Bengalstripes!! Kiefaber knows his stuff.
Thought I’d stop to support bengalstripes.com
Keep up the good work.
WhoDey!
l
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