Rudi Johnson MAY be Out This Week

[PatsFan37]

We're not counting peanuts, these are teams with 53 players competing in a complex game. After 3 weeks, few statistics have any meaning.

I'll go with this: the Bengals are desperate and they're playing at home in prime time, with one of the league's best QBs and two of the best receivers. The Patriots have a good secondary and a superb front seven. It's a classic battle, and I'm not picking the winner. (winning on D means holding the other team below, say, 20 pts, and giving the O decent field position)

When the Pats have the ball, it's a different matter entirely.

 

[PatsFan37]

From SI. Dorsey entered the Indianapolis Colts' training camp as Joseph Addai's backup, but was released in the final roster cut. He's been recovering from a case of turf toe on his right foot suffered in the final preseason game.

What I like about this, is if Addai gets dinged up, Cincy has taken a shadow-roster RB off the Colt's board.

 

[Jacky Roberts]

All I can dish out is the proverbial "we'll see".
TJ leads the league in receptions, and has at least 4 TD's in 3 games. Chad isn't far behind.
If we are so limited (granted, we are LOSING), then why can't anyone else cover 85 and 84?
And if Rudi doesn't play?
Who knows? We may have some runs longer that 7 yards...

Patriots have injured 2 QB's in their first three games. Who is going to come in after Palmer gets broken?

Just kidding, if the Pats can keep TJ Houshwhatever and Johnson from having historically great games, the Pats roll. I can see the Patriots with a 2 to 1 time of possession advantage in this game.

 

[cartmen]

Rudy is the only real reason to fear the Bengals. Not that OC and TJ can't kill you but the play action is a huge part of their offense. If you dont respect the run you can sit on the pass and rush the passer without worry

 

[Patsfanin Philly]

Two words - Cleveland Browns

Amen. Bill Belichick doesn't attack your weakness, he takes away your strength ( See Marshall Faulk in SB 36 for example) Without Rudi, their strength is the passing game to Chad Johnson and TJ Houshalphabet. I expect to see some defense designed to force Palmer to find alternate receivers or go to a running game......
They may get their catches but the Pats aren't Romeo's Browns..

 

[Patriot_in_NY]

Great to show how much you don't know about other teams there, einstein. Did you even WATCH the Bengals game? I did. And I saw Watson doing a much better job at running the ball than Rudi Johnson for that game.

I'm NOT saying that Watson is BETTER than Johnson. He's not. But he's as good as Sammy Morris is for the Pats.

Oh gee, sorry I have a different opinion then you...... and for the record, I've watched all 3 Cinci games (I'm a closet fan and TJ is my #1 fantasy WR). Watson is a serviceable #2, but he is NOT as good or versatile as Morris can be (who has great hands and eventually will prove very valuable out of the backfield).

Cinci's O-line is not providing great holes and we should be able to get some penetration with our big 3 up front. Watson is a #2 for a reason, and he will struggle this week. That's MY prediction. Bottom line, it starts in the O-line, which is built for pass and for whatever reason, not doing as well in the run game so far for them.

OC and TJ are explosive and will be the first test for our secondary, however, if we get pressure up front and rush Carson (who's been well protected so far) a bit, we can hope to limit their productivity.

On defense, Cini's is struggling, and they don't match up well against us anyway. They seem to play alot of nickel and are very vulnerable in the slot. Welker will have a field day.

Cincinnati is not that great a team. They have a great passing offense which makes people notice them stats wise, but as a team they are perhaps on par with the Jest and not nearly at good as the Chargers (talent wise). Not to say we can overlook them cuz we certainly can't. They can be explosive, but this is a game we SHOULD win going away.

On paper, we have more talent accross the board, we just have to go out and execute and we will be fine. I'd say 35-21

 

[slash83]

Rudi Johnson, Bengals: Johnson disappeared in the fourth quarter of Sunday's game, (although some might argue that they never saw him to begin with) and later we were told that this was the result of a hamstring injury. Indications at this point are that the strain is not serious and Johnson states that he will be ready for Week 4. We will monitor his practice activity throughout the week to see how the hamstring holds up.

per ESPN

 

[Wotan_the_Wanderer]

Like Rudi would have made such a difference even when healthy after the Pats jump out to a 14-0 lead against this defense?

 

[bungholio]

If Rudi is healthy enough to play that is a huge boost for the Bengals, provided they gameplan him correctly, which means not calling tosses and sweeps that Rudi, as a north-south back, isn't good at.
We have a really good offensive line, especially at pass protection (we have given up, what, 3 sacks in 3 games and thrown the ball a bazillion times?), and if the meat up front can generate push and Bratkowski keeps Rudi inside the tackles, we'll be much more effective as we won't become one-dimensional.
This of course is all predicated on our defense not playing like a Div II-A squad and allowing Brady and Co to jump out to an early big lead.
Oh yeah, and our ST's are going to have to show up, too. Bad field position due to horrible kick/punt coverage has absolutely KILLED the Bengals so far this year, which is a result of our monumental amount of injuries.

 

[BDDFC]

Who is Rod Jones?
Are you having flashbacks?

Yes I was. I am quite old and my brian doesn't always work the way it use to.
I might Levi, of course.

All I can dish out is the proverbial "we'll see".
TJ leads the league in receptions, and has at least 4 TD's in 3 games. Chad isn't far behind.
If we are so limited (granted, we are LOSING), then why can't anyone else cover 85 and 84?
And if Rudi doesn't play?
Who knows? We may have some runs longer that 7 yards...

If we get the bal in DeeDee's hands we may get some explosive plays.

Now I have to predict that Reggie Kelly/Ben Coats (no, not YOUR Ben Coates!) will get a TD apiece....

Now who's having flashbacks. lol You mean Dan Coats.

 

[spacecrime]

Don't sell Kenny Watson short. He can do damage to the Pats. He's not Rudi, but he's their #2 for a reason.

Yeah, he's #2 because he isn't as good as #1.

 

[spacecrime]

If we are so limited (granted, we are LOSING), then why can't anyone else cover 85 and 84?

You are limited, and people DO cover your WRs.

I predict that the Pats will be up by at least 2 TDs by hte half, and the Bengals will go into catchup mode. 85 and 84 will catch a lot of passes up the middle (as we prevent the big play) and we will tackle them and take 40 seconds off the clock. When the field shortens, you will not be able to sustain the drive and will punt.

Repeat several times, as 85 and 84 rack up meaningless yards between your 20 and our 40.

At the end of the game, we will say, "Hooray! We won!"

and you will say, "Lookit all the yards 85 and 84 gained. Hooray! Nobody can cover 85 and 84!"

Great game plan. At least it will net you a high draft pick next year