This seemed like a perfect match. A malcontent running back with a criminal record and the Cincinnati Bengals. The Bengals signed running back Larry Johnson—released by the Kansas City Chiefs last week because he was more trouble than he was worth—to a short-term deal that runs through the end of this season. Details of the contract were not available yet.
I figured the only other team that would even take a look at this guy would be the Oakland Raiders. The Bengals might be playing better football, but they still make some very questionable decisions when it comes to the character …read more

When the Cincinnati Bengals were chosen for HBO’s annual reality series Hard Knocks this past offseason, I kind of laughed it off and figured the show was in trouble if the best team they could come up with were the lowly Bengals. Well, the laugh’s on me now as the Bengals are off to an impressive 7-2 start. And this afternoon, they took control of the AFC North with an 18-12 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers.
After the game, quarterback Carson Palmer credited his team’s work in the trenches:
“We kept grinding, and at the end of the day, I think the …read more

Cincinnati Bengals running back Cedric Benson had a little extra motivation against the Chicago Bears today. Since his offseason release from Bears—the team that drafted him back in 2005—Cedric has been an integral part of the Bengals’ 5-2, AFC North leading start. This afternoon, he ran for a career-high 189 yards with one touchdown in his first game against his former team as the Bengals thumped the Bears 45-10.
How did he explain having his career-best game against his former team?
“It’s hard to explain. It was a bit of an emotional week coming into this one. At the end of the …read more

He changed his last name last year. But that wasn’t the real transformation. Cincinnati Bengals receiver Chad Ochocinco has, in a sense, reinvented himself again. And in the process, he has not only earned a new legion of fans and friends (over 250,000 Twitter followers and counting), he has also wisely positioned himself for a huge payday when his six-year, $35.5 million contract runs out after the 2011 season. That is, if the Bengals want to pay him the whopping $9.3M he’s set to make in 2011. If they don’t exercise that 2011 option, they’ll “only” have to pay him …read more

The winless Cleveland Browns (0-4) make their defensive coordinator, Rob Ryan, available to the media once a week. And it’s usually a spirited, honest exchange of words with the Cleveland press. Coach Ryan tells it like it is. And he’s rarely at a loss for words. Regarding his team’s overtime loss to the Cincinnati Bengals last week, coach Ryan (the twin brother of N.Y. Jets head coach Rex Ryan)—without being prompted by the local media—questioned Bengals kicker Shayne Graham’s game-winning, 31-yard field goal with four seconds left.
Coach Ryan didn’t agree with the end result:
“You can watch the tape. I’m not …read more

To follow-up my NFL Supports Breast Cancer Awareness Month post from yesterday, here is a photo sent to me by the Minnesota Vikings. Linebacker Chad Greenway is the team’s breast cancer spokesperson. And during the month of October—along with teammates Antoine Winfield, Brett Favre and Chester Taylor—Chad will be donning these pink cleats (along with other pink-themed equipment) in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Chad’s wife Jenni is also getting involved. She will be one of many volunteers handing out pink ribbons and towels Monday night at the Metrodome when the Vikes host the Green Bay Packers.
Chad was …read more

Cincinnati Bengals receiver Chad Ochocinco promised to do the “Lambeau Leap” if he scored a touchdown against the Green Bay Packers today. Well, he did score on a 13-yard reception from QB Carson Palmer in the third quarter. And he did leap. But he first sought out at least a small patch of orange amidst all the cheese before taking the plunge, so to speak. And it wasn’t much of a leap. He didn’t appear to really have his heart in it. But the Bengals won the game 31-24, so everyone in Cincinnati is happy—for now. They host the defending …read more

No NFL player has had more fun with social networking than Cincinnati Bengals receiver Chad Ochocinco. But with the NFL watching his every move and limiting what he can get away with on the internet, Chad said today (much to the chagrin of his 151,000+ followers) that he’s finished “tweeting” on Twitter and plans to close his account.
Yesterday, Chad spent a mere two tweets announcing:
“Due to the many rules the NFL has made I’ve found it difficult to enjoy Twitter and I’ll be deleting my account I thank and love you all for following, hope you enjoyed getting …read more

I emailed National Football League Senior Vice President of Public Relations Greg Aiello and he quickly (almost instantly—Greg’s good like that) sent me the league’s much anticipated statement regarding the use of social media on game days. The policy was officially announced yesterday.
NFL Statement Regarding Use of Social Media
The NFL informed clubs today that coaches, players and football operations personnel are permitted under league policy and with club permission to use social media on game day during specific time periods before and after games.
League policy allows for the use of social media or networking sites (including Twitter and Facebook) by …read more

Cincinnati Bengals offensive lineman Andre Smith, the sixth overall pick in the 2009 NFL Draft, finally ended his 30-day training camp/preseason holdout and signed a contract today that could be worth as much as $42 million. It’s believed to be a complex deal based on playing time and options, but Andre got a four-year deal worth $26 million with $21 million guaranteed. Andre is expected to be at Bengals practice at Paul Brown Stadium this afternoon.
Bengals receiver Chad Ochocinco reported via Twitter that the deal was done yesterday, but it took a few more hours of fine-tuning between Alvin Keels …read more