The Cincinnati Bengals will be featured on the annual HBO Sports series Hard Knocks later this summer. A 24-person NFL Films crew will set up shop at the Bengals’ training camp site — Georgetown (Kentucky) College — to shoot more than 1,000 hours of exclusive video beginning July 30. There will be a total of five shows, debuting August 12 at 10 p.m. ET.
A lot of teams would consider this type of coverage more of a distraction than anything else, but Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis isn’t one of them:
“I think our football team is beyond that point. I think …read more

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Cincinnati Bengals receiver Chad Ocho Cinco Johnson — so full of love and kissing his coach and quarterback just a few short weeks ago — has been deactivated for tonight’s game against the Pittsburgh Steelers for breaking an “unspecified” team rule. Well, let’s specify. Apparently, during a team meeting last night, Chad was a little sleepy and was slumped down in his chair like a college freshman who had been out too late the night before. Bengals offensive coordinator Bob Bratkowski told him to sit up. Chad kept refusing until finally he just got up …read more

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A few weeks ago, Cincinnati Bengals receiver Chad Johnson Ocho Cinco promised to kiss the star at Texas Stadium if he scored a touchdown against the Dallas Cowboys. He didn’t do either. But he made up for it today by scoring two touchdowns in a 21-19 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars. He then kissed head coach Marvin Lewis (as seen in this footage) and quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick. He was also blowing kisses to the Bengals faithful. Why not? It was Cincinnati’s first win. But, as luck would have it, Chad and the Bengals get that …read more

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Yesterday was cutdown day in the National Football League. Every team had to trim their roster to 53 players for the upcoming regular season. Here are a few of the notable names who were cutdown victims and who are now looking for gainful employment with another NFL team as soon as possible:
Rudi Johnson, Bengals; Chris Simms, Bucs; Joey Harrington, Falcons; Ashley Lelie, 49ers; Jerome McDougle, Eagles; Willie Anderson, Bengals; John Lynch, Patriots; Fernando Bryant, Patriots; Adam Archuleta, Raiders.
I was probably most surprised by the Bengals parting ways with Rudi Johnson. Rumors have been swirling the …read more

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Apparently, Chad Johnson has had a change of heart. Over the past few months, he was nearly in tears as he exclaimed he would never play for the Cincinnati Bengals again. He said people were not taking him seriously but that he was, in fact, dead serious about sitting out the 2008 season if he wasn’t traded. It was, essentially, a trade-me-or-else threat. Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis called his bluff saying that Chad was a man of his word and should, in fact, sit out the upcoming season if he wanted to. …read more

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I know it seems like Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Chad Johnson is being a big crybaby, but the team should just give-in and trade him. Despite all of Chad’s recent whining and complaining, the Bengals have remained adamant that they will not deal him. Several months ago, ESPN’s Chris Mortenson reported that Chad felt betrayed by head coach Marvin Lewis who apparently stopped talking to Chad halfway through last season. So, Chad’s feelings were hurt. It’s like dealing with a couple of children.
Earlier this week, after quarterback Carson Palmer told reporters …read more

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Chad Johnson is a piece of work. You’ve most certainly heard that he is refusing to play for the Cincinnati Bengals in 2008 even though he’s under contract to do so through 2011. (He already missed the team’s first offseason “optional” OTA.) I haven’t written anything about Chad’s displeasure yet, but in a nutshell, he feels underappreciated or betrayed or something and he wants a fresh start somewhere else. Apparently, when the going gets tough (as last season most certainly was for Cincinnati), Chad wants to get going — out of town.
Chad’s one …read more