Carson, Deltha May Sit vs. KC

[HoosierCat]

from da site...

Bengals to evaluate Palmer, O'Neal

BY GEOFF HOBSON

December 26, 2005

Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis said Monday that quarterback Carson Palmer's tweaked groin is better, but he won't say if it's good enough for his Pro Bowler to start the Sunday season finale in Kansas City. The same goes for cornerback Deltha O'Neal with a bruised knee.

Lewis indicated that defensive tackle Bryan Robinson (foot), tight end Reggie Kelly (wrist) and linebacker Marcus Wilkins (hand) won't be ready. Running back Chris Perry (ankle) continues to improve and may or not be ready.

With a No. 2 seed no longer a possibility and a home game secured for the first round of the playoffs, Lewis wouldn't delve into how he would approach the game as far as personnel.

"We're going to play to win," Lewis said. "We have to play better."

Personally, I say sit them. A win does nothing for us. And the last thing we need is a significant injury to Palmer or Chad or, frankly, any of our starters.

[mtmeece]

from da site...

Bengals to evaluate Palmer, O'Neal

BY GEOFF HOBSON

December 26, 2005

Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis said Monday that quarterback Carson Palmer's tweaked groin is better, but he won't say if it's good enough for his Pro Bowler to start the Sunday season finale in Kansas City. The same goes for cornerback Deltha O'Neal with a bruised knee.

Lewis indicated that defensive tackle Bryan Robinson (foot), tight end Reggie Kelly (wrist) and linebacker Marcus Wilkins (hand) won't be ready. Running back Chris Perry (ankle) continues to improve and may or not be ready.

With a No. 2 seed no longer a possibility and a home game secured for the first round of the playoffs, Lewis wouldn't delve into how he would approach the game as far as personnel.

"We're going to play to win," Lewis said. "We have to play better."

Personally, I say sit them. A win does nothing for us. And the last thing we need is a significant injury to Palmer or Chad or, frankly, any of our starters.

Agreed, however it still seems like a crummy thing to do to Kitna. That bieng said I think Jon has the skills and desire to hand KC a loss

[jungleman]

listen i say play whoever can play we want the 3rd seed so if denver and indy slip we have the patriots at home not new england.

[HairOnFire]

Sit Deltha because of the bruised knee. It's a freaking no-brainer. And so is the idea of starting Kitna. He's good enough to give the Bengals a chance to win and it's smart to give him some extended work prior to the playoffs. I'd also like to sit Rudi, or play him just enough snaps to allow him to break his own record, but the injury to Perry complicates that decision. That may be the thinnest position on the team and you're throwing out the run game if you sit Rudi. I'd also consider sitting Chad and TJ after a few series or at the vey least limiting their snaps. The Bengals have plenty of depth at WR and could mount a very respectable passing attack with K-Dub, Walter, Tab, and Doobie.

As for the Bengals defensive starters, release the hounds......and the scrubs.

[BengalByTheBay]

ABSOLUTELY -- this can be like a bye week for those who need it. If we can come back with Perry healthy in PO week 1 and a fairly well rested offense and secondary -- ya freaking hooo. The 3 weeks following the bye week were damn impressive, could be just what we need for a strong run through Jan.

[AMC]

have everyone healthy for the playoffs whether they place this week or not....Perry sounds optimistic...

[NJ29]

I like it. We don't lose a lot by sitting either of these guys. Keiwan can pick Deltha's sl;ack and Kitna will be fine.

[LB51]

I f someone's too injured to play, them they should sit. But as far as hurting a little, well.....it's week 17 in the NFL. You should hurt a little.

And as far as the KC game goes, it does mean something. You don't want to go into the playoffs on a 2 game losing streak. I know there are some cowards on here who would like us to lose so maybe we don't have to play the Squeelers, but that's just RETARDED! The playoffs feed off of momentum. we need to go in on a winning note. If Carson can go, then he should. Same goes for Rudi, CJ, TJ, Deltha and whoever else.

[HoosierCat]

Sit Deltha because of the bruised knee. It's a freaking no-brainer. And so is the idea of starting Kitna. He's good enough to give the Bengals a chance to win and it's smart to give him some extended work prior to the playoffs. I'd also like to sit Rudi, or play him just enough snaps to allow him to break his own record, but the injury to Perry complicates that decision. That may be the thinnest position on the team and you're throwing out the run game if you sit Rudi. I'd also consider sitting Chad and TJ after a few series or at the vey least limiting their snaps. The Bengals have plenty of depth at WR and could mount a very respectable passing attack with K-Dub, Walter, Tab, and Doobie.

As for the Bengals defensive starters, release the hounds......and the scrubs.

What he said.

[ShulaSteakhouse]

As for the Bengals defensive starters, release the hounds......and the scrubs.

In other words, no changes on defense.

[schweinhart]

I would expect to see most of the starters on both sides of the ball on the field just for the 1st half, except for Palmer and O'Neal who I would be surprised to see get any action vs. Chiefs given injury status.

Chad and Housh might lobby hard to play the whole game since Chad is chasing the NFL receiving yardage lead and Housh is after 1,000 again. But regardless of the personal achievements, getting out of this game without key injuries and with backups getting lots of snaps would be the main goal of this game IMO.

3rd or 4th seed makes little difference at this point, except that a wildcard win as 4th seed would force a rematch with Indy that is not for all the AFC marbles.

If Mathias Askew isn't gonna play in this game, the Bengals should cut him and sign Quincy Wilson from the practice squad.

[UK Bengal]

Agreed, however it still seems like a crummy thing to do to Kitna. That bieng said I think Jon has the skills and desire to hand KC a loss

Well he and pdub handed them a loss in 03

[xjjeep90]

If you are going to sit or limit the players above, also sitting Braham and playing Ghiaciuc would also be a good idea. Not only to get Ghiaciuc the snaps but to rest Braham.

[bengalindian]

I think everyone plays in the first half, and then the situation is gauged at halftime depending on whether New England is playing, and if the Bengals are playing. Marvin Lewis is not a coach to just give a game away, and I'm pretty sure he knows all about momentum and what is needed at the end of a season to be successful in the playoffs. I trust him to do what is right.

[Stripes]

I don't see any reson to play any of the starters for the whole game. Sure, let 'em in there some to avoid rust, but not much. Winning means nothing and losing wouldn't mean much more.

[BengalszoneBilly]

I say if they have as much hang nail, sit 'em.

[cincy9275]

i agree sit them all , get the young guys and backups some playing time. have the whole team ready for our playoff game.

[DontPushMe]

Outside of O'Neil and maybe Thurman if hes still nicked up theres no reason to sit any of the defense, they really arent good enough to worry about imo. They arent ready for the playoffs and could use the extra game to get better, if thats possible.

No reason to play palmer, Chad will probly want in some because hes a stat guy and will want to improve those. Same for TJ, as I doubt he wants to finish so close to 1000 again this year. But I doubt either of them play long. Rudi has to play because Jeremi Johnson or Nick Luchey as our HB doesnt sound like a good idea. Rudi doesnt get injured anyway.

[schweinhart]

I heard on ESPN where KC has won all of its last 19 games in Arrowhead in December. And with a thread of a chance at a wildcard on the line, the Chiefs should come out brutal.

As much as I'd like to see the Bengals play full strength to challenge in this game and go after a win against a playoff caliber team on the road in preparation for the playoff game on the road they'll play if they get past the wildcard game, it would be foolish to put any key players on the field for any length of time, if at all.

But I would like to see the starting defense -- minus O'Neal if there's any question about his injury -- for the whole 1st half to see how they fare against Larry Johnson. While the Bengals pass defense looks like its going down the drain over the past 6 games, the run defense is averaging under 90 yards a game over the same time. Larry Johnson will be a good challenge and if the Bengals can contain him, the secondary should be able to handle the medicore Chiefs WRs and hopefully fare better vs. Tony Gonzalez than it has vs. other receiving TEs this year.

[Jet23]

At minimum, I would sit Deltha & Carson. Kitna will still give them a chance to win anyway. Remember, KC's fate may already be decided on Saturday, should SD beat Denver. Of course, they will have no reason to rest their starters. They may just use the game to pump up LJ's stats.

Marvin could pull and Andy Reid and just play scrubs. I know he has said that they will be playing to win, but he has never been one to tip his hand. My guess is the majority of the starters, excluding Carson and Deltha, will play the 1st half.

[schweinhart]

Remember, KC's fate may already be decided on Saturday, should SD beat Denver.

I forgot SD plays Denver on Saturday. If the Chiefs playoffs hopes are completely dead come Sunday, it might make a difference in their intensity if not their personnel.

However it pans out, a Bengals win over the Chiefs would give a boost in momentum going into the playoffs but a loss ultimately makes little difference.

[Freqman]

I f someone's too injured to play, them they should sit. But as far as hurting a little, well.....it's week 17 in the NFL. You should hurt a little.

And as far as the KC game goes, it does mean something. You don't want to go into the playoffs on a 2 game losing streak. I know there are some cowards on here who would like us to lose so maybe we don't have to play the Squeelers, but that's just RETARDED! The playoffs feed off of momentum. we need to go in on a winning note. If Carson can go, then he should. Same goes for Rudi, CJ, TJ, Deltha and whoever else.

Also don't forget that if we lose and NE wins then we flip seeds with them. That means that we would not only have to go through Indy (second round) for a Super Bowl, but possibly NE (AFC Championship) as well.

If we keep our seed then we only have to beat one of those teams, and if it's NE, then we get them at home.

[bengalboomer7]

You gotta know who wins the first round games before we can start picking second round games. If we got the four seed and Pitt got the six and both won, Pitt would play Indy . Too early to speack of second round games

[NYBengalfan]

I think personnaly that we are a better team on the road anyway.

[ShulaSteakhouse]

I'm really hoping they don't lose 3 in a row here at the end, it will really take away from the season's feeling off success and good vibes.