CINCINNATI BENGALS
Bengals show their respect
Few times throughout the course of the NFL season can we applaud an organization for doing something totally right. With all of the bad press surrounding teams, it’s nice to have a story like the one that has unfolded with the Bengals and Devon Still.
According to ESPN, the Bengals “are donating all proceeds from Still’s jersey sales to pediatric cancer research”.
The media outlet confirmed that these sales have exceeded expectations:
Less than 24 hours later, a team official told ESPN.com that more of the defensive tackle’s black No. 75 jerseys had been sold in that time span than any jersey featuring any other Bengals player ever.
Good call, Cincy. Classy move…
Previewing Week Two
The Ravens could use a Week Two loss by the Bengals, and Atlanta Falcons could provide just that.
The Bengals will open their home schedule against the Falcons, a team that put up 37 points against the Saints on Sunday. Here are a few notable stats from that game:
- Matt Ryan threw for 448 yards and 3 touchdowns with no interceptions
- Julio Jones reeled in seven passes for 116 yards
- The defense caused two turnovers – a Drew Brees INT and a Marques Colston fumble
- Ryan completed passes to nine different players, six of whom caught multiple balls
After totaling 568 total yards of offense, Atlanta should be primed to come in and give Cincinnati a run for their money.
CLEVELAND BROWNS
Gilbert not impressing
The Browns secondary won’t be featuring too much of first-round corner Justin Gilbert much this week, as the team will be giving him reduced playing time, according to Ohio.com.
Here’s a quote from head coach Mike Pettine from the article:
“Looking back on it, maybe he did play too many reps,” Pettine said of Gilbert, who slipped and allowed Wheaton to break loose for a 20-yard catch late in the fourth quarter that set up Shaun Suisham’s game-winning, 41-yard field goal as time expired. “We’re not looking to bench him, but maybe scale back his reps this week.”
This is interesting, as the Browns depth at corner already isn’t that great. If Gilbert does get “benched”, the team might give fellow rookie corner Pierre Desir some more live game reps.
Previewing Week Two
The Browns will do battle with the New Orleans Saints on Sunday at 1 PM. The Saints are a team that will be coming in hungry, after a Marques Colston fumble in overtime caused them to ultimately fall in their season-opener against the Falcons.
You have to like the Saints’ chances in this one. Drew Brees played well last week, and there’s no reason to believe he and guys like Jimmy Graham won’t have a field day Sunday afternoon.
One thing to watch in this one is the Browns’ usage of former Towson running back Terrence West. The team utilized him for double-digit carries against the Steelers – and with Ben Tate a bit banged up, he could be primed for a breakout performance.
PITTSBURGH STEELERS
Tomlin hasn’t forgotten either…
To keep things light on this “Steeler Week”, here’s a great quote from coach Mike Tomlin from Ryan Chell of Jamison Hensley on Twitter:
Asked if he's going to be on the #Steelers kickoff team Thursday, coach Mike Tomlin said: "No. I won't be. Tell Jacoby he's safe."
— Jamison Hensley (@jamisonhensley) September 9, 2014
Tomlin hasn’t forgotten, and neither has Terrell Suggs. Here’s what he wore to his afternoon presser yesterday: (NOTE: Again, here’s a tweet. Maybe you can embed this, too)
Terrell Suggs' shirt is genius… pic.twitter.com/pNXtbNh07Z
— Ethan Felderstein (@efelderstein14) September 9, 2014
Previewing Week Two
If one silver lining came from last week, it was the Steelers’ defense falling flat on their face in the second half against the Browns. They managed to allow four straight scoring drives to start the half.
One thing to watch is Pittsburgh’s penalty issues to start the year. They totaled 11 penalties in Week 1, compared to a rather clean game by the Ravens who were penalized just three times in their opener.
MATCHUPS TO WATCH: DT Brandon Williams vs. C Maurkice Pouncey and WRs Markus Wheaton and Antonio Brown vs. CBs Jimmy Smith and Lardarius Webb
FINAL SCORE PREDICTION: Ravens – 29 Steelers – 23
