Bengals Notebook: LB Rey Maualuga says 'nothing spectacular' about Browns' Trent Richardson
LB Rey Maualuga saw the video of Browns rookie RB Trent Richardson on Sunday and didn't walk away impressed.
He said he respects what Richardson can do and has done at Alabama but that the film of his 19 rushes for 39 yards against Philadlephia didn't exactly strike fear.
“He can run you over and you can miss a tackle, at the same time, from what we've seen he didn't do nothing spectacular,” Maualuga said. “From running screens, missing passes, trying to find a hole when he's running the ball. He just didn't do anything spectacular from what I've seen. I'm pretty sure he's going to want to get after it once he plays us.”
Injury news: One of the few positives to come from Monday's 44-13 loss to Baltimore was that the Bengals came out relatively unscathed on the injury front.
Only Adam Jones popped up as a new member of the injury report, and that was due to an illness that kept him out of practice Wednesday.
The better news for the Bengals was the return to practice of DE Carlos Dunlap (knee), CB Jason Allen (quad) and RB Bernard Scott (hand). All three haven't practiced since the beginning of the preseason.
Marvin Lewis offered his typical cryptic diagnosis when asked about the possibility that they'll play Sunday against the Browns.
“They'll be ‘partly cloudy,'” he said. “But that's a step up. That's an improvement now. It's not been partly cloudy with those two lately. They've made good progress, and they're both champing at the bit to have an opportunity to play, so they'll both return to practice this week and then we'll go from there.”
Sold out: The Bengals made an official announcement Monday that the home opener Sunday against Cleveland has been sold out. Games later this year against Pittsburgh and Dallas have also been declared sellouts.
The Bengals were last in the NFL in percentage of capacity sold last season and only managed to avoid a local blackout for two games.
No debate on No. 2: While all the talk in the preseason was over who would man the No. 2 WR position while coaches lauded the competition and depth at the position, there was a clear winner judging by the snap counts Monday night.
WR Armon Binns led the way with 56 snaps (78 percent); Brandon Tate took only 17 (24 percent) on the outside.
Slot receiver Andrew Hawkins, who broke out with eight receptions for 86 yards, played 51 percent of the snaps.
All of them are searching for ways to take the pressure off No. 1 WR A.J. Green. Hawkins said that while he may have accomplished that with his variety of screens and short passes busted for long gains, it's not the primary objective of any of the receivers.
“We try to keep an even keel," he said. "When our play is called, we try to make it. We don't talk about doing what we have to do to help A.J. A.J. goes in there tries to make his plays, I go in there to make my plays, Armon, Tate, down the line … it's all the same.”
Marvin defends non-challenge: Marvin Lewis decided not to challenge a controversial incompletion call in the second quarter on a pass that would have accounted for about a 20-yard gain to A.J. Green.
The receiver appeared to come down with the ball, take two steps and the ball popped loose once he hit the ground. Lewis saved the challenge because he thought it wasn't a catch.
“The letter of the rule is that if you go to the ground, you must possess the football,” Lewis said. “He never completed a football act. If you don't complete a football act as a receiver and you are knocked to the ground, then you have to possess the football. The ball clearly came out when (Green) went to the ground. He never took a step with it as a receiver where he could put it away. It was an immediate play, boom.”
Lewis thought it was the same call as what happened on a Baltimore touchdown pass to Anquan Boldin, which was upheld when reviewed by the booth.
“Same thing, in my opinion, but it doesn't matter,” Lewis said with a laugh. “I sit there and have to watch hundreds of these plays each year, so I have a good feel for what's complete and what's incomplete.”
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