While most of the media at Cincinnati's mandatory minicamp focused on disgruntled wide receiver Chad Johnson last weekend, another Johnson -- running back Rudi -- was busy making an impression on coaches and teammates.
Not a Chad Johnson impression. A Rudi Johnson one, and, take it from his head coach, that's good.
"I think he's a better player than when he ran for 1,400 yards," said Marvin Lewis.
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| Rudi Johnson needs to rise above last year's poor performance and open things up for Chad Johnson. (Getty Images) |
What I want to know: If Rudi Johnson looks rejuvenated, and the Bengals honest-to-goodness believe he can do for them what he did three years, ago what are they doing tinkering with free agent Shaun Alexander?
They're not.
According to Lewis, the club isn't interested in signing the former league MVP. Yes, they spoke to him last month, and, yes, it seemed like something might happen, but, no, he's not in the picture now. At least according to Lewis he's not.
"Obviously, Shaun is from across the river," Lewis said of the Kentucky native, "and he had an interest. They pursued us a little bit and tried to 'chum' the waters a little bit, but we're satisfied right now with where we are.
"Chris Perry has had a good spring and worked very hard to get back and overcome the injuries he's had. So I think we're going into training camp with the four guys we have; we'll let them compete; and then we'll see what happens."
So we shouldn't expect to see Alexander in Cincinnati?
"No," said Lewis.
Then we will see more of Rudi Johnson, and that's good if it's the Rudi Johnson of 2005 or 2004 and not so good if it's the Rudi Johnson of 2007. In fact, if it's the latter, the Bengals might as well take a flyer on Alexander because, as one person close to the organization put it, "he would be better than what we had last season." What the Bengals had last season was the league's 24th-ranked rushing attack. Worse, they were 28th in yards per carry, with Johnson in the middle of the mess. He had his worst year as a pro, averaging 2.9 yards per try, producing 497 yards and scoring four times.
Cut him some slack. He was hurt, nursing a hamstring injury that sidelined him five games, ended his season early and affected his psyche. In short, he wasn't himself, and the Bengals suffered for it -- finishing with their worst record in the five years of Lewis' coaching tenure.
