CINCINNATI - Geno Atkins was in the Bengals locker room briefly Wednesday,
moving slowly on crutches.
Cheap NFL Clothing . He declined to answer
questions about his torn knee ligament as he headed for a side door and home.
Its still too painful to discuss. Still a bit painful for the teammates who will
miss him, too. The Bengals (6-3) will try to maintain their lead in the AFC
North without their best defensive lineman. Atkins, an All-Pro tackle last
season, leads the team with six sacks and is a disruptive force up the middle
that Cincinnati already misses badly. "A friend," defensive end Wallace Gilberry
said. "A hell of a teammate. Hell of an athlete. I could go on for days." They
dont have that much time. The Bengals have a chance to all but clinch their
division in the next two weeks when they play at Baltimore (3-5) and host
Cleveland (4-5). Back-to-back wins would leave them with a daunting lead heading
down the stretch. The Bengals reached the playoffs as a wild card each of the
last two seasons. They havent won the division title since 2009. "Honestly we
feel like these next two weeks are the biggest of the season because of where we
are in the division," left tackle Andrew Whitworth said. "We get an opportunity.
These games can tilt things one way or the other." Their biggest challenge is
filling holes on a defence that has lost some of its best players in the last
three weeks. Top cornerback Leon Hall is out for the season with a torn Achilles
tendon. Middle linebacker Rey Maualuga missed a 22-20 overtime loss in Miami
last Thursday with a concussion and an injured left knee. Atkins tore the
anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee in the first half of the loss at
Miami, a significant setback to a line already missing end Robert Geathers for
the season. "You can hear the rumbles of respect that our guys have for him,"
Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco said during a conference call on Wednesday. "I can
imagine that its going to be a little different in there just because he is such
a good player." The Bengals signed defensive tackle Kheeston Randall to fill
Atkins roster spot on Tuesday. Randall was the Dolphins seventh-round pick last
year and played in 12 games. He was waived by Miami on Aug. 31. Theyll work
others into the middle of the line rotation as well. Tackle Brandon Thompson, a
second-year player from Clemson, will get much more time in Atkins spot.
Thompson played in only three games last season but has played in all nine this
year. "I think it was very beneficial to just be able to sit back and learn from
those great defensive linemen we have, just to sit back and take a whole year
and soak everything in," Thompson said. "I was a sponge last year. I learned so
much. I just thank those guys for that." The Bengals had fewer injuries than
average in the opening weeks, but have been hit hard lately. With the injuries
piling up, coach Marvin Lewis showed his team some statistics about Super Bowl
champions overcoming injuries. "You look at the last four or five Super Bowl
champions and the amount of people that went on (injured reserve), and theyve
overcome it," Lewis said. "You look at those teams, and those teams put
double-digit numbers of players on injured reserve. "And their leadership of the
team, the maturity of the team, it all plays out." Co-ordinator Mike Zimmer has
a reputation for being able to plug newcomers into the defence quickly without
having the overall performance suffer. "I guess thats his calling card," safety
Chris Crocker said. "He can put in other guys and have them play together and
find a way to win. The biggest part is putting somebody in there who knows what
to do. "Everybodys athletically gifted and talented. But at this point in the
season when you bring in somebody new, you just have to be up to speed on what
to do. If you get them to do that, thats 60 to 70 per cent of the battle. Well
be fine." Notes: Whitworth, Maualuga and defensive lineman Devon Still (elbow)
didnt practice on Wednesday. Whitworth missed the Miami game with a sore right
knee. ... RB Giovani Bernard (bruised ribs), LB Mike Boley (hamstring), TE
Jermaine Gresham (groin) and guard Kevin Zeitler (hamstring) were limited in
practice. ___ AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org
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Babcock has turned to the Montreal Canadiens goalie over Roberto Luongo, who
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former NBA All-Star centre who spent most of his 13-year career with the Kansas
City Kings, has died.MONTREAL - Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci defeated Cara
Black and Sania Mirza 7-6 (4), 6-3, in the doubles final at the Rogers Cup in
Montreal on Sunday. Errani and Vinci, the top-seeded doubles team in the Womens
Tennis Association, were playing in their first tournament since capturing the
Wimbledon title last month. "It was a tough match," said Errani of the final in
Montreal. "We didnt play unbelievable tennis. The first set was very close." The
Italians won the match after Mirzaa sent her forehand well past the baseline for
the unforced error.
Cheap Seattle Seahawks Jerseys. Errani and
Vinci have now each won 24 doubles titles. "Weve been playing good tennis," said
Vinci. "We won our first title here, so of course were happy. We try our best in
every single game. Today, we didnt play that well, but we won." The pair cashed
in US$122,000 for their victory. The North American leg of the WTA tour
continues Monday with the Western and Southern Open in Cincinnati.
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