Leon Hall
Updated: 5 p.m.
Bengals cornerback Leon Hall practiced Wednesday in limited fashion after missing the last two games with a hamstring he injured blocking on cornerback Terence Newman's winning 58-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown late in the Sept. 22 victory over the Packers.
He was limited Friday and said he didn't do much. On Wednesday he was out there for the early drills. Right end Michael Johnson (concussion) and cornerback Brandon Ghee (thigh) were not after missing last Sunday's game. Johnson appeared to be working on the side.
"I feel good," Hall said before practice. "But I haven't done any football yet."
Also limited were backup offensive lineman Mike Pollak (knee), right tackle Andre Smith (shoulder) and linebacker Michael Boley (hamstring).
» Two weeks after going against a guy from his high school in Cleveland's Barkevious Mingo, on Sunday in Buffalo (1 p.m.-Cincinnati's Channel 12) Bengals left tackle Andrew Whitworth goes against a former LSU teammate and roommate that grew up half an hour from West Monroe, La., in Ruston. Whitworth and Bills defensive tackle Kyle Williams reunited at the Pro Bowl back in January, but they won't see each other as often as Whitworth saw Mingo. They could see some action on running downs, though.
"He plays the game the way every coach would want it to be played, and he's a talented guy," Whitworth said. "It will be good to see him and hopefully get a chance to beat him because I've taken enough losses and wins with him throughout the years. I can't ever get him on the golf course. I have to find other things to beat him at."
» Boomer Esiason, the last Bengals quarterback to win in Buffalo, is joining another former Bengal in the TV booth Sunday when he steps out of the CBS studio for a week and teams with analyst Solomon Wilcots and play-by-play man Kevin Harlan.
Studio mates Bill Cowher (Pittsburgh-Jets) and Shannon Sharpe (Denver-Jacksonville) are also headed out to check on their old clubs. Since Esiason engineered a 23-17 win on Nov. 3, 1985 (he outdueled Vince Ferragamo as Larry Kinnebrew rushed for 128 yards), the Bengals have lost six straight in Buffalo with the last one coming six years ago.
» With the departure of practice squad running back Daniel Herron to the 53-man roster of the Colts looking to replace the injured Ahmad Bradshaw, the Bengals may not look to sign another back to the PS with four already on the active roster.
» A day after he was acquitted of an assault charge, cornerback Adam Jones said before practice Wednesday, "I'm thankful the legal system worked."
» Center Eric Wood, a key cog in Buffalo's No. 1 AFC running game, is a familiar Cincinnati face as a member of Elder High School's state title team in 2004. If he's a Bills fan first and member of the AFC East second, then he's a Bengals fan.
"A lot of times, especially this time of year, I'm rooting against them because they're in the AFC and it could come down a Wild Card. But there are a lot of guys on the Bengals I truly respect and I root for them individually. I like to see them succeed and if it's in the playoffs and we're out of it and they're in it, I think it's great for the town when the local teams do well. It's great for the economy and it's great for the spirit of the people of Cincinnati."
Wood has met Whitworth and center Kyle Cook and spent a bunch of time with Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis at Reds games.
"I've got a ton of respect for Coach Lewis," Wood said. "A couple of their offensive linemen, Kyle and Whitworth, I met. I've got a lot of respect for them. I think Andy Dalton seems like a great guy, a guy that does all the right things."
» Former Bengals quarterback Jack Thompson is one of the seven members of the inaugural Polynesian Football Hall of Fame announced Wednesday in Honolulu.
The Bengals took "The Throwin' Samoan" with the third pick in the 1979 draft and Thompson is still the earliest drafted Polynesian player. Groomed to replace Ken Anderson, Thompson watched Anderson be named the 1981 NFL MVP for leading the Bengals to their first Super Bowl. Thompson was traded to Tampa Bay in 1983 and played his sixth and final NFL season for the Bucs the next year.
Thompson, 57, born in American Samoa, came out of Washington State as the most prolific passer in NCAA history with 7,818 yards, led the NCAA in nine different categories as a sophomore, and had his No. 14 retired by the school.
Also in the inaugural class are Kurt Gouveia (Hawaiian ancestry), Olin Kreutz (Hawaiian ancestry), Kevin James Mawae (Hawaiian ancestry), Tiaina Baul "Junior" Seau, Jr. (Samoan ancestry), and Herman John Wedemeyer (Hawaiian ancestry). Ken Niumatalolo (Samoan ancestry) is a coach inductee.
The class is honored Jan. 23, 2014, the week of the Pro Bowl, at the Polynesian Football Hall of Fame's Inaugural Enshrinement Ceremony at the Hawai'i Convention Center in Honolulu.
The Selection Committee consisted of former college head football coaches Dick Tomey (Chairman),LaVell Edwards, and Ron McBride, ESPN Sportscaster Neil Everett, NFL player personnel expert* * Gil Brandt and Honolulu TV Sportscaster Robert Kekaula.
