You know the Bengals are still trying to find a right tackle to replace the injured Andre Smith because offensive coordinator Hue Jackson is calling Marshall Newhouse and left guard Clint Boling "candidates."
In Sunday's 14-13 victory over the Buccaneers, Newhouse started and played all but 19 of the snaps. Those 19 were filled by Boling in the second quarter when he moved over and Mike Pollak took his spot at left guard.
Since Jackson praised only left tackle Andrew Whitworth and right guard Kevin Zeitler for their work up front, it can be surmised right tackle is still a work in progress.
"We feel like we have two candidates there that you feel good about that can go into a game and actually play. Where we go from there we'll make that decision as we go," Jackson said Monday. "I'm trying to find the five best guys that can play at a high level. If it means Boling being over there, great. If it means Marshall Newhouse is the answer, great. Whoever they are we have to put them out there and play."
Apparently Tanner Hawkinson, the club's fifth-round pick in 2013, isn't the answer right now and Jackson indicated it's because he doesn't have the game experience. Boling has now played 20 snaps at NFL right tackle, but he also started nine games there at Georgia.
"I thought Andrew Whitworth played his butt off. I thought he played extremely hard," Jackson said. "I thought Kevin Zeitler did some good things. I thought the rest of the group, it can get better. We can play better."
Boling played right tackle on the Bengals' first touchdown drive and Newhouse was in on the second.
SLANTS AND SCREENS: With defensive end Brett Keisel on injured reserve with a triceps injury, the Steelers signed journeyman Clifton Geathers, the younger brother of Bengals defensive lineman Robert Geathers. Clifton, 27, is now on his sixth team and will see his brother this Sunday at Paul Brown Stadium (1 p.m.-Cincinnati's Channel 12)….
Not sure this Sunday is going to be Pro Bowl WILL linebacker Vontaze Burfict's coming out party. Head coach Marvin Lewis said he's not sure Burfict, 33 days removed from arthroscopic knee surgery, can go this week and called him "day-to-day," which means he may miss his sixth straight game…
On Monday, both Lewis and Jackson were asked if they thought about pulling quarterback Andy Dalton since he got off to such a bad start with the flu bug.
Jackson said it was Lewis' call.
"You start thinking sickness vs. the opportunity to win. What was causing some of the things. Andy would be the first to tell you it wasn't being sick," Jackson said. "He's not going to make that as an excuse. He just didn't play well early. But he was able to get himself squared away and finish the game the way he has to finish the game.
Lewis came to the same conclusion.
"We were where we were in the football game. We had lived it," Lewis said. "They got one field goal off of the three turnovers. We were in the football game. I was hopeful that he would continue to come around and feel better and he did." …
Yes, Lewis did talk Adam Jones into making a fair catch Sunday in the fourth quarter. It was his first one since 2006 and first in 68 returns as a Bengal. On his first two chances Sunday, he was buried for no gain as he waited on towering punts.
"I did try to give him advice. Those aren't kicks you can return," Lewis said. "We're going to get good field position, so don't risk yourself getting injured over this thing that you don't want to fair catch. That's not smart. We want to play smart football." …
