Updated: 6 p.m.
 Anderson |
Houshmandzadeh, a sudden addition to the injury list Wednesday, has a knee injury but even though he has missed two straight practices indications are he can go. Joseph (foot), coming back from a stress fracture, also has not practiced two straight days.
Per his routine, kicker Shayne Graham (hip) worked with the strength coaches on the side early in the workout and is a go after going through the full practice.
Anderson (foot), who practiced Wednesday, worked on the side Thursday and indicated he'll play Monday night. Anderson shook off missing practice, saying for the last three or four years he hasn't made every practice and says, "It's my usual routine." But he also said he's not sure he can go the whole game and wants to make sure "I can be as effective as I can be."
The situation of left tackle Levi Jones remains murky. He said his status is unchanged. He's upset he didn't start the preseason finale, but he's also listed No. 1 on the depth chart. and he wasn't listed on Thursday's injury report.
Talking about tackles, Ravens coach Brian Billick seemed upbeat that his team's anchor, left tackle Jonathan Ogden, would be able to go. Like Anderson, Ogden hasn't worked much this preseason and Billick wants to see how he comes out of the practice in pads Thursday and Friday.
Ogden (toe) along with cornerback Samari Rolle (ankle) and wide receiver Mark Clayton (ankle) were limited on Thursday.
DOWN AND DIRTY: Does it sound like that Marvin Lewis is getting a bit irked with all the injuries? Asked about the claiming of former Ohio State linebacker Anthony Schlegel from the Jets earlier this week, Lewis liked how he showed up at the Buckeyes Pro Day not worrying "about what kind of tights he was wearing ... just get down and go and he rubs some dirt on it. We need some of that around here."
And Lewis said Schlegel would be active Monday and play special teams.
NEW GUYS ARE TOUGH: Lewis wouldn't be quite as specific about another guy the Bengals claimed, former Colts running back Clifton Dawson, but he lumped the four newcomers (Schlegel, Dawson, cornerback David Jones and quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick) together when he said, "They kind of all have the same qualities about them. Good sound players, have good toughness and grit about them. ... They're all young guys, but it gives an opportunity for them to develop."
Fitzpatrick, a third-year guy, is the oldest. He's listed on the depth chart as the No. 2 quarterback, but Lewis wouldn't say if he'd be there Monday after just his third practice.
RAY ON CHAD: Along with being a first-ballot Hall of Famer, Ravens middle linebacker Ray Lewis has also served as a mentor and sounding board for Chad Johnson.
Johnson is on the horn to him constantly.
How constantly?
"If it ain't every other day," Lewis said.
Lewis is giving Johnson the same advice that Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis gave him. This is back when Marvin was Baltimore's defensive coordinator and Ray was a rookie in 1996.
The way Ray recalled it Thursday for the Cincinnati media during a conference call, the day after veteran Pepper Johnson was cut, Marvin called him into his office and said, "Great leaders pull their team along with them."
HIGH PRAISE: Bengals offensive coordinator Bob Bratkowski has high regard for the intensity of former Bengals defensive tackle Kelly Gregg, a guy that has become an eight-year mainstay in Baltimore. "He's like a 12th man against the running game," Bratkowski said.
