FanHouse ChrisPerry

Even when the Bengals drafted Chris Perry 26th overall in 2004, there were skeptics. In addition to Kevin Jones still being on the board (he was rated higher coming out of college, although his NFL career hasn't been particularly noteworthy), there were concerns about Perry's durability and whether he could be an every-down NFL running back.

(Not to mention he was from the Big-10, which is only slightly less conspicuous that wearing an "I'm a bona fide bust!" hat on stage at Radio City Music Hall after hearing the commissioner call your name.)

As it turned out, both were a problem. He played in just two games as a rookie, and mustered nine starts over four seasons, amassing 606 rushing yards (3.4 yards per carry) and two touchdowns. And today, the Bengals released him.

On Monday, the Seahawks signed T.J. Houshmandzadeh to a five-year, $40 million deal. Great news for Seattle -- Matt Hasselbeck will finally have a legit pass-catching threat (a seldom-healthy Deion Branch doesn't count) -- but the Bengals were suddenly down to Chad Ocho Cinco in the reliable wide receiver department. (Yikes.)

Apparently, the thought of starting the season with Chris Henry, Jerome Simpson and Andre Caldwell was enough to motivate historically cheap Bengals owner Mike Brown into action, presumably at the behest of head coach Marvin Lewis. Whatever the impetus, Cincy has a new-old Houshmandzadeh: Laveranues Coles. Via NFL.com's Adam Schefter, Coles signed a four-year, $28 million contract.

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During his three tumultuous years in Chicago, Cedric Benson was labeled a malcontent, an underachiever, and a first-round bust. And that was before he was arrested for boating while intoxicated last summer.

The Bears released him shortly after the incident and Benson spent the first month of the NFL season on his couch waiting for the phone to ring. That's how long it took the Bengals to come to the realization that Chris Perry couldn't handle the starting gig.

In five games, Benson has managed just 3.7 yards per carry, but the bulk of his 241 yards came yesterday against the Jaguars. He racked up 104 yards on 24 carries, including his first touchdown of the season.

And while it's still not clear if he's the long-term answer for Cincinnati, Benson seems to have learned something from his experience in Chicago:

It's time for another installment of "sink or swim." You've got tough predicaments; I've got easy, although not always heartwarming solutions. Today's agenda or feature is one we probably should've squared away several weeks ago. Instead it's hovered over many and lingered like a bad odor. And it's of little shame to call the Cincinnati Bengals offense stale odor... right?

Yup, it's getting late very early this year for a few choice draft selections. Did that make sense? Point being, you probably snagged or targeted a few players from the Bengals "high-flying" offense expecting the same old results. Check; through six weeks the offense is hardly flying or getting off the ground for that matter. And those expected results, well – that's leaving you mighty discouraged or stressed.

However, stop the panic. I'm here to give you a compass, a guide as to which Bengals you can stash and the ones you can sink or cut loose. Better late than never, let's roll...

Each week in the NFL, there are players that impress and players that distress. One week a certain quarterback might toss four touchdowns and run around with his finger in the air while the next he's laying on his back, holding his facemask as the other team returns one of his three interceptions for the game-winning score. With that in mind, here's Studs and Duds.

Here's Week 6 at a glance, where we point out the horses destined for the Kentucky Derby and jeer those headed to the glue factory.

Studs

Drew Brees, QB NO (26-30, 320 yards, three touchdowns) -- Brees is slowly become the elite of the elite at his position, carding his fifth game in six weeks with at least 320 passing yards. The Purdue graduate is basically picking apart opposing defenses week in and week out and is on pace to eclipse Dan Marino's single season passing yardage record set in 1984. After the game, new head coach Tom Cable of Oakland said, "You have to use him as a model if you are the Oakland Raiders." Now 3-3, Brees and the Saints will face an exposed Panthers defense next week and then host a Chargers secondary that gave up 350 yards to Jay Cutler in Week 2. Needless to say, don't expect his numbers to drop.

I'd like to thank the football injury Gods for a great Friday in the life of Matt Snyder. I spend all week compiling the positional rankings, and then they all run this morning ... and a few hours later we get news that two big names will be out for Sunday. I already spun the Westbrook situation, and now I'll cover Carson Palmer's impending absence.

Ryan Fitzpatrick will start. There's one word to describe what this does to the Bengals.

Murder.

All of them, their value is decimated. Even T.J. Houshmandzadeh. Housh did catch six balls for 50 yards in Fitzpatrick's other start, and the Jets have the 31st ranked pass defense in the league. Still, we had Housh listed as an elite option this week, and Fitzpatrick is not even in the same ballpark as Palmer when it comes to the ability to throw the football. You've likely gotta start him, but there are bunches of better options. I'd bump him down from ninth to around Bernard Berrian and Torry Holt in the late-teens.

As for the others ...

When games like this happen, the best thing to say is "good teams find ways to win these games; bad teams find ways to lose them."

You can kind of place that sentiment on the Dallas Cowboys' 31-22 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals.

Dallas jumped all over the Bengals early, building a 17-0 lead. They ran the ball down Cincy's throat and instantly put the meek Bengals on the ropes.

Yet, they seemed to let off the gas a bit. Cincinnati, sensing the opportunity, used an effective mid-level passing game to get back into the game. Carson Palmer, returning after missing last week with an elbow injury, threw 39 passes for 217 yards and two big TDs to T.J. Houshmandzadeh. The Bengals had a chance to tie the game in the 4th quarter, but failed on a two-point conversion attempt.

Three plays just symbolized the Bengals season.

Every week when the dinner bell rings on Friday evening, we'll be here to provide you a comprehensive injury report for the NFL weekend to follow. For those injuries that go right down to the wire, drop by our Fantasy Fanhouse expert live chat from 10am to 1pm EST every Sunday and we'll take care of you on those bloody game-time decisions. As always, please feel free to chime in with opinions, updates, and rumors in the comments.

The Arizona Cardinals

Anquan Boldin - After the last Sunday's vicious hit, Boldin came away with a fractured sinus membrane, which I believe means he broke his face. While he is lucky that is the worst of it after what looked like a neck injury, he is very unlikely to play on Sunday at this point. It has not yet been ruled out however, so keep an eye on his progress.

The Baltimore Ravens

Willis McGahee - McGahee continues to keep things interesting as now he has injured ribs, which limited his playing time on Monday night. His efforts in practice this week have been limited, but he did practice on Friday, so he should be good to at least split carries.

The Buffalo Bills

Roscoe Parrish - Parrish is definitely out for three to five more weeks with a thumb injury. While this is not material for many people, it opens the door for James Hardy to gain some playing time and for Lee Evans to put up a couple of his sporadic breakout games.

The Carolina Panthers

Jonathan Stewart - Stewart is still on the injury report, but he will be fine to go this week.

Jake Delhomme - Delhomme is listed as probable with a thigh injury, but he will be ready for week 5. With Steve Smith back and Muhsin Muhammad getting involved, Delhomme's value is on the up and up.

Sorry, but that is the best way I can describe that thing that happened in Cincinnati's Paul Brown Stadium. When Jimmy Kimmel does his DirecTV commercials, he should just say "remember when you had to sit and watch this crap because you had no options?"

This was the "Battle of hi" instead of "Battle of Ohio" since neither end of the state brought their "O".

You'd be bent if you had to watch it.

The offenses did come alive in the fourth quarter as three TDs were scored. But make no mistake about it: This thing was ugly. The Browns went on to an unimpressive 20-12 win.

The Bengals turned the ball over five times. Ryan Fitzpatrick, who was filling in for an injured Carson Palmer, threw three interceptions and fumbled the ball away another time. He did complete 21 of his 35 passes but for just 156 yards. In the good column, he did lead the Bengals in rushing with 41 yards.

You can't pin it all on Fitzpatrick. That offensive line couldn't block a statue. Taking away Fitzpatrick's scrambles, the Bengals rushed for a total of 28 yards. He had to scramble because Cleveland spent all day in his face. The Bengals also wasted timeouts because they struggled in their defensive substitutions.

The Bengals have had another busy offseason, and, as usual, it's primarily been dealing with various off-field issues. Chad Ocho Cinco and Chris Henry spent much of the spring and summer in the news, and right before the season, the team released running back Rudi Johnson and offensive tackle Willie Anderson, two guys they certainly could've used during last week's dreadful effort against the Bengals.

For all the distractions, Michael Lombardi writes on SI.com that the Bengals should be more concerned about quarterback Carson Palmer, who had one of the worst outings of his football career -- at any level -- last week. He was 9 of 24 for 94 yards, 0 TDs, and 1 pick against Baltimore. Lombardi wonders if Palmer's mediocre play -- not just last Sunday, but the past few seasons -- are tied to the devastating knee injury he suffered during the 2005 wild card loss to the Steelers.

If I were the Cincinnati Bengals, I would be worried about the play of quarterback Carson Palmer. He has not been the same since the knee injury two years ago and neither has the Bengals offense.

The Bengals are perceived as being an explosive offense, but in reality there is nothing explosive about them. The Bengals need to find some answers for their lackluster offense. They need to get more production from their running game when teams play coverage on them, which is what Baltimore did last week.