CINCINNATI (AP) — Bengals cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick is active for the first time this season, ready to make his NFL debut against the Denver Broncos on Sunday.
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Bengals CB Dre Kirkpatrick active vs Broncos (The Associated Press)
Bengals cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick, the team’s first-round pick, is active and will play in his first NFL game. It is unknown how much Kirkpatrick wi…
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Bengals’ Kirkpatrick will play first game
Pro Bowl wide receiver Calvin Johnson is active and will play for the Detroit Lions in Sunday’s game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. A left knee injury had Johnson listed as “questionable” on the team’s injury report, but he will go after testing the leg during pregame warmups. Johnson leads the Lions with 41 receptions for 638 yards this season, but has one touchdown after scoring 16 times in 2011. Johnson may be relegated to a “passing situations only” role, which would be a dramatic departure from how he’s been used in the Lions’ offense. Entering Sunday’s action, Johnson had played in 97.33 percent of Detroit’s offensive snaps, a percentage that ranked second among NFL wide receivers. Green Bay Packers wide receiver Jordy Nelson is active and listed as a starter today after missing last Sunday’s win over the Jaguars with a hamstring injury. Meanwhile, Miami Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill (knee) is active and starting against Andrew Luck and the Indianapolis Colts. Here’s a full look at the NFL’s early game inactive lists: Denver Broncos at Cincinnati Bengals Denver : QB Caleb Hanie, RB Knowshon Moreno, WR Andre Caldwell, TE Julius Thomas, G C.J. Davis, DT Sealver Siliga, CB Tracy Porter Cincinnati : WR Marvin Jones, WR Ryan Whalen, TE Richard Quinn, DT Brandon Thompson, LB Roddrick Muckelroy, CB Jason Allen, S George Iloka Baltimore Ravens at Cleveland Browns Baltimore : RB Bobby Rainey, WR Deonte Thompson, TE Billy Bajema, G Ramon Harewood, DE Pernell McPhee, DL Bryan Hall, CB Asa Jackson Cleveland : RB Brandon Jackson, FB Owen Marecic, WR Josh Cooper, G Jarrod Shaw, DT Ahytba Rubin, CB Dimitri Patterson, S Tashaun Gipson Arizona Cardinals at Green Bay Packers Arizona : QB Kevin Kolb, WR LaRon Byrd, TE Todd Heap, G Senio Kelemete, G Adam Snyder, LB Jamaal Westerman, CB Greg Toler Green Bay : FB John Kuhn, WR Greg Jennings, DE Jerel Worthy, LB Nick Perry, LB Frank Zombo, CB Sam Shields, S Charles Woodson Buffalo Bills at Houston Texans Buffalo : QB Tarvaris Jackson, OT Erik Pears, DE Mark Anderson, LB Kirk Morrison, CB Terrence McGee, S Delano Howell, K John Potter Houston : RB Ben Tate, OT Andrew Gardner, G Cory White, G Brandon Brooks, DL Terrell McClain, CB Roc Carmichael, CB Brandon Harris Miami Dolphins at Indianapolis Colts Miami : QB Pat Devlin, TE Michael Egnew, T Will Yeatman, DT Tony McDaniel, LB Josh Kaddu, CB Richard Marshall, S Anderson Russell
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Calvin Johnson, Jordy Nelson and Ryan Tannehill are active in Week 9 (Shutdown Corner)
Jay Cutler and Brandon Marshall shined in Week 9. Eli Manning did not.
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Week 9: Studs & Duds
The Denver Broncos have all sorts of tailgating flavors (Credit, Reese St. Germain) Denver Broncos fans are as loyal as they come, cheering on their team through the highs and lows of the game and the weather. In the tailgate spotlight are some of the most legendary fans in the Mile High City and you can find them at every home game, tailgating in style. The Mile High Jester (Credit, Reese St. Germain) First up, we have Shane Hergenreder A.K.A The Mile High Jester , who has been tailgating for over 20 years. You’ll recognize him by his Jester costume, properly blue and orange, with pointed shoes and a droopy hat. One thing the Jester never forgets to bring to his tailgate parties are Jello shots. Whether they are blue or orange, the Jester always comes prepared, bringing with him at least 150 yummy shots to share with friends and fellow fans. Hergenreder is a well prepared tailgater and invites the company of new friends to join him in the lot. Jeff Johnson (Credit, Reese St. Germain) Jeff Johnson , a tailgating seasoned vet, has been tailgating his whole life and started attending games and tailgating events with his parents as a kid. He’s had season tickets for the last 15 years, so it’s safe to say, Johnson knows it all when it comes to tailgating. “I’ve been tailgating all over the country and this place, as far as heritage football teams and fans go, is the greatest place ever. The fans are extremely loyal, they have a good time [and] they’re on the team no matter how good the Broncos are playing or not playing. It’s a great place to tailgate,” Johnson boasts about tailgating in Denver. What does Johnson never go without at his tailgate party? Well booze and grub, of course! Come sunshine or blizzard, you can be sure Johnson will be there getting hyped for the big game with his crew. Elizabeth Doyle (Credit, Reese St. Germain) Another long-time tailgater and friend of the Hall of Fans Barrel Man is Elizabeth Doyle , who has been tailgating for at least 10 years. “We’ve been in different spots, but this is our spot now. This is the spot that belonged to the Barrel Man,” she tells me, sharing the spot with The Hatman himself. One thing Doyle never forgets to bring is her John Elway mug, which was filled with beer, but she says anything goes in the Elway mug. Joseph and Sonny Juarez (Credit, Reese St. Germain) Brothers Joseph and Sonny Juarez are tailgate vets with an entourage of fans they cater to every home game. Since 1977, they’ve been cheering on the Broncos in the stadium parking lot. Dressed in chef’s coats, they plate up their special Mexican hamburgers with homemade green chile. Sonny says, “We changed our menu a few years back from hot dogs and hamburgers, and ever since we changed it to Mexican food, it has been overwhelming.” His brother Joseph confirms this noting, “We usually serve about 100 of these…We do it because we love to do it.” It’s all about family and friends at the Juarez tent and these brothers are happy to feed their fans. Check out Tailgate Fan to keep the party going at tailgatefan.cbslocal.com Michelle Perez is a freelance writer covering all things Denver. Her work can be found on Examiner.com .
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Denver Broncos Tailgater Profiles
Denver Broncos at Cincinnati Bengals The Bengals selected Alabama cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick with the 17th overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft, only to watch and wait as the talented defender spent the first half of the season recovering from a knee injury. Bengals defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer says that Kirkpatrick is a cinch to make his NFL debut against the Broncos, and Zimmer could certainly use him — and anyone else who can cover. The Bengals currently rank 29th in Football Outsiders’ opponent-adjusted metrics against the pass, and their task this Sunday looks just about impossible — shutting down Peyton Manning, who has been as effective in the last few weeks as he’s been at any time in his great career. Meanwhile, Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton, who looked great in his rookie season of 2011, is trying to avoid becoming the first signal-caller in team history to throw an interception in each of his first eight games of a season. This would be a perversely impressive accomplishment for a franchise that has counted Akili Smith and David Klingler among its passers. Denver’s defense is gaining confidence at the wrong time for Dalton. Pick: Broncos 35, Bengals 14 Baltimore Ravens at Cleveland Browns The Ravens had a bye last week, all the better to figure out their issues. Several injuries have left this formerly great defense floundering, but the real story is Baltimore’s offensive identity crisis. Against the Houston Texans two weeks ago, three different receivers had more playing time than did fullback Vonta Leach, which indicates a serious change in the way the Ravens have done business. Baltimore’s offense used to revolve around multiple blocking concepts and getting the ball to running back Ray Rice. But with offensive coordinator Cam Cameron opening things up in the passing game, Rice is often tasked with pass-blocking, which takes Joe Flacco’s most consistent weapon away from him. Rice ranks 20th in carries in the NFL this year, a stat that needs to change if the Ravens have any hope of going deep in the playoffs. As for the Browns, they’ll try to use top draft pick Trent Richardson to exploit a Ravens run defense that has been unusually vulnerable of late. This could be a close one, and upset alerts abound. Pick: Ravens 17, Browns 14 Arizona Cardinals at Green Bay Packers Last Monday against the San Francisco 49ers, the Arizona Cardinals seemed to want to prove Steve Spurrier’s theory that Alabama could hang with the worst NFL teams. Jim Harbaugh’s power running game made the Cards look silly, Alex Smith came one pass completion away from setting the NFL record for completion percentage in a single game, and the Arizona “offense” managed just seven yards rushing. If Alex Smith could put a near-all-time beating on this defense, what do you think Aaron Rodgers is going to do to it? Sometimes, this stuff is too easy. Pick: Packers 37. Cardinals 10 Chicago Bears at Tennessee Titans If the Titans had the Bears’ pass defense, they might be scary. As it is, Tennessee is still on track to become the fourth team in NFL history to give up 500 or more points in a single season, and the problems compound when facing a high-octane offense like Chicago’s. The Titans are unable to generate a consistent pass rush (29th in FO’s Adjusted Sack Rate metric ), which leads to situations in which a vulnerable secondary had to cover opposing receivers far too long. Only the Cardinals’ offensive line is worse than Chicago’s when it comes to pass protection , and the key to a Titans upset is exploiting that weakness. Offensive tackle Michael Roos is expected to play after an appendectomy stopped his consecutive games streak at 119 last week. Good news for quarterback Matt Hasselbeck, but probably not good enough. Receiver Kenny Britt is unhappy about his targets, tight end Jared Cook expressed interest in a trade before last week’s deadline, and you don’t want to be in turmoil when facing Chicago’s defense. Pick: Bears 29, Titans 14 Miami Dolphins at Indianapolis Colts There’s an interesting battle of potential Coach of the Year candidates when these 4-3 teams face off. Miami’s Joe Philbin looked overmatched when the Dolphins were featured in “Hard Knocks, but he’s got an excellent defense and a surprising rookie quarterback in Ryan Tannehill. Even when Tannehill could not finish last week’s game against the New York Jets, backup quarterback Matt Moore came in and helped to engineer a 30-9 beatdown. Meanwhile, Colts interim head coach Bruce Arians has not only installed a very different offense in Indy with a new quarterback; he also took the reins with great sensitivity and authority after Chuck Pagano was diagnosed with leukemia. it’s kind of a shame that either team has to lose, but we’ll take the Dolphins to roll on the road here. Pick: Dolphins 17, Colts 13 Carolina Panthers at Washington Redskins The lead story is the first matchup between Cam Newton and Robert Griffin III, though RG3 would rather be compared to Aaron Rodgers , and Newton would like to be compared to the Newton that shocked the NFL in 2011. Griffin may play as well as Rodgers does someday, but there’s only two ways that’s going to happen in the near future — his receivers actually have to catch the damned ball, and he’d have to face his own defense, which is one of the NFL’s worst against the pass. The Panthers seemed to rediscover their run game last Sunday, and that should be enough of a difference to give the Panthers the edge. Mitt Romney fans, feel free to rejoice . Steve Smith fantasy players should also feel free to rejoice — the ‘Skins have allowed 114 yards per game to #1 receivers this year. Pick: Panthers 23, Redskins 21 Detroit Lions at Jacksonville Jaguars
Herm Edwards was an NFL cornerback for 10 years. He stood 6-foot tall and weighed 194 pounds. His career ended in 1986.
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Broncos, Bengals taking advantage of size on outside