| | CINCINNATI -- The Cincinnati Bengals have lost both of their
games and might have lost their starting quarterback for a few
weeks as well.
Jeff Blake sprained his passing shoulder Sunday when he was hit
by linebacker Junior Seau in the second quarter of San Diego's 34-7
victory.
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| Blake |
X-rays found no fracture, and Blake gingerly played catch on the
sideline at the start of the second half, but did not return. Coach
Bruce Coslet said it was too early to tell how long Blake will be
sidelined.
If Blake is out for several weeks, the Bengals will be looking for another quarterback to back up Akili Smith and Scott Covington,
a pair of rookies.
"If he's out for four or five weeks, yes," Coslet said. "If
it's minor, sometimes you don't have to. We'll hope for the best."
Blake had to leave the Bengals' opening 36-35 loss at Tennessee
because of leg cramps. The Bengals failed to get a first down
behind Smith and Covington in their last three series and wound up
wasting a nine-point lead.
Seau broke through the middle of the line unblocked Sunday and
hit Blake just as he was starting to throw. Blake lost his grip on
the ball and landed hard on his right shoulder. Gerald Dixon
returned the fumble 27 yards for a touchdown that made it 28-7.
"They had a safety blitz on, and Junior came in and blew me
up," Blake said. "I didn't see Junior at all. All I saw was
turf."
With two rookies left to run the offense, it was an
insurmountable lead. Blake lobbied to play again at the start of
the second half, but his throwing motion was affected and the
coaches weren't willing to take the chance.
"He wanted to go back in, but we didn't think that was wise
when it's already (injured) like that," Coslet said.
Smith, who missed most of training camp in a contract dispute
and reported less than two weeks before the season opener, led the
offense to two first downs and 21 net yards in the second half.
"That's kind of tough -- Blake goes down and we're down 20-plus
points," Smith said.
The Bengals had hoped that Blake would stay healthy until Smith
learned enough of the offense to run it. No one's sure how long
Blake will be out.
The Bengals are now 0-2 and staring at their worst-case scenario
-- no experienced quarterback to prevent a long season-opening
slump.
"I don't know how much time it's going to take," Blake said.
"It depends on how it feels. It could be one week or two weeks or
three weeks."
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