It’s a short week for the Ravens as they travel to Cincinnati to face the 0-1 Bengals. There have been a number of weekday story lines as the purple and black look to go 2-0 with a win against their AFC North foe.

  • Smack talk as usual – Though you shouldn’t be surprised, Chad Ochocinco used twitter to exchange words with Willis McGahee and LeRon McClain.  Ochocinco told McGahee that he will “woop yo a** to #justsayin from the shoulders or the field.”   He went on to warn McGahee not to pull a Rex Ryan and write a check he can’t cash against Cincinnati.  I’m still disappointed that Ocho didn’t shoot the Patroits gun up in New England…

  • Housh returns – 10 year wide receiver and former Bengals eight year veteran T.J. Houshmandzadeh returns to Cincinnati to face his former team.  Bengals fans have a bit of hostility towards Housh, here’s an excerpt from WhoDeyFans.com: “The Bengals tried to resign him and he chose to try and get out from under Chad’s shadow and be the star in Seattle. They welcomed him with open arms and then kicked him out when his act got tired. I hope he thinks about that this Sunday when he has a great view of the game from the sideline as the Ravens number 3 receiver.”  I wouldn’t expect to see Housh on the sideline this week, he had one catch last week in New York and was a part of a crucial pass interference play in the end zone.
  • Injury updates – Despite an incredibly physical game in the Meadowlands, the Ravens left New Jersey virtually unscathed.  Todd Heap banged up his shoulder late in the fourth quarter and despite not practicing on Wednesday, he his preparing to play Sunday.  The Ravens are also looking at the possibility of having Terrence Cody make his rookie debut this week and Lardarius Webb suit up.  If I were a betting man, I would say the chances are much higher of seeing Webb take the field over Cody, the Ravens could use him against Palmer and the Bengals flashy passing game.
  • Prince Miller is back – The Ravens re-signed Prince Miller to provide depth at cornerback and possibly as a punt returner too.  Miller was waived by the Ravens on September 5th, then signed with the Patriots practice squad and was brought back to Baltimore earlier this week.
  • Game plan – This week, I would expect to see a much different game plan against the Bengals defense.  The Jets limited the Ravens running game and forced Joe Flacco to make plays in the air, this week I would expect to see a 2009 version of the Baltimore offense, with big numbers from Rice, shorter passes and a more balanced attack.  Jeff and I discussed this topic in full detail in this week’s episode of Birds On The Wire.

Are you ready for week two? How do you think the Ravens will fare against the Bengals who are coming off of a big disappointing loss against the Patriots?