The Cincinnati Bengals have got themselves a bit of a winning streak going now as they head into their final game of the season next week against the Pittsburgh Steelers, having won their past two games to boost themselves up to a 5-7-1 record. Of course, the Steelers are currently enjoying a four-game winning streak.
Cincinnati’s latest victory came over the Browns, who have now become the eighth team in NFL history to begin a season by losing their first 13 games. The Bengals jumped out to a 20-0 lead in Robert Griffin III’s first start since the season opener for Cleveland, and ultimately won by a margin of 23-10.
Part of the reason the Bengals were able to be so successful in the game was because they successfully neutralized the Browns’ top wide receiver, former quarterback Terrelle Pryor, who entered this game with over 60 receptions for over 800 yards. Yesterday, he caught just one pass for three yards. And he faced a Bengals secondary motivated for the task.
Apparently, Bengals cornerback Adam Jones seems to think that at some point in time, Pryor told Paul Guenther, his defensive coordinator, that, as Geoff Hobson writes for the Bengals’ website, “he was going to get Jones cut after he played against him”.
Trash talking would not exactly be the most advisable course of action for a player still growing into a new position, regardless of how well Pryor has made the transition to wide receiver this year. Hobson’s article seems to indicate that this anecdote may have occurred in the two teams’ previous matchup this season, which would make sense, logistically.
The Browns lost that game 17-31, and Pryor had just two catches for 18 yards in that contest. These two games against Cincinnati, in fact, have been easily the two worst of his season from the statistical standpoint. He has had at least three receptions for at least 32 yards in every other game, with 46 yards his next-lowest total in the 11 games against other teams.
That may well be why Jones and his secondary teammate, Dre Kirkpatrick, seem to think that Pryor is “trash”, as they frequently referred to him as, or alluded to him as, during their conversations with the media following the game.
“Pryor sucks”, Jones said to one reporter when asked about something else. “I’m only answering questions about Pryor. Pryor sucks”. Kirkpatrick, rhetorically, asked, “what’s his name?”, supplying the answer himself: “trash”.
Jones expressed his respect and admiration for the Browns’ head coach, Hue Jackson, who spent the past three years in Cincinnati, but said, “certain [expletive] I don’t tolerate. Young punks, really. Suburban kid that wants to act like he’s the toughest thing in the world now because he caught a couple of balls. He’s just arrogant with his teammates”.
Jones alluded to a moment in the game during which he says that Pryor was “pushing and cussing at RGII on the field”, and said that he asked the quarterback how he can throw him the ball with Pryor talking to him in that way.
