About the only negative confronting the Bengals when they reported to Georgetown College in Kentucky for training camp July 27 was that rookie first-round linebacker Keith Rivers was unsigned. And he wouldn't sign until 10 days later.
But then they started practicing, and a team that's especially thin started losing key players: defensive end Antwan Odom, signed as a free agent in the offseason to bolster the NFL's worst pass rush in 2007, sprained his foot in the very first practice. Before the week was out, starting wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh and tailback Rudi Johnson would be out with hamstring injuries. Chad Johnson, the other starting receiver, would make a quick comeback from ankle surgery in June 18 only to sustain a partial tear of the labrum in his left shoulder...