Following Monday’s 10-6 loss, Dalton was asked about Watt’s comments on the ESPN postgame show in which he said “our goal was to turn the Red Rifle into a Red Ryder BB Gun, and I think we did that.”
Dalton was clearly irritated at the time and said Watt’s comments were disappointing and indicative of his character.
“I shouldn’t have reacted the way I did without hearing what he said, actually hearing what he said,” Dalton said. “I’m responding to what an interviewer tells me he said. So from that standpoint, my reaction wasn’t warranted because I still haven’t seen it, I’m not going to watch it. I don’t care.
“But I’ve got no ill will toward J.J.,” he continued. “There’s no feud between me and J.J. We lost the game, he said what he said and we’re moving on. That’s in the past now.”
Mentally moving on: Tight end Tyler Eifert said he's never had a game with so many drops as Monday night when he let three pass slip through his hands, so he's not sure exactly how to mentally block out the game; however, he was anxious to move on.
“I think the best thing for me is to go out and practice today and get back into the groove of things,” Eifert said before practice, where he did catch some passes. “I don’t really know. That’s never really happened that bad to me before. So just go out and practice and catch balls and get your confidence back.”
When asked whether he now questions the process, Eifert said, “No, not the process.”
“But you know, to have a chance to catch a ball in a game — it’s hard enough just to get the ball thrown to you to get open — so I hate dropping passes, and everybody does,” Eifert said. “It’s one of those crazy things. You’re not trying to drop the ball but it happens. You move on, and we’ll be fine.”
Injury updates: Cornerback Adam Jones did not practice Wednesday, but was listed on the injury report as having a foot injury, rather than the shoulder injury that briefly sidelined him Monday night. Jones missed four plays and said after the game his shoulder would be fine.
Meanwhile, right tackle Andre Smith returned to practice for the first time since sustaining a concussion in the Nov. 1 win at Pittsburgh, but he was one of five players listed as limited. Linebacker Vontaze Burfict (knee), defensive end Carlos Dunlap (shoulder), safety Shawn Williams (ankle) and cornerback Leon Hall (non-injury related) also were limited.
Defensive tackle Pat Sims (knee) did not participate in practice, which was moved to the University of Cincinnati’s indoor facility because of rain, and left tackle Andrew Whitworth took his usual veteran’s day off.
Birthday bash: The Carlos Dunlap Foundation was set to hold a birthday party Wednesday night for kids from a shelter in Cincinnati through the UpSpring program, which seeks to provide homeless children the same opportunities available to others.
“There are a lot of homeless kids who have never had birthday parties,” Bengals defensive end Carlos Dunlap said.
Dunlap has made the birthday celebration an annual event. A party bus would be picking the kids and their parents up from the shelter to take them to GameWorks in Newport, Ky., for pizza, cupcakes and games.
Next week, Dunlap will help distribute turkeys and other food items to the homeless for Thanksgiving.
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