Bengals Notebook: Hurricane Sandy leaves LS Clark Harris anticipating his house being 'demolished'

The Bengals had multiple players scramble to return from the East Coast during the bye week due to Hurricane Sandy, but none were more affected than Clark Harris, who expects his New Jersey house to be 'demolished.' Also, notes on DT Pat Sims, trade possibilities and the return or RB Brian Leonard.

By Paul Dehner Jr.

Oct 29, 2012 at 3:31 pm ET • 3 min read

LS Clark Harris expects his New Jersey house to no longer be standing because of Hurricane Sandy. (US Presswire)

Bengals long snapper Clark Harris bought a house on the shoreline in Manahawkin, N.J., one year ago. He's only lived in it for three or four months during the offseason. Monday, he came to terms with the fact that he may not live in it again.

“My house is presently in the process of being demolished, probably, by this hurricane,” he said.

Hurricane Sandy hit landfall in full force Monday and Harris not only left his house in the direct path of the storm and surge but needed to scramble even to make that happen.

His flight out of Philadelphia was canceled, so he drove through wind and rain for 12 hours with a four-month old to make it back to Cincinnati for practice on Monday. He joked and laughed with reporters about the impending doom on his home and shrugged off fretting over the constant updates of what could happen.

“Well, nothing you can do about it,” Harris said. “I got to be back here for practice. I can't stop a hurricane from coming. So, whatever happens happens. I got flood insurance for a reason.

“I'm not worried about it until my parents go over to my house and let me know what the damage is and then I can start to really worry about it. I am the kind of guy who doesn't worry until it happens. So, it's in the process of happening.”

DT Pat Sims season in jeopardy: DT Pat Sims opened the year on the Physically Unable to Perform list. He was eligible to come off in Week 6, but has yet to be activated. The Bengals have until Week 9 for Sims to being practicing. From that point forward the Bengals have a three-week roster exemption to make a decision to activate him or leave him on PUP for the season.

Sims, a fifth-year pro out of Auburn, started 23 games during his first four seasons but showed up out of shape this year. Marvin Lewis didn't sound optimistic when asked what he currently envisions in regards to Sims.

“We’re waiting on Pat to get where Pat can help us,” Lewis said. “He’s being given certain guidelines to do so that he can achieve it quickly. He’s got some time.”

Trade time?: The trading deadline was pushed back to Thursday due to Hurricane Sandy, but don't expect the Bengals to repeat the blockbuster they pulled last year with Carson Palmer. They could use help at running back among a number of positions, but Lewis balked at the concept of dealing.

“I don’t envision anything,” Lewis said.

Help on the way: Third-down RB Brian Leonard missed the Steelers game with a rib injury, but after the bye week he appears on track to play Sunday against Denver.

He returned to practice in a limited capacity Monday but anticipates being a full participant on Wednesday.

“I think (the bye) came at the perfect time,” Leonard said. “Definitely. You got two weeks in one. It only cost me one week of play but I got two weeks of healing, and I feel real good. I'll be out there ready to go.”

Leonard rushed six times for 36 yards this season adding four receptions for 35 yards, but he's an essential part of the team's third-down gameplan. The Bengals are 31st in the NFL in third-down efficiency.

“We’ve got to execute better,” Leonard said. “I mean we have the players to make the plays. We’ve got to catch the ball, we’ve got to run the right routes, we’ve got to protect Andy (Dalton) and make throws. We can do that, and we need to start doing that.”