Eric Ghiaciuc struggling to fill in for injured starter Rich Braham.  Now that Eric Ghiaciuc has been thrown into the fire, he wants to excel — not just survive — as the Bengals' center.

But the flames are licking his feet and he's trying to stiff-arm the pressure as he fills in for injured veteran Rich Braham, who is out indefinitely with a bone bruise in his left knee.

Ghiaciuc could remain in the lineup for Sunday's game at Tampa Bay. Or he could be replaced by left guard Eric Steinbach.

"We're not down in the dumps because our offense needs fixed," Ghiaciuc said. "All the mistakes can be cleared up and they're things we can all move on from. We're not hanging our heads. We're going back to work and get things fixed up."

Like getting better protection for quarterback Carson Palmer and creating more running room for tailback Rudi Johnson.

"Everybody blames it on just the line," Braham said. "It's actually the whole offense. We've got to stick together as a unit and do things better. I believe it'll be done."

Rather than point fingers, the offensive line is rallying around Ghiaciuc.

"Guys just have to come together and get a better feel for each other," right guard Bobbie Williams said. "One thing the original O-line had was that togetherness because we've been together going on three years.

"You've just got to get that feel. In this league, you've got to do it fast. There's no room or margin for error. You see what can happen with that error. It leads to five-six sacks. And that's not us."

Dayton Daily News

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