Line looks ready, healthy Friday, September 4, 1998
BY CHRIS HAFT
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Football linemen are supposed to look sturdy. For the first time in a while, the Bengals' offensive line will act the part, too.
Willie Anderson
Cincinnati's contingent of left tackle Kevin Sargent, left guard Rich Braham, center Darrick Brilz, right guard Ken Blackman and right tackle Willie Anderson will play its second full year together, barring injury. That may not sound like much, except for the fact that no Bengal line has remained intact from the end of one season to the start of the next -- due to injuries or attrition -- since 1984-85.
This continuity bodes well for the Bengals, who open the season Sunday at Cinergy Field against the Tennessee Oilers. Cincinnati will have the same line that last year helped generate a league-high 23 rushing touchdowns and sprung Corey Dillon for 1,129 yards, a franchise rookie record.
"This is the best our line has looked in several years," said Paul Alexander, entering his fourth season as Cincinnati's offensive line coach. "Guys have to play together. It's timing, rhythm, playing together a million times and working out all the bugs. Every guy you play next to is a little bit different. Until you've played next to the same guy for a while, it's difficult."
Bent on avenging their 41-14 loss to Cincinnati last Dec. 4 in the teams' most recent meeting, the Oilers know they must improve up front to avoid another Bengals offensive rampage.
"We got our rear ends handed to us up front," Tennessee coach Jeff Fisher said. "Cincinnati's offensive line dominated the entire game, in the run game as well as the passing game."
Even if Cincinnati's line doesn't establish consistency immediately, perhaps it won't elude them for half the season like last year, before Sargent returned from injury.
"At the beginning of every season you have to come back together," Braham said. "Obviously, we haven't played a full game. We haven't gone through 60 to 80 plays yet, and that's kind of exciting for us to do this week."
Just as a successful lineman must rely on multiple skills -- as Bengals fans know from following Anthony Munoz's Hall of Fame career -- a cohesive line displays various traits Cincinnati's unit has in abundance:
Intelligence. Alexander marveled at Brilz's ability to make the correct line-of-scrimmage call that tells teammates how to approach their blocking assignments. "I look forward to the rare occasion when he makes a mistake because I can re-establish my authority," Alexander said. The other linemen are sharp enough to adjust. "We have smart guys who aren't going to make mental mistakes," Brilz said.
Communication, without which the intelligence would be useless. "Everybody trusts everybody," Braham said. "When the game comes, "Sarge' knows I'm going to be there for him and vice-versa. It's excellent."
Brute force. "We have a lot of hard-fighting guys who aren't going to give up," Brilz said. "I think people are going to realize that after they play us, they're going to feel it." In that sense, the line's style reflects that of Dillon, who prefers to inflict contact instead of absorb it. "We're going to try to go out there and pound people; we have a running back with the same mentality," Brilz said.
Anonymity is part of an offensive lineman's job description, but if the Bengals have a star blocker, it's Anderson, the 1996 first-round draft choice who may start to receive Pro Bowl recognition this season.
"Corey Dillon is obviously the reason we run so well, but Willie Anderson has a heck of a lot to do with it," Alexander said. "Willie does what NFL linemen are not able to do. Everybody says that nobody in the NFL really drives guys off the ball. They just "fit in' and stay with guys. Willie knocks his guy five, six, 10 yards off the ball on occasion. I don't know that there's five guys in the league who can do that."
"The last half of last year, I made the statement that I wouldn't trade these guys for anybody. That's how I feel right now," Alexander said. "The days are past when I worried about what are we going to do against a certain guy."
Blackout deadline extended