BENGALS NOTEBOOK New faces leads to new outlook Monday, September 14, 1998
BY CHRIS HAFT
The Cincinnati Enquirer
PONTIAC, Mich. -- If the Bengals indeed have a new outlook, it's probably because they have so many new players.
Barry Sanders breaks awy from James Francis.
(AP photo)
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Their 53-man roster includes 19 rookies, free agents and players obtained through trade who weren't with the team last year.
Right tackle Willie Anderson, a three-year veteran, said that coach Bruce Coslet alluded to that fact to illustrate a point during a team meeting Saturday night before Cincinnati's 34-28 victory Sunday over the Detroit Lions.
"Bruce asked the new guys -- Takeo (Spikes), Artrell (Hawkins), Clyde Simmons, Michael Bankston -- were you part of that 1-7 start last year? No. We have a new team this year. The atmosphere and attitude make it possible for us to win."
Players insisted that they remained upbeat even after Doug Pelfrey's 48-yard field goal try was blocked at the end of regulation, which seemed to give the Lions momentum.
"Surprisingly," said linebacker James Francis, "nobody was down."
"Guys were still saying, "We can win this game,' " Bankston said. "Maturity is starting to set in. In order to get somewhere, we want to get somewhere today. That's one thing that's consistent around our locker room. We want to start now. We don't want to wait until later just because we have some young players."
Defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau said that his unit's resilience showed earlier, when it toughened instead of crumbled after some potentially demoralizing feats by Barry Sanders.
After Sanders set up Detroit's first touchdown by taking a screen pass 44 yards, the Bengals held the Lions without a score on three of their next four possessions.
Then, after Sanders' 67-yard touchdown run in the third quarter, the Bengals forced punts on Detroit's next four series.
"Our guys didn't let that deter them from playing good defense," LeBeau said.
Unsung hero
Corey Sawyer's game-winning interception return overshadowed another Cincinnati pickoff -- cornerback Ashley Ambrose's diving theft with 35 seconds left in the fourth quarter that ended Detroit's hopes of winning in regulation.
The Bengals advanced only a yard after Ambrose's interception gave them the ball at Detroit's 30. Had Doug Pelfrey converted his 48-yard field-goal try, Ambrose, not Sawyer, would have been the big hero.
But Ambrose's interception, Cincinnati's first of the season, may have had some effect.
"I think in a way it gave us some momentum," he said. "The Lions blocked a field goal, but I think we still had a little momentum going (into overtime)."
Mitchell woes
There was a miscommunication between Detroit quarterback Scott Mitchell and receiver Johnnie Morton on Sawyer's interception. Mitchell apparently thought Morton was going to run a slant pattern, but Morton ran a deep pattern down the right sideline, leaving Saywer alone.
"I didn't get my job done when I was supposed to get it done," Mitchell said.
Lions coach Bobby Ross called his players' reaction to the loss "emotional." Players would not comment on the scene in the locker room after the game, but two observers said players on offense and defense challenged each other, and Mitchell was at the focal point of their anger.
Superb Sanders
On most days, Sanders' efforts would have been enough to insure victory for Detroit.
The NFL's No. 2 all-time rusher amassed 185 yards and three touchdowns on 26 carries. Sanders also took a screen pass 44 yards to the 1-yard line, setting up the only touchdown he didn't score -- Tommy Vardell's run with 6 minutes and 44 seconds left in the first quarter.
On a 67-yard touchdown run in the third quarter, Sanders eluded the grasp of end Michael Bankston, who appeared to have him corraled at Detroit's 32-yard line, then simply sped away from the rest of Cincinnati's defense.
"I couldn't believe I missed him," Bankston said. "I had him clean as day. Then for him to score on it made it even worse." Linebacker Tom Tumulty sounded honored to play against Sanders, who has exceeded 100 yards in all three of his regular-season appearances against Cincinnati.
"I've never seen anything like it," Tumulty said. "It could look like a wide play to the right, it's contained, it's over, and you look back and it's going the other way to the left. Nobody should be able to do that."
Sanders recorded the 69th 100-yard game of his career and his 14th touchdown of more than 50 yards.
Pelfrey struggling
The happiest guy in the Silverdome Sunday besides Sawyer was kicker Pelfrey. Pelfrey was being fitted for goat horns after missing a 35-yard field goal that would have given the Bengals a 31-21 lead with 7:24 left in the game, and then had the attempted winner blocked from 48 yards as regulation expired.
Stunning developments for a man who came into the game as the NFL's third most accurate field goal kicker in history at 80.56, behind Philadelphia's Chris Boniol (83.06) and San Diego's John Carney (80.59). These were Pelfrey's first two tries of the season. "I told (Sawyer) thank you for not only winning the game but also for picking me up," Pelfrey said. "It makes it at least bearable. Miss two kicks, there's not much you can say, you feel like a wounded pup. You're just kind of waiting for an opportunity."
Pelfrey pulled the 35-yarder left, but he felt like he hit it well enough. He had no chance on the block as Detroit's Marc Spindler roared through the left side of the interior. That was the same problem spot when Pelfrey drilled an extra point earlier in the game despite a deflection.
Pelfrey said there was no problem with the passes of long snapper Greg Truitt. Earlier in the game, Coslet approached Pelfrey and punter Lee Johnson about Truitt's inconsistent punt snapping.
Classy act
Lions defensive coordinator Larry Peccatiello, fired in Cincinnati after the 1996 season when Coslet permanently replaced Dave Shula, went into the Cincinnati locker room after the game to shake hands. He shook Coslet's hand twice, on the way in and on the way out.
Although the Bengals rushed for 100 yards on 4.8 per carry, Peccatiello's stunts and twists and moving of the linemen never let Cincinnati establish a rhythm on offense.
"He had us scratching our heads in the running game," Coslet said.
Quotable
Coslet, on the Bengals' completed task and the one awaiting them: "This week we played the best running back in football (Sanders); next week we play the best quarterback in football (Green Bay's Brett Favre). Welcome to the NFL."
BENGALS 34, LIONS 28
