O'Donnell thinks deep thoughts O'Donnell thinks deep thoughts Monday, September 14, 1998
BY GEOFF HOBSON
The Cincinnati Enquirer
PONTIAC, Mich. -- Neil O'Donnell is supposed to be tough. Efficient. Competent. A winner.
Neil O'Donnell passed for 303 yards and two TDs.
(AP photo)
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He was all of those things during a vintage performance against the Lions in which he took more body shots than Rocky Balboa while steering the Bengals to victory in the kind of script they hardly ever write on the road.
But the Bengals' new quarterback also did some things the Cincinnati fans didn't expect. He revived the Bengals' deep threat, hitting wide receiver Darnay Scott with two touchdown passes of 70 and 36 yards. He also hung in the pocket long enough for his most important play of this young season, a 38-yarder to tight end Tony McGee on third-and-eight that led to a touchdown that tied the game at 21 in the third quarter.
"They can't tell now, huh?" said Scott of those who wondered about O'Donnell's deep-strike ability. "He got it out there and we had to go get it."
O'Donnell has won big games without relying on long plays. When he led the Steelers to the Super Bowl in 1995, there were nine games in which he didn't complete a pass longer than 37 yards. In his final eight games with the Jets last season, he didn't complete one of more than 33 yards.
"Those two were right on the money," said coach Bruce Coslet of the passes to Scott.
It's the first time Scott caught two scoring passes in a game since his rookie season in 1994, when he burned the Cowboys twice in Jeff Blake's first NFL start. On Sunday, Scott made life miserable for two young Detroit players, second-year cornerbacks Kevin Abrams and Bryant Westbrook.
On the Bengals' second series, O'Donnell, who was staring at a third-and-16 when Abrams jumped inside on Scott's pattern, called "Dancer," in man coverage. So Scott danced outside down the sideline and O'Donnell floated the 70-yarder for the game's first score. On the second play of the second quarter, the Bengals took a 14-7 lead when Scott outran a zone. It was set up when receiver Carl Pickens went in motion.
"I had a post (pattern) and when Pick went (deep) the safety picked him up and I was right behind him, but he didn't see me," Scott said. "The corner was sitting back."
O'Donnell just figures he's supposed to make big plays. On the third-down pass to McGee, 5-foot-9 rookie corner Terry Fair was no match for the 6-foot-3 tight end.
"The more I play in this system, the more comfortable I am," said O'Donnell, who didn't turn the ball over while hitting 25-of-36 passes for 303 yards, his fourth 300-yard game in the past three seasons. "I'm starting to get a feel for the receivers. Big plays are what it's all about."
While O'Donnell proved you can make big plays without turnovers, he bonded with an offensive line becoming more impressed with his toughness. This was not an easy game. Detroit defensive linemen Luther Elliss and Robert Porcher dominated.
A heavy diet of gimmicks called stunts and twists and the loud dome crowd made the offensive line tentative and limited running back Corey Dillon to 77 yards on 17 carries. The Lions sacked O'Donnell three times as well as sending him to the turf all day.
On the 70-yarder, Porcher smashed into O'Donnell's hip and he limped off the field.
"Neil took some shots back there," said right tackle Willie Anderson. "He stuck it out. I don't know what his reputation was in the past, but in the last two games and in the preseason, he's been sticking it out. That's courage under fire."
O'Donnell has the reputation of being a tough guy, but he deflected such talk Sunday.
"(The hip) is all right. I just had to keep it moving," O'Donnell said. "I like the guys in front of me. They're fighters. I'll be all right. I'll stand behind them. I have no complaints. I'm a tough guy."
On Sunday, he was also a big-play guy.
BENGALS 34, LIONS 28
