BY CHRIS HAFT
The Cincinnati Enquirer
The Bengals play their first game at the Ravens' new stadium in Baltimore's Camden Yards on Sunday.
But Bengals President Mike Brown is already thinking about the first game in the Ravens' old city of Cleveland in 1999 and then the first game in Cincinnati's Paul Brown Stadium in 2000.
Brown hasn't heard from the NFL, but he hopes the Bengals or the Pittsburgh Steelers are the foe for the Browns' first game in Cleveland since Art Modell moved the franchise to Baltimore before the 1996 season.
He also thinks the Browns would make a nice opponent for the Paul Brown opener. After all, the late Paul Brown founded both teams.
"We would like to have them here as an opener, but they'll be here anyway (during the season)," Brown said. "I'm anxious to see the rivalry revived and build because it gives us an exciting game. It's more fun. The Pittsburgh, Cleveland games are great because of the fans.
"Our fans don't associate the Baltimore Ravens with the Cleveland Browns. It's almost viewed as an expansion team. Not many from Baltimore travel here and not many of our fans go there."
Brown thinks the series will still have spice even though the underlying theme of every Browns-Bengals game was Modell fired Paul Brown.
You know that Bengals coach and former TE Bruce Coslet, who was there in PB's first win over the Browns in 1970, knows Modell will be sitting in the owner's box Sunday.
"It's interesting because players on both teams seemed to sense that," Mike Brown said. "That will be missing, but that's OK. I don't think (Broncos owner) Pat Bowlen has anything against (Chiefs owner) Lamar Hunt, but they've got a great rivalry."
Shade dealings
The Bengals are making good on their vow not to negotiate with any of their potential free agents for a while.
The Bengals aren't close with SS Sam Shade and are apparently not prepared to pay the safety position $2 million per year. That happened two years ago, when they wouldn't pay FS Darryl Williams $1.7 million and lost him to Seattle.
Sarge works OT
If you're a hitter in a slump, you take extra batting practice.
If you're Bengals LT Kevin Sargent, who said he has given up three sacks in the first three games, you take some more reps.
"You work at it," Sargent said. "You don't just do the four pass rushes in the pass rush (drill). You go over your sets. (Thursday), I had (guard) Rod Jones rush me 15 times after practice."
Sargent is trying to find some consistency. On some plays, his hands will be in the right place, but his footwork is wrong, and then the next play it might be the other way around.
All he knows is he has to find it quickly against Ravens DE Michael McCrary. The 6-foot-4, 270-pound McCrary has 23 sacks in his past 25 games.
The long season
Brown says there are pros and cons with the NFL's decision to move next season's regular-season opener to the week after Labor Day. That means the final regular-season game is probably going to be the first weekend in January.
"I like getting away from the Labor Day holiday," Brown said. "On the other hand, there's the weather. Our game is ideally meant to be played from mid-September until late fall or early winter. Now we're pushing it on the back end."
Etc.
Bengals trainer Paul Sparling said DE John Copeland is on schedule to return to practice Oct. 13 from his Achilles' injury. Copeland plans to see Dr. James Andrews on Tuesday, when Sparling expects Copeland to get cleared for agility drills and hitting the sled. "He's running up to two miles with no increased soreness," Sparling said. . . .
Friday's inactives for Sunday's games were OG Scott Shaw, WR Stepfret Williams, DL Andre Purvis, and the newest Bengal signed Wednesday, DL Angel Rubio.