BY CHRIS HAFT and GEOFF HOBSON
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Bengals coach Bruce Coslet said Greg Truitt would remain the long snapper despite his shaky performance in Sunday's 25-20 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Truitt one-hopped his snap to holder Lee Johnson on Doug Pelfrey's conversion attempt following the Bengals' first touchdown. The kick would have forged a 10-10 halftime tie, but Pelfrey was forced to try an awkward pass that failed.
Later, Truitt grounded his snap on a 48-yard field-goal attempt by Pelfrey with Pittsburgh leading 17-9. Unruffled, Johnson fielded the ball cleanly, and Pelfrey made the kick with 5:39 left in the third quarter. Afterward, reserve tight end Steve Bush replaced Truitt as the snapper on punts and placekicks.
Truitt, who performed almost flawlessly from 1994-97, had snapped erratically earlier this season. But Coslet defended his specialist.
"The first four snaps (Sunday) were absolutely perfect," Coslet said. "He has the best velocity of any snapper in the league." Coslet pointed out that short snaps on field goals and extra points, not the deeper snaps on punts, have challenged Truitt most. "We've had some problems (blocking on field goals); I know he's concerned about that, because he's not a big man in the middle there," Coslet said. "I don't know if that's a factor. But he'll snap next week, and I'm hoping I don't have to take him out again. But if he rolls a couple back, I will."
Said Pelfrey, "He feels like he's letting the team down. The guys are trying to lift him up. It's a frustrating time for him."
O'Donnell soars atop ratings
Neil O'Donnell soared to the top of the AFC passer ratings Sunday with three touchdown passes, 298 yards and no interceptions.
His rating is 103.2, which consists of seven TD passes and one interception, which was back in Game 1.
Which is quite remarkable, considering O'Donnell didn't see a Bengal playbook until a week before training camp. Coslet still sees a quarterback learning the system.
He said O'Donnell is getting better reading his secondary receivers, but he also said O'Donnell cost the Bengals a two-point conversion Sunday when he didn't see the No. 2 receiver in the route -- fullback Brian Milne -- wide open at the side of the end zone.
"But you give him time, and he's accurate," Coslet said.
Pickens facts
Carl Pickens' 13 catches eclipsed his franchise record of 12 in a game, which he set on Nov. 10, 1996, also against Pittsburgh. That afternoon he matched running back James Brooks, who had 12 on Dec. 25, 1989 at Minnesota.
Pickens' 204 yards trailed only Eddie Brown (216, Nov. 6, 1988, against Pittsburgh) and Cris Collinsworth (206, Oct. 2, 1983, against Baltimore) on the club's single-game receiving yardage list.
Coslet said he was recently asked on a radio show whether Pickens was the best receiver he has coached. Considering the list, which includes Brown, Collinsworth, Isaac Curtis, Al Toon, Darnay Scott -- Coslet finally said yes.
"He sure proved it today," Coslet said.
Help on blitz
A major reason O'Donnell had time against the Steelers' zone blitz was the effective blocking of his backs. On his 44-yard touchdown pass to Darnay Scott in the second quarter, O'Donnell got help from Eric Bieniemy on a safety blitz.
On the fourth-and-12 play with 72 seconds left, the Steelers blitzed two linebackers into the Bengals' right side, but one got swallowed up by a back: "They were blocking that blitz all day," said linebacker Levon Kirkland. "They wouldn't let me penetrate."
Fresh faces
The Bengals' defense continued to benefit from the contributions of its newcomers, notably the rookies.
Coslet proudly pointed out that cornerback Artrell Hawkins ran down Kordell Stewart on his 56-yard second-quarter run, with linebackers Takeo Spikes and Brian Simmons in hot pursuit. All three were drafted in the first two rounds.
"I think that's one thing we can bring to the team, a little energy," said Simmons, who finished with six tackles from scrimmage and two more on special teams. Spikes had five tackles and Hawkins four. Defensive end Michael Bankston had his most productive game of the season, collecting eight solo tackles, a pass deflection and his first sack. Clyde Simmons, the other free-agent end, also had a sack and a deflected pass.
Dillon produces
Corey Dillon was almost overshadowed by Pickens and O'Donnell, but several of his gains in a 23-carry, 99-yard afternoon put the Bengals in position to score.
Dillon's statistics reflected a spirited effort by Cincinnati's offensive line, which allowed three sacks but seemed to improve upon subpar efforts against Green Bay and Baltimore.
"We're not playing as well as we wanted to, obviously," right tackle Kevin Sargent said. "Today we played better. It started a little slow. We need to take more of an aggressive attitude -- not play not to get beat, just basically try to smash people. I think we hadn't been doing a lot of that lately, or at all, until today."
Capable stand-in
Though the Steelers lost running back Jerome Bettis to a knee injury in the second quarter, Richard Huntley replaced "the Bus" admirably, gaining 85 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries after overcoming a second-quarter fumble.
Kordell excels
The game's leading rusher was a quarterback -- Stewart, who finished with 103 yards on seven carries. He exceeded his career best of 102 (Dec. 22, 1996, at Carolina). That was the last time an NFL quarterback reached the century mark.
Deja vu
The Bengals improved to 3-7 after the bye week. All three of those victories have come against the Steelers. The previous two: 1990 (27-3) and 1995 (27-9).
Hurt
Wide receiver - punt returner Damon Gibson suffered a mild concussion in the first half. He is questionable for Sunday at against Tennessee.
Quotable
Offensive tackle Willie Anderson, attempting to convey the impact of playing the Steelers to linebacker Takeo Spikes, a fellow ex-University of Auburn star: "I told Takeo, this is Alabama-Auburn."
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Game statistics