BY CHRIS HAFT and GEOFF HOBSON
The Cincinnati Enquirer
The sight of defensive end John Copeland chasing an opposing quarterback was one pleasant aspect of the Bengals' effort Sunday.
Copeland made his first appearance of the season after overcoming a torn left Achilles' tendon he suffered in an April 15 workout. The six-year veteran wasted no time making an impact, entering the game on third-and-4 on Jacksonville's opening series and hurrying quarterback Mark Brunell into an incomplete pass.
"It felt good," a grinning Copeland said. "I couldn't have written it any better myself.
"It's a whole lot better. A couple of weeks ago, I couldn't have played. But today it held up well. I had no twinges, no nothing." Copeland estimated that he participated in 15 to 20 plays, all with the Bengals' "dime" unit in obvious passing situations. "I wish I could have done more or played more in 'base' defense, but the coaches felt I wasn't ready," Copeland said.
With four games remaining, Copeland should get his chance. "The more time I get in, the more it'll help me for next year," he said.
Goff starts
Third-round draft choice Mike Goff received his first NFL start, playing right guard, and appeared to withstand the pressure.
"I had a lot of fun out there," Goff said. "I had great help from the other veteran linemen. They pulled me aside and said, 'Just relax. Go out and have fun; do what you do in practice.' That helped me out considerably."
Goff, who had appeared in five previous games and had received more playing time the last two weeks after recovering from a knee injury, was just as frustrated as his teammates in defeat.
"The outcome wasn't the way I wanted to remember my first start," he said. "But I did some good things. I did some bad things. I'll find out (in today's film review) what I did wrong and what I have to do to fix it, and we'll take it from there."
Angry fans
Some Bengals' fans, citing freedom of speech, were upset how Sign-Gate was handled Sunday by Cinergy Field security when a few anti-Mike Brown signs were confiscated and the group was later booted from the stadium.
Bengals business manager Bill Connelly said the signs weren't taken down because of the message.
"Security said (the signs) were obstructing other people's vision and (the fans) were inciting other people around them," said Connelly, through Bengals spokesman Jack Brennan. "Security took away one sign and when they put up another sign and started to do what they were asked not to do, they were told to leave."
Security may have been referring to the chants of "Mike Brown Sucks." One sign seen in the stadium displayed Brown's record since he became general manager in 1991, which on Sunday reached: 38-86.
Double trouble
The Jaguars appeared seriously hampered when All-Pro left tackle Tony Boselli (sprained right ankle) and Rookie of the Year candidate Fred Taylor (left shoulder contusion) were injured and forced to leave the game on the same first-quarter play.
Taylor, who entered the game with 806 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns, gained three yards to begin a series late in the quarter when he and Boselli went down.
X-rays taken on Boselli's ankle, which he had previously injured, showed no serious damage. Jaguars coach Tom Coughlin said that he was told late in the game that Taylor could have returned.
What's the use?
The Bengals' rushing defense established season bests by limiting Jacksonville to 79 yards and 2.7 yards per carry.
It was the third time that the Bengals had held an opponent to fewer than 100 yards rushing. They permitted Green Bay 86 yards on Sept. 20 and allowed Tennessee 89 in the Sept. 6 season opener. Guess what? Cincinnati lost all three games.
Pickens' day
Bengals wide receiver Carl Pickens made his best play against the Jaguars as a blocker, taking out safety Donovin Darius at the left sideline around Jacksonville's 27-yard line on Corey Dillon's 61-yard run in the third quarter.
But an apparently catchable Neil O'Donnell pass slipped through Pickens' hands on the second play of the fourth quarter, setting up safety Chris Hudson's gift interception and ending a Bengals drive that had taken them to Jacksonville's 31-yard line.
Pickens did catch five passes for 59 yards, leaving him 17 yards short of 6,000 for his career. Isaac Curtis (7,101), Cris Collinsworth (6,698) and Eddie Brown (6,134) are the other Bengals who have topped the 6,000 mark.
Rush commitments
How committed were the Bengals to the run? They frequently used triple tight ends and used at least two tight ends about a third of the time.
Sure, running back Corey Dillon averaged 6.7 yards per carry in gaining 107 yards on 16 carries. But 21 one of those yards came on the Bengals' first drive, and 61 more came on one run early in the third quarter. But 10 of his carries were for three yards or less as the running game still lurches for consistency.
Ambrose wonders
Cornerback Ashley Ambrose, a free-agent at the end of the season, said earlier in the year another losing season would pretty much mean he's out of here.
He wouldn't touch the subject Sunday, and even said, "You never know, I may decide to not let a lot of these people down and just come back for whatever they give me."
But he admits the silence from management toward him and other free agents could mean something else: "I don't even know if they want me back. They haven't (made strong pitches) to anybody. Maybe they're thinking the same thing about them. Maybe they don't want us and they want to try something else."
Ambrose thought his sprained knee that kept him out of last week's game held up well when he was matched on the outside with the speed receivers. It tightened up during the day, but when secondary coach Ray Horton tried to give Ambrose a breather in the second quarter, Thomas Randolph came up limping.
"I'll be all right for next week," Ambrose said. "I just have to keep the therapy."
Etc.
With 86 yards on four kickoff returns, Cincinnati's Tremain Mack brought his season total to 1,165 yards, exceeding Deacon Turner's franchise mark of 1,149 in 1979. Mack's 25.9-yard return average would break another team record, Willie Shelby's 25.4 mark set in 1976.
Fullback Brian Milne notched his first touchdown of the season on a 1-yard second-quarter run that opened Cincinnati's scoring.
JAGUARS 34, BENGALS 17
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All over but the jeering Paul Daugherty column
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Game statistics
Next: Buffalo (7-5)
