Friday, September 10, 1999SEASON PREVIEW: DEFENSIVE LINE
New scheme may help stop the run
BY GEOFF HOBSON
The Cincinnati EnquirerThe Bengals think this can be the most improved spot on the team and it better be since Cincinnati finished last against the run and generated the fewest sacks in the NFL last season.
Despite giving up a big rushing night against the Falcons in the exhibition finale, the Bengals could hang their hat on allowing foes just three yards per carry in the four games, compared to last year's whopping 4.7 average during the regular season.
The return of left end John Copeland has helped. Copeland missed all but the last month of 1998 and was never right after ripping his Achilles in an offseason workout. He finally looks like the fifth pick in the draft circa 1993 after back-to-back offseasons in the weight room. He still can't figure out why he was so lackluster about his strength training, but he vows to have the best season of his solid but non Pro Bowl career.
Still, the new scheme installed by defensive coordinator Dick Lebeau and line coach Tim Krumrie probably has more to do with the improvement than any one player. Last year, linemen were responsible for two holes, the one on each side of them. That meant they would have to read and react to the ball. This year, in a one-gap scheme, the linemen simply charge across the line of scrimmage at the snap of the ball, making the offense react to them.
The design has reinvented the career of fourth-year player Jevon Langford. He started the last two exhibition games in place of incumbent Michael Bankston at right end, but the two seemed destined to rotate and Langford can also play tackle. He'l be doing some of that since LeBeau is going to go with more four linemen looks than last season, when they frequently worked out of three-man sets.
Oliver Gibson, a free-agent picked up from Pittsburgh, fired up the competition at nose tackle, where Kimo von Oelhoffen struggled mightily last year. But von Oelhoffen responded to the depth chart battle with Gibson and recaptured his starting job until injuring his foot two weeks ago and becoming questionable for the first couple of weeks.
Krumrie is pushing the idea that all seven of his linemen will be moved in and out. They think Bankston will be better this year because he's not hobbled by a nagging sore knee like he was last training camp, and they are trying to keep end-tackle Glen Steele healthy after an injury-marred rookie season.
At the beginning of camp, coach Bruce Coslet challenged Langford and Andre Purvis, young, underachieving veterans, with their jobs and it worked. Langford, a fourth-round pick from 1996, appears to have tempered his emotional play with t he knowledge the one gap scheme fits his aggressive, quick play.
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New scheme may help stop the run