Tuesday, September 21, 1999Coslet won't pay for Akili's mistakes
Brown realizes rookie QBs can struggle
BY GEOFF HOBSON
The Cincinnati EnquirerThe Bengals will cut coach Bruce Coslet some slack if he's forced to play rookie Akili Smith while quarterback Jeff Blake's injured throwing shoulder heals.
Although Coslet said Mon day there's a 25 percent chance Blake, who has a mild shoulder sprain, could play Sunday in Carolina, the coach goes into Wednesday's practice thinking Smith will get his first NFL start against the Panthers.
“I don't think we're expecting Bruce to be a miracle man,” said Bengals President Mike Brown Monday. “If Smith plays, he'll have the problems that a rookie has and we would understand why that is so.”
But Brown wouldn't directly address the status of Coslet, widely believed to be sitting on the NFL's hottest coaching seat — the Bengals are 0-2 after a winless exhibition season. Brown had no comment when asked if Coslet is safe for the rest of the season.
“I'm going to be like George Bush,” Brown said. “I'm not going to open that can of worms. I'm not going to get into that discussion.”
Asked if Coslet appeared to be in trouble, Brown said, “I never said that.”
Brown acknowledged that winning with Smith, a contract holdout during the team's first 27 practices, will be difficult.
“We always look to judge it fairly,” Brown said. “If you have a young quarterback, that usually is something that doesn't always work real smoothly.
“We know at some point (Smith) is going to be in there,” Brown said. “That's why we drafted him, isn't it? It's just a chance to find out sooner than we had anticipated. I don't know if that's all bad. It will all play out in the wash.”
With the Bengals 0-2 and playing a road game, Smith knows they “are dying for a win,” and Coslet said this isn't the kind of situation he wants Smith to get his experience.
“I believe once he learns the system, we have some thing special with him,” said right tackle Willie Anderson. “The key is that everyone around him has to protect him. We don't want to get him shell-shocked. I like his confidence.”
Backup center Jay Leeuwenburg lived through a 3-13 last season in Indianapolis as No.1 pick Peyton Manning struggled as a rookie. And Manning was virtually on time to training camp.
“That's to Akili's disadvantage, but I think he's got the mental capabilities. I like the way he handles himself and there's no question he's an athlete,” Leeuwenburg said. “It's difficult to watch guys make mistakes, but it's inevitable. The big thing is reading coverages and getting used to the game. In the NFL, if you don't make a perfect throw, the defensive backs make you pay for it when you can get away with the not-so-great throw in college.
“Jeff's still the No. 1 guy,” Leeuwenburg said. “But you could win games with a rookie quarterback. He can make plays and everyone has to pick it up.”
Smith didn't have a great outing last Sunday in relief of Blake, completing 10 of 17 passes for 100 yards and his first NFL interception in the 34-7 loss to the Chargers. He knows it's not the ideal spot to step in, but said, “That's why they drafted me, so I might as well rise to the occasion.”
Smith said he needs more work with the first unit so he can assimilate the speed of the game with his learning of the playbook.
“He needs more game conditions, which we can't supply,” Coslet said. “There weren't any glaring problems (Sunday). He didn't turn the wrong way on this play, or fumble the snap or ... all the things a rookie quarterback does ... his reads were all right, but they have to be faster.”
The Bengals contacted the agent for Eric Kresser Monday in a bid to re-sign the quarterback they released last month. They are looking for the third-year veteran to be an emergency player in case something happened to Smith while Blake was hurt. Kresser didn't think he got a fair shot during the exhibition season and the club is unsure he'll return.
“We aren't looking to bring in a guy who's never been here and doesn't know the system,” Brown said.
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