Monday, October 11, 1999

BENGALS NOTEBOOK

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Second-stringers busy in secondary

Ty Howard was called for interferring with Kevin Johnson on this second-quarter play. (AP photo) | ZOOM |

        Roosevelt Blackmon and Ty Howard, the Bengals' backup cornerbacks, wound up playing the majority of the time Sunday.

        Howard stepped in for Artrell Hawkins when Hawkins went out with a concussion in the second quarter. Blackmon replaced starter Rodney Heath for most of the game, with Heath playing mostly nickel coverage. Heath, the rookie from Western Hills High School, said it was by design.

        “All week, me and Roosevelt Blackmon and T.C. Howard were playing a lot in practice,” Heath said. “They want to get a lot of people some playing time, because it was getting to the point where it was just being me and Artrell. And with me being a rookie, I guess they were trying to take some pressure off of me being an every-down corner.”

Roosevelt Blackmon makes second-quarter INT. (Gary Landers photo) | ZOOM |

        Coach Bruce Coslet didn't address the corner situation in his postgame remarks. He had praised Heath's work earlier in the season, but when asked last week about how Heath was doing, Coslet hesitated and then said: “Mm ... mm ... OK.”

        Heath, who entering Sunday had the Bengals' only interception, said he may thrive now that he doesn't play every down.

        “I don't feel like it's pressure on me, but it really did help playing nickel today,” he said. “I can really focus on that job now.”

        Heath said defensive backs coach Ray Horton had mentioned his playing time might decrease slightly.

        “He just told me to keep playing, and that teams are coming at me regardless,” Heath said. “I wasn't eased into it before, it was just, "Get in there and play.' I think this will be good.”

UFO sighting
        Coslet was very pleased with how his offensive line handled the Browns' UFO scheme on passing downs. That's when the front seven defenders disguise their alignment before the snap.

        The Bengals allowed a season-high five sacks, “but (the Browns) riddled New England with it ... and I thought we did excellent. They got us some, but it wasn't bad.”

        Cincinnati drilled the Browns' next-to-last in the NFL rush defense with 212 yards on 35 runs, a 6.1-yard average. The Bengals didn't have a 200-yard day last season, but have had two this year including the opening 36-35 loss to Tennessee.

Dawson's role
        Akili Smith and Carl Pickens ended up as the stars. But for much of the Bengals-Browns battle, the most important player was Browns kicker Phil Dawson.

        On a fourth-and-goal from the Bengals' 4-yard line in the second quarter, the Browns ran a fake field goal starring Dawson.

        The Bengals bit as Dawson took the pitch from holder Chris Gardocki, then scooted into the end zone for a touchdown. His extra point put the Browns ahead 7-6.

        It was Cleveland's first rushing touchdown this season.

        “It really felt good at the time. It doesn't mean as much now,” Dawson said. “It was in the game plan. I was just praying I'd get in (the end zone) before I got a helmet in the back. I could play 12 more years and never get another opportunity like that. I may run a fake again, but seldom will it be on the 6-yard line. Those are the fun plays.”

Hey, it's Darnay
        Darnay Scott, obscured by Carl Pickens both Sunday and for most of his six-year Bengals career, is on pace to set team records for both catches and reception yardage in one year.

        Scott, with eight catches for 110 yards Sunday, has 34 catches for 417 yards this year. That puts him on pace for 109 catches and 1,334 yards, which would break the team records of Pickens (100 catches in 1996) and Eddie Brown (1,273 yards in 1988), respectively.

        But Scott has not scored this season. He has had at least five TD catches in each of his Bengal seasons, with a career-high seven TDs last year.

D-Day
        Most of the postgame talk naturally involved Akili Smith, Carl Pickens and Corey Dillon's offensive achievements. But most of the offensive players credited their defensive brethren for the victory, as Cleveland scored only a field goal after halftime.

        “You've got to give a big hand to the defense. They kept us in the game,” left tackle Rod Jones said. “We wouldn't have had that last drive if it wasn't for the defense stopping them.”

Browns block Will Brices's punt inthe third quarter. (Gary Landers photo) | ZOOM |

Injury report
        The Bengals lost long snapper/tight end Steve Bush with a sprained knee early in the game and the injury led to punter Will Brice's second blocked punt of the season on the third to last play of the third quarter.

        Backup snapper Jay Leeuwenburg bounced a one-hopper back to Brice at about his own 20. It looked like Brice still had a chance to kick it, but he took one step too many and the punt was blocked by James Williams and recovered by Brice at the 19.

        The defense ended up winning the game when defensive end John Copeland sacked Browns rookie quarterback Tim Couch and Cleveland had to settle for Dawson's 33-yard field goal that gave them a 17-12 lead.

        Bush is to have an MRI test today and is questionable for Sunday. So is backup safety Lawrence Wright with a bruised foot and sprained ankle.

        Starting right cornerback Artrell Hawkins suffered a mild concussion early in the game on a hellacious blindside block by Browns fullback Marc Edwards and didn't return. He's listed as probable.

        “You never know what a blow to the head might mean,” Hawkins said. “But I should be OK for next week. All I've got is a little headache now.”

Couch critique
        Cleveland rookie quarterback Couch played with his thumb taped after banging it on a helmet last week, but said it didn't affect his 15-of-27, 164-yard, no-touchdown, one-interception day Sunday.

        “I wouldn't come out for anything,” Couch said. “I just struggled at times. ... I think you always make progress. Just by being out there, you see things and you learn from situations.”

        Couch misfired on a few long passes and some sideline routes and mismanaged the clock at the end of the first half, potentially costing the Browns a score.

        But Browns coach Chris Palmer backed his QB, saying “I think he did some nice things today. There are things he's going to take and learn from today. It's part of the growing process, like handling the last two minutes of the half or a game and being more effective in there. I'm pleased with that Tim is doing.”

This and that
       

        • The Browns lead the all-time “Battle of Ohio” series 27-25. The Bengals had lost seven straight to the Browns before Sunday.

        • The Bengals' 18-17 win nudged them farther ahead in all-time scoring in their remarkably close series with the Browns. Cincinnati has scored 1,071 points to Cleveland's 1,069 in their 52 meetings.

       

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