Friday, October 29, 1999Bengals offense offends
Brown, Coslet: More points key to more wins
BY GEOFF HOBSON
The Cincinnati EnquirerFor a franchise that has prided itself on offensive minds (Paul Brown, Bill Walsh, Sam Wyche, Bruce Coslet), Hall-of-Fame caliber offensive players (Ken Anderson, Isaac Curtis) and a Pro Bowl history ranging from Paul Robinson in 1968 to Carl Pickens in 1996, this season has been horrific for Bengals President Mike Brown.
“We've always seen ourselves that way even when the scoring was low,” Brown said this week. “It's hard to run the ball in this league. You have to throw the ball. You get to championships because you throw the ball. It's odd that we've gone 1-6 like this. Two hundred yards a game just doesn't cut it.
“This is an offensive league,” Brown said. “This stuff about “Defense wins championships” is sportswriters' fodder. The teams that set themselves apart are the teams that score 30 points a week.”
So when you see short lists for Bengals head coaching candidates, it's safe to highlight those with offensive backgrounds. But Brown doesn't sound ready to ditch Coslet just yet.
While Brown is restless for a pass play longer than the season-long 39-yard Hail Mary Akili Smith lofted at the end of the first half in Week 2, he has faith in Coslet's system.
“The scheme will work. It does work,” Brown said. “But it has to be done right.”
It hasn't been done right to the tune of eight points per game for the last six games. The longest pass to a wide receiver in the last four games is a tipped 22-yarder. The longest pass of any kind in that stretch has been 24 yards to the tight end in September.
Coslet, the Bengals' offensive coordinator in the late 1980s when Cincinnati lit up scoreboards, is as frustrated as his boss. Smith, a rookie quarterback, isn't the entire problem.
“Akili has played better than acceptable,” Brown said. “A lot of what went wrong is not his doing. A lot of what went right was. ... We don't get enough guys open and we don't get enough protection.”
Coslet has been careful not to single out wide receivers Darnay Scott and Pickens, saying no one on offense has played consistently enough. But Pickens came into this season averaging 13 yards per catch and Scott nearly 16, and this season they are averaging nearly 10 and nearly 12, respectively.
“It's route discipline,” said Coslet. “They have to get down into their cuts. They have to burst. They have to get the deep feeling on their patterns. They have to use their hands to ward off bump-and-run (defenses).
It's all the things I've been teaching for 25 years, that I taught (former Bengals receivers) Eddie Brown, Cris Collinsworth and Tim McGee, guys who had no idea what they were doing until it was taught to them, and we're not doing that now.”
There is concern about about Pickens' inability so far to get behind defensive backs on long routes and run away from them on shorter patterns. Pickens was never a speed guy, and at 29, after he sat out training camp because of a holdout, some wonder if he'll ever regain Pro Bowl form.
Coslet said Pickens still has “explosion” in his legs, as evidenced by his leaping catch over Ryan McNeil that beat the Browns.
“Just because a guy's a veteran doesn't mean you don't coach him,” Coslet said. “Some things have to be pointed out to them as reminders, and Carl has always been real receptive to ideas.”
Pickens signed a five-year deal last month, and Coslet thinks he can excelinto his 30s.
“As Carl continues to get older, he'll point his direction in his workouts to help maintain his quickness,” Coslet said. “Because he is quick, he's still explosive.”
Two days after Smith and running back Corey Dillon mentioned the Colts were calling out the Bengals' plays, Coslet showed Smith how the coaches put together game plans.
“Everybody is doubting everything,” Coslet said. “The best thing we can do is rededicate, re-focus to each individual player. It's cold, calculating attention to detail. Discipline. That's what the winning teams do.”
It worked here for Coslet in the past. His future hinges on the Bengals scoring again.
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