Sunday, November 07, 1999Bengals season can't get worse (can it?)
Second half starts with 5-2 Seahawks
BY GEOFF HOBSON
The Cincinnati EnquirerSEATTLE — It's the Second Half. Or the second half, depending how you feel about it.
The Bengals finished the first half of the NFL season not only 1-7, but also as punch lines for everyone from pundits to preschoolers. They try to begin damage control today here in the Kingdome against the suddenly chic Seahawks, who have a 5-2 record under new coach/general manager Mike Holmgren.
There is good news and bad news for the Bengals.
Good: They are 13-11 in the second halves of seasons under coach Bruce Coslet since he took over in Game 8 of the 1996 season.
Bad: They've never won a road game against a winning team under Coslet.
Good: In the second-half games Bengals quarterback Jeff Blake has started since 1994, the Bengals are 16-13.
Bad: Blake has lost 13 of his last 16 starts.
“The main thing is to win games and see progress on both sides of the ball,” said Bengals President Mike Brown. “I'd like to see fewer of the big plays against us and more big plays for us.”
That's a tough task today because the Bengals will be without their starting cornerbacks and probably their starting offensive right tackle.
The Bengals did show signs of life last week with an impromptu team meeting. But center Rich Braham and many of his teammates are cautious about what impact that will have on a team searching for confidence.
“We'll find out how the meeting went on Sunday,” Braham said.
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