Sunday, November 07, 1999Players to watch
• With the return of Charles Jordan, Seattle quarterback Jon Kitna finally has all his non-Joey Galloway wide receivers healthy.
Kitna hasn't been a mad bomber, but he's been highly efficient, particularly on third down, and he doesn't beat himself. Only Drew Bledsoe is doing better on third down in the AFC, with Kitna throwing three touchdowns and no interceptions while averaging 8.77 yards a pass.
Kitna has thrown just two interceptions this season, the fewest of any quarterback with at least 112 attempts. He didn't throw any in his last two games while tossing four touchdowns.
Seattle coach Mike Holmgren said with the return of Jordan, he could open the game with five receivers. Given the Bengals' cornerbacks situation, he might not have been joking. Kitna's rating of 94.8 is a scary match for a Cincinnati defense allowing passers a 102.4 rating. In 12 starts, Kitna has never thrown three touchdown passes in a game, but he may be due today.
• Left cornerback Shawn Springs is going to make sure the Bengals don't find their vanishing long ball act. On Monday, the longest pass Springs allowed was 13 yards and he held Packer threat Antonio Freeman to two catches for 10 yards.
Bengal receivers Darnay Scott and Carl Pickens are going to have to use more than their speed and leaping ability to beat Springs, a Pro Bowler in just his third season out of Ohio State. The pass routes have to be precise because Springs can break open a game on one play.
Springs has scored four touchdowns in his carer, two on interceptions, one on a fumble recovery, and Monday he went 61 yards for a score off defensive end Lamar King's blocked field goal. He's already got 11 career interceptions, thre e this season. • Sure, the Seattle defense thrives on the all-around play of outside linebacker Chad Brown. And the NFL-leading 44.5 sacks from left end Michael Sinclair the last four seasons is a huge weapon.
But the Bengals believe the key to the Seahawks pass rush is how tackles Cortez Kennedy and Sam Adams collapse the pocket. So Bengals center Rich Braham is a key man today as he helps the guards in their one-on-one battles with that formidable pair Plus, Braham knows he needs to play better than last week, when he had troub le with the accuracy of his shot gun snaps to the quarterback. With Seattle's rush, Jeff Blake has to at least get a good snap. And don't forget Braham probably has to go to a silent count in the din of a soldout Kingdome.
A challenging day for a guy admirably making the switch from guard.
• Third-year cornerbacks Ty Howard and Rico Clark make their first Bengal starts and third of their careers for a secondary devastated with injuries.
Even before corners Artrell Hawkins and Roosevelt Blackmon went down last week, the Bengals were getting strafed with big plays. In the first half of the season, Cincinnati allowed 23 pass plays of at least 20 yards.
The absence of Seattle wide receiver Joey Galloway should make things easier for Howard and Clark since the Seahawks now don't have a guy who can flat out run past people. Howard and Clark both have more experience than Blackmon and have been through the wars with Arizona and Indianapolis, respctively, but primarily as nickel corners.
The Bengals are crossing their fingers. Rodney Heath is their only other healthy corner, putting safeties Cory Hall and Tremain Mack on deck.
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Players to watch
UC 107, B.C. Honved of Hungary 49
Louisville 23, UC 13
UC's Chatman out for the season
Williams looks to recover old form
Junior sweepstakes to spice up GM meetings
Pokey's glove gold?
No grass or goodwill from Brown
Bearcats close again, still so far away
Miami 32, Akron 23
Michigan State 23, Ohio State 7
Livid Knight ready to take on the NCAA
Ready or not, here come RedHawks
Basketball nomad Hughes finds NBA home in Dallas
Colerain team, Anderson's Homan run to state titles
Ohio girls cross country results
LaSalle's Padgett runs to glory
Ohio boys cross country results
St. Ursula volleyball streak snapped
Four reach Ohio soccer semifinals
Inspired Brossart runners win state
Ludlow runners win school's 1st girls title
Pandas shut out in Ky. soccer finals
St. Henry loses Ky. soccer final
Cyclones 4, Detroit 3
Drive time cuts into Marty's time
NKU volleyball team begins quest for national title