Friday, December 03, 1999
BENGALS NOTEBOOK
Nothing wrong with Coslet, Walsh says
BY GEOFF HOBSON
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Bruce Coslet may be under fire in Cincinnati, but he got a hall-of-fame endorsement from his foe in Sunday's game against San Francisco.
Not surprising, really, since Bill Walsh, the former coach of the 49ers who is now their general manager, gave Coslet his start as a player in Cincinnati and as a coach in San Francisco.
“He's in the top echelon of coaches,” Walsh said Thursday. “I just don't think you can judge him fairly in a season like this. He's going against better personnel every week.”
Walsh lured Coslet out of private business in 1980 to assist him with the Niners because he recalled Coslet's personality as a backup tight end/special teamer.
“He was very forceful, ener getic,” Walsh said. “Bruce is a very charismatic person. It's tough being charismatic when you're going through a season like this one, but you can see his team is still playing hard.”
Walsh, who had a .617 winning percentage as the Niners' coach, is having a tough year himself. The 3-8 club is watching the end of its 16-year streak of 10-win seasons in Walsh's first year back with the team in a full-time role.
“I knew it was going to be rough because we had to let go so many good players because of our problems with the salary cap,” Walsh said. “We're struggling more than Cincinnati is right now, that's obvious.
“I didn't think it would be like this right away, but I didn't think we'd lose (quarterback) Steve Young (with a concussion) either. You don't replace a guy like that right away.”
WILLIAMS EMERGING: One thing the Bengals haven't had since they lost their second of two Super Bowls to Walsh and the Niners 10 years ago is a double-threat fullback who can block and run with the ball.
They may finally have Stanley Wilson's successor in rookie Nick Williams. Williams had a coming-out party last week when he caught three balls for 27 yards, one a 19-yarder. The 265-pound Williams, a fifth-round pick out of Miami, is a load for defensive backs when he turns up in an open field and gets some steam.
“I like to run over people,” Williams said. “They go so far down (to tackle him,), I try jumping over them.”
Running backs coach Jim Anderson is noticing the little guys don't want to take Williams head-on and are resorting to diving at his legs. Williams has lost his balance a few times.
“He's got so much momentum going, he still gets three or four yards after that,” Anderson said. “He has to learn to get his arm down and take them on. To shed the tackle.”
INJURY UPDATE: Guard Brian DeMarco (elbow) is out this week after not practicing Thursday.
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