Sunday, April 02, 2000
BENGALS INSIDER
Blake big hit in New Orleans
BY GEOFF HOBSON
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Former Steelers defensive coordinator Jim Haslett shook his head as he sketched out last season's long touchdown pass Bengals quarterback Jeff Blake lofted to Darnay Scott on the third play of Cincinnati's victory in Pittsburgh.
“We ran against that (post) play all week in practice,” Haslett said at last week's NFL annual meeting. “But (the backup quarterbacks) could only throw it 45 yards. You know Blake can go 70. I kept telling the safety not to play the ball, that he could throw it a lot farther than that. I told them to just run straight back, but there it was, and he beat them with that long one.”
As the new coach of the New Orleans Saints, Haslett no longer has to worry about Blake beating him. One of the first things Haslett did as a head coach was sign Blake for $17 million to help revive one of the NFL's more dreadful offenses.
Which just goes to show you, it's not just one man's opinion in the NFL.
“I don't know what happened to him in Cincinnati,” Haslett said. “The year after he went to the Pro Bowl (in 1995), he threw for (3,624 yards) and had 24 touchdown passes, then he gets benched. I don't understand it. All I know is that whenever we played him, he was tough. He hurt us a lot of different ways, and the guy's a great competitor. We've got one of the better quarterbacks in the league.”
Blake usually excelled against the Steelers' zone blitz scheme, at one time or another exploiting those one-on-one matchups against a secondary that began growing weaker when cornerback Rod Woodson injured his knee five years ago.
Like any relationship in the early stages, Haslett sees only the dimples and not the warts.
What sealed Blake's fate in Cincinnati was his inability to make the high-percentage pass and string together any consistency on intermediate passes. The gripe was that the 6-foot Blake didn't have the vision or the touch when it came to the middle of the field.
“I thought (the Bengals) got him out of pocket enough,” Haslett said. “We don't think that's going to be a problem with us.”
Haslett is also delighted with the way Blake has approached locker-room leadership, which should raise some eyebrows in Cincinnati. Blake tried here in a variety of ways, but many thought he came off as too much of a “me guy.” Of course, Blake didn't get much help from the corner of a locker room that takes its cue from the “I-hate-it-here,” presence of Carl Pickens.
But Blake appears to be facing things head on in New Orleans. The Saints are battling their own Pickens problem with running back Ricky Williams griping about the Saints to the press.
Haslett said Blake volunteered to call Williams, as well as any veterans the club signed in the offseason.
“Jeff has been terrific that way,” Haslett said. “I've had a half-hour talk with him, and I've talked to him on the phone. How about that? Your quarterback volunteering to call up guys? That's been impressive.”
ONCE A FEUD: When Art Modell moved his team from Cleveland to Baltimore four years ago, he gave up his say on next year's realignment plan. Modell wants to stay with Pittsburgh and Cleveland, citing the tie with the Rooney-owned Steelers as “a family rivalry as much as a city rivalry.”
You'd think there'd be the same with Cincinnati, given Modell fired Bengals founder Paul Brown as the coach in Cleveland in 1962 and gave the Battle of Ohio great texture.
But when asked last week if there was that family rivalry with Cincinnati, Modell said: “Hardly.”
THIS AND THAT: Bengals coach Bruce Coslet is all for doing something about the league's off-field problems, but he thinks the two-game suspension given to left guard Matt O'Dwyer last month “was a knee-jerk reaction to other problems.” Coslet noted O'Dwyer plea bargained his role in last July's bar brawl several weeks before the suspension came down.
If Baltimore signs Bengals Pro Bowl running back Corey Dillon to an offer sheet, here's why Cincinnati may not match: His knee cap slides in and out of place; he has trouble scoring touchdowns; he has a high-maintenance personality; and the Ravens may sign him to a “poison pill” contract.
The poison pill could consist of something such as a one-year deal for $6 million that includes a clause saying Dillon could not be designated a franchise player next year.
The Bengals would consider drafting Virginia running back Thomas Jones to replace Dillon.
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 Blake big hit in New Orleans
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