Sunday, September 17, 2000
Bengals know they can't let losses linger
Players have different ways of dealing with defeat
By Mark Curnutte
The Cincinnati Enquirer
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Quarterback Akili Smith got the loss to Cleveland out of his system by not denying the part he played.
Safety Cory Hall found comfort in his daughter. Linebacker Billy Granville turned to his Bible.
The Cincinnati Bengals drew a record Cincinnati sports crowd of 64,006 to the first regular season game in Paul Brown Stadium and then stunk up their new house like clogged plumbing. The Browns won 24-7.
To a man, the team was disappointed. Offensive tackle Willie Anderson said Smith fought back tears in the trainer's room.
Professional athletes, NFL players specifically, say they get over heart-breaking losses by studying game film and returning to practice as a team to prepare for the next opponent. In Cincinnati's case, it's the Jaguars today in Jacksonville.
Each man has to deal with the loss alone, away from the support of teammates, in some deep personal way.
By telling the truth, Smith made his week better.
“When you're honest with yourself, your teammates, your fans, the city, it helps you sleep a lot better,” said the second-year quarterback, who took the blame for the loss after completing just 15 of 43 passes and throwing two interceptions.
“If I had got up there and said, "We had this happen and that happen,' I wouldn't have slept good at all. I released it,” Smith said.
Hall went home to his fiancee and their daughter, 15-month-old Nya.
“My daughter, to look at her actually calms me down. She's precious,” said Hall, who had eight tackles against the Browns. “But then again, when I go to sleep, it's hard to sleep because I think I have to get up and go to work, and when I think about work, I think what I have to work toward — and that's Jacksonville.”
His fiancee won't let him bring too much work home.
“She won't have it,” he said. “She's kind of strong. She'll put me in my place. And that's hard to do because, with a loss like Cleveland, I'm not over it yet. I think about it every morning, and it makes me sick.”
The Cleveland loss, any loss for that matter, sends players through a grieving process that can last until Tuesday night. By Wednesday morning, fullback Clif Groce says, an NFL player better be emotionally ready to focus on the next opponent.
“You've got to be a man and look at what you did wrong,” he said. “You have to tell yourself, "I have another chance.'”
Defensive tackle Oliver Gibson, an English major from Notre Dame, is part psychologist and philosopher.
“Cleveland's over, and there's nothing you can do,” he said. “As much as I wanted to get more pressure, I can't right now, but I can get a lot of pressure on Jacksonville and remember how I felt Sunday night against Cleveland.
“Cleveland's over. But Jacksonville? "Wait 'til they get a load of me.'”
Tight end Marco Battaglia says professional athletes, because they've been in the spotlight since high school or college, develop a thick skin.
“You build up another layer of skin,” he said. “We know what people are saying about us. But it's on us. It's like if you drop a pass, when I was a rookie, I had a problem with that. I would mess up the next two or three plays worrying about the pass I dropped. It's the same with a game. You move on.”
Granville is a member of the group Christian Athletes United for Spiritual Empowerment.
“I draw strength from the Lord,” he said. “One of the most refreshing things is to spend time in prayer. For me, God is a God of hope and strength and doesn't want his people to feel sorry for themselves.
“He wants them to keep pressing on and overcome adversity.”
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Bengals know they can't let losses linger