Saturday, September 30, 2000
Not even Bengals' best getting job done
By Tom Groeschen
The Cincinnati Enquirer
The Bengals, among other disasters, have seen even their elite players struggle in 2000.
Corey Dillon and Tremain Mack, the team's two Pro Bowl selections in 1999, have done little. Right tackle Willie Anderson, named to the “Dr. Z” All-Pro team by Sports Illustrated last year, admittedly has played below par. Some statistics:
• Dillon has rushed 41 times for 82 yards, a pale 2.0 average. He entered the season averaging 4.6 yards for his three-year career.
• Mack was benched last week at Baltimore after a fumbled kickoff return, his second in two games that led to points for opponents. He is averaging a career-low 24.6 yards per kickoff return, after leading the AFC last year with a 27.1 average. He does have a 50-yard return this year.
• Anderson, who allowed no sacks in 1999, was beaten for a sack last week by Baltimore's Rob Burnett. Overall, he said he has not played up to his standards.
There are mitigating circumstances, in some cases.
Dillon has had little room to run, with the offensive line being shelled weekly.
Mack has a gimpy ankle and apparently is favoring it during returns.
Anderson? He said there is no excuse.
“It was totally embarrassing,” he said of Sunday's 37-0 loss at Baltimore. “Individually, we've had guys breaking down.”
Anderson, who annually leads the team in “pancake” knockdown blocks, has been flogging himself for allowing an opponent to beat him. In conversations with reporters, he continually rehashed the topic.
“That sack devastated me,” he said. “I've been trying to figure out what to do, so I don't do it again. Each guy, after a 37-0 loss, should be thinking about what he can do better.”
Bengals president Mike Brown said Dillon is a victim of his offensive line.
“He hasn't had a chance,” Brown said Friday. “It looks like it's an explosion in front of him, and everything is blown right back into his face.”
Brown can excuse Mack because of the ankle.
“It's slowed him down, and he has not been himself.”
Anderson, Brown said, simply appeared to take a different angle than he planned, which helped allow the sack by Burnett.
In general, Brown said it is time to perform. That means everyone from quarterback Akili Smith down to the last man on the 53-player roster.
“You just have to go out and do what you are expected to do as a player, regardless of whether things aren't going well,” Brown said.
Anderson said he must do more as a team leader and spokesman, both on and off the field. He was among those most upset by Bruce Coslet's resignation Monday.
“Usually, I'm one of the guys that I know the coaches can rely on,” Anderson said. “If you want to point the blame, point the fingers at me and the rest of the guys that didn't get the job done for Bruce. I hadn't given up a sack in two years, and for me to do that ... I feel like that was one of the reasons we didn't do our job.”
New coach Dick LeBeau said the players have responded, at least in practices.
“They've done a good job, but the acid test is Sunday at 4 p.m.,” he said.
For Anderson, Sunday can't come soon enough.
“It's like one of our coaches said, that every man should step up now and be accountable, be a pro,” Anderson said. “I'm thinking about me, how I can do better. We all have to do that.”
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Not even Bengals' best getting job done
