On Wednesday, Corey Dillon received the NFL player of the week award and sat down with an ESPN crew for a lengthy feature to be aired Sunday. Today, he will pres ent his uniform to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

        Dillon has been the talk of the football world since setting the single-game rushing record Sunday against Denver, and he has handled each appearance and interview graciously.

Corey Dillon at work last Sunday. (Enquirer photo) | ZOOM |

        Dillon's week off the field parallels Dillon on the field: The more that's asked of him, the better he is.

        “I'm just grateful and honored,” Dillon said Wednesday, upon receiving his player of the week award, which includes a $1,000 donation to the United Way in his name. “I'd like to thank God for putting me in this position.”

        He ran 22 times for 278 yards against Denver, and the Bengals are now 11-3 when Dillon gets 22 or more attempts. And Dillon has the ability to wear defenses out. He had 93 yards in the third quarter Sunday and 108 yards in the fourth quarter.

        The jersey, game pants and shoes Dillon wore Sunday will be given to the Hall of Fame, joining the jersey he wore in 1997 when he set the single-game rookie rushing record of 246 yards. Bengals coach Dick LeBeau will present a plaque to Dillon.

BENGALS AT BROWNS

When: 1 p.m. Sunday     TV: Ch. 12, 7     Radio: WCKY-AM (1360) WLW-AM (700) WOFX-FM (92.5)

        The presentation is “going to be special,” Dillon said.

        Then he was asked about the two immortals, Jim Brown and Walter Payton, he supplanted in the record book.

        “They're the greatest to me. It's an honor just to have my name being mentioned with them,” he said. “They're truly far greater than I am right now. I still have work to do. I'm only four years into my career. Hopefully, when it's all said and done, maybe I could be put up with their league.”

        Some are already impressed.

        ESPN's Tom Jackson was at Paul Brown Stadium on Wednesday to interview Dillon for a Sunday morning feature story. Jackson's crew showed Dillon film of Payton, Brown, Barry Sanders and other great running backs and asked for Dillon's comments while he watched.

        Jackson, the former Denver linebacker, was in the studio Sunday and watched Dillon's record game unfold. He was watching with other former NFL players and ESPN football analysts Merril Hoge and Sterling Sharpe.

        “A lot of football people know how substantial this record is,” Jackson said Wednesday. “Walter's record held for 23 years. This could last another 25 years. So when it happens, you're almost in shock. He's had three or four other huge games. He couldn't do this unless he was really, really good.

        “He played himself into the upper echelon of (current) running backs. (Marshall) Faulk, (Terrell) Davis when he's healthy, (Eddie) George, (Jerome) Bettis.”

        Dillon's two record rushing games give him two of the top six in league history. He broke Payton's record Sunday. Former Buffalo star O.J. Simpson also owns two of the top six rushing games.

        If he's like Payton and Simpson, Dillon should follow his 278-yard game with another 100-yard effort. Payton had 137 yards on 20 carries four days after his 275-yard game in 1977. Simpson, ten days after running for 273 yards in 1976, had 203 on 24 attempts.

        Dillon won't predict what he'll do Sunday in Cleveland, even though he ran for 360 of his 1,200 yards last season in two games against the Browns.

        Fresher in his mind is the 41 yards he was held to on 12 carries by the Browns in the season opener.

        “It was awful,” he said of the first game, a 24-7 Cleveland victory. “They beat us pretty bad. They're not the same Cleveland team as last year. It's going to be a dogfight. They're going to watch the film and be prepared.”

        Besides his two NFL records, Dillon holds an NCAA mark for rushing for 222 yards in a single quarter. He did that for the University of Washington against San Jose State in 1996.

        The point? He is a workhorse.

        He had only 41 carries for 84 yards in the first three games.

        He has 74 carries for 519 yards in the four games since Dick LeBeau took over for Bruce Coslet.

        “When we get the ball to him a lot, we do quite well,” said Bengals special teams coach Al Roberts, who was Dillon's position coach in college. “It's Dick LeBeau's coaching style. We get the ball, we'll run it. If you understand football, you'll understand a running back needs the ball a lot. He hadn't been given the ball a lot.”

        Dillon got the ball a lot against the Broncos. Even though 10 of his rushing attempts went for minus-2 yards, Dillon kept getting the ball. Offensive coordinator Ken Anderson, at LeBeau's not-so-subtle insistence, kept calling Dillon's number. They were rewarded with seven runs of 20 or more yards — five of 30 or more — including 65- and 41-yard fourth quarter touchdown runs.

        Cleveland coach Chris Palmer knows what he's going to see Sunday, though he wishes it were otherwise.

        “I watched the Denver film. That was enough watching him,” Palmer said Wednesday. “I don't see any shortcomings in his game.”

        Browns defensive end Keith McKenzie, who had three sacks in the opener, has seen enough, too, but knows who he's going to see a lot of Sunday.

        “Anybody who comes up with 278 yards, you'd be a fool to come in and not try to run the ball and keep pounding it,” McKenzie said. “Corey Dillon's one of the most underrated guys in the league.”

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