Thursday, December 07, 2000
Bengals Notebook
McNair: Dillon best in NFL
By Mark Curnutte
The Cincinnati Enquirer
The Bengals are No.1 in the league in rushing and last (31st) in passing after 13 games.
Cincinnati averages 157.4 yards a game on the ground and 116.1 passing.
“We're always in the top of the league in rushing,” right tackle Willie Anderson said Wednesday. “But it's a matter of putting everything together around the rushing game. It's kind of awkward being 3-10 and still leading the league in rushing. It kind of makes you wonder how many more yards Corey (Dil lon) would have if we had the complete package.”
Dillon is third in the NFL in rushing with 1,278 yards. The Bengals play Sunday at Tennessee, and the Titans' featured running back, Eddie George, is fifth in the league with 1,169 yards.
The Dillon-George matchup should be entertaining.
Against Cincinnati, George has 884 yards in nine games, five of them 100-yard efforts.
Dillon has 694 yards and nine touchdowns in seven games against Tennessee.
“Right now, Corey, in the last three or four weeks, is probably the best running back who's playing in the National Football League,” Titans quarterback Steve McNair said Wednesday. “He's doing a great job of pressing the hole and making good reads and getting yardage after the first contact.”
BOOKER OUT: Defensive end Vaughn Booker was supposed to have surgery Wednesday on an injured knee that has limited him this season.
He has been struggling with a cyst behind his left knee since training camp and will miss the final three games.
Booker, a Taft High School graduate who signed an $11 million, five-year contract with the Bengals before the season, had 17 tackles and no sacks in nine games. He missed four games after a mysterious fainting spell at the end of Game 3 in Jacksonville.
“We're going to miss Vaughn,” coach Dick LeBeau said.
Michael Bankston, Jevon Langford and Glen Steele are expected to fill in for Booker. Langford should start.
MITCHELL UPDATE: Quarterback Scott Mitchell will make his second consecutive and third Bengals start Sunday. The sprained ligament in his left knee continues to improve.
“I feel a lot better today,” he said Wednesday. “You just have general soreness. It's better now than it was last week at this time.”
Mitchell, who has beaten out Akili Smith, has completed 48 percent of his passes with two touchdowns and six interceptions. His passer rating is 42.6, but Cincinnati is 1-1 in his two starts.
ROSTER MOVES: Undrafted free agent running back Ricky Brown was signed to the practice squad. He was released during training camp.
Guard Roger Roesler, who has been on the practice squad all season, reportedly is close to signing on Arizona's 53-man roster.
INJURY REPORT: For the Bengals, fullback Clif Groce (knee) and running back Curtis Keaton (ankle) are doubtful. Anderson (back), linebacker Armegis Spearman (shoulder) and tight end Tony McGee (wrist) are probable.
For the Titans, defensive end Kenny Holmes (knee, shoulder), quarterback Steve McNair (ankle, knee), safety Marcus Robinson (leg) and cornerback Dainon Sidney (hamstring) are questionable.
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McNair: Dillon best in NFL
