Tuesday, November 06, 2001
Bengals talking playoffs
Next three games may tell
By JOE KAY
AP Sports Writer
Linebacker Takeo Spikes had a sweet potato pie sitting in his cubicle. Linebacker Steve Foley joyfully launched himself across the dressing room on a laundry cart. The Bengals were well-stocked and well-rested when they got back to practice Monday after their bye weekend.
For the last two days, they watched football on television, spent time with their families and reflected on their best start since 1990.
At 4-3, they're approaching a crossroads. If they can hold up through a three-game stretch against AFC Central opponents, they can start talking about the playoffs realistically rather than wistfully.
“We talked about that today,” Spikes said. “Now we're going to see when the real dogs come out and play. There's pressure.
“I would like to think this team is a piece of coal and once pressure hits this piece of coal, it will turn into a diamond. We're going to shine.”
The first seven games had a handful of shining moments, and at least as many that were more like a lump a coal. At times, Cincinnati looked like a team on the upswing. At other times, they've resembled the same old bumbling Bengals.
One week, they dominate Cleveland 24-14. The next week, they get blown out by Chicago 24-0. Then, they hold on to beat Detroit 31-27.
“Things definitely are on the upbeat right now,” tight end Tony McGee said. “We just have to be more consistent. If we haven't turned that corner, we're definitely approaching it.”
They've approached the point where other teams are taking them seriously. Quarterback Jon Kitna, who led Seattle to the playoffs in 1999, expects things to get tougher the rest of the way for that reason alone.
“We started 8-2 in 1999, and I didn't understand that the things you do in the first half of the season, teams will start planning against that,” Kitna said. “You'll have to find another way to continue to be effective.
“We can't think that we're going to be able to continue to do the same things the rest of the year.”
Their game Sunday against Jacksonville (2-5) is a chance to win consecutive road games for the first time since 1995, when they won at Houston, lost to Pittsburgh at home, then won in Jacksonville.
“I'll say this game right here is just as important as the first game of the year with New England,” Spikes said. “It's like a brand new season. To win two on the road, and one of them in Jacksonville — I think that would put us over the top in terms of confidence. Then we'd start to develop something we've never had: that consistency.”
They haven't decided what to do with their most inconsistent area. Kicker Neil Rackers had made only half of his 14 field-goal attempts, prompting the Bengals to sign kicker Jaret Holmes to the practice squad last week.
Coach Dick LeBeau was noncommittal Monday about his plans. One option is to let Holmes kick field goals and have Rackers handle kickoffs.
“We'll monitor the situation as we go through this week, but that's a possibility,” LeBeau said.
A lot of the Bengals watched the Bears rally to beat the Browns in overtime Sunday, pulling off another last-minute comeback as they stayed in first in the NFL Central. Spikes likes to think the Bengals are capable of the same thing.
“The biggest thing I visualize is what Chicago is riding right now,” he said. “People say, 'Oh, they're just lucky,' but it's fate. You can't explain it, but you see it happening. It's the same thing that took Tennessee to the Super Bowl two years ago.
“I think we're so close to getting that. We're real close.”
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Bengals talking playoffs 
