Monday, November 19, 2001
DAUGHERTY: Playing not to lose, they . . . lose
By Paul Daugherty
The Cincinnati Enquirer
With Neil Rackers, every kick is an adventure. Rackers is The Last House on the Left. He's what's behind Door No.3. You'd like your field-goal guy to be mentally glacial. Rackers is popcorn in the microwave. But he did make a 52-yarder last week.
So what was he doing pooch-punting in the first quarter? Rackers lined up for a 49-yard field goal try, took the snap and punted the ball into the end zone.
Rackers is not Mr. Automatic. No one is yet calling him The Toe. If a few weeks ago the Bengals had been willing to fork out the money for an unemployed kicker who only kicked field goals and PATs, someone else would be sitting on the bench now, wondering why he's not trying 49-yarders early in a winnable home game, under ideal weather conditions.
Here is what pooch-punting on your first possession says:
We're playing not to lose.
Our supposedly revamped offense can't achieve at home, against the worst pass defense in the league.
I share with my team its obvious lack of self-confidence.
No faith in Rackers
It also provokes the question: If you don't have faith in your field-goal kicker to kick a 49-yard field goal, why is he your field-goal kicker?
“It was early. We worked on that play. We got a bad bounce,” explained Dick LeBeau. LeBeau said he was playing field-position football.
The Bengals took the ball off Rackers' leg three times in the first half: Two punts and a failed 4th-and-1 run by Corey Dillon. Each would have been between a 47- and 49-yard try.
They lost 20-7 to the Titans, and have now played six consecutive quarters of lousy offensive football in a make-or-break stretch of games. It wasn't just the Chicken Little coaching. They dropped TD passes twice, had two silly holding penalties, Corey Dillon never got started and they're as predictable as Thanksgiving on Thursday.
Wandering offense
The folks listening on the radio could have called the reverse to Peter Warrick. And the 14-yard loss he took.
For all the talk of new formations and explosive wideouts, the Bengals don't know who they are on offense. If they want Dillon to define them, why does he carry just 17 times in a close game, while Kitna is throwing 41 passes?
That wouldn't happen in Pittsburgh. When the Steelers say Jerome Bettis is who they want to be, they mean it.
The Bengals have also succeeded in turning Warrick, the most explosive offensive player of his college class, into a possession receiver. With their first pick in the 2000 NFL draft, the Cincinnati Bengals select ... Phil McConkey.
You could discuss changing QBs, but that assumes another passer on the team is better than Kitna. Kenny Anderson is, but he's probably past his prime.
Regardless, having Neil Rackers punt four minutes into the game was a white-flag play for a team that has lost any confidence it might have gained during its modest 4-3 start.
Before the second half started, Rackers came out and practiced 50-yard field goals. Talk about optimists.
Contact Paul Daugherty at 768-8454; fax: 768-8550; e-mail: pdaugherty@enquirer.com.
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DAUGHERTY: Playing not to lose, they . . . lose
