Monday, November 19, 2001
Neal's inspiration isn't enough
Bengals can't feed off drive of ex-Titan
By John Erardi
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Nobody had to wonder whether Bengals fullback Lorenzo Neal was chomping at the bit to beat his former team Sunday.
After he caught a 12-yard pass on the Bengals' second offensive possession of the first half, and defender linebacker Randall Godfrey was called for a 15-yard face mask penalty, all 63,865 fans in Paul Brown Stadium had to be thinking: “Here come the Bengals — they'll follow their leader.”
Sometimes this is a flash point that can turn around a game. Mutual momentum builds between the home crowd and team, and suddenly a 10-0 deficit is overcome. It's just a matter of time.
The big video board at PBS displayed the image of Neal nodding his head enthusiastically when the penalty flag was thrown, and resolutely making his way to the huddle behind the new line of scrimmage at Tennessee's 14-yard line.
The crowd cheered robustly, knowing full well the history: Neal, who had been a popular player in Tennessee among the fans, players and coaching staff, had taken umbrage at an earlier comment from Titans head coach Jeff Fisher. Fisher had said Neal always hit people hard even if he didn't always block the right guy.
“Yes, I did want to win (this game) for Lorenzo,” said Bengals offensive tackle Willie Anderson. “I'm sure a lot of guys in here (the Bengals' locker room) felt that way. But Lorenzo isn't thinking about himself. He's thinking about the team. We'll play them (the Titans) again. Lorenzo will get his chance again.”
Indeed, the Bengals rallied behind Neal's catch and scored three plays later on a 10-yard TD pass to Ron Dugans. That cut the deficit to 10-7. But that was as good as it got for the Bengals, who lost 20-7.
“You can't stop (Corey Dillon) if you give him 25 to 30 carries,” Neal said. “ ... But when we shoot ourselves in the foot (with penalties) and are 1st-down-and-20, he's not going to get those 25 to 30 carries. We've got the best back in the league and we — I include myself in that — can't jump offsides and hold.
Neal issued a challenge to his teammates:
“Are we going to fall back on this "woe is me, woe is me; we didn't get the right calls; woe is me” or are we going to do something about it? ... I'm upset and I'm frustrated, but we're going to find out about ourselves now. We're going to see who wants to step up.”
Anderson agreed with Neal that the Bengals are going to find out about themselves next Sunday in Cleveland. Anderson is anxious to find out for himself what the problem is with this team.
“Our effort's there, but we can't seem to carry our play on the practice field to the game field,” he said. “I don't know if these guys (the Bengals) are scared or what. It's crazy, man.”
What does Anderson think the problem might be?
“Don't be afraid to be the guy who makes the play,” Anderson said. “... Be great, man! You be that guy. To be that guy, you have to take your work home with you ... Sacrifice something now so you can enjoy your offseason. For six months, sacrifice.”
He didn't specify whom the slackards are.
“It's wearing on guys,” Anderson said.
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Neal's inspiration isn't enough
