Two former Bengals running backs, Michael Basnight and Clif Groce, are members of the expansion Houston Texans and have rave reviews of their new employer.

        Each of the team's 65 players was present this past week for offseason workouts.

        Coach Dom Capers and owner Bob McNair addressed the team in the meeting. Some players were surprised by McNair's presence.

        “I got the vibe that he wants to be a part of it,” Groce, a fullback, said. “Mr.McNair went through the whole gamut of what he wants, what he expects from himself and what he expects from us. It's a new organization, so they don't have any skeletons in the closet. The whole city is behind them, which is unusual for me, because I came from Cincinnati.”

        Basnight also said he liked his new surroundings.

        “There's a difference coming from there to here, where the owner treats you like he loves you,” said Basnight, in reference to the personalities of McNair and the Bengals' Brown. “We're not hard on the Bengals. The Bengals were hard on us.”

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