Corey Dillon takes the ball during drills Thursday. (Steven M. Herppich photo) | ZOOM |

        GEORGETOWN, Ky. — Think money or fame have doused Corey Dillon's competitive fire? Think again.

        During Wednesday afternoon's training camp practice, Dillon got mad because he thought defenders were hitting the back of his legs during non-tackle plays. Dillon got into verbal skirmishes with defensive linemen Oliver Gibson and Vaughn Booker and threw the ball at Gibson's feet.

        “Let's go live,” Dillon said.

        At the possible five-year midpoint of his career, Dillon shows no signs of slowing down, neither mentally nor physically.

        “It's the nature of the game,” Dillon said in an interview Tuesday, the day before his practice outburst. “Everything is amped up. Emotions are flying out there. I mean, I'm not any little lame guy out there. I'm an emotional guy and I go out there and play hard, and things happen.”

        Dillon, who will turn 28 in October, is entering the second season of a five-year contract. Last year, he earned $15million in salary and signing bonus — second-highest in the league to Denver quarterback Brian Griese's $15.154 million — and began to get the type of national media attention his accomplishments deserve.

        Dillon owns two of the top eight single-game performances for a running back in NFL history, including the record 278 yards against the Broncos that came two days before his 26th birthday in October 2000.

DILLONATOR

Corey Dillon's first five seasons rank among the most productive for a running back in NFL history. He is one of six players to rush for 1,000 or more yards in each of his first five seasons.     If Dillon doubles his five-season total of 6,209 rushing yards in the next fives seasons, his projected output would be 12,418 yards and put him sixth on the all-time rushing list as it stands today.     NFL running backs with more than 12,000 yards: 1. Walter Payton -- 16,726 2. x-Emmitt Smith -- 16,187 3. Barry Sanders -- 15,269 4. Eric Dickerson -- 13,259 5. Tony Dorsett -- 12,739 6. Jim Brown -- 12,312 7. Marcus Allen -- 12,243 8. Franco Harris -- 12,120 9. Thur. Thomas -- 12,072 x-active player

        He is one of only six running backs to gain at least 1,000 yards in each of his first five seasons, and with his 6,209 rushing yards, he is on pace to join the 12,000-yard club that now has just nine members. And barring serious injury, Dillon is a lock early in his sixth season to break James Brooks' eight-year career Bengals rushing record of 6,447 yards.

        “I don't play this game for records,” Dillon said. “If it happens, it happens. My whole thing is to go out there and win football games.”

        Needless to say, he has enjoyed more individual success in five seasons than the Bengals, who are 24-56 since picking Dillon in the second round of the 1997 draft.

        The Dillon storyline in 2002 is much the same as it has been in the previous few seasons: He wants to win. He wants to play well. What has come in the past two years, since a training camp holdout in 2000, is the financial and league-wide respect he craved.

        “I want to be the best, winning a ring, winning, being the best at what I do,” said Dillon, who also counts his daughter, Cameron, and his spiritual life as additional inspiration. “I don't need no more motivation than that. The man above and my daughter. She's doing great. She's 3, and she's just like her daddy.”

        Daddy wants to go down in history as one of the best running backs ever.

        “I'm not up there with the greats,” Dillon said. “When it's all said and done, I want to be in the fold somewhere. I'm on pace, and if we get a couple of rings, I'll be more than satisfied.

Dillon, like other Bengals, is careful about hydrating himself during practice. (Steven M. Herppich photo) | ZOOM |

        “I'm not going to rest until I get that crown on my finger. I think that will solidify what I've been doing in the league. I'm not going to rest. It may never happen, but I'm going to go down swinging.”

        Dick LeBeau, as a former Detroit Lions defensive back, played against some of the all-time great running backs: Gale Sayers, Jim Brown, Paul Hornung. Now he coaches one who is headed in that direction.

        “We'll give him a design and a hole, but those holes are going to change. The defense will be flexible, the play will unfold, and it's going to move,” LeBeau said. “Then the running back is on his own in terms of vision. Corey's main thing is his combination of power and speed.”

        Bengals fullback Lorenzo Neal, who has blocked for 1,000-yard rushers in five consecutive seasons, said Dillon's attitude sets him apart from other talented runners.

        “Desire,” Neal said. “Other guys might be weight-room stronger. But his attitude, his desire, he plays with a passion. In the game, somebody gets a shot on him, and he takes it personally. He says, "I've got to come back and break a big run on this play.”'

        What's clear to Dillon and anyone who has watched the Bengals in the past few years is that the three-time Pro Bowl running back can't win by himself.

        Against defenses designed to stop him and only him, Dillon has averaged 1,350 yards rushing and 8.5 touchdowns the past two seasons.

        “I'm getting kind of tired of seeing nine and 10 guys in the box,” Dillon said. “I'm getting a little old for that.”

        The Bengals' pass offense improved to No.23 last season from last in 2000. Another similar jump, into the top half of league pass rankings, would open up more running room for Dillon.

        “I think we're going to be all right this year in the passing game,” he said. “I think we're going to be more than all right. It's going to help us out tremendously. Everybody knows what we have to do. It isn't a secret. I think we've got the people in the positions to get it done.”

        Bank on this: Dillon will do his job. He carries the same chip on his shoulder in his sixth season that he brought to the league as a rookie, when he ran angry because he was drafted in the second round and had to play behind Ki-Jana Carter.

        Away from the game, Dillon has matured — like most men in their 20s — and settled into a happy family life in suburban Cincinnati. In March, just after undergoing arthroscopic surgery to clean out a knee, Dillon introduced a philanthropic foundation to help impoverished Cincinnati children.

        In spite of the domestic peace, it's still war on the field for Dillon.

        “My running style is reckless, just taking no prisoners,” he said. “And me, personally, I'm a funny guy, relaxed, laid-back, and to be honest with you, I'm quiet and like to keep to myself sometimes. So I don't think my personality matches my playing style at all.”

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