Each Sunday, Bengals first-round draft pick Levi Jones talks about life as an NFL rookie.

        Akili Smith is going in. We're going to give him a shot at quarterback.

        I played against him when I was at Arizona State and he was at Oregon. I was a defensive lineman my first year on the team when he was a senior.

        He single-handedly beat us his senior year. We had a pretty good defense. He dismantled our defense. Whenever our defensive line would contain, he had time back there to pick us apart. Whenever we rushed and tried to get him, he'd squeeze out of there and run for 30 yards when all of our defensive backs were trying to cover his receivers. Any time a quarterback has the ability to run, it causes you problems.

        All I can do is work. Richmond Webb is starting again this week at left tackle. When they want to put me in there, they will. All I can do is prepare when that moment will happen. I have a positive relationship with Richmond and always will. He is a quality guy, a good person to model after.

        Nobody wants to lose like that on national television. We got beat by a team that wasn't that much better than us. As a person, as a man, that hurts. But we just have to go back and work harder and get prepared for next week.

        I heard from people after the game, people from my hometown and college. People left messages saying they saw me. “What's going on with you all? Why are you getting beat like this?” A whole bunch of questions I can't answer.

        I've been through losing before at Arizona State, and I saw how not to go through it. When we got down, offense started pointing fingers at the defense; defense started pointing fingers at the offense. It just kills the team from the inside.

        I haven't seen much of that here. I've seen some of it here, but not enough that it's going to affect the team. We have a lot of people here worrying about what they can do to help the team get better and not worrying about what the other guy is doing.

        - As told to Mark Curnutte

Bengals pass Bucs to Akili Rehberg's challenge: Deny Sapp Keys to the Game Who's Got The Edge? Bengals-Bucs by the Numbers Bengal fans petition for help Searching store aisles for a QB Johnson cousins engage in family spat Levi Jones' Rookie Journal Mark Curnutte's NFL picks

Huggins' coaching status unclear
Send get-wells to Huggins
DAUGHERTY: Huggins needs to take timeout
Huggins' friends, colleagues stunned
Coles knows Huggins' plight
UC 35, Temple 22
UC football team somber despite victory
Ballpark could build up Reds
Sizing up Reds prospects for 2003
Pena guaranteed roster spot
Bowden brags about future pitchers
Reds axe Lefebvre, keep other coaches
Boone finishes iron-man season
Cinergy Field remnants go on sale
Expos 6, Reds 0
Reds Box, Runs
Diamondbacks repeat NL West title
Giants wrap up wild-card
Baseball Postseason Schedule
Miami 48, Akron 31
Ohio State 45, Indiana 17
Florida 41, Kentucky 34
Kalamazoo 27, Mount St. Joseph 13
Wittenberg 31, Thomas More 6
College Football Scores
College Update: From senior stars to freshman hopefuls
Enquirer Power Rankings
Pacers may open Xavier camp to fans
Football scores & game reports
How Enquirer poll teams fared
Ohio Football Scores
Kentucky Football Scores
Indiana Football Scores
Beechwood 24, Simon Kenton 20
CCD 42, Summit Country Day 7
Conner 22, Holmes 18
Edgewood 47, Fenwick 13
Newport 21, Garrard County 18
Purcell Marian 21, Badin 7
Scott 38, Campbell County 13
Woodward 20, Dayton Meadowdale 16
Public league's progress slow but steady
Ryle trying to match Elder with nation's No. 1
Holmes shows no Mercy to Oak Hills
Prep Spotlight on John Dixon
Boys cross country results
Boys golf results
Boys soccer results
Girls cross country results
Girls soccer results
Girls tennis results
Girls volleyball results

• Return to Bengals front page...