By Kevin Kelly
The Cincinnati Enquirer

The 102-yard sprint left him gasping for air in the end zone. But it also tilted momentum and led the Bengals to their first win last season.

Whenever Artrell Hawkins is having a bad day or senses the need to refocus, the Bengals cornerback thinks back to that interception he returned for a touchdown against the Texans in November.

"Having the ball in your hand, running down the sideline, there's no other feeling like that in the world," Hawkins said.

"It's every defensive back's dream, something you spend years and years and years dreaming about. When it finally comes true, it's cool."

Defensive backs and linebackers aren't paid to score touchdowns. Preventing them is their primary responsibility.

"We can juke. We just can't catch," Hawkins said. "If we could catch, we'd be receivers."

But as the first two weeks of this NFL season have shown, inside most defensive players is a little offense.

Fourteen players, including 10 in Week 2 alone, have turned interceptions into touchdowns.

"It used to be a rarity for a guy to run back an interception for a touchdown," Bengals defensive backs coach Kevin Coyle said. "It was a big deal. Now you turn on SportsCenter every night and there's multiple ones."

If the trend continues at its current pace, the NFL would see an incredible 112 interceptions returned for touchdowns this season. There were 46 total last season, including one each by Hawkins and Bengals teammate Brian Simmons.

"I would tend to think part of it has to do with the different pressures that the quarterbacks are throwing under," Coyle said. "They'll make a bad decision or their arm will get hit or they won't have the velocity on the ball because somebody is getting knocked back into them and they can't step up. Then the defensive guy gets a jump on it and makes a play."

When coaches speak of significant defensive plays, none is greater than forcing a turnover and turning it into a touchdown.

The Buccaneers won Super Bowl XXXVII this year largely on the strength of their defense, which turned a league-leading four interceptions into touchdowns last season. Tampa Bay linebacker Derrick Brooks, the NFL's Defensive Player of the Year, accounted for three of those.

"It's the most demoralizing play that can happen to an opposing offense," Hawkins said.

It has happened to the Bengals twice already this season.

Broncos linebacker Ian Gold intercepted Jon Kitna's shovel pass in Week 1 and scored. On Sunday in Oakland, Raiders cornerback Phillip Buchanon intercepted Kitna late in the fourth quarter and returned it 83 yards to put the Raiders ahead 19-13.

"He got an outstanding jump and effort on the ball," Raiders coach Bill Callahan said. "To stay in bounds and escape and avoid and make the big play, that was equally as impressive as the pick was.

"That's what we had been waiting for. That was a spark."

The Bengals scored on their next drive but lost 23-20 on Sebastian Janikowski's 39-yard field goal with less than one minute remaining.

"(Kitna) came right back and scored on the next drive," Hawkins said. "You don't see that often."

The Bengals, like most teams, run a drill during practices to sharpen the return skills of their defensive players.

"We preach to our guys about becoming a running back, becoming a ball carrier once you catch it," Coyle said.

The strategy is simple enough: get to the sideline and avoid the mosh pit of bodies in the middle of the field.

"Once the ball is picked off, it's our chance to score," Coyle said. "It's an offensive play for us on defense. So let's try to get the thing in the end zone.

"That can be such a big impact play in any game."

DEFENSE ON THE OFFENSIVE

Through the first two weeks of the NFL season, 14 defensive players have intercepted a pass and returned it for a touchdown.

WEEK 1

PLAYER	POS	TEAM	INT-TD RETURN
Sam Adams	DT	Bills	37 yards
Dre Bly	CB	Lions	48 yards
Ian Gold	LB	Broncos	12 yards
Ahmed Plummer	CB	49ers	68 yards

WEEK 2

PLAYER	POS	TEAM	INT-TD RETURN
Ralph Brown	CB	Giants	29 yards
Tedy Bruschi	LB	Patriots	18 yards
Phillip Buchanon	CB	Raiders	83 yards
Nick Harper	DB	Colts	75 yards
Al Harris	CB	Packers	56 yards
Ed Reed	S	Ravens	54 yards
Derrick Rodgers	LB	Saints	40 yards
Chad Scott	CB	Steelers	26 yards
Alshermond Singleton	LB	Cowboys	41 yards
Jerome Woods	S	Chiefs	46 yards

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