By Paul Daugherty
Enquirer staff writer

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - Is there a more obvious target in sports than a rookie cornerback starting on opening day in the National Football League? Madieu Williams wears No. 40 for the Bengals. In the first half Sunday, he should have been wearing a bull's-eye.

PHOTO GALLERY

Photos of Sunday's game

"I suspected they were going to come at me early," said Williams, the rookie corner from Maryland, whom the Bengals drafted in the second round.

The New York Jets did just that. Early and often.

On the Jets' first possession, quarterback Chad Pennington picked on Williams for a 31-yard pass to Santana Moss. That gave New York a first down at the Bengals 9. The Jets scored three plays later.

The next time they had the ball, Pennington located Williams again. He threw 46 yards to wideout Jonathan Carter, in the right corner of the end zone. The pass hung for a long time, but Carter slipped inside of Williams and made the catch. In Williams' defense, he had no safety help, and the pass rush was lacking.

After the TD pass, Bengals coach Marvin Lewis had a message for his rookie corner:

"Have a short memory."

It's great advice for any rookie, but especially a rookie as exposed as a defensive back often is. Forget about it. Make a play the next time.

Williams played better in the second half. Starting for the injured Deltha O'Neal, Williams wasn't victimized by any long passes after halftime, and was credited with a pass defensed.

It wasn't as if he cost the Bengals the game. The defense as a whole was porous, allowing the Jets 438 total yards. Pennington was 20-for-27.

Curtis Martin ran for 196 yards and a 6.8-yard average. The Bengals had just one sack, a fluke when a pass slipped from Pennington's grasp. The Bengals forced no turnovers.

Williams played in bowl games the last two years, and against quality competition in the ACC. He said the big-game atmosphere didn't faze him.

"All the glitz and glamour of opening day. Other than that, it's just a football game," he said. "I wasn't in awe. I settled down in the second half. You have to keep fighting. You can't hang your head on a negative play."

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