By Mark Curnutte
Enquirer staff writer

John Madden is in his third season as color analyst for the ABC presentation of "Monday Night Football." He is in Cincinnati this weekend to prepare for the Bengals' game Monday night against Denver.

He previously worked for 21 seasons as a color analyst for CBS and Fox NFL broadcasts.

Madden compiled a 103-32-7 regular season record as coach of the Oakland Raiders from 1969-78. He had a 9-7 postseason record, including a 32-14 victory against Minnesota in Super Bowl XI.

Madden, born April 10, 1936, also is known for the video football game that bears his name.

He sat for 20 minutes with two reporters after an ABC production meeting Saturday night at Paul Brown Stadium.

Question: Did you ever coach against Paul Brown?

Answer: "About four or five times, or was it six. There were some memorable games." (Madden coached against Brown eight times. Oakland won five of the eight, including a 31-28 divisional playoff game in 1975, the last game Brown coached.)

Question: What kind of coach was he? Obviously, his record speaks for itself.

Answer: "A lot things Paul Brown did, he was the first one who did them. We all owe so much to him. He was the first one to have full-time assistants, playbooks, call plays. All the things coaches are doing now, including that West Coast offense, was Paul Brown. He was doing that at a time when no one was doing anything close to what he was doing. Then Bill Walsh got it, and it became the West Coast offense. Paul Brown, as a coach, was a genius. He was a gentleman coach. He could motivate players."

Question: What was it like to prepare for him?

Answer: "You knew he was going to have something that he was not going to let you get settled. He was going to do something to unsettle you."

Question: What are your impressions of what Marvin Lewis is doing with the Bengals now?

Answer: "It looked like, when they got the stadium, I thought that was big. That kind of gives you a chance to compete today. Then Marvin Lewis came in, and it looked like they got something built that was going to be a foundation to continue to grow on. Close to the playoffs, 8-8, kind of figured the next year they would make that next step up. And that's tougher. That next step is tougher than that first step.

"And they're finding out about that in Cincinnati and they're finding out about that in Dallas. Bill Parcells comes in and wins 10 games his first year. They're not going to win 10 games this year. I don't believe Cincinnati is going to win eight games this year. Part of it is injuries; part of it is the change in quarterbacks (and) part of it is having to go through a bumpy road. You have to go through that."

Question: Does Lewis have the Bengals going in the right direction, in spite of the bumps this year?

Answer: "To me, it's how it comes out the other end. You're looking at a work in progress, and when you're looking at a work in progress, you have to project how it's going to come out the other end. I think if they can get Carson Palmer some help. If he proves he's the real deal, it all works out and you forget about (2004).

"You look at Troy Aikman. After he has a successful career and wins Super Bowls, you forget about how bumpy his road was that first year he played.

"Is (Palmer) going to be that? If he comes out like Troy Aikman and the Dallas Cowboys, then you laugh about the first year (Palmer started). If you don't come out of it, you look at it and say, `Holy cow.'"

Question: It took Lewis some time to put his defense together in Baltimore. It looks like he's trying to put some pieces together here. He has some linebackers (Caleb Miller and Landon Johnson) who are small. Are they big enough?

Answer: "They're big enough if they're good players. It's not about the size. What he's looking for is Ray Lewis. If he could bring Ray Lewis with him, then he'd have something going. It's tough to play in this league without a middle linebacker, with a rookie middle linebacker.

"You go back to his defense in Baltimore, strength up the middle. He had the two big tackles in there (Tony Siragusa and Sam Adams). He had Ray Lewis. He had the safety (Rod Woodson). Tampa Bay had (Warren) Sapp, then (Derrick) Brooks, then (John) Lynch. Defenses are kind of built straight down the middle. It's tough to play, you find a guy (Nate Webster) you think is going to be your middle linebacker, and then he gets hurt. Then you end up playing two rookies (Miller and Landon Johnson)."

Question: How long do you think you'll do this? How long do you want to keep doing this?

Answer: "Forever. There's no heavy lifting here. I'm the luckiest guy in the world. I went from a player to a coach to a broadcaster. I've been at recess my whole life. I never had to work."

Question: To a whole generation of Americans, you're the broadcaster. Some people might not remember that you coached the Raiders to the Super Bowl.

Answer: "There's a generation around who still knows that. There's a generation around that knows me as a broadcaster. There's a generation who knows me as Madden 2005, the video game. And that's a big generation because that's been around for 15 years.

"You tend to think that's just kids, 7-, 8-, 10-year-old kids. If somebody started at 10, they're 25 years old now, still playing the game."

Question: What do the players say to you about the game? They play it.

Answer: "They all complain about juice, that they don't have enough speed. Every players complains about that, `You kill me. I'm faster than that.' (Kansas City's) Dante Hall said, `You've got everybody faster than me. The linemen pull faster than me. A guy gets hurt, the doctor comes out faster than me.' It was true. And we gave him a little more."

Question: Do you enjoy that kind of stuff, the endorsements, the video game?

Answer: "I invented that game. That was my game. I started that before it was a game. We started it as a computer. The game was a learning device. We were going to use it for coaches and players, to learn football, teaching football. Then this thing broke out. We had no idea."

Question: Did Chad Johnson question his speed?

Answer: "He didn't bring it up. But I'm sure he's not happy with his speed. I'll bet you he's not happy with his speed. I only had one guy tell me he had too much speed, and that was Emmitt Smith. At one time, he said, `I was watching the guys who were playing, and I'm better in the video game than I am on the field.' He was the only player who ever said that to me. Every other guy has a complaint."

Question: How was Chad in the production meeting?

Answer: He was real good. He has a lot of insight."

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E-mail mcurnutte@enquirer.com

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