|
Patriots vs. The Bengals NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS (2-1) at CINCINNATI BENGALS (3-0)
Sunday, October 1, 2006
Paul Brown Stadium (65,378)
4:15 p.m. EDT The New England Patriots travel to Cincinnati this week for a tough test against the undefeated Bengals. New England has not lost back-to-back games in more than three full seasons and will aim to bounce back from last week's loss to Denver with a strong showing in the Queen City.
SERIES HISTORY The Patriots and Bengals will meet for the 20th time in a series that dates back to 1968. The teams will renew acquaintances in the regular season for the first time since 2004, when New England clinched the AFC East title with a 35-28 win over Cincinnati at Gillette Stadium. New England has won four of the last five regular season meetings between the clubs dating back to 1993. The Patriots will play at Paul Brown Stadium for the second time in regular-season play, with their last trip there coming in the 2001 regular-season opener, a 23-17 Cincinnati victory. In addition to their regular-season clashes, the teams have also met twice recently in preseason play, with the Patriots traveling to the Queen City in both the 2004 and 2005 preseasons. The clubs split those matchups, with the Bengals taking a 31-3 win in the 2004 preseason and the Patriots claiming a 23-13 triumph in the 2005 preseason. PATRIOTS VS. AFC NORTH This week's game is the Patriots' only 2006 regular-season matchup against a team from the AFC North. New England is 9-2 against the AFC North since 2001 (including playoffs). Last season, New England also played just one game against AFC North opposition and defeated Pittsburgh, 23-20. In 2004, the Patriots played all four AFC North teams and compiled a 4-1 record in those games, including a win over Pittsburgh in the AFC Championship Game. PASSING PERFORMANCES The Patriots are 1-0 against the Bengals in games that Tom Brady has started. Brady is 9-1 in his career against AFC North teams, including a 2-0 record in the playoffs. Brady is 3-0 against Cleveland, 4-1 against Pittsburgh, 1-0 against Cincinnati, and 1-0 against Baltimore. The Bengals' Carson Palmer is 0-1 against the Patriots in his career. CONNECTIONS Patriots running back Corey Dillon spent the first seven years of his career playing for the Bengals and in that time came to own or share 18 different Bengals franchise records.
Bengals defensive tackle Sam Adams is the son of former Patriots offensive lineman Sam Adams, who played in 119 games with 90 starts for New England from 1972-80.
Patriots offensive tackle Matt Light was born and raised in Greenville, Ohio, about 90 miles north of Cincinnati.
Patriots linebacker Mike Vrabel was born in Akron, Ohio and attended Ohio State.
Patriots running back Heath Evans and Bengals running back Rudi Johnson were teammates at Auburn University in 2000. Evans served as a lead blocker as Johnson earned SEC player of the year honors that season.
Bengals cornerback Deltha O'Neal and Patriots linebacker Tully Banta-Cain played on the same defensive unit at the University of California.
Patriots defensive lineman Johnathan Sullivan and Bengals defensive lineman Robert Geathers were teammates at the University of Georgia for two seasons from 2001-02.
Patriots wide receiver Reche Caldwell and Bengals cornerback Keiwan Ratliff were teammates at the University of Florida from 2000-01.
Patriots running back Kevin Faulk and Bengals cornerback Tory James were teammates at Louisiana State in 1995.
Patriots offensive tackle Matt Light and Bengals linebacker Landon Johnson were teammates at Purdue in 2000.
Patriots defensive lineman Mike Wright was born in Cincinnati, Ohio and attended the University of Cincinnati.
Patriots quarterback Matt Cassel served as the backup to Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer at Southern Cal.
Cincinnati defensive coordinator Chuck Bresnahan was originally hired by Bill Belichick as a quality control coach for the Cleveland Browns in 1994.
While head coach of the Cleveland Browns, Bill Belichick hired Darrin Simmons as a coaching intern. Simmons is currently the special teams coach for the Cincinnati Bengals and was also a college teammate of Patriots linebacker Don Davis at the University of Kansas from 1993-94.
Patriots asst. head coach/offensive line Dante Scarnecchia and Bengals running backs coach Jim Anderson were college teammates at Cal Western from 1968-69. The pair were also assistant coaches on the Cal Western staff in 1970 and 1971. Additionally, Anderson was Corey Dillon's position coach during his seven seasons in Cincinnati.
Bengals asst. offensive line coach Bob Surace was an assistant coach at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1995 when Patriots linebackers coach Matt Patricia played center and guard for the Engineers.
Patriots quarterbacks coach Josh McDaniels was born and raised in Canton, Ohio.
Patriots defensive line coach Pepper Johnson attended Ohio State and was named to the Buckeyes all-century team.
Patriots director of college scouting Thomas Dimitroff was born in Barberton, Ohio.
Patriots defensive coordinator Dean Pees is a native of Dunkirk, Ohio and is a graduate of Bowling Green State University. He has also been a defensive coordinator at Miami (Ohio) and the University of Toledo.
Bengals quarterbacks coach Ken Zampese is the son of Ernie Zampese, who was the Patriots' offensive coordinator from 1998-99.
Bengals defensive backs coach Kevin Coyle was a collegiate defensive back at the University of Massachusetts from 1974-75. He was also an assistant coach at Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass. from 1982-90. New England Patriots Web site
http://www.patriots.com/news/index.cfm?ac=latestnewsdetail&pid=21394&pcid=47 |
