Three weeks ago, the Bengals defense seemed on the verge of imploding. Cincinnati collapsed against San Diego on Nov. 12, allowing a staggering 42 second-half points in a 49-41 loss. In the locker room, safety Dexter Jackson accused teammates of quitting. But in that disaster were the seeds of rebirth. That week, the Bengals had a players-only meeting to hash out problems and demand accountability from each other. The next Sunday, Cincinnati yielded a ridiculous 510 passing yards to New Orleans but held the Saints to two touchdowns in a 31-16 win. The Bengals followed that with a shutout of Cleveland and nearly matched that performance in a 13-7 victory over Baltimore on Thursday. Linebacker Brian Simmons pointed to the San Diego debacle as the turning point. "It was embarrassing, frankly," said Simmons, who missed that game with a neck stinger. "When you get down that low, there’s only one thing to do and that’s to come up from it and go to work harder and get it corrected." Simmons said the Chargers game drove home the importance of playing hard for 60 minutes. "Against San Diego, I think we were looking at the scoreboard a little too early," he said. "They were still playing another half of football and we kind of packed it in, thinking we were going to get the win. That game right there really turned a lot of guys in here. We have a lot of guys with a lot of pride." Coach Marvin Lewis remains miffed that Jackson aired dirty laundry in public, but at least some players believe the bluntness was needed. "Everybody knew it," cornerback Keiwan Ratliff said. "Somebody had to say it. He was the one who said it. Any time you get called out like that, you want to make sure the finger’s not being pointed at you any more." Simmons and Ratliff said there is a newfound dedication to preparation before and to communication and responsibility during games. "Guys are on the same page out there now," Ratliff said. "There’s no indecision, where some guys are playing one defense and some others are playing something else because they’re not communicating. Even a guy like (safety) Madieu (Williams), who’s normally quiet out there, you hear him screaming out sets and giving guys signals. Guys are on the same page and jelling and hopefully we can keep that going." It also helps that the Bengals are healing. Defensive tackle Sam Adams’ troublesome knee is better, and he has been disruptive at the line of scrimmage. Simmons’ return Thursday brought much-needed experience to the linebackers corps. Jackson, who missed time with a sprained ankle, adds a leader’s fire. Add key contributions from players such as safety Kevin Kaesviharn, rookie defensive tackle Domata Peko and rookie cornerback Johnathan Joseph, and a defense that ranked last two weeks ago now looks formidable. But given their roller coaster of a season, the Bengals know complacency isn’t an option. Adams said the Ravens’ 36-yard touchdown pass with 61 seconds left shows there’s plenty of room for improvement. "You can’t play for 59 minutes and win a championship," Adams said. Still, it’s a lot closer to perfection than anyone would have dreamed in the aftermath of the Chargers game three weeks ago Columbus Dispatch http://columbusdispatch.com/bengals/bengals.php?story=dispatch/2006/12/03/20061203-D4-03.html |
