2-1-02, 3:50 p.m.
UPDATED: 2-1-02, 6:00 p.m.
BY GEOFF HOBSON
NEW ORLEANS _ The Bengals set their 2002 ticket price schedule (click Tickets/Schedule) Friday by maintaining a $35 dollar price point on the 3,236 seats in the North End Zone Club Level. Prices in all other sections increase by $4.
It marks the first ticket price increase in the two seasons since Paul Brown Stadium opened.
The prices create a 2002 average of non-club seats of $47.769, up from $43.96in 2000 and 2001. The Bengals' 2001 average of a non-club seat is rated 10th lowest in the 31-team NFL. The 2002 average ticket price will still be below the NFL average for the 2001 Season.
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RACKERS' FAMILY RESPONDS:** The lawyer for Bengals kicker Neil Rackers says his client's wife and mother plan to file criminal charges in a Dec. 9 incident at a sports bar and restaurant.
Phil Taliaferro called the actions "vile and filthy," at the confrontation at Willie's Sports Café in Northern Kentucky. On Thursday, Rackers pleaded not guilty in Kenton County District Court to Brian Stoehz's charge of fourth-degree assault. A pre-trial hearing has been set for Feb. 12.
Rackers and his family are claiming they were harassed the night of the Bengals' 14-10 loss to Jacksonville at Paul Brown Stadium. Taliaferro said the women were verbally and physically assaulted and intend to file criminal charges of assault, disorderly conduct and harassment.
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SUPER ENDORSEMENT:** Darren Perry, one of three candidates for the job of coaching the Bengals safeties, got an enthusiastic recommendation this week from Rams' special teams coach Bobby April
When Bengals head coach Dick LeBeau coordinated the Steelers' defense im the mid-90s, April was Pittsburgh's special teams coach and used Perry, a free safety, frequently.
"That doesn't surprise me at all that
Dick would look at him like that," April said. "He was a very good kid who made it a point to be well prepared. He was great for us on teams. A real pro. Intellectually, you can see that he would be a good fit as a coach."
Perry, 33, has been out of football since he retired after the 2000 season and this is his first sniff at a coaching job. He thinks now is the time.
"I didn't want to get too far away from football before I got back into it," said Perry after he visited Cincinnati this week. "I thought the interview went well. At least I felt good about it. It would be a good spot for me to break into coaching. It's not the same defense we played in Pittsburgh but it's very similar."
LeBeau took the Steelers to the top of the NFL rankings with a 3-4 defense. In his third year back in Cincinnati in 1999, the Bengals went to a 4-3, but kept the zone blitz concept.
Along with LeBeau, Perry met with defensive coordinator Mark Duffner and cornerbacks coach Kevin Coyle on Wednesday and observed, "those guys know the system cold. They know what they're talking about. I think I could go right in there and fit in with them."
