9-29-02, 7:00 p.m.
Updated: 9-29-02, 8:30 p.m.
Updated: 9-29-02, 9: 30 p.m.
BY GEOFF HOBSON
Somehow, the 0-4 Bengals found a new low Sunday in finishing off their third winless September in the last four years and put their head coach on an even hotter seat.
During a punchless 35–7 loss to Tampa Bay, the sparse Paul Brown Stadium crowd cheered at such sights as the Bengals throwing a 50-yard incompletion down field and quarterback Akili Smith throwing away a pass in the end zone that ended up in the hands of a fan.
"It's a joke," said middle linebacker Brian Simmons, who lugged home some early hope with a 51-yard interception for a touchdown that gave the Bengals their first lead of the season.
"We haven't played a month of football," Simmons said. "To play for a month and not even be in a game. . .It's a joke. The fans aren't even coming to games to see if the Bengals win if they're cheering for stuff like that. But whose fault is it? I mean, we don't even give ourselves a chance."
After the club's 11th loss in the last 13 games, the speculation is boiling about coach Dick LeBeau, believed to be in the last year of his contract. And if there was a change, would it be defensive coordinator Mark Duffner who would get the call? Duffner reportedly deferred the job in favor of LeBeau two years ago in the wake of Bruce Coslet's resignation. When asked about making a coaching change, Simmons didn't go for it. Bengals President Mike Brown has said he won't judge off just the early season.
"At this point," Simmons asked back, "what's that going to solve?"
Asked if some kind of overhaul is needed, defensive captain Takeo Spikes said he's not ready.
"I don't know if you make drastic changes when you can (still go) to the playoffs," Spikes said. "I'm very optimistic. Until we lose six or seven games, then I say we're out of the playoffs. One game at a time."
Throw in Neil Rackers' shanked 45-yard field goal try that was wide right and five yards shy, back-to-back delay-of-game penalties before a fourth-down play, and two 12-men-on-the-field penalties on punts, and it was safe to ask what is exactly going on in the asylum.
Throw in Neil Rackers' shanked 45-yard field goal try that was wide right and five yards shy, back-to-back delay-of-game penalties before a fourth-down play, and 12-men-on-the-field penalties on punt and punt return, and it was safe to ask what is exactly going on in the asylum.
The Bengals have now been outscored, 119-23, and the scene elicited memories from Bucs defensive tackle Warren Sapp, who put on a clinic with two sacks and a forced fumble Sunday. He broke in on Sam Wyche's last team and Tony Dungy's first team in Tampa Bay.
"Even 0-5 and 0-6 with Tony we could see our mistakes that were costing us ballgames," Sapp said. "But it wasn't like that."
Smith probably won't be running the offense when the Bengals travel to Indianapolis next week after he joined the offensive struggles that are now becoming the stuff of legends. For the third time in four games, the Bengals didn't score a touchdown, and for the second time this season their quarterback threw an interception that ended up in a touchdown during the last minute of the first half.
"This stuff has been going on for four years now in my life," said Smith after his first start of the season dropped his career starting record to 3-14. "When I get an opportunity, I don't do anything. I didn't come into the league this way. I came into the league ready to go. I'm just baffled."
When Smith was sacked for the third and final time in the game by Sapp and lost his fumble with about six minutes left, the reminders of 2000 were complete. Smith hit just 12 of 33 passes for 117 yards, and when he wasn't running for his life, he was missing his receivers or throwing into coverage.
"We have to take a look at the video and see what kind of chance Akili had to make some plays," LeBeau said. "I'm not sure how much chance he had in there. There was a lot of pressure, I know that."
The lone bright spot came with 2:30 left, when most of the 57,234 (tickets distributed) were gone as Corey Dillon became the Bengals' all-time leading rusher. The bad news is that it took him 21 carries to get the 59 yards to move five yards past James Brooks. On this day, it was fitting he had to do the five-yard run off a draw pretty much on his own. He got stopped at the middle of the line, and then slid off some bodies to the left to go into the books.
"Doesn't mean a thing, write that down," said a fuming Dillon, who cut short his remarks in deference to the blowout.
How bad was it? Dillon didn't catch
a pass Sunday and is still the Bengals' leading receiver for the season.
The Bengals' defense gave its team the first lead of the season, but that lasted all of 2:30.
Which is about how long the fans' honeymoon with Smith lasted.
The Bengals were looking for Smith to wake up an offense that had generated just one touchdown in the first three games. But instead, they woke up the echoes of the Cleveland debacle when Smith had three Tampa Bay defenders draped over him while throwing a pass right at Bucs linebacker Shelton Quarles and he returned it 25 yards for a touchdown with 52 seconds left in the half.
Smith hit just three of 13 passes in the first half for 27 yards as Tampa Bay dominated with a 251-48 edge in total yards.
The Bengals got booed off the field when LeBeau declined a 15-yard roughing the kicker penalty against punter Nick Harris and let the clock run out instead of taking the ball at the Bengals 47 for one last play.
"It was eight seconds on the clock," LeBeau said. "We would not have had the ball where we could have gotten it into the end zone. I just thought more bad than good could happen on the play. If we could have reached the end zone with a throw, I would have accepted the penalty and thrown it down there."
The Bengals' offensive line just couldn't contain Sapp and his band, and rookie left tackle Levi Jones replaced Richmond Webb to open the second half. Webb, who didn't return after suffering a left shoulder injury, started the game in two-series rotation with Jones, who would take one and then go back to the bench.
Sapp had one of the two sacks of Smith in the first half and was one of those wrapped around Smith's knees on the interception.
With the Bengals failing on all seven third-down tries, generating just one first down on their own, and crumbling in a running game that allowed Dillon just 13 yards on nine carries in the first half, Tampa Bay parlayed two blown coverages into long touchdown passes for quarterback Brad Johnson.
The Bengals took the heat off Smith early when their defense generated its first two turnovers of the season in the game's first 12 minutes. Simmons' 51-yard interception return for a touchdown with 2:23 left in the first quarter gave the Bengals that elusive lead.
Brad Johnson, who came into the game with a streak of 153 passes without an interception, got drilled by tackle Tony Williams, and threw a floater. Simmons, who returned a lateral 56 yards for a touchdown last year, stretched out in front of wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson and raced untouched down the sideline.
But 2:30 later, Brad Johnson saw tight end Ricky Dudley wide open down the middle for a 35-yard touchdown pass on a play that outside linebacker Takeo Spikes took the blame because he didn't drop far enough in the zone.
After a series in which Smith threw three incompletions (one was batted down at the line on a quick out), Brad Johnson went up top again on first down.
As defensive end Justin Smith smashed Johnson in the pocket, Brad Johnson saw cornerback Jeff Burris and the safety stay with Keyshawn Johnson on a short route and no one going with McCardell deep. Brad Johnson lofted it down the sideline for a 65-yard touchdown as he closed the half with a passer rating of 112.7.
Apparently there was a miscommunication in the secondary in which any of the three DBs in the area could have rectified with a zone call when the Bucs flooded the area with multiple receivers.
How bad was it? Smith's rating was 7.5 as his first start of the season looked like the previous three by Gus Frerotte. On their first three series, the Bengals could generate only two yards per play, gave up two sacks, and could only get 10 yards for Dillon on his first six carries in keeping the ball for about six of the game's first 23 minutes.
Smith did hit his first pass, a high toss over the middle that wide receiver Peter Warrick hauled in and did some nice running after the catch for a 14-yard gain that put the ball at the Bucs 34.
But they couldn't get Dillon outside on two tosses that went for minus-two yards, and Smith got sacked by a blitzing Quarles to take them out of field-goal range.
On the next possession, a bad Tom Tupa punt put the Bengals at the Tampa 45, but two incompletions (one to a falling T.J. Houshmandzadeh), and a designed Smith keeper only got three yards.
In the first half, Smith, who ran so well in the preseason, had just six yards on two carries.
