It might not happen in front of the home fans, but perhaps it'll occur on national television.
That's an early thought regarding a major milestone likely to occur in the 2002 Bengals season, the crowning of a new all-time club rushing champion. Corey Dillon will enter the season with 6209 career yards, needing 239 more to break the mark of 6447 which has stood since James Brooks played his final Bengals down in 1991.
It's certainly not beyond the realm of possibility that Dillon could gobble all 239 yards at Paul Brown Stadium in the season opener Sept. 8 vs. San Diego. He has, after all, gone beyond that mark twice in his career, both times at home. He gained 246 yards against Tennessee in 1997, an NFL rookie record at the time, and his 278 yards against Denver in 2000 still stands as the overall NFL record.
But a more conservative look starts with the fact that Dillon has averaged 79.6 yards per game for his career. Were he to hold or slightly exceed that pace at the start of this season, he would break the record in Game 3, the Bengals' Sept. 22 national TV date on ESPN at Atlanta.
The game prior to ......
Atlanta is also a road game, Sept. 15 at Cleveland, and the week after Atlanta, the Bengals return home to take on Tampa Bay.
As the final days pass before the Bengals report to training camp next Thursday, here are a few more football tidbits for hungry fans to chew:
