[ I Am Bengal II – Bengal Harder (Page
11) ]
This is it, then. Everything we’ve worked for, all the sweat and pain, all
the heartache, all the... Bettis of the last two years comes down to just
sixty minutes of football. They said we’d never make it this far. They said that
last year was a fluke. They said that we’d get found out in the playoffs. They
said that we’d never beat Miami. They were wrong, wrong, and wrong again. We’ve
made it to the greatest show on earth, and we’ve made it on merit.
Now the only thing standing between us and ultimate glory is...
“...is the St. Louis Rams, aka the best team in the league, aka a team who’ve
won three of the last five Superbowls, aka a team who are so much better than us
in every way that matters that it’s not even funny. Rearrange these words to
form a well-known phrase or saying: got, you’ve, chance, no.”
No-one gave the Patriots a prayer the season before last, either.
“Are you saying that you’re as good a defensive schemer as Bill Belichick,
then?”
Er... no.
“Didn’t think so.”
Is this the point where you suddenly grin and tell me that their offence is
riddled with injuries, so all we’ve got to worry about is the searing pace of
Ricky Proehl?
“No, this is the point that I tell you that their offence has no significant
injuries at all, and repeat the analysis – got, you’ve, chance, no. I’d give you
a full scouting report, but what’s the point? Warner, Faulk, Bruce, Holt – if
you don’t know what those players can do, then you haven’t been paying attention
for the last four years. The whole right side of their offensive line is going
to the Pro-Bowl, too, and the left side can only just have missed out. This is a
point-scoring machine – and unlike Peyton Manning, we can’t expect Kurt Warner
to suddenly lose his nerve in the midst of the big game.”
But the defence isn’t as good, is it?
”Only relatively speaking. No, I suppose the Ram defence isn’t as good as the
Ram offence, but since the Ram O is possibly the best offensive unit that’s ever
played the game, that’s hardly saying much. Like Kurt and his playmates, the St.
Louis D is all about speed, speed and more speed. This mob are quicker than
anything we’ve faced this year – that includes the Bucs, that includes the Phins,
that includes everyone. All that emphasis on getting around the field quickly
gives rise to their only major weakness – while Grant Wistrom and Leonard Little
are great pass-rushing ends, the D-line is a little undersized and possibly
vulnerable to power running up the middle.”
I don’t like the sound of “possibly”.
“Well, if I were you, I’d enjoy it, because it’s as good as news gets. The
only other area that you might be able to pick on is a slight lack of depth in
their secondary – Dre Bly is injured, and that means that there’s a pretty
serious drop-off in quality from their second corner, Dexter McLeon, to their
third, Travis Fisher. That’s my advice – look to push the line around, and try
to isolate the nickel-back. Those aside, you’re dealing with a first-class
linebacker corps and a well-drilled and talented secondary. Do you want me to
repeat the analysis again?”
No, it’s okay, I think I got the gist.
“Don’t let me down. I’ve got fifty riding on the Rams.”
I hate you.
-
Game day, then – the endless hyperbole and media interviews of the week are
done and dusted, and finally, finally, the whole team’s gathered, dressed for
action and daubed in war-paint, the walls of the locker-room almost seeming to
shake with the noise rolling down from sixty-nine-and-a-half thousand fans
packed together in the stands of the Reliant Stadium in Houston.
“We can beat this lot,” I say, struggling to be heard above the deep, rumbling
roar. “No – actually, not ‘can’ – we WILL beat this lot. We’ve all watched the
film, and okay, they’re quick. But so fricking what? You think they can live
with us when we get into a groove? You think they’ve come up against anyone who
hits as hard as us, on either side of the ball? You think these glory-boys want
any part of what we’re dishing out? Like fricking hell they do. They just want
to get out there, show off for the cameras and run the scoreboard up quickly so
that we can’t play our game, and so they don’t have to take any more punishment.
They’re scared of you. Scared of us. And they’re right to be.
“I promised you all that we’d be back in the playoffs. And I wasn’t wrong. I
promised you all that people hadn’t heard the last of this team. And I wasn’t
wrong. Now, I promise you this - that bunch of fricking nancy-boys in the
sheep-hats don’t have what it takes to stop us when we get on a crusade. And I
tell you – I’m not wrong this time, either.
“Every week people have told us that this is the game that we get shown for what
we are... And you know what? I think that this week, they’re right. This is the
week that we show, once and for all, that each and every one of us is a winner.
Who’s with me? Who? WHO?”
There’s a roar, helmets raised aloft – I’m screaming, the players are screaming,
and we stream out of the locker-room, down the tunnel, and out onto the field,
the noise of the crowd reverberating and redoubling as it echoes of the closed
roof of the stadium, Al Michaels barely audible over the din...
“I give you... the 2003 champions of the American Football Conference... the
CINCINNATI BENGALS!”
Slowly, the players stop bouncing off one another and glowering at the Rams who
are gathered on the opposite sideline, the pandemonium dies down and the
pre-match debris is cleared away.
”Lost the toss, eh?”
You know we did.
”Kicking away, eh?”
Yep.
“If this lot score quickly and get into a groove, you’re really going to have
a hard time keeping up, you know.”
I know.
“So what was all that stuff about the Rams not having what it takes to stop
us, then?”
I thought it’d play a bit better than ‘Let’s face facts, we’re screwed, but
let’s try to keep them down to just double-digits on the scoreboard, eh?’
“Fair enough.”
-
The kick’s decent, the return’s stuffed quickly, and St. Louis will start the
game from their own 19. We need a stand here, to set the tone, to make a line in
the sand... Warner takes the snap, five-step-drop, looks up, waits a second, and
hits Isaac Bruce on a post-in. Bruce spins out of Crane’s tackle, and takes to
his heels... for eighty-one yards, and the game’s opening score. Too easy. The
Ram fans are jubilant, the Bengalville faithful are shell-shocked – it’s taken
exactly one play for all the careful planning to come unstuck, and I’m feeling a
long evening coming on... CIN 0-7 STL
Don’t worry, boys, don’t worry, we knew they were quick starters, still a lot of
ball left to be played today...
The Cincinnati fans who’ve made the journey soon find their voices again,
inspired, as always, by Corey Dillon’s silk and steel, carrying tacklers for a
12-yard gain and a quick first down... but the noise soon dies as the officials
call the play back for a Pete Warrick hold, and I’m starting to worry that the
Pigskin Gods have forsaken us at the exact time we need their favour the most.
1st and 20, and the offensive line collectively stands up to be counted, buying
the injured but unbowed Akili Smith all the time he needs to do what he’s done
all year – read the D, and find his man. The pass is just a little underthrown,
but Peter Warrick makes amends for the penalty with a great catch over the top
of free safety Kim Herring then a couple of lovely open-field moves, finally
getting snagged at the St. Louis 29 – a pickup of 46 yards. We go back to Plan
A, and let CD grind us in close, then on 3rd and 4 at the 10 go to the play-pass
and find Warrick crossing the back of the endzone... he goes up, he makes the
catch, he’s hit at full-stretch by Adam Archuleta... but he comes down with the
ball. We’ve done what we simply had to do – reply quickly - and the game’s all
square at 7.
Our defence heads back out, determined not to be humiliated again. Warner looks
for Bruce once more, but Crane’s got the measure of his man now, and the
receiver barely has time to bring the catch in before being on the business end
of a filling-loosening hit. Rookie DE Rod Reed bats down a pass bound for Torry
Holt on 2nd down, and on 3rd and 3 Brian Simmons vigorously introduces himself
to Marshall Faulk, leaving the Rams to punt. Jon jinks and dodges through
tacklers to bring the return back almost to halfway, and we’re good to go again.
That’s more like it.
“Yeah. Don’t get used to it.”
Time Of Possession is our friend, Time Of Possession keeps the Ram offence
circus-act off the field, and we keep things nice and tight, Lorenzo Neal and
Corey Dillon our weapons of choice. On 3rd and 5 at the Ram 40, though, again
Akili has time, and again it’s Warrick he finds, for just 8 yards on the drag
this time, but it’s enough, and it’s 1st down as the 1st quarter runs out...
We start the 2nd period in style, CD busting though the weak heart of the St.
Louis defensive line and breaking tackles all the way down to the 13-yard line.
But the Ram defence stiffens there, and Lawrence Stills trots out to dutifully
slot the short field-goal and put our noses ahead, 10-7.
The next possession is crucial, and signs aren’t great when Marshall Faulk
dances around tacklers for a good gain on 1st down, setting the Rams up with a
2nd-and-short. But Mike Martz can’t resist getting clever, and tries to catch us
thinking run... but succeeds only in opening his quarterback up to a sack by
Brian Simmons, who’s leading from the front, as ever. On 3rd-and-long, tight
coverage causes Warner to scramble right into Takeo Spikes’ arms, and the Rams
are punting yet again.
Two three-and-outs on consecutive possessions? This is too good to be true...
The coverage is strong on the punt, and we start our drive from our own 28. I’ve
a nagging feeling that this could be a make-or-break possession – a touchdown
here giving us clear air, while if we stumble, there’s still more than 5 minutes
left in the half for St. Louis to pick up some momentum. CD begins the series
with one of his rare carries for a loss in the face of a terribly aggressive Ram
rush, putting us in a tricky 2nd and 14 situation. Throughout the season in
these positions we’ve consistently looked for a run or a short pass to get us to
3rd-and-managable, so when Peter Warrick runs a ten-yard hitch and Akili
pump-fakes, Dexter McLeon bites like Jaws on a fishing-boat, and is left
scrabbling to catch up as Warrick spins on his heel and streaks downfield. The
pass drops over his shoulder, leading the receiver away from the strong-safety
who’s scrabbling over to cover, Warrick takes the catch and drifts out of
bounds, a pickup of 31 on the play. Sweet. Two Dillon runs, all pace and power,
take us to the Ram 13 and to the 2 minute warning. A Lorenzo Neal smash up the
middle gives us 1st and goal at the 9, and from there two carries by Corey are
enough to get us in – 42 seconds to the half, CIN 17-7 STL.
Forty-two seconds are a long time, though, particularly for a defence who seem
to struggle in the last possession before the break, and particularly against
the best passing team in the league – I fully expect at least a field-goal from
the Rams to end the second quarter, but Warner’s looked uncomfortable since the
opening play, and throws three straight incompletions – two of them batted down
at the line of scrimmage, and when JC gets the punt returned to our 44, suddenly
I’m wondering whether 30 seconds is enough to get us on the board once
more...
It’s not. Another great catch from Peter Warrick gets us to the 27, but we run
out of time, and Lawrence Stills pulls the long field-goal try just left. Even
so, as the clock runs out the Rams’ entire offensive production has been down to
just one big play, and since then Cincinnati have looked almost – dare I say it?
– comfortable. Half-time, then, and it’s this week’s edition of Box Scores From
A Parallel Universe – CIN 17-7 STL.
-
Things could hardly look better – we’ve got the lead, we’ve got the momentum,
we’ve got the ball to start the second half. The speech in the locker-room is
all “more of the same, guys” as we try to shut out the heinous cacophony that is
the half-time show. From what I can make out, it sounds like Bette Midler and
Thom Yorke singing a medley of Queen’s greatest hits, but luckily I only have to
slam my head in the door eight or nine times before the pain blots out the last
remnants of sound.
“You really think you’re going to hold this lot for another two quarters?”
We don’t have to hold them. We just can’t let them score ten more points than
us.
“Ain’t gonna happen.”
Hope you didn’t need that fifty for anything important...
The recurring theme of the second half is going to be. “See Corey. See Corey
Run. Run, Corey, Run!” 4 straight carries get us to halfway, then we go
play-action, hitting tight end Matt Schobel for 9. Having learned nothing from
St. Louis’ travails in the first half, though, we get fancy on 2nd and short and
Akili pays for it, the sack pushing us back to 3rd and 11. We’ve no choice but
to try the pass, and Akili drops back once again, but the rush is fierce and
he’s forced to throw with Grant Wistrom right in his face, looking for Chad
Johnson on the cross... Wistrom gets his hands up, bats the ball and it falls
incomplete... wait a moment – why haven’t the zebras blown their whistles?
Wistrom scoops up the ball and goes all the way to the endzone, up go the
officials’ arms... Touchdown? How in God’s name can that be a touchdown? How can
that be a fumble? The ref has to duck to dodge a red flag flung at his head, and
goes to the review station, watching the replay as the rest of us do the same on
the big screen – howls of derision go up from the Bengalville faithful as
Akili’s arm is clearly shown to be moving forward, even releasing the pass,
before the tip – it’s the most obvious, clear-cut bad call I can remember seeing
all year, it’s going to be reversed, it has to be...
It isn’t. One side of the stadium erupts in anger and scorn, the other can’t
believe its luck – the officials have inexplicably handed the Rams a free 7
points and all of a sudden, the game’s close again – CIN 17-14 STL.
And you can stop looking smug right now.
“I didn’t say a word..."
Jiminy Cricket. Alright, guys, that was a freak play, it could have happened
to anyone. This mob haven’t stopped us all afternoon, let’s not let them start
now...
We’re not moving quickly, but we’re moving steadily – time of possession is
already five to one in our favour and counting, and this quick St. Louis defence
really looks like it’s starting to feel all those minutes it’s been on the field
chasing shadows and trying to tackle football’s answer to a Sherman tank. We’re
not taking chances, we’re keeping it nice and simple – hard runs, or little
dump-off passes. A quick-out to the rookie Jason Harris picks up 13 yards to
take us into Ram territory for about the seven hundredth time today, and their
front seven wearily spreads out to try and contain the run outside. Surprise! CD
plunges right up the deserted centre for 11 more and a first down, then, seeing
tight coverage on a flood-strong play, Akili scrambles for a nine yard pickup to
take us into the red-zone. We’re just setting up to power-rush the one yard we
need for the 1st down when Akili looks along the line, reads a blitz coming from
the left, and audibles out into a spread formation. Sure enough, the rush comes
hard, but Smith lets them come, draws them in... and floats it over the blitzers
to Dillon, who’s snuck out into the left flat. Corey carefully watches the ball
into his hands, then strolls untouched fifteen yards into the endzone. A moment
of perfect beauty... CIN 24-14 STL.
On the ensuing drive, though, something finally goes right for the Rams on
offence – Warner shuffles right with some alacrity to avoid Brian Simmons on the
rush, then sidearms a throw to Isaac Bruce, who’s away from Crane again and away
for St Louis’ first first-down of the game... to the 30, the 40, the 50...
Strong safety Aric Morris comes haring across, and he’s got him... No! Bruce
slips the first tackle, but Aric’s not about to be shaken off, and wraps the man
up from behind... and the ball’s loose! It bounces once, twice, then is swept up
on the run by nickelback Kevin Dyson, who dodges one tackler, jinks outside,
tightrope-walks down the sideline and outruns the entire Ram offence 47 yards
all the way back to the endzone! The Cincinnati contingent in the crowd erupt,
but I’m not celebrating, not yet, because Mike Martz has launched his red flag,
and there has to have been something wrong with that play, either
Bruce had a knee down, or else Dyson put a foot out of bounds on the return...
there’s a real edginess as we all – players, coaches, fans – watch the big
screen... I can’t tell. I really can’t. I think it’s okay, but... Out
trots the ref, his face giving nothing away...
After reviewing the play – the ruling on the field... stands.
Oh, yes! OH, FRICKING YES! COME ON!
End of the 3rd quarter – CIN 31-14 STL, and surely even the Bengals can’t
find a way to lose from this position.
Can they?
St. Louis get the ball to start the 4th quarter, staring down the barrel of
what’s threatening to turn from a defeat into a humiliation. If they’re going to
stage a comeback, then it has to start here and now. Warner hits Bruce on a
quick-out, but Jon Crane is his shadow and they pick up only 8. All pretence at
trying to run abandoned, Holt is the target on 2nd down, but Willie Middlebrooks
bats the pass down, and it’s third and short. Out come the Rams in a 5-wide
formation, Warner drops back and tries to catch us out, looking for a deep pass
when we’re all set to try and defend the short zones – Bruce gets half a yard,
and the quarterback fires... but the ball’s batted yet again by Roderick Reed,
and it’s 4th and 2 at the Ram 30. Of course, they’re going to go for it, and...
and... and that’s the punting unit. Doesn’t matter. It’s got to be a fake. Three
scores down with five minutes to play in the Superbowl, with a defence that’s
absolutely knackered and hasn’t stopped the run all day... Martz can’t possibly
be taking the ball out of the hands of the best offence in football when they
only need two yards for the first...
He can, you know. Obviously more concerned with us running up the score than
taking a chance at maybe winning the game, the coach of the Rams elects to punt
the ball away on a 4th and 2. What is there to say apart from bwaark!
Buck-buck BWAAAAAARRRK! This utter cowardice gets its just reward, too, Jon
Crane returning the kick all the way into Ram territory for a net gain on the
punt of 17 yards.
And even that measly pickup is wiped out on the very next play from scrimmage,
CD just trampling over a St. Louis front 7 that’s been on the field for more
than 80% of the game and now looking dead on its feet. The highly-rated Sheep D
wants absolutely nothing to do with either Dillon or Lorenzo Neal, and the pair
lead us to the St. Louis 13, where we seem to have spent an awful lot of time
today. Chad Johnson makes a catch on a neatly-run crossing pattern to set us up
with 1st and goal at the 2, and from there CD finishes the job, both on this
drive and, presumably, for the game. CIN 38-14 STL, 3:24 left on the
clock.
With the contest basically over, the Sheep finally come to life, driving 70
yards in a hurry, Bruce (who else?) making the catch for the consolation score,
but any slim hopes they might have entertained are quashed when, following a
short but time-consuming Bengal drive and another missed field-goal, Warner
brings the Rams all the way downfield to our 15, with less than half a minute
left on the clock. On 4th and 10, he tries to force the ball into a crowd in the
endzone and Kevin Dyson, who had not a single interception in the entire regular
season, gets his third in two games to make the result official.
Final score – Cincinnati Bengals 38, St. Louis Rams 22. We had several
candidates for the game’s MVP – Kevin Dyson, with a fumble recovery touchdown
and that interception that iced the game. Akili Smith, playing with a broken
finger yet still completing 11 out of 17 passes for 184 yards and two scores.
Peter Warrick with the game of his life – 6 catches, 128 yards and a touchdown.
But in the end, there can be only one – the one-man wrecking machine, Corey
Dillon, whose 29 carries for 168 yards and a pair of scores was the single most
important factor in wearing out the formidable Sheep defence – oh, and he
managed two catches for 24 yards and another TD, just to put the tin lid on
things.
We’ve done it. We’ve achieved the impossible, we’ve beaten the unbeatable, the
Vince Lombardi Trophy is going to Ohio, the cradle of football, for the first
time ever... and now everyone, everywhere, has heard the Bengals roar.
Yeah. There are worse ways to end a story, aren’t there?
...
Or not-quite to end it, as it happens.
Coach Rodafowa Reminisces...
Favourite Player?
Wow. How can you look past Number 28? The best running-back I’ve ever had in any
iteration of Madden, bar none. Impossible to tackle, and impossible to catch
when he broke that tackle, if Corey Dillon had gotten injured at any point in
the last season, I’m certain we wouldn’t have ended up with the trophy. He was
the Man, particularly in Season 2 when I switched to playing two tight-end sets
more often and made it more difficult for the opposition to suss out which side
he’d be running to, and his average per carry went up to an insane 5.7 yards.
Just an absolute pleasure to play with.
On defence, it would be Brian Simmons. The vagaries of my game settings and
sliders meant he never got the numbers that he should have, but Simmons was an
absolute beast against the run and was quick enough to make plays in the passing
game, too. He just always seemed to be first to the ball, and he never missed a
tackle. Class in a glass.
Special teams, and there can be only one. Jonathon “The Scarecrow / Prime-Time”
Crane, the Daddy of all return-men. He single-handedly took an aspect of our
game that was a liability in the first year, and made it a strength in the
second. Worth at least two ticks in the W column over the course of the season,
his hands were immaculate, his speed usually just enough to keep him clear of
last-ditch tackles, and his only weakness was that he made me constantly look
for the big return, leading sometimes to me making him double-back looking for a
hole that wasn’t there and losing a yard or five. This, however, is nit-picking
of the “Cameron Diaz has ugly toes” variety, and doesn’t detract for a second
from the best defensive draft pick I’ve ever made.
Least Favourite Player? (Bengal)
Chad Cota (SS). A complete waste of effort, cap space and oxygen. I think we got
six games out of him, total, in two seasons of play, and he was fairly pants in
even those six. The sort of player who could get injured pulling on his shirt on
game-day. With hindsight, I should have gone with my first instinct and picked
up Victor Green instead. Saving grace – his Sicknote status gave a chance to
Aric Morris, who got better and better with each game.
Of those players who actually, you know, got to play from time to time... Matt
Schobel, my backup tight end, annoyed me by being persistently, wilfully useless
even when Daniel Graham’s injuries gave him a chance in the starting lineup. All
my backup halfbacks in Season 1 got a chance to show me what they could do, and
as a result all were out of work by the end of Season 2. By and large, though,
there weren’t too many weak links.
Least Favourite Player? (Non-Bengal)
Need you ask? The Lord Of Darkness, The Prince Of The Fiery Pit, He Who Is Not
To Be Named... J*r*me B*tt*s. By far the most over-rated, windy-uppy,
defensive-stat-destroying get it’s ever been my misfortune to encounter,
bestowed by the CPU with super-powers specifically to wind me up at every
possible opportunity. God, I hate him. I hate him sooooo much. Having to face
the swine twice a year didn’t improve my mood any, either.
Mike Alstott (“I shall call him... Mini-Bettis...”), the Peytonator (and his
supernatural ability to throw perfect strikes despite being hit with anything up
to and including the Death Star's main laser) and every single tight end in the
NFL would take the runner-up spots in this category.
Pleasant Surprise?
Aric Morris (SS), who was almost an afterthought in the trade with the Titans
that brought CB Andre Dyson to the team in my first pre-season, actually started
for most of both years and played far better than his starting OVR of 68 would
have you believe. He was excellent against the run, and, especially in our
Superbowl year, made plays in the passing game, too. Another big surprise was
just how fierce the cornerbacks in my second season were – Willie Middlebrooks,
in particular, was an animal. He ran like a wide-receiver and hit like a
linebacker. Jon Crane was less ferocious only in comparison.
On the offensive side of the ball – my receivers own this topic, particularly
Daniel Graham and Peter Warrick. Graham was consistently fantastic, finding
seams and making sure my quarterbacks always had a dump-off option. 1200 yards
in his rookie season says it all. It took a while to get Warrick involved in the
gameplan, but in the latter half of the first season and all the way through the
second he was awesome, particularly in the weeks that Chad Johnson was out
injured, meaning that he was drawing double-coverage more often than not. An
incredibly safe pair of hands, a good sense of space and decent speed meant that
he was the go-to guy in the passing game no matter what the down and distance.
Honourable mention to Akili Smith and Jon Kitna, neither of which was anywhere
near as bad as you’d think. And to fullback Lorenzo Neal, who did the hard work
with precious little glory to show for it.
Disappointment?
Justin Smith just didn’t really produce from right end. Sometimes he’d put
pressure on, but very rarely would that become a sack. We got very few sacks
period, truth be told – partly I think that was down to my persistence with the
3-4 system, and partly it was because we didn’t blitz much – our secondary
simply wasn’t good enough to let us leave our cornerbacks on an island.
The biggest disappointment, though, was probably our second year 1st round draft
pick, LOLB Aaron Hall. Brought in to upgrade our front seven, he just spent the
entire year doing an impression of The Invisible Man, making no real impact
whatsoever. Oh, well. You win some, you lose some.
Aaaaand... that's all, folks. For more of the same, you might want to have a
glance at Watch The Birdie, the story of my 2004
Arizona Cardinals franchise. Or you might not. Y'know. Either works.
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(c) daniel roe 2003
