Bengals open with must-win scenario
Strong start part of Lewis' master plan

By Mark Curnutte
Enquirer staff writer


CLEVELAND - Marvin Lewis' emphasis on a fast
start for the Bengals is nothing new.

He made the point privately last offseason, and
his second team laid the identical 1-4 egg as his
first one.

This year, for reasons he might not yet fully
understand, the coach went to the media with his
desire for a good start.

Now, with the 2005 season opener at Cleveland
only hours away, Lewis might be regretting his
public pronouncement. He can't get away from the
questions: How important is a fast start and
exactly what defines it?

"That's why most of the time we don't say much
publicly because of that stuff," Lewis said after
practice Friday. "No matter what I say, it's
going to be an issue."

Pinned down to quantify a good start - 4-2, 3-1
or 2-1? - Lewis fidgets.

"We'll see what it means," he said. "We get to
write the script."

The Bengals would appear to be in a good position
to write a happy ending to Chapter 1.

The expansion Browns are starting over for the
third time in their seven-year existence. A
midseason analysis last year that Cleveland was
going to blow up the Butch Davis administration
and go in a different direction was correct.

There are 26 players on Cleveland's 53-man roster
who were not on it at the start of last season, a
turnover of 49 percent. The Browns have a new
quarterback, new running back, three new starters
on their offensive line and two new wide
receivers. Then there's the defense, which does
not have the right personnel to play the 3-4
defense that rookie coach Romeo Crennel brought
with him from his days as the three-time Super
Bowl winning coordinator at New England.

So, is this opener, a road game against an AFC
North division opponent, a must win for a Bengals
team determined to snap the franchise's 14-year
streak without a playoff appearance?

"If we win this game, we'll have one win. If we
lose one, we have a chance to play 15 more
games," said Bengals tackle Willie Anderson, who
has endured the past nine non-winning seasons.

"By the time October gets here, we've got to have
a nice percentage of wins."

That formula could mean a 3-0 or 2-1 record
heading into Game 4 against the Texans at home
Oct. 2.

Road games at Cleveland and Chicago sandwich the
home opener Sept. 18 against the Vikings. The
Browns (4-12) and Bears (5-11) both finished last
in their respective divisions in 2004 and don't
appear to have made great strides since.

In fact, Crennel sounds as if he's counting on a
little help from the Bengals to overlook his
Browns.

"I think the thing that Marvin probably has to
fight a little bit is overconfidence on his
team's part because we're the Cleveland Browns
and we haven't won anything lately," Crennel
said.

"Cincinnati has beat up on these guys regularly.
So I think he might have to keep his guys under
control that way."

Actually, the Browns have won five of the past
seven games against the Bengals. There's little
doubt that Browns players, in looking at their
schedule, see the opener as one of the games that
is most winnable.

Lewis' first career victory in 2003, after three
consecutive losses, was a 21-14 decision in
Cleveland. He lost his first career game as a
head coach, 30-10 to Denver and coach Mike
Shanahan, who has won 10 of his 12 Denver season
openers.

"I hope (Crennel) feels, after the game, like I
did when the Denver Broncos played here," Lewis
said. "They didn't let us breathe. They attacked
us in every area. They were ready. That to me is
what you want to do, whether it's a playoff game
or a Super Bowl, or whatever it is. Why hold
back? You could lose any way.

"I think what they did, that's what I learned
from the whole thing, the pace of the game; they
had their guys going at a fever pitch. That's the
way you want to play. Our guys were excited, but
they couldn't match the intensity."

Intensity must be tempered by poise. Poise was
the word frequently spoken during the week.

"Not to say you can't win a Super Bowl if you
lose the first game," said Carson Palmer, who
today will be the first Bengals quarterback since
Jeff Blake in 1996-97 to start consecutive
openers. "But it definitely gets the season
kicked off the right way and gets everybody's
heads in the right spot and makes Week 2 a lot
easier."

Musical chairs

Bengals opening-day starting quarterbacks during
the 14-year streak without a playoff berth:

Year Quarterback Decision (Opp.)
1991 Boomer Esiason Loss (at Denver)
1992 Esiason Win (at Seattle)
1993 David Klingler Loss (at Cleveland)
1994 Klingler Loss (Cleveland)
1995 Jeff Blake Win (at Ind.)
1996 Blake Loss (at St. Louis)
1997 Blake Win (Arizona)
1998 Neil O'Donnell Loss (Tennessee)
1999 Blake Loss (at Tenn.)
2000 Akili Smith Loss (Cleveland)
2001 Jon Kitna Win (New England)
2002 Gus Frerotte Loss (San Diego)
2003 Kitna Loss (Denver)
2004 Carson Palmer Loss (at N.Y. Jets)


E-mail mcurnutte@...


"Tail-end Charlie in a Purple Heart Box"




______________________________________________________
Yahoo! for Good
Watch the Hurricane Katrina Shelter From The Storm concert
http://advision.webevents.yahoo.com/shelter