Reunion time for Dillon: Focus on back as Cincy hits town
By Michael Felger/ Patriots Insider
Wednesday, December 8, 2004
All involved parties will do their best this week to make sure Sunday's game at Gillette Stadium isn't just about Corey Dillon facing his old team, the Cincinnati Bengals.
But don't be fooled by the silence. The Patriots [stats, news] running back is most definitely thrilled to be out of Cincinnati and the Bengals are most definitely thrilled to have him gone. Dillon wants this game. The Bengals need this game.
If he's healthy, Dillon is going to be a featured player regardless of the sidebars. That's because the Bengals are most vulnerable on the ground, ranking 31st in the NFL against the run. They've given up 150 rushing yards or more in six of their 12 games. Two weeks ago, Baltimore could manage just 77 rushing yards against the Pats. Last Sunday, they rolled for 192 yards against the Bengals.
The numbers only highlight what everyone already knows.
``They're going to give him the ball and he's going to run. It's as simple as that,'' said Bengals linebacker Brian Simmons. ``Corey is up there being Corey, but you're not playing against Corey. You're playing against the scheme and the offense. They have other guys. It's not tennis.''
Cincinnati writers had hoped Dillon would participate in the weekly out-of-town teleconference today, but he refused. That's nothing new because Dillon hasn't done a conference call all year, but he clearly wasn't about to start this week.
Fans in Cincinnati can be excused if they raise an eyebrow every time Dillon says all he wants to do is win and that's why he's so happy in New England. They must be wondering where that terrific attitude was last year when the Bengals were finally winning games under Marvin Lewis and Dillon pouted as Rudi Johnson got the ball down the stretch.
Fans in Cincinnati still remember the time Dillon refused to go into a game under Bruce Coslet in 2000. They can only laugh when they hear that the biggest controversy Dillon has caused with the Pats came last week in Cleveland when he asked to go back into the game.
On Monday, Lewis put some of the responsibility for Dillon's problems in Cincinnati on his own shoulders.
``I failed to win Corey over to being fully committed as a Cincinnati Bengal,'' said Lewis, who stuck with Johnson in the final month after Dillon returned from a groin injury. ``That's my fault. Other than that, I have no regrets.''
And why would he? Johnson (1,105 yards, 4.1-yards per carry, seven touchdowns) has continued to do the job, and with the second-round draft pick the Bengals got from the Pats, they selected safety Madieu Williams out of Maryland. A starter, Williams has three interceptions and leads the Bengals with 54 solo tackles. The Bengals have won five of their last seven games and have put themselves back on the playoff bubble.
One of the Bengals players who had a problem with Dillon was Willie Anderson, whom Dillon called a ``bum'' after the right tackle criticized him for throwing his pads into the stands following the 2003 season finale. Anderson and Dillon have since reconciled, and Dillon still keeps in touch with several Bengals players, including receivers Chad Johnson and T.J. Houshmandzadeh. The reunion comes Sunday.
For now, the Bengals say they aren't surprised with Dillon's performance or attitude.
``I think he looks like the guy we started with last year before he got hurt,'' Lewis said. ``I don't think he looks like a different guy. He's got different colors on.''
