Somewhere, Dave Shula must be smirking. The season-ending surge Bruce Coslet supervised last year gave rise to greater expectations for 1997. Yet the Bengals never did fix their fundamental problems on the offensive line, and Coslet thought so little of his defense that he hired Dick LeBeau to install an entirely new system. Judging by Sunday's showing, some of LeBeau's finer points still elude some of his pupils. To say nothing of Terrell Davis.
Old problems persist, and new obstacles arise.
The Bengals' road to the playoffs, it turns out, is a treadmill. This could all change Sunday, of course. Because pro football teams play only once per week, they tend to operate at emotional extremes. The difference between euphoria and despair is sometimes as tenuous as a last-second field goal. If the Bengals succeed in defeating the New York Jets Sunday, panic will seem premature.