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1997 Cincinnati Bengals
Franchise Index: Previous Season / Next Season
Record: 7-9-0, Finished 4th in AFC Central Division
NFL Season Summary
Scored 355 points (22.2/g), 10th of 30 in the NFL.
Allowed 405 points (25.3/g), 27th.
Differential of -50 points (-3.1/g), 21st.
Expected W-L: 6.8-9.2.
Takeaway/Giveaway Differential +1 (0.1/g), 14th.
Simple Rating System: Total -2.2, Offense: 1.8, Defense: -4.0, SoS: 1.0, versus averages of 0.0.
Coached by
Bruce Coslet (7-9-0)
Defensive Coordinator: Dick LeBeau
Training Camp: Georgetown College (Georgetown, Kentucky)
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Starters
ProBowl(*), 1st-team All-Pro(+),Hide Non-primary Starters
| Pos | Age | Yrs | GS | Summary of Player Stats | Drafted (tm/rnd/yr) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offensive Starters | ||||||
| QB | Jeff Blake | 27 | 5 | 11 | 184 for 317, 2,125 yards, 8 td, 7 int, & 45 rushes for 234 yards and 3 td | New York Jets / 6th / 166th pick / 1992 |
| QB | Boomer Esiason | 36 | 13 | 5 | 118 for 186, 1,478 yards, 13 td, 2 int, & 8 rushes for 11 yards and 0 td | Cincinnati Bengals / 2nd / 38th pick / 1984 |
| RB | Corey Dillon | 23 | Rook | 6 | 233 rushes for 1,129 yards, 10 td, & 27 catches for 259 yards and 0 td | Cincinnati Bengals / 2nd / 43rd pick / 1997 |
| RB | Ki-Jana Carter | 24 | 1 | 10 | 128 rushes for 464 yards, 7 td, & 21 catches for 157 yards and 0 td | Cincinnati Bengals / 1st / 1st pick / 1995 |
| FB | Brian Milne | 24 | 1 | 16 | 13 rushes for 32 yards, 2 td, & 23 catches for 138 yards and 0 td | Indianapolis Colts / 4th / 115th pick / 1996 |
| WR | Carl Pickens | 27 | 5 | 12 | 52 catches for 695 yards, 5 td, & 1 rush for -6 yards and 0 td | Cincinnati Bengals / 2nd / 31st pick / 1992 |
| WR | Darnay Scott | 25 | 3 | 15 | 54 catches for 797 yards, 5 td, & 1 rush for 6 yards and 0 td | Cincinnati Bengals / 2nd / 30th pick / 1994 |
| WR | David Dunn | 25 | 2 | 5 | 27 catches for 414 yards, 2 td | Cincinnati Bengals / 5th / 139th pick / 1995 |
| TE | Tony McGee | 26 | 4 | 16 | 34 catches for 414 yards, 6 td | Cincinnati Bengals / 2nd / 37th pick / 1993 |
| LT | Kevin Sargent | 28 | 5 | 8 | ||
| LT | Rod E. Jones | 23 | 1 | 8 | Cincinnati Bengals / 7th / 219th pick / 1996 | |
| LG | Rich Braham | 27 | 3 | 16 | Arizona Cardinals / 3rd / 76th pick / 1994 | |
| C | Darrick Brilz | 33 | 10 | 16 | 1 fumble recovered | |
| RG | Ken Blackman | 25 | 1 | 13 | Cincinnati Bengals / 3rd / 69th pick / 1996 | |
| RT | Willie Anderson | 22 | 1 | 16 | Cincinnati Bengals / 1st / 10th pick / 1996 | |
| Defensive Starters | ||||||
| LDE | John Copeland | 27 | 4 | 15 | 3.0 sacks, 0 interceptions, 2 fumbles recovered | Cincinnati Bengals / 1st / 5th pick / 1993 |
| NT | Kimo von Oelhoffen | 26 | 3 | 13 | Cincinnati Bengals / 6th / 162nd pick / 1994 | |
| NT | Brentson Buckner | 26 | 3 | 5 | Pittsburgh Steelers / 2nd / 50th pick / 1994 | |
| RDE | Dan Wilkinson | 24 | 3 | 15 | 5.0 sacks, 0 interceptions, 0 fumbles recovered | Cincinnati Bengals / 1st / 1st pick / 1994 |
| LOLB | James Francis | 29 | 7 | 16 | 3.5 sacks, 1 interception, 1 fumble recovered | Cincinnati Bengals / 1st / 12th pick / 1990 |
| LILB | Tom Tumulty | 24 | 1 | 11 | 1.0 sacks, 0 interceptions, 0 fumbles recovered | Cincinnati Bengals / 6th / 178th pick / 1996 |
| LILB | Steve Tovar | 27 | 4 | 5 | Cincinnati Bengals / 3rd / 59th pick / 1993 | |
| RILB | Ricardo McDonald | 28 | 5 | 12 | 1.0 sacks, 0 interceptions, 0 fumbles recovered | Cincinnati Bengals / 4th / 88th pick / 1992 |
| ROLB | Gerald Dixon | 28 | 4 | 12 | 8.5 sacks, 0 interceptions, 0 fumbles recovered | Cleveland Browns / 3rd / 78th pick / 1992 |
| LCB | Ashley Ambrose | 27 | 5 | 16 | 1.0 sacks, 3 interceptions, 2 fumbles recovered | Indianapolis Colts / 2nd / 29th pick / 1992 |
| RCB | Jimmy Spencer | 28 | 5 | 9 | 0.0 sacks, 1 interception, 0 fumbles recovered | Washington Redskins / 8th / 215th pick / 1991 |
| RCB | Tito Paul | 25 | 2 | 5 | 0.0 sacks, 0 interceptions, 1 fumble recovered | Arizona Cardinals / 5th / 167th pick / 1995 |
| SS | Sam Shade | 24 | 2 | 12 | 4.0 sacks, 1 interception, 1 fumble recovered | Cincinnati Bengals / 4th / 102nd pick / 1995 |
| FS | Greg Myers | 25 | 1 | 14 | 0.0 sacks, 1 interception, 2 fumbles recovered | Cincinnati Bengals / 5th / 144th pick / 1996 |
| Special Teams Starters | ||||||
| K | Doug Pelfrey | 27 | 4 | 0 | 12 of 16 field goals & 41 of 43 extra points | Cincinnati Bengals / 8th / 202nd pick / 1993 |
| P | Lee Johnson | 36 | 12 | 0 | 81 punts for a 42.9 average, 0 blocked | Houston Oilers / 5th / 138th pick / 1985 |
| PR | Greg Myers | 25 | 1 | 14 | 26 punt returns for a 7.7 average and 0 td | Cincinnati Bengals / 5th / 144th pick / 1996 |
| KR | Eric Bieniemy | 28 | 6 | 0 | 34 kick returns for a 23.2 average and 1 td | San Diego Chargers / 2nd / 39th pick / 1991 |
| No. | Age | Pos | G | GS | Wt | Ht | College/Univ | BirthDate | Yrs | Drafted (tm/rnd/yr) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 33 | Ashley Ambrose | 27 | DB | 16 | 16 | 190 | 5-11 | Miss. Valley St. | 9/17/1970 | 5 | Indianapolis Colts / 2nd / 29th pick / 1992 |
| 71 | Willie Anderson | 22 | T | 16 | 16 | 340 | 6-5 | Auburn | 7/11/1975 | 1 | Cincinnati Bengals / 1st / 10th pick / 1996 |
| 89 | Marco Battaglia | 24 | TE | 16 | 0 | 250 | 6-3 | Rutgers | 1/25/1973 | 1 | Cincinnati Bengals / 2nd / 39th pick / 1996 |
| 21 | Eric Bieniemy | 28 | RB | 16 | 0 | 207 | 5-7 | Colorado | 8/15/1969 | 6 | San Diego Chargers / 2nd / 39th pick / 1991 |
| 66 | Ken Blackman | 25 | G | 13 | 13 | 320 | 6-6 | Illinois | 11/8/1972 | 1 | Cincinnati Bengals / 3rd / 69th pick / 1996 |
| 8 | Jeff Blake | 27 | QB | 11 | 11 | 223 | 6-1 | East Carolina | 12/4/1970 | 5 | New York Jets / 6th / 166th pick / 1992 |
| 74 | Rich Braham | 27 | C-G | 16 | 16 | 305 | 6-4 | West Virginia | 11/6/1970 | 3 | Arizona Cardinals / 3rd / 76th pick / 1994 |
| 65 | Darrick Brilz | 33 | C-G | 16 | 16 | 287 | 6-3 | Oregon St. | 2/14/1964 | 10 | |
| 75 | Anthony Brown | 25 | T-G | 6 | 0 | 315 | 6-5 | Utah | 11/6/1972 | 2 | |
| 72 | Scott Brumfield | 27 | G-T | 15 | 3 | 321 | 6-8 | BYU | 8/19/1970 | 4 | |
| 96 | Brentson Buckner | 26 | DT-DE-NT | 14 | 5 | 305 | 6-2 | Clemson | 9/30/1971 | 3 | Pittsburgh Steelers / 2nd / 50th pick / 1994 |
| 88 | Steve Bush | 23 | TE | 16 | 0 | 280 | 6-3 | Arizona St. | 7/4/1974 | Rook | |
| 32 | Ki-Jana Carter | 24 | RB | 15 | 10 | 222 | 5-10 | Penn St. | 9/12/1973 | 1 | Cincinnati Bengals / 1st / 1st pick / 1995 |
| 55 | Andre Collins | 29 | LB | 16 | 0 | 237 | 6-1 | Penn St. | 5/4/1968 | 7 | Washington Redskins / 2nd / 46th pick / 1990 |
| 92 | John Copeland | 27 | DE-DT-NT | 15 | 15 | 285 | 6-3 | Alabama | 9/20/1970 | 4 | Cincinnati Bengals / 1st / 5th pick / 1993 |
| 98 | Canute Curtis | 23 | LB | 3 | 0 | 250 | 6-2 | West Virginia | 8/4/1974 | Rook | Cincinnati Bengals / 6th / 176th pick / 1997 |
| 28 | Corey Dillon | 23 | RB | 16 | 6 | 225 | 6-1 | Washington | 10/24/1974 | Rook | Cincinnati Bengals / 2nd / 43rd pick / 1997 |
| 51 | Gerald Dixon | 28 | LB | 15 | 12 | 250 | 6-3 | South Carolina | 6/20/1969 | 4 | Cleveland Browns / 3rd / 78th pick / 1992 |
| 45 | Ty Douthard | 24 | RB | 1 | 0 | 215 | 6-1 | Illinois | 5/27/1973 | Rook | |
| 80 | David Dunn | 25 | WR | 14 | 5 | 215 | 6-3 | Fresno St. | 6/10/1972 | 2 | Cincinnati Bengals / 5th / 139th pick / 1995 |
| 7 | Boomer Esiason | 36 | QB | 7 | 5 | 224 | 6-5 | Maryland | 4/17/1961 | 13 | Cincinnati Bengals / 2nd / 38th pick / 1984 |
| 50 | James Francis | 29 | LB | 16 | 16 | 253 | 6-5 | Baylor | 8/4/1968 | 7 | Cincinnati Bengals / 1st / 12th pick / 1990 |
| 30 | Cory Gilliard | 23 | DB | 1 | 0 | 210 | 6-0 | Ball St. | 10/10/1974 | Rook | Denver Broncos / 4th / 124th pick / 1997 |
| 41 | Scottie Graham | 28 | RB | 5 | 0 | 217 | 5-9 | Ohio St. | 3/28/1969 | 5 | Pittsburgh Steelers / 7th / 188th pick / 1992 |
| 91 | Billy Granville | 23 | LB | 12 | 4 | 252 | 6-3 | Duke | 3/11/1974 | Rook | |
| 62 | Brock Gutierrez | 24 | C | 5 | 0 | 304 | 6-3 | Central Michigan | 9/25/1973 | Rook | |
| 85 | James Hundon | 26 | WR | 16 | 0 | 180 | 6-1 | Portland St. | 4/9/1971 | 1 | |
| 84 | Mike Jenkins | 23 | WR | 4 | 0 | 200 | 6-4 | Hampton | 8/25/1974 | Rook | |
| 11 | Lee Johnson | 36 | P | 16 | 0 | 200 | 6-2 | BYU | 11/27/1961 | 12 | Houston Oilers / 5th / 138th pick / 1985 |
| 60 | Rod E. Jones | 23 | T | 13 | 8 | 325 | 6-4 | Kansas | 1/11/1974 | 1 | Cincinnati Bengals / 7th / 219th pick / 1996 |
| 94 | Jevon Langford | 23 | DE | 14 | 0 | 290 | 6-3 | Oklahoma St. | 2/16/1974 | 1 | Cincinnati Bengals / 4th / 108th pick / 1996 |
| 30 | Anthone Lott | 23 | DB | 5 | 0 | 194 | 5-9 | Florida | 7/22/1974 | Rook | |
| 34 | Tremain Mack | 23 | DB | 4 | 4 | 193 | 6-0 | Miami (FL) | 11/21/1974 | Rook | Cincinnati Bengals / 4th / 111th pick / 1997 |
| 56 | Ricardo McDonald | 28 | LB | 13 | 12 | 248 | 6-2 | Pittsburgh | 11/8/1969 | 5 | Cincinnati Bengals / 4th / 88th pick / 1992 |
| 82 | Tony McGee | 26 | TE | 16 | 16 | 247 | 6-3 | Michigan | 4/21/1971 | 4 | Cincinnati Bengals / 2nd / 37th pick / 1993 |
| 44 | Brian Milne | 24 | RB | 16 | 16 | 255 | 6-3 | Penn St. | 1/7/1973 | 1 | Indianapolis Colts / 4th / 115th pick / 1996 |
| 31 | Greg Myers | 25 | DB | 16 | 14 | 202 | 6-1 | Colorado St. | 9/30/1972 | 1 | Cincinnati Bengals / 5th / 144th pick / 1996 |
| 26 | Bo Orlando | 31 | DB | 16 | 2 | 180 | 5-10 | West Virginia | 4/3/1966 | 7 | Houston Oilers / 6th / 157th pick / 1989 |
| 27 | Tito Paul | 25 | DB | 14 | 5 | 195 | 6-0 | Ohio St. | 12/7/1972 | 2 | Arizona Cardinals / 5th / 167th pick / 1995 |
| 9 | Doug Pelfrey | 27 | K | 16 | 0 | 185 | 5-11 | Kentucky | 9/25/1970 | 4 | Cincinnati Bengals / 8th / 202nd pick / 1993 |
| 81 | Carl Pickens | 27 | WR | 12 | 12 | 206 | 6-2 | Tennessee | 3/23/1970 | 5 | Cincinnati Bengals / 2nd / 31st pick / 1992 |
| 97 | Andre Purvis | 24 | DT | 7 | 1 | 310 | 6-4 | North Carolina | 7/14/1973 | Rook | Cincinnati Bengals / 5th / 144th pick / 1997 |
| 77 | Kevin Sargent | 28 | T | 10 | 8 | 289 | 6-6 | East. Washington | 3/31/1969 | 5 | |
| 23 | Corey Sawyer | 26 | DB | 15 | 2 | 177 | 5-11 | Florida St. | 10/4/1971 | 3 | Cincinnati Bengals / 4th / 104th pick / 1994 |
| 86 | Darnay Scott | 25 | WR | 16 | 15 | 200 | 6-1 | San Diego St. | 7/7/1972 | 3 | Cincinnati Bengals / 2nd / 30th pick / 1994 |
| 35 | Sam Shade | 24 | DB | 16 | 12 | 205 | 6-0 | Alabama | 6/14/1973 | 2 | Cincinnati Bengals / 4th / 102nd pick / 1995 |
| 22 | Jimmy Spencer | 28 | DB | 16 | 9 | 188 | 5-9 | Florida | 3/29/1969 | 5 | Washington Redskins / 8th / 215th pick / 1991 |
| 79 | Ramondo Stallings | 26 | DE | 6 | 0 | 286 | 6-7 | San Diego St. | 11/21/1971 | 3 | Cincinnati Bengals / 7th / 195th pick / 1994 |
| 52 | Tim Terry | 23 | LB | 5 | 0 | 235 | 6-3 | Temple | 7/26/1974 | Rook | |
| 58 | Steve Tovar | 27 | LB | 14 | 5 | 246 | 6-3 | Ohio St. | 4/25/1970 | 4 | Cincinnati Bengals / 3rd / 59th pick / 1993 |
| 59 | Greg Truitt | 32 | C | 16 | 0 | 235 | 6-0 | Penn St. | 12/8/1965 | 3 | |
| 53 | Tom Tumulty | 24 | LB | 11 | 11 | 247 | 6-3 | Pittsburgh | 2/11/1973 | 1 | Cincinnati Bengals / 6th / 178th pick / 1996 |
| 17 | Gunnard Twyner | 24 | WR | 2 | 0 | 165 | 5-10 | West. Illinois | 7/14/1973 | Rook | |
| 67 | Kimo von Oelhoffen | 26 | DE-NT-DT | 13 | 13 | 300 | 6-4 | Hawaii,Boise St. | 1/30/1971 | 3 | Cincinnati Bengals / 6th / 162nd pick / 1994 |
| 63 | Joe Walter | 34 | T-G | 5 | 0 | 292 | 6-7 | Texas Tech | 6/18/1963 | 12 | Cincinnati Bengals / 7th / 181st pick / 1985 |
| 99 | Dan Wilkinson | 24 | DT-DE | 15 | 15 | 335 | 6-4 | Ohio St. | 3/13/1973 | 3 | Cincinnati Bengals / 1st / 1st pick / 1994 |
| 57 | Reinard Wilson | 24 | LB-DE | 16 | 3 | 270 | 6-2 | Florida St. | 12/17/1973 | Rook | Cincinnati Bengals / 1st / 14th pick / 1997 |
| 42 | Lawrence Wright | 24 | DB | 4 | 0 | 209 | 6-2 | Florida | 9/6/1973 | Rook | |
| Team Total | 26.1 | 16 | 244.7 | 6-2.0 | 3.0 |