1996 Cincinnati Bengals season

Cincinnati Bengals
1996 Cincinnati Bengals season
Head coach	Dave Shula (first 7 games); Bruce Coslet (last 9 games)
Home field	Cinergy Field
Results
Record	8–8
Division place	3rd AFC Central
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Pro Bowlers	WR Carl Pickens

The 1996 Cincinnati Bengals season was the team's 29th year in professional football and its 27th with the National Football League. The Dave Shula era comes to a sudden end when he is fired after a 1–6 start, as Jeff Blake struggles with turnovers. Former Bengals TE Bruce Coslet, former New York Jets head coach, and the team's offensive coordinator, would replace Shula as head coach. The move paid off right away as the Bengals won the first 3 games under Coslet. After losing two of their next three games, the Bengals closed the year with three straight wins to finish with an 8–8 record.[1] One bright spot during the season, was that WR Carl Pickens became the first member of the Bengals to have 100 receptions in a season.

Offseason

NFL Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	College
1996 Cincinnati Bengals draft
1	10	Willie Anderson *	Offensive tackle	Auburn
2	39	Marco Battaglia	Tight end	Rutgers
3	69	Ken Blackman	Guard	Illinois
4	108	Jevon Langford	Defensive end	Oklahoma State
5	144	Greg Myers	Defensive back	Colorado State
6	178	Tom Tumulty	Linebacker	Pittsburgh
7	219	Rod Jones	Offensive tackle	Kansas
Made roster * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

[2]

Undrafted free agents

1996 Undrafted Free Agents of note
Player	Position	College
Nick Ferguson	Safety	Georgia Tech
Chris Hetherington	Fullback	Yale
Damon Huard	Quarterback	Washington
Tim Morabito	Defensive tackle	Boston College

Personnel

Staff

**1996 Cincinnati Bengals staff**

	Front office President – Mike Brown Head coaches Head Coach – Dave Shula Offensive coaches Offensive Coordinator – Bruce Coslet Quarterbacks – Ken Anderson Running Backs – Jim Anderson Wide Receivers – John Garrett Tight Ends – Gary Moeller Offensive Line – Paul Alexander			Defensive coaches Defensive Coordinator – Larry Peccatiello Defensive Line – Tim Krumrie Linebackers – Joe Pascale Defensive Backs – Ron Meeks Staff Assistant – Bobby DePaul Special teams coaches Special Teams – Joe Wessel Strength and conditioning Strength and Conditioning – Kim Wood

Roster

**1996 Cincinnati Bengals roster**

	Quarterbacks 8 Jeff Blake 12 Kerry Joseph 4 Erik Wilhelm Running backs 21 Eric Bieniemy 32 Ki-Jana Carter 46 Jeff Cothran FB 20 Garrison Hearst 36 James Joseph 44 Brian Milne FB Wide receivers 80 David Dunn 84 Jeff Hill 85 James Hundon 81 Carl Pickens 86 Darnay Scott 83 Tydus Winans Tight ends 89 Marco Battaglia 82 Tony McGee 87 Troy Sadowski		Offensive linemen 71 Willie Anderson T 66 Ken Blackman G 74 Rich Braham G/C 65 Darrick Brilz C 75 Anthony Brown T 60 Rod Jones G 76 Trent Pollard G 61 Melvin Tuten T 63 Joe Walter T Defensive linemen 92 John Copeland DE 96 Kenny Davidson DT 90 Tim Johnson DT 98 Todd Kelly DE 94 Jevon Langford DE 93 Tim Morabito DT 70 Artie Smith DE 79 Ramondo Stallings DE 67 Kimo von Oelhoffen DT 99 Dan Wilkinson DT		Linebackers 55 Andre Collins OLB 51 Gerald Dixon OLB 50 James Francis OLB 56 Ricardo McDonald OLB 52 Randy Neal LB 51 Steve Tovar MLB 53 Tom Tumulty MLB Defensive backs 33 Ashley Ambrose CB 25 Rod Jones CB 24 Roger Jones CB 31 Greg Myers FS 26 Bo Orlando FS 23 Corey Sawyer CB 35 Sam Shade SS 30 Chris Shelling CB 22 Jimmy Spencer CB 27 Bracy Walker SS 37 Leonard Wheeler CB Special teams 11 Lee Johnson P 9 Doug Pelfrey K 59 Greg Truitt LS		Reserve lists 72 Scott Brumfield G (IR) 40 Deland McCullough RB (IR) 77 Kevin Sargent T (IR) 91 Brett Wallerstedt MLB (IR) Practice squad -- Gunnard Twyner WR Rookies in italics

[3]

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	TV Time(EST)	TV Announcers	Attendance
1	September 1, 1996	at St. Louis Rams	L 26–16	NBC 1:00pm	Dan Hicks & Bart Oates	62,659
2	September 8, 1996	at San Diego Chargers	L 27–14	NBC 4:00pm	Jim Lampley & Bob Golic	55,880
3	September 15, 1996	New Orleans Saints	W 30–15	FOX 1:00pm	Kenny Albert & Tim Green	45,412
4	Bye
5	September 29, 1996	Denver Broncos	L 14–10	NBC 1:00pm	Charlie Jones & Randy Cross	51,798
6	October 6, 1996	Houston Oilers	L 30–27	TNT 8:00pm	Verne Lundquist & Pat Haden	44,680
7	October 13, 1996	at Pittsburgh Steelers	L 20–10	NBC 1:00pm	Charlie Jones & Randy Cross	58,875
8	October 20, 1996	at San Francisco 49ers	L 28–21	NBC 4:00pm	Dick Enberg, Paul Maguire & Phil Simms	63,218
9	October 27, 1996	Jacksonville Jaguars	W 28–21	NBC 1:00pm	Don Criqui & Beasley Reece	45,890
10	November 3, 1996	at Baltimore Ravens	W 24–21	NBC 1:00pm	Don Criqui & Beasley Reece	60,743
11	November 10, 1996	Pittsburgh Steelers	W 34–24	NBC 1:00pm	Don Criqui & Beasley Reece	57,265
12	November 17, 1996	at Buffalo Bills	L 31–17	NBC 1:00pm	Don Criqui & Beasley Reece	75,549
13	November 24, 1996	Atlanta Falcons	W 41–31	FOX 1:00pm	Thom Brennaman & Ron Pitts	44,868
14	December 1, 1996	at Jacksonville Jaguars	L 30–27	NBC 1:00pm	Dan Hicks & Bart Oates	57,408
15	December 8, 1996	Baltimore Ravens	W 21–14	NBC 1:00pm	Jim Lampley & Bob Golic	43,022
16	December 15, 1996	at Houston Oilers	W 21–13	NBC 4:00pm	Jim Lampley & Bob Golic	15,131
17	December 22, 1996	Indianapolis Colts	W 31–24	NBC 1:00pm	Jim Lampley & Bob Golic	49,389

Standings

AFC Central
	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA	STK
⁽³⁾ Pittsburgh Steelers	10	6	0	.625	344	257	L2
⁽⁵⁾ Jacksonville Jaguars	9	7	0	.563	325	335	W5
Cincinnati Bengals	8	8	0	.500	372	369	W3
Houston Oilers	8	8	0	.500	345	319	W1
Baltimore Ravens	4	12	0	.250	371	441	L3

Team leaders

Passing

Player	Att	Comp	Yds	TD	INT	Rating
Jeff Blake	549	308	3624	24	14	80.3

Rushing

Player	Att	Yds	YPC	Long	TD
Garrison Hearst	225	847	3.8	24	0
Ki-Jana Carter	91	264	2.9	31	8

Receiving

Player	Rec	Yds	Avg	Long	TD
Carl Pickens	100	1180	11.8	61	12

Defensive

Player	Tackles	Sacks	INTs	FF	FR
Steve Tovar	104	3.0	4	0	0
Dan Wilkinson	44	6.5	1	0	1
Ashley Ambrose	50	2.0	8	1	0

Kicking and punting

Player	FGA	FGM	FG%	XPA	XPM	XP%	Points
Doug Pelfrey	28	23	82.1%	41	41	100.0%	110

Player	Punts	Yards	Long	Blkd	Avg.
Lee Johnson	80	3630	67	1	45.4

Special teams

Player	KR	KRYards	KRAvg	KRLong	KRTD	PR	PRYards	PRAvg	PRLong	PRTD
David Dunn	35	782	22.3	90	1	7	54	7.7	20	0
Corey Sawyer	12	241	20.1	33	0	15	117	7.8	62	0

Awards and records

Carl Pickens, Franchise Record, Most Receptions in One Season, 100 Receptions [4]
Carl Pickens, Led AFC, Receptions, 100 Receptions [5]

Milestones

Carl Pickens, 3rd 1000 Yard Receiving Season, 1,180 yards [6]

References

Season summary and statistics at Sports E Cylclopedia
"1996 Cincinnati Bengals Draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved January 28, 2014.
"1996 Cincinnati Bengals starters, roster, and players". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 17, 2014.
NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 37
NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 451
NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 440

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.

[1] Season summary and statistics at Sports E Cylclopedia

[2] "1996 Cincinnati Bengals Draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved January 28, 2014.

[3] "1996 Cincinnati Bengals starters, roster, and players". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 17, 2014.

[4] NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 37

[5] NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 451

[6] NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 440

Cincinnati Bengals
Founded in 1968 Based and headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio
Franchise	Franchise History Seasons Coaches Players First-round draft picks Draft history Starting quarterbacks
Stadiums	Nippert Stadium Riverfront Stadium Paul Brown Stadium
Culture and lore	Freezer Bowl Ickey Shuffle "Welcome to the Jungle" "You don't live in Cleveland, you live in Cincinnati!" Ben–Gals Bengalized Laura Vikmanis Muppet Night Football
Rivalries	Baltimore Ravens Cleveland Browns Pittsburgh Steelers
Division championships (9)	1970 1973 1981 1988 1990 2005 2009 2013 2015
Conference championships (2)	1981 1988
Retired numbers	54
Media	Broadcasters Radio network Flagships: WCKY WEBN WLW Television: WKRC-TV
Current league affiliations	League: National Football League (1970–present) Conference: American Football Conference Division: North Division
Former league affiliation	League: American Football League (1968–1969)
Seasons (51)	1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

Cincinnati Bengals seasons
1960s	1968 1969
1970s	1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979
1980s	1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
1990s	1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
2000s	2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
2010s	2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
2020s	2020 2021
Italics indicates Super Bowl appearance