1996 Cincinnati Bengals season

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

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

1996 Cincinnati Bengals draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
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]

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  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 72 Scott Brumfield G 60 Rod Jones 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 (American football) 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 Rookies in italics

^[3]

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
1	September 1, 1996	at St. Louis Rams	L 26–16	62,659
2	September 8, 1996	at San Diego Chargers	L 27–14	55,880
3	September 15, 1996	New Orleans Saints	W 30–15	45,412
4	Bye
5	September 29, 1996	Denver Broncos	L 14–10	51,798
6	October 6, 1996	Houston Oilers	L 30–27	44,680
7	October 13, 1996	at Pittsburgh Steelers	L 20–10	58,875
8	October 20, 1996	at San Francisco 49ers	L 28–21	63,218
9	October 27, 1996	Jacksonville Jaguars	W 28–21	45,890
10	November 3, 1996	at Baltimore Ravens	W 24–21	60,743
11	November 10, 1996	Pittsburgh Steelers	W 34–24	57,265
12	November 17, 1996	at Buffalo Bills	L 31–17	75,549
13	November 24, 1996	Atlanta Falcons	W 41–31	44,868
14	December 1, 1996	at Jacksonville Jaguars	L 30–27	57,408
15	December 8, 1996	Baltimore Ravens	W 21–14	43,022
16	December 15, 1996	at Houston Oilers	W 21–13	15,131
17	December 22, 1996	Indianapolis Colts	W 31–24	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

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,NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 37
5. NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York,NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 451
6. NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York,NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 440

External links

• Official website
• 1996 Cincinnati Bengals at Pro-Football-Reference.com