It’s Not Exactly ‘Clash Of The Titans’ Despite Their 2-0 Record, Bengals 4-Point Underdogs To Struggling Seahawks

From a positive perspective, this game offers fans their best chance ever to get a good seat at a Seahawks game.

There could be 30,000 to choose from.

Of course, once you get in the Kingdome, you would be watching a tussle between the two teams that have combined to lose more games than any other toothless twosome in the NFL the past three seasons.

Yet, the 0-2 Seahawks, somehow, are four-point overdogs despite the fact that Cincinnati is 2-0.

Beyond that, Cincinnati coach David Shula has won two of his three meetings against the Seahawks, with both wins coming on the road in the Kingdome.

Shula, who had only nine wins in three seasons against non-Seahawk teams, is understandably cautious about making too much of the Bengals’ quick start. “We had two close ball games (against Indianapolis and Jacksonville) and we made a few more plays than our opponents,” he said. “There’s not much more to it than that.”

Likewise, historical success in the Kingdome doesn’t mean that a 3-0 start is guaranteed. “That doesn’t mean anything because this is a new team and a new year,” Shula said. “We have a lot of respect for playing in Seattle; we’ve had a lot of close-fought ball games, and that’s probably the way this one will go too.”

The Bengals, having struggled so desperately in recent years, have provided something of a barometer for the Seahawks - a gauge by which they could measure their distance from the bottom.

And last year’s Nov. 6 game in the Kingdome, which Cincinnati won 20-17 in overtime, might have been the point at which the Hawks reached their nadir.

The Bengals, 0-8 at the time, gained 496 yards against the Seahawks and won the game - on the strength of six Doug Pelfrey field goals and a safety - without scoring a touchdown.

An overtime win over the Colts and a 24-17 defeat of the expansion Jaguars leave the Bengals tied for the AFC Central division lead with Pittsburgh.

“Obviously, they’re a much-improved football team,” Seahawks coach Dennis Erickson said. “They’re playing with a lot of confidence right now, and they’ve got some talent.”

With a cushy schedule including an expansion team and three division cellar-dwellers (Seattle, Houston and Tampa Bay) in the first six games, the Bengals saw the early season as an opportunity to reverse their fortunes.

“Our key this year was to get off to a good start, which we have,” said Bengals center Darrick Brilz, a former Seahawk. “There’s a real positive atmosphere around here that we need to keep going.”

Even though the opposition hasn’t been among the league’s elite, Cincinnati’s success is not something that can be entirely discounted.

Jeff Blake, for instance, comes in with the third-highest quarterback rating in the AFC, having completed 62 percent for three touchdowns and no interceptions.

“He’s a great athlete,” Erickson said. “He moves around, has a great arm and can make a lot of things happen.”

It is the absence of interceptions that has Shula most excited about Blake.

“He’s done a good job, made good decisions - quick decisions,” Shula said of Blake, who solidified his starting position when David Klingler went down with a broken jaw in the preseason. “His athletic ability gives us some options with what we can do with him.”

When Blake buys time to throw with his scrambling, he has several receivers who can toast secondaries. Last year, for instance, rookie Darnay Scott shook free for a 76-yard completion. On the other side, Carl Pickens has already scored two touchdowns - one a 68-yarder.

“The guy who is really under-rated in their offense, though, is Tony McGee, their tight end,” Erickson said. “If you try to double their receivers, then you’ve got him one-on-one and that’s not a good matchup.”

Of the league’s leading receivers, McGee is tops in yards-per-reception with a very un-tight-end-like average of 19.7.

A tender ankle might keep leading rusher Harold Green from being a factor, possibly creating more playing time for Eric Bieniemy.

Erickson, meanwhile, knows what to expect from the Bengal defense.

“They have blitzed over a third of the time in their first two games and they’ve got (an NFL-leading) 11 sacks,” Erickson said. “So we’ve got to be alert to what we’re doing and try to keep things a little simpler (offensively).”

Erickson may counter the blitzes by working from the shotgun formation, which provides quarterback Rick Mirer with a bit more time to read the defense.

The biggest threat on that defense has become Dan Wilkinson, last year’s No. 1 draft pick. But Wilkinson’s status might be affected by a Wednesday evening arrest following an alleged assault on his pregnant girlfriend.

Wilkinson has been moved from tackle to defensive end, where “it’s harder to double-team him,” Erickson said.

Erickson, who never lost consecutive games at the University of Miami, knows a loss to the Bengals would further erode community appreciation of the Seahawks.

“I don’t like to lose,” he said. “I’m not used to losing and I’ll never get used to it. On the other hand, I see improvement from the first to the second game. All you can do is keep working and hang in there and I try to relate that to the players.

“They have a good attitude and something good is going to happen.” , DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story:

HAWKS VS. BENGALS The game: 1 p.m. the Kingdome. Coaches: Seattle - Dennis Erickson, 0-2, first season, Cincinnati - David Shula, 13-37, fourth season. The records: Seattle 0-2. Cincinnati 2-0. The series: Cincinnati leads 7-6. Last week: Seattle fell 14-10 to San Diego. The Bengals topped Jacksonville 24-17 in Cincinnati. The line: Seattle by 4. On the air Television: NBC with Dan Hicks and Tunch Ilkin. Radio: KXLY (920 AM) with Steve Thomas and Steve Raible.<