Dillon is happy in New England

FOXBORO, Mass. — The Bengals are coming to town Sunday, which is why Corey Dillon, who was sick of talking about his seven years in Cincinnati after his second day as a Patriot, is evading media members in the Patriots dressing room as eagerly as he does tacklers.

Wearing headphones, Dillon shook his head when asked if he had time to talk. He says that for him, the Bengals are just another opponent. And if you believe that …

When trades are made in pro sports, both sides invariably say the trade will benefit both teams. That’s rarely true, but in this deal, it does seem to be the case.

A week before April’s NFL draft, the Bengals traded their disgruntled tailback to the Patriots for one of the Patriots’ second-round draft choices (56th overall).

The Bengals used the pick to select Maryland safety Madieu Williams, who has started nine games and got his third interception in Sunday’s 27-26 comeback victory over the Ravens.

“He has been tremendous,” Bengals coach Marvin Lewis said in a conference call this week. “He has started at both corner and safety for us. He is a fine player and he is going to have a great career in the NFL.”

Dillon, a three-time Pro Bowl pick in Cincinnati who holds or shares 18 Bengals records, is in the midst of a great career that has been marred by his public disdain for the Bengals organization and its losing ways.

Although Lewis eventually realized that the best solution was to trade Dillon, he said he wasn’t going to trade him to just anyone.

“I think (other teams) knew there was an opportunity in gaining Corey’s services if they were willing to pay our price for it,” Lewis said. “As I said to people when we made the deal, I wasn’t going to send him to the (division rival) Pittsburgh Steelers. That is how good we felt about Corey as a player and how confident I was in him and his abilities.”

People never have questioned Dillon’s ability, just his attitude.

After assuring Patriots coach Bill Belichick at a pre-trade meeting that “I won’t give you any problems,” Dillon has been close to brilliant since joining the Patriots. Having rushed for 100 yards in seven of his 11 starts – a career best – Dillon has rushed for 1,221 yards (third in the AFC, fourth in the NFL) and is on pace to set the Patriots’ season rushing record (Curtis Martin had 1,487 yards in 1995). Dillon’s mere presence gives the Patriots, who won two Super Bowls without a marquee running back, their most balanced offense in franchise history.

Although Belichick and Dillon’s teammates insist he has been a model teammate, Dillon, who had several scrapes with the law early in his career, was a polarizing figure in his final years in Cincinnati. Last season, when he failed to rush for 1,000 yards for the first time in his career after sustaining a groin injury, he often ate his lunch by himself, with his back to his teammates. After his last home game in Cincinnati, he flung his pads into the stands as he walked off the field.

But when Dillon was injured in 2003, tailback Rudi Johnson emerged, averaging 4.5 yards and rushing for 957 yards in 13 games. Proving it was no fluke, Johnson this season has rushed for 1,105 yards, fourth in the AFC. After losing four of their first five games, the Bengals (6-6) have won four of five.

“It was a great deal for both teams,” Lewis said.

Although an already disgruntled Dillon surprised many by signing a contract extension with the Bengals before the 2001 season, he was so fed up in Cincinnati when Lewis was hired in 2003 that despite Lewis’ best efforts, Dillon wanted out.

“I failed to win Corey over to being fully committed as a Cincinnati Bengal,” Lewis said, when asked if he had any regrets. “That is my fault. Other than that, I have no regrets.”

Does Dillon look like different guy in New England than he was in Cincinnati?

“I think he looks like the guy we started the season with last year before he got hurt,” Lewis said. “I don’t think he looks like a different guy. He has different colors on. I’ve said I thought Corey was a better player in person than when I coached against him. That was exciting for me, but I don’t think he is a different person. I don’t think he is playing better now. I think he is playing healthy.”

Does Lewis believe Dillon gave his new program a chance?

“Well, I think he did,” Lewis said. “Corey is there now and let’s leave it at that. He did what he did.”