http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/sports/1645001 Texans will be out to make Bengals' Johnson eat his fightin' words Nov. 2, 2002, 11:12PM What Texans fans know about Bengals receiver Chad Johnson is that he is a young man of extreme confidence. How else do you explain guaranteeing a victory when your team has lost 14 of its last 16 games? What Texans fans might not know about Johnson is that he's actually a pretty good receiver. In fact, Johnson leads the Bengals with 24 catches for 307 yards and a touchdown. He's averaging 12.8 yards a catch, and he's within four catches and 22 yards of matching his totals from his rookie season a year ago. What Johnson surely knows by now is that he has made himself a marked man by being the most vocal player in the Bengals' guarantee of a victory today. The Texans tried their best to measure their words in the days leading to showtime, but make no mistake -- they are offended that a winless team and a second-year receiver regard them so lightly. "Everybody's taking shots at me," Johnson said. "Keep it up." All talk and gamesmanship aside, Johnson has played his best football of the season over the past three games, and while the Bengals' receivers have underachieved for the most part, Johnson has emerged as the go-to guy for whomever coach Dick LeBeau decides to play at quarterback each particular week. Johnson doesn't have blazing speed, but he displays good quickness, runs crisps routes and has playmaking ability. He'll need all of those attributes against the Texans, who have not allowed a receiver to gain more than 81 yards over the past two weeks and didn't allow a receiver to catch more than four passes last week. Johnson no doubt will get a healthy dose of Aaron Glenn, the Texans' best cover cornerback. Glenn hasn't allowed a touchdown this season and almost always is in a position to make a play on the ball. Things won't get any easier when Johnson is matched against Marcus Coleman, a big, physical corner who has the size to match Johnson's 6-2, 192-pound frame. There has been no shortage of trash-talking preceding the game, and you can count on plenty of gabbing during the game, but when it's all said and done, Johnson will have to find a way to consistently get open against a solid -- not to mention proud -- pair of corners. Some of the Texans might not have known who Johnson was before his bold prediction, but they certainly know who is now, and they'll be looking forward to getting acquainted with him this afternoon at Reliant Stadium. Johnson strapped the bull's-eye on his chest. Now, let's see if he can dodge the projectiles. TEXANS OFFENSIVE LINE vs. BENGALS DEFENSIVE LINE If there were ever a game during which the Texans' offensive line could begin to prove it's not a liability in pass protection, this is the one. The Texans have allowed a league-high 44 sacks, but only four came in last week's victory over Jacksonville. The Bengals get to the quarterback less than any team in the league. Last season, Cincinnati had a franchise-record 48 sacks, but it has just eight in 2002, and defensive ends Justin Smith and Reinard Wilson have just two sacks between them after combining for 17 1/2 a year ago. Texans quarterback David Carr has proven what he can do when he has time to throw. He has thrown 89 consecutive passes without an interception. If Chester Pitts, DeMingo Graham, Steve McKinney, Ryan Schau and Ryan Young can keep the Bengals' defensive linemen in their slump, Carr could have his biggest day of the season. TEXANS DEFENSE vs. BENGALS RB COREY DILLON The Bengals haven't had much consistency on offense, but the one player on whom they can depend is Dillon. Cincinnati had possession for more than 34 minutes in last week's close-call loss to Tennessee, mainly because it was able to run the ball with Dillon. Cincinnati ran for 191 yards against the Titans, including 138 by Dillon, who averaged 4.6 yards a carry. The Texans have been inconsistent against the run at times this season, but they did a great job of plugging the gaps last week against Jacksonville, holding the dangerous Fred Taylor to 84 yards on 25 carries. Gary Walker and Seth Payne anchor the Texans' defensive line, and linebackers Jay Foreman and Jamie Sharper are sure tacklers who pursue ball carriers with tenacity. While Dillon is more effective between the tackles, he has enough speed to cut back and exploit mistakes. A big day for Dillon is the key to the Bengals winning. TEXANS WR COREY BRADFORD vs. BENGALS SECONDARY Because the Bengals don't generate much of a pass rush from their front four, they may be forced to blitz a lot. The more the Bengals blitz, the more favorable matchups the Texans will get in the secondary, and it could give David Carr more opportunities to throw to Bradford. Bradford had just one catch last week against the Jaguars, who took him out of the game with double coverage. The Bengals also will try to limit the times cornerbacks Artrell Hawkins and Bo Jennings are matched one-on-one with Bradford. Carr did a good job of finding secondary options such as rookie receiver Jabar Gaffney and tight ends Billy Miller and Jabari Holloway last week, but the Texans' offense is at its best when the explosive Bradford is getting touches. TEXANS BLITZ vs. BENGALS QB JON KITNA Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio ordered plenty of pressure on Jaguars quarterback Mark Brunell last week, and it had great success. Brunell often seemed confused, trying to determine the origin of the Texans' blitzes while also attempting to dissect the various coverage schemes Fangio threw at him. Kitna is coming off his best game, but he is not as skilled as Brunell, so the Texans should be able to cause him fits with blitzes. The Texans like to blitz defensive backs out of their nickel and dime packages, which allowed reserve cornerbacks Kenny Wright and Jason Simmons to get a sack each last week. The Texans also can bring the heat from outside linebackers Jeff Posey and Kailee Wong, who have combined for nine of the Texans' 20 sacks. Posey has a sack in five of the Texans' seven games.
