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Sports TwitterCornerback Joseph tries to solve slump
Friday, November 09, 2007
CINCINNATI — Luckily for the Bengals, right cornerback Johnathan Joseph is blessed with a short memory.
If he weren't, then the player and the team would be in deeper trouble than they already are.
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"You're going to get beat at times, maybe more than once in a game," Joseph said. "I know that comes with the job. So to have a short memory is the best thing, or else you'll find your way out of this league."
What Joseph can't believe, and doesn't quite understand, is how and why he gets beat.
Enemy quarterbacks are basically not messing with left cornerback Deltha O'Neal's side of the field. They're aiming for, and picking on, Joseph, who is mired in a sophomore slump as thick as quicksand.
A year ago, Joseph led the Bengals with 19 pass breakups. This year, he has three, including an interception that he returned for a touchdown. He admits he doesn't resemble the player he was in 2006.
"It's like night and day," he said. "I'm searching, trying to figure out what the problem is right along with everybody else. We still have another half of the season to play as well. But I can't count on last year to get me through this year."
Joseph's struggles were on display at Buffalo, where he got burned on the Bills' opening drive by wide receiver Lee Evans for receptions of 38 yards, 18 yards and finally an 8-yard touchdown.
"He gets his hands on the guy and gets Lee inside, and he's going to guess on the route, and it's not that route," Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis said.
"There's some things that are recurring, and he can't allow those (negative) things to creep into his mind. Those demons of, 'Well, I didn't do this.' Then you start jumping and guessing, and then you're really in trouble out there."
Joseph knows what he has to do: Stay focused, disciplined and confident, and remain forgetful.
"You can't go into a hole, because your team needs you to make plays," he said. "You've got to go right back out and keep fighting."
Next game
Who: Bengals (2-6) at Baltimore Ravens (4-4)
When: 4:05 p.m. Sunday
Radio: WTUE-FM (104.7)
TV: WHIO (CBS, Chan. 7)
