Dillon Is Having a Strange Time

Sure, Corey Dillon has been acting a little erratically lately. On a very bizarre Wednesday in Cincinnati, Dillon:

* Told writers from Seattle that he wanted to be traded to Dallas.

* Told writers from Cincinnati he was being sarcastic when he talked to the writers from Seattle.

* Told writers from Cincinnati that he wasn’t talking to them because “I don’t like you guys.”

* Changed his mind and spent 25 minutes talking to writers from Cincinnati, telling them he feels unappreciated in Cincinnati, has “stats out the yin-yang,” responded to trade rumors by referencing Grimm’s Fairy Tales (“It’s growing out of control, it’s like Jack and the beanstalk”) and compared his current contractual status to a marriage (“Ain’t nothing concrete. You sign a contract with your wife, and you can get rid of her, can’t you?”).

* Promised that “the next time you see CD, you’re going to see CD hoisting a Super Bowl trophy,” evidently forgetting he remains a member of the Cincinnati Bengals and the Bengals still have half a season to play out.

Why was Dillon behaving so strangely? Choose from the following:

a) He has been in a funk ever since Jamal Lewis broke his NFL single-game rushing record.

b) He has been bothered by nagging injuries that have limited him to 62 carries in six games.

c) He has played 6 1/2 seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals.

The first two qualify as part-of-the-game annoyances, but that last one, that does things to a man. You’re tempted to give him a mulligan for the last week, cut the guy some slack, chalk it up to mental fatigue and emotional distress. But Bengal fans weren’t having any of it Sunday, when Dillon didn’t suit up, didn’t show up on the sideline and didn’t contribute a thing to the Bengals’ 27-24 victory over Seattle.

Dillon was put on the Bengals’ inactive list when he showed up late at Paul Brown Stadium after phoning the team to report he and his family had been involved in a car accident on the way to the game. No one was hurt in the collision, but Dillon was “in a panic,” according to Cincinnati Coach Marvin Lewis, who decided the running back would have to sit this one out.

Dillon showed up at the stadium but didn’t stay long. He missed watching his replacement, Rudi Johnson, rush for 101 yards and a touchdown amid chants of “Rudi! Rudi!” while one fan showed up in a Dillon replica jersey with the player’s named covered with a strip of tape that read, “CRYBABY.”

All things considered, this is an odd time for Dillon to blow a fuse. The victory over Seattle was Cincinnati’s second in a row -- the Bengals’ first two-game winning streak in two years. Overall, the Bengals are 3-4 -- eclipsing their victory total for the 2002 season. They are in second place in the AFC North, one game behind division leader Baltimore.

Dillon has had his chances to get out. The 1999 Bengals went 4-12; Dillon signed a new contract after the season. The 2000 Bengals finished 4-12; Dillon re-upped again after the season, signing a five-year contract.

Now, when Lewis is showing signs of finally righting the league’s longest-running bad comedy, Dillon wants out?

Turning the thing around is never easy, especially in Cincinnati, which hasn’t had a winning season since 1990. Old mind-sets can be tough to change, as Lewis experienced again in the fourth quarter against the Seahawks, after Chad Johnson scored the go-ahead touchdown with 8:03 to play. Still somewhat new to the sensation, Johnson went a little too wild in his end-zone celebration, breaking out the throat-slash gesture that the league has outlawed.

Johnson was penalized 15 yards for unsportsmanlike conduct, which meant the Bengals had to kick off from their 15-yard line, eventually setting up the Seahawks on the 50. Not smart. Johnson escaped goat-of-the-game distinction only when Seattle’s Matt Hasselbeck had a pass deflected at the line of scrimmage and intercepted by Brian Simmons.

Mike Tice had a similar challenge when he took over a slumping program in Minnesota in 2002. The Vikings lost the 2000 NFC title game to the New York Giants, 41-0, a body blow that sent them reeling through subsequent seasons of 5-11 and 6-10. Last December, Tice somehow regained the attention of Randy Moss -- and as Moss goes, so go the Vikings.

Minnesota had won nine in a row since December and was the NFC’s last remaining undefeated team as it took a 6-0 record into Sunday’s game at the Metrodome. Intriguingly, the opposition again was provided by the Giants.

On the plus side, Minnesota scored this time.

On the downside, the Vikings still came up 12 points short, losing, 29-17.

Moss had seven receptions for 125 yards and two touchdowns, but sounded despondent afterward, telling reporters in the interview room, “We just really didn’t have it in us. I don’t know how we’re going to react. Some teams go down in the hole, and some teams step up.”

These Vikings could go either way. They still hold a two-game lead in the NFC North over Green Bay, and they play host to the Packers next, but they have games remaining against the resurgent St. Louis Rams, 5-2 after their 33-21 triumph in Pittsburgh, Seattle and Kansas City, the league’s lone undefeated team.

The Chiefs improved to 8-0 with a 38-5 demolition of the Buffalo Bills that featured three touchdowns by Priest Holmes and seven Buffalo turnovers. With Denver losing with third-string quarterback Danny Kanell, 26-6, at Baltimore, the Chiefs lead the AFC West by three games -- and are toying with some interesting historical numbers.

Since 1972, 11 other NFL teams have opened seasons 8-0. Eight advanced to the Super Bowl. Six won it all.

How far can the Chiefs take this run? Their next four games are against Cleveland, Cincinnati, Oakland and San Diego, so it’s conceivable they could be 12-0 heading into their Dec. 7 visit to Denver. After that, games against Detroit and Chicago are sandwiched around that Dec. 20 meeting with the Vikings.

Will that game be a Super Bowl preview or just another Kansas City blowout? Moss was sounding somewhat uncertain about his team’s future.

As Tice and Lewis and every other NFL coach can attest, the mind games never end in this league.