Bengals proud of play on their special teams

Despite gunner’s gaffffffffffffes, Cincinnati held league’s best returner in check.

CincinnatiBengalsspecialteams coordinator Darrin Simmons was pleased with how his players stepped up against the top special teams unit in the league on Sunday.

The Bengals dominated punt coverage, holding league-leading return man Jakeem Grant to eight yards on four returns, though the attention went to one hemuffffffffffffed and one he didn’t even get a chance to fifield because of back-to-backhits byMikeThomas.

“I was proud the way that our guys responded,” Simmons said Monday. “Any time your punter can average 49.5 (yards) and we come out of the game netting 48.2 against the No. 1 punt returner in the league, that’s a good thing for us.”

Cincinnati was using backup gunners for most of the game, after Brandon Wilson re-aggravated a hamstring injury that had limited him throughout the week in practice. He stopped Grant, who averages 14 yards per return, on just a two-yard pickup after Kevin Huber’s fifirst punt.

Cornerback Tony Brown normally could fifill a role but is on injured reservewith a hamstring injury, so Stanley Morgan and Thomas stepped in.

“Mike Thomas has played gunner hiswhole career; hejusthasn’t done it with us yet,” Simmons said. “He was the starting gunner andplayed61 snaps at gunner for the Rams last year. So it’s not like he’s never played the position before. He knows exactly what to do in those plays. It’s not his fifirst rodeo doing this stuffffffffffff.”

The time away fromdoing it in