The Adobe Flash Player is required to view this multimedia interactive. Get it here.

Green’s gem of a catch lifts Bengals

Bengals wide receiver A.J. Green (left) is pushed out of bounds short of the goal line by Browns cornerback Joe Haden on a 51-yard reception during the final minute of the Bengals win on Sunday.

Al Behrman/AP photo Bengals wide receiver A.J. Green (left) is pushed out of bounds short of the goal line by Browns cornerback Joe Haden on a 51-yard reception during the final minute of the Bengals win on Sunday.

ENLARGE PHOTO

Last-minute catch sets up Bengals' win over Browns

Raiders fall in tourney opener
12:15 a.m.
Rough 1st inning sets up Tipp exit
12:11 a.m.
Mesoraco's slam sends Reds over Braves
12:04 a.m.
Local Scoreboard for May 25
11:40 p.m.
Ohio State AD says 12 violations minor
7:16 p.m.
> More sports headlines

By Tom Archdeacon, Staff Writer Updated 10:12 AM Monday, November 28, 2011

CINCINNATI — When it comes to the success of this Cincinnati Bengals season, here’s one rule A.J. Green believes must be followed religiously:

The black diamond needs to be in all game long.

He was referring to the small stone in each of the earrings he wears, but the rookie receiver just as well could have been talking about himself.

A rare gem of a player, that’s more or less how everybody from an uncharacteristically gushing coach Marvin Lewis to rookie quarterback Andy Dalton, veteran kicker Mike Nugent and even rival Cleveland quarterback Colt McCoy described Green after his late-game heroics lifted the Bengals to a come-from-behind 23-20 victory over the Browns on Sunday at Paul Brown Stadium.

When Green is in the game there’s always a good chance of sparkling brilliance.

It came in the final minute Sunday when he streaked between three Browns defenders, leaped high above All Pro-caliber cornerback Joe Haden and snared Dalton’s perfectly thrown ball for a 51-yard gain to the Cleveland two yard line.

Four plays later Nugent kicked the game winning 26-yard field.

“Everybody came up to me afterward and said, ‘Good job on that last kick,’ but it was those two guys that got the ball down field and made it a short kick,” Nugent said. “When you’re on certain teams and you see a long ball thrown, you say, ‘OK, it might be a 50-50 shot.’ But when they throw to A.J., he makes just amazing catches.”

McCoy said the same thing: “That was an amazing catch. It won the game for them.”

Green has made touchdown catches in seven of the 10 games he’s played this year. That’s a big reason the Bengals are a surprising 7-4.

And when the Diamond is not in the game?

Well, after a spectacular, high-soaring 36-yard scoring catch between Pittsburgh’s All Pro Troy Polamalu and Ryan Clark in the first quarter two weeks ago, Green landed awkwardly and hyper-extended his right knee. He didn’t play after that, and the Steelers won.

The injury kept him sidelined against Baltimore last week, and the Bengals lost again.

As for the fact that he was only getting limited practice time just a few days ago — and then left the Browns reeling with three catches for 110 yards — Green laughed: “I’m young. I heal fast.”

And he’s also a quick learner.

The barely noticeable black diamonds — the only earrings he owns, he said — are now a game-day staple.

“I put ‘em on and they don’t come out of my ears,” he said. “The last time I took ‘em out I didn’t have a good game. That was against Seattle.”

The Bengals won that game 34-12, and Green did have a 43-yard TD catch. But Dalton was also picked off twice late in the game, once when Seahawks rookie cornerback Richard Sherman stepped in front of Green.

Afterward Sherman called Green overrated and said he’s just “a lot of noise talking and bad routes.”

No one else is taking verbal swipes like that, and even if they did, Green says he’d pay them little heed:

“Nobody can intimidate me out there, I’m a man just like they are. I don’t care if I’m a rookie or not, no one is going to back me down.”

Instead, on Sunday, everyone was holding him up.

“He’s the best first-round draft pick that I’ve ever been around,” said Lewis, who almost never singles out a player for such praise. “I said that after three days of training camp. (And) he continues to amaze me every day. Practice, games whatever it is. His demeanor. His abilities. Whatever he does ... He’s a phenomenal athlete.”

Lewis raved nearly as much about Dalton, and when questioned what had come over him, he just laughed: “I’m turning over a new leaf. They are two special guys. I told them their rookie year is over. I told them team a week ago. They are done (being rookies). We’re counting on them like veteran players, and that’s what we need down the stretch.”

And Sunday, that’s what they provided.

Dalton said he knows he can take chances with Green — that if he just puts the ball near him, he’s confident the 6-foot-4 receiver will get it.

“I feel like if the ball is in the air I’m gonna go get it or drop it, but you’re not going to get it,” Green said. “I’m just that prideful.”

Although Green leads all NFL rookies in receiving yards this season, Bengals offensive coordinator Jay Gruden balked when somebody referred to Dalton and him as “just kids.”

“They’re not kids, they’re grown men and they’re well beyond their years athletically,” he said. “They’re at the top of the NFL game right now.”

No one appreciates that more than Andrew Whitworth, the Bengals veteran left tackle and the blue-collar glue of this team:

“For the first time since I’ve been here we have some guys (Green and tight end Jermaine Gresham) that when the ball is in the air, there’s always the shot we’re going to get it. And the thing is, all they care about is winning and doing their best every single week. None of the other stuff. It’s a lot of fun.” That was a none-to-subtle swipe at departed receivers Chad Ochocinco, Terrell Owens and maybe even the oft-disgruntled T.J. Houshmandzadeh.

Green doesn’t come with the extra baggage in the dressing room or on the field.

Unlike some of his predecessors — be it Ochocinco with quarterback Carson Palmer or going way back to Carl Pickens constantly pressuring Akili Smith in the huddle — Green doesn’t lobby for the ball.

“Naah, I’m not the type of guy to go to the quarterback and say I need the ball,” he said. “I tell him what I’ve seen and then I let him make the decision.”

And for Dalton that means throwing the ball in Green’s direction.

He, too, knows the rule.

If you want success, you stick with the black diamond.

Share this article