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LeBeau is the architect of the wildly popular zone-blitz defense. He spent the last five seasons teaching it to the Steelers but apparently couldn't say no to the Bengals' 1997 Reunion Tour. "It's great to be back," said LeBeau, who played cornerback at Ohio State and for the Lions. "This is kind of a dream come true for me."

In fact, most of the team is just now waking from the nightmarish regime of former coach Dave Shula, who went 19-52 in 4 1/2 years with Cincinnati. Shula, now the executive vice president of the chain of steak houses owned by his father, Don, was replaced by Coslet after the first seven games of last season. Then, when the Bengals won seven of their last nine, many players wondered out loud just how good the team would have been if Coslet had been there from the beginning. Now they will find out.

Quarterback Jeff Blake certainly improved under Coslet. In his final nine games, Blake, a Pro Bowl starter in 1995, averaged 249 yards passing and threw 16 TDs. He skipped his family's vacation during the off-season to lift weights and work on his throwing skills; he should blossom further under the guidance of his backup, Esiason. Blake was a third-string QB with the Jets in 1994 when Esiason was the team's starter. Neither has a problem with a role reversal, though. "There's no hidden agenda or motive on my side," says the veteran Esiason. "Jeff is going to let me retire to greener pastures without having to take hits."

One player the team desperately wants to see revert to his old form is third-year back Ki-Jana Carter. The No. 1 pick in the 1995 draft, Carter signed a seven-year, $19.2 million contract, promptly injured his knee in a preseason game and sat out his entire rookie season. He scored eight TDs over the final nine weeks in 1996 but reported to the team's first 1997 minicamp "big, slow and soft," according to trainer Paul Sparling, before trimming down to 220 pounds.

Adding to the Bengals' explosiveness is one of the AFC's best receivers, Carl Pickens, whose 100 receptions ranked third in the league last season. He should become the team's alltime leading receiver this fall. "There is no next level for Carl," says Coslet. "He's one of the top three receivers in the NFL. Would I trade him for Michael Irvin? No. Would I trade him for Jerry Rice now? No."

Coslet would probably like to trade a few of his defensive players, though. The Bengals' defense has long been suspect—it ranked 25th in the NFL in 1996. Things don't look much more promising for this year. Left end John Copeland couldn't bench-press 275 pounds even once at a recent minicamp, and linebacker James Francis decided to skip 13 weeks of workouts in Cincinnati during the off-season, thus forfeiting a $250,000 incentive.

Such a lack of conditioning is a problem, considering that LeBeau's aggressive 3-4 defense requires speed, cunning and discipline. But a few Bengals defenders may have the tools to make things work. Linebacker Rico McDonald, who led the team at minicamp with 40 bench presses of 225 pounds, will flourish in the zone blitz. First-round pick Reinard Wilson, who played end at Florida State, will switch to linebacker in the 3-4, and tackle Dan Wilkinson (he had a team-high 6 1/2 sacks in 1996) will move over to end. Inside linebacker Steve Tovar led the team in tackles last season with 94—he has fully recovered from surgery to repair a late-season knee injury—and Ashley Ambrose (eight interceptions in 1996) was the first Bengals cornerback to make the Pro Bowl since 1988, the year the team made its last trip to the Super Bowl.

Now, that's exactly the kind of retro vibe Cincy is hoping to replay this season.

—by David Fleming