RAND MCNALLY: He says he’s the only Bengals fan in Buffalo these days, but Jim McNally is still going to get one of the best seats in Highmark Stadium when he settles into the press box for a playoff game between his long-time employer and his hometown Bills.
McNally, a University of Buffalo Hall-of-Famer who went to the Bills’ first practice in 1960 and a pioneering offensive line mind during his 15 seasons coaching the Bengals front that included two Super Bowl appearances, has worked as a consultant with the club for the last several years and is quietly doing his part as Pollack faces the potential of playing with three new starters two wins away from the Super Bowl.
He’s bringing good vibes. In both Super Bowl runs McNally was the offensive line coach when they beat the Bills in the playoffs. He’ll have a seat of honor at Bengals president Mike Brown’s table Saturday night for the team meal at the club’s Buffalo headquarters.
“Great karma. Great karma,” Pollack said before Thursday’s practice. “He’s a great resource. Every week he does a big cutup study analysis on the D-linemen’s pass rush and how they play run concepts and puts it together and we send it to our players’ iPads.
“We use a lot of those cutups in our meetings. I bounce things off him during the season and offseason, whether it’s a scheme concept or helping evaluate college free agents coming out. He’s been a mentor of mine. It’s been fantastic. Love it.”
The injuries bring back some Deja vu for McNally, who didn’t lose three starters heading into the 1988 playoffs but he lost right tackle Joe Walter (ACL) in the last regular-season game.
He turned to a former first-rounder who had been backing up and down four spots on the line and Brian Blados book-ended with Hall-of-Famer left tackle Anthony Munoz to help the Bengals rush for 175 yards in the AFC title game win over Buffalo, 21-10, at Cincinnati’s Riverfront Stadium.
“Big guy. Athletic. He went in there and played well in the two playoff games and…
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