Thurman Release Stirs Memories, Questions
by Timzilla
on May 24, 2008 6:49 AM EDT
The Bengals are talking NOW. That’s GOOD. I HOPE it works. But what about THEN? The releasing of Odell Thurman back into the wild had blogsters resurrecting the Police Blotter Draft of 2005. But my faded Memory Lane doesn’t include that 11-3 start, Palmer's emergence as a top-tier QB or the promise of a young, versatile Chris Perry.
My rewind to '05 brings back Palmer's knee—and Marvin Lewis' eyes. The moment it was obvious Palmer was lost that day, Lewis sadly seemed to be, too. Yeah, okay, our QB is down ... but hello, we're still in a playoff game here, guys!
When leadership was most needed, it was then back-up QB John Kitna rallying the troops, full of fire—while the head coach stood stunned, as if his house was on fire. (Is it possible Kitna’s fiery leadership was more responsible than Lewis’ coaching for getting the team so quickly from 2-14 to 8-8?)
Lewis’ failed leadership then seemed obvious to me, and upon sharing that observation via blog posts, well, one would have thought I’d spat on Mother Teresa, or worse, had asked Obama a legitimate political question (those were the hardcore “In Marvin We Trust” days).
But this isn’t an anti-Lewis post. It’s a ‘who is the real Bengals’ leader today?’ post.
These Gen Y Bengals seem to be latch key kids with no one in charge. Okay, it can be argued Palmer fills that role and I’ll concede to a point, but he’s the quiet Gary Cooper type ... the “cool guy” ... the “real nice guy” ... “who’s laid back”. As players, Palmer is Hall of Fame talent while Kitna was Hall of Fire temperament, a quality still sorely missed on this team. Another obvious pick is Big Willie, but can an aging OT with eroding skills really be that guy?
So who is “the” team leader? Chad Johnson? No-cho. Not at all-cho. NFL rules state one must be emotionally older than age 10 to lead an NFL team. Chad’s leadership skills go about as far as his yards after catch—pretty much nowhere.
TJ? Maybe, but Houshmandzadeh too often complains publicly about front office moves, and when discussing the team speaks in “they” tense, not “us”. Hugely talented, but “the” leader? Plus, missing all the OTAs takes him out of running. Rudi? Too quiet. How about good guys John Thornton, Reggie Kelly and Kenny Watson? They’re all talented, high-character guys, but the on-field production doesn’t measure up to “the” leader status.
So, where’s our current-day Boomer? Anthony Munoz? Paul Brown? Forrest Gregg? Anyone recalling the 1988 Super Bowl team knows what I mean.
If there’s really such a thing as team chemistry, today’s Bengals are 53 different lab beakers—and no one seems to be mixing the brew. When Kitna moved north, the team’s heart and soul went south. But Lewis’ recent moves are encouraging. Jettisoning the Capone Bros—Chris Henry and Thurman—is a positive step; so after 5 years maybe Lewis is ready for a breakout coaching year, and dare say “the” leadership role.
The Bengals no doubt have enough physical talent, but until someone runs a 4.2 in leadership, the team risks wasting a QB with Hall of Fame skills. Question is, though, who’s the ‘fire’ to Palmer’s ‘ice’. We can only HOPE someone emerges. NOW.
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NOW!
It seems like one of those Nixon-era slogans that cropped up on buttons, like “WIN” for Whip Inflation Now. As if someone wearing that button could do anything at all about inflation. I, too, saw that look in Marvin’s eye in Mike Brown’s only playoff game.
The thing about leadership is; it’s only as good as it’s leadership, if you get my meaning. Here in Cincinnati, during Mad Mike’s Bargain Basement tenure, I don’t think it would matter if we had, say, Ray Lewis’ leadership in the locker room calling the troops to order. Not when there’s such a vacuum of leadership above him. Every once in a while Marvin gets kind of fiery, fiery like I thought he would be all the time when he was hired, but, generally, he’s fiery over things that are insignificant in the grand scheme of things.
Marvin should have smacked Chad up side the head at some point and said, “Until you show up in the big games, until you don’t voluntarily step out of bounds on a fourth down, you act like a grown ass man in the end zone, like a grown man who’s been there before.” Chad was an out of hand child who never got any sort of discipline. With his exuberant personality and his work ethic, Chad could have been a great clubhouse leader but there was no one above him to teach him that role. Marvin may have been a great defensive coordinator. I think he’s seriously lacking as a head coach.
And, then again, that shouldn’t be surprising, considering what’s above Marvin. A strong GM would bolster the authority of a coach, maybe give a coach who’s not a natural leader the confidence to become one. A GM who thinks nothing but football and lets(or makes) Mike and Katie slink off to whatever it is they do when they’re not fucking up Paul’s legacy. A GM, you know, the industry standard?
It wasn’t wrong to draft Thurman or Henry. They were both superb athletes who’s behavioral problems seemed the result of headstrong, impetuous immaturity, rather than blights of the soul. I do believe that, had, say, Bill Cowher and the Rooney family been in charge of those kids, you wouldn’t have been seeing them in the headlines. Okay, maybe Henry because he never struck me as particularly bright.
Guess my point is, until Mike’s either gone or shamed into hiring a GM, until there is leadership at the very top, the climate in the locker room is just not conducive to effective leadership among the players.
NOW!
by IgnatiusJReilly on May 24, 2008 11:20 AM EDT 0 recs
No Apologies for Mike Brown
I certainly make no apologies for Mike Brown. And yes, it always begins and ends with the top dog … but there’s a whole bunch of stuff happening in between, too; enter coaches and players. If given a magic wand, I’d probably wish up a GM … but no gauantees come with that business model, either (Google Detroit). Mike Brown isn’t responsible for Perry’s unfortunate string of injuries, Pollacks’s situation or C. Johnson’s countless drop balls last year. Nor is he to blame for blown coverages and missed tackles. And Brown’s done nothing to prevent Lewis from exhibiting the leadership the team needs from its head coach.
As a staunch believer in personal responsibility, I can’t find fault with Brown, Lewis and the Bengals organization for not turning around the lives of thugs Thurman and Henry, both of whom were part of the team’s “Sell Our Souls to the Devil” strategy in an effort to quickly turnaround a losing franchise. The move had too many unintended consequences. The Bengals (and League) have learned the hard way that character does matter. In spite of Brown’s many faults, this generation of Bengals players make enough money … they have a state-of-the-art stadium and training facility… and they have more than ample fan support.
I’m not smart enough to figure out exactly what’s missing on this team. I just sense that some of it’s due to Brown’s outdated way of running the team, and some is squarely placed back on players and coaches.
by Timzilla on
May 25, 2008 7:31 AM EDT
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