Maybe He Deserves It: Time To Offer Bengals Owner Mike Brown A Little Credit

But it’s difficult to forget all of the turds…

I thought, and continue to think, that Marvin got more out of his resigning with MB than anyone realized at the time or shortly after (including the firing of Brat). And/or that there’s been a change in MB’s GMing style. This year.

Everything the team has done so far this year, with the possible exception of losing JJoseph, has been positive. This is especially true of the draft picks, and we didn’t go out and pick up crap character guys in FA either. We’re still stuck with a some character issues, but you can’t dump everyone you have. Practice facilities moving to UC was a big step too. And MB took the excellent deal for CP.

I know I’m probably drinking the Koolaid, but I’m stoked.

2 firsts, one second, one third, one comp pick (end of 3rd round)?

Nice! I have no doubt that J-Joe nets us the highest comp pick you can get.

We lose anybody else? Don’t they have to sign w/ another team for you to get a comp pick? Can’t recall anyone noteworthy……

The only credit MB deserves is getting out of the way. The credit for all of the savvy draft picks, trades, and acquisitions go to Marvin and his crew.

As for the Carson trade…. MB got lucky. The Raiders bailed him out.

I really, really like our current roster and the 2012 draft could put this team in a position to be a steady SB contender.

And it’s probably somewhere in the middle, you have to admit that the future of this team looks MUCH brighter tonight than it did a day ago. And it wasn’t looking too shabby then. While I’m not ready to name a street after Mikey boy, I am willing to start to give him the benefit of the doubt. And I’m also willing to spend money on his team again. Dont’ get to go to many home games since I live on the east coast, but I’ll be at PBS Christmas Eve now. I hope the stadium starts filling up. The worst thing that could happen would be for MB to get one right and not get any positive response out of it…he might never make a smart move again.

You won the football lottery. Enjoy the victory.

Credit to brown. A preseason deal or a postseason deal would not have gotten this value. Only a midseason injury situation like this. What a great day to be a Bengal fan!!! Who day!!!

They won’t be needing them anytime soon.

Everyone, myself included, has criticized MB when he has deserved it, which is often.

So allow me to translate from euphemism into real English:
“Carson gave his word. We expect him to honour the commitment he made…” really means “I am the sole source of authority on this team. You don’t ask to be traded, I tell you when you’re traded.”

MB’s commitment to winning is dubious, but his commitment to profit and value for money is ironclad. After showing the world that he was willing to rebuild the team while letting Palmer sit, he could ask and get an outrageous price for a 31 year old QB 4 years removed from the Pro Bowl with a uncertain throwing elbow and a surgically reconstructed knee, from a team in a really tight spot.

Realistically speaking, everyone would have accepted this trade, but very few among us would have driven this bargain in the first place. Check the comments on the posts on this subject for the last few months: how many of us thought we would get a 1st and a 2nd for Palmer? Basically no one.

So yeah, this doesn’t cancel out the dumb drafts and non-deals and penny pinching over the last 20 years. But neither do those things take away from the fact that this was a brilliant deal, attributable solely to MB’s strategy on the Palmer situation.

When the new regime of the suddenly desperate Raiders were forced to seek the very best alternative to Campbells injury, they made the call. The moment that the phone rang in the Bengals front office, the asking price for Carson doubled.

Unfortunately for the Bengals, Al Davis died a few days too soon or you coulda gotten an extra pick or two in the trade.

I will openly give credit to Mike Brown for accepting a trade that he stated over and over again these past several months he would deny given the opportunity and in spite of prevailing logic and good business sense. I believe this subject was difficult for Mr. Brown to have a change of heart and I applaud his coming around.

That said – only the Raiders can claim to be a more poorly run organization than our Bengals. A first (possibly two firsts) and a second round pick. Was someone smoking Al Davis’ ashes? Seriously, how could Brown, who I estimate to be at least half-sane, turn down this gift? Noone in their right mind could have anticipated such a one-sided deal. Noone. So, whereas I give Brown credit for his change of heart, I don’t give him credit for accepting this deal. He got very lucky that the one franchise who is known for making equally bad decisions was desperate enough to mortgage their future on Palmer.

I think we’re missing something here.

The heir apparent to Mike Brown is Katie, and there have been two references by National Media to her supporting ML against her father. Chris Mortenson reported in January that she was on ML’s side during his trip home after quitting.

Yesterday Peter King said a source told him that Palmer would only be traded if “coach Marvin Lewis and Brown’s daughter, club executive vice president Katie Brown, could convince Mike Brown to do what was best for the team long-term.”

If Mike Brown is deferring to Katie’s judgement, I wouldn’t expect him to announce the fact.

Maybe it’s just wishful thinking, but it may be a long term ray of hope.

Al Davis dies 2 weeks ago, the Raiders in contention, Campbell goes down 48 hours before the deadline, Garrard has last minute back surgery. I mean that’s a perfect storm to get a new head coach who has never made personnel decisions like this before in his life on a desperate team that happens to be one of the most short sighted organizations in the league to make an obscene offer for Palmer. So yes, dumb, pure, blind luck all around on all of that.

BUT, what have we been saying for months now? A “good” GM would have traded Palmer before the draft, getting a 3rd round pick or, maybe if they were REALLY good, a 2nd rounder. 48 hours ago there were still articles being posted on BR among other places saying how MB’s inaction on Palmer before the season solidified his place as the worst owner in sports. ONLY Mike Brown, they said, would have let so much time slip by without moving Palmer. And now, thanks to that dumb luck, Mike Brown’s stubbornness pays off 100 fold. If no other owner/GM would have handled this situation the way MB did, then no other owner/GM could have ever gotten such an amazing deal for Palmer.

It’s the kind of logic you don’t want to think about too long because it makes your head hurt, but the fact of the matter is I don’t think anyone other than Mike Brown forces this kind of a trade to happen. And this trade, along with the drafting of Dalton and Green, is going to define this team for the next 10 years, likely for the much MUCH better. So hate Mike Brown all you want – I’m certainly still not going to be sending him a Christmas card – but the guy has just put this team in a position to be a serious contender for YEARS. Dance with the girl that brought you…

I think you have to remind yourself as a fan (no matter how hard it may be) that this is still Browns team and ultimately he gets the final say on whats going on. Was listening to Rome yesterday and listening to most of the bengals fans comments made me realize how awful we can be sometimes. Patience paid off for once and Brown deserves credit for waiting. Giving more authority to the coaches is browns decision. Maybe we should just accept that Brown isn’t as incompetent as some of us think.