Cincy Jungle, a Cincinnati Bengals community

On deciding to pick up Vontaze Burfict and his continued development:
"When I watched him on tape, he had traits of a very good linebacker. I said, ‘Okay, let’s give it a shot.’ We weren’t going to pick him unless he fell through and if we could sign him, we would. I’ve got to credit Vontaze for chiseling off the weight that he showed up in Indianapolis with or even in his senior season. And from the day I was there on campus at Arizona State, I guess, even though I didn’t think it did, he took some of what I said to heart. And even though I left there upset with him and others were upset with him, he took us to heart and Adam Marchaletta, a great pro…a guy who made the most of his ability, guys like that had been trying to talk to Vontaze and said, ‘This is how you’ve got to do it, man.’ It just didn’t sink in at the time, but credit him for making the change. He’s a very, very good player."