A must read about Odell

[Guest BengalBacker]

I stole this from Supercat's board.


[url="http://bengalsjungle.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1170"]http://bengalsjungle.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1170[/url]






Bengals happy Thurman Suspended

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Bengals not exactly broken up over Thurman ruling


By Len Pasquarelli
ESPN.com
Archive

Team officials will never admit it, but when the league extended the four-game substance abuse suspension of Cincinnati second-year middle linebacker Odell Thurman to a full season this week, after his Monday morning arrest for drunken driving, there were definitely more quiet cheers than tears among top Bengals executives and coaches.

In fact, league sources strongly suggested to ESPN.com that Bengals officials appealed to the league, and hard, for an expeditious resolution of Thurman's case.

How come? Well, frankly, the Bengals had written off Thurman for the 2006 season anyway. And quite possibly, for good, although that remains to be seen. They didn't want him around anymore. At least not anymore this year. And since his four-game suspension was scheduled to expire this Sunday night, after the Bengals played host to the New England Patriots, Thurman would have been eligible to return to the Bengals and to the practice field the first thing Monday morning.

Which is the last thing owner Mike Brown and coach Marvin Lewis wanted to happen.

Of all the troubled souls populating the Cincinnati roster, and there are many this year given the spate of off-field woes that have beset the talented but tainted Bengals, Thurman seems to be the one that Lewis most views as a pariah of sorts. Lewis did the former Georgia star a favor in the 2005 draft, rescuing him in the second round after Thurman, who might have been a first-round choice were it not for a series of indiscretions in college, plummeted in the lottery. And Lewis feels that Thurman, who started 15 games as a rookie in 2005, but suffered more mental lapses than Bengals coaches publicly admitted, betrayed him by not staying out of trouble.

Thurman drew the four-game suspension through sheer irresponsibility. He had turned off his cell phone for several days, essentially because of problems with multiple girlfriends, and thus missed a drug test. In the NFL substance abuse policy, failure to appear for a test is the equivalent of a positive test, and Lewis read Thurman the riot act after the incident. Thurman was on a short leash already and his Monday arrest, with teammates Chris Henry and Reggie McNeal in the car with him, snapped the tether.

That the league responded so quickly to the drunken driving incident -- Thurman's four-game suspension grew to a full-season banishment in just two days, a relatively quick turnaround, particularly in a league that so values the concept of due process -- raised a few eyebrows. But the league was well within its rights to act quickly on Thurman, since the Monday incident blatantly violated the conditions of his aftercare plan to which he had agreed. There was nothing untoward, even NFL Players Association watchdogs agree, in the speedy manner in which his case was internally adjudicated.

But don't discount the role of Bengals executives, especially Brown, in nudging the league to act with such alacrity in the matter.

Cincinnati brass truly believes, especially in light of the team's victory at Heinz Field last Sunday, that it has assembled a viable Super Bowl contender. And after a turbulent and embarrassing offseason, the Bengals are now trying to limit the in-season tumult and eliminate as many distractions as possible. All but lost in the news of Thurman's season-long suspension was that the Bengals squirreled rookie defensive end Frostee Rucker, a player with more than his share of off-field issues, onto injured reserve this week. There is the potential for one of Rucker's past cases to get uglier in coming weeks and by placing him on injured reserve, the Bengals create a kind of out-of-sight-out-of-mind façade.

There also might be, in the case of Thurman, an intriguing political dynamic at work here.

It's no secret that the Bengals have not been happy with the manner in which the NFL pushed through the extension to the collective bargaining agreement in March, given the failures of the new deal to adequately address the increasing disparity between the high- and low-revenue franchises. And there is a pretty strong suspicion that Brown, not exactly an owner held in the highest regard in the league's Park Avenue offices despite his tenure and common sense approach, voted for Gregg Levy, and not Roger Goodell, on at least the first few ballots in the August election to choose Paul Tagliabue's successor.

Goodell is a smart guy and, having served as Tagliabue's top lieutenant, is keenly aware of all Brown's grievances. And so Goodell, being a good politician but new to the job, did a little fence-mending during his visit to the Bengals' facility last week. Word is that he welcomed Brown to stay in touch with him, and to reach out to the commissioner when necessary. That's not to suggest Brown contacted Goodell and asked him to fast-track the resolution of the Thurman case. The league and its new commissioner, in truth, did what it had a right to do.

But the Bengals are emerging as a powerhouse franchise, a good, young team that figures to contend for a title for several more seasons. While that might not have played a role in the expeditious handling of the Thurman matter, the NFL is nothing if not expedient and Cincinnati, despite its mostly miserable past, has suddenly become an "in" team, even with Odell Thurman now a guy on the outs.

Around the league

• The suspension of Thurman might not be the last league-imposed sanction, or forced absence, with which the Bengals are forced to deal. Authorities in Florida and in Kenton (Ken.) County are parsing through the reports of Thurman's arrest on Monday and are interested in the presence of wide receiver Chris Henry in the vehicle. There are rumors that Henry was drinking -- Thurman reportedly told police he was driving because his passengers were even more inebriated than him, and witnesses claim to have seen Henry vomit out the window of the car -- and, if that's the case, he could be in trouble with the NFL and legal authorities. Henry might have violated terms of his probation in a Florida gun-related case and could possibly have his bond revoked in the Kentucky case, in which he was charged with supplying liquor to three under-aged women. Arrested four times in a six-month stretch of the offseason, Henry is already under league scrutiny for those incidents and could face a potential suspension. Losing Henry, a terrific playmaker with a huge role in the Bengals' three-wide receiver formations, would be a blow to the potent Cincinnati offense.

[eva4ben-gal]

Daaaaaaaaaamn! That's all I have to say. Except for that last sentence expanding on the previous Daaaaaaaaaaaaamn! And the one explaining the one before it. Ahh shit, I'll just say it again, DAAAAAAAAAAAAMN!

[MULLY]

Wow, I knew Odell had troubles but I didn't know he was hated among the brass. Bummer. That kid had so much potential. I guess we'll get to see him working at a 7-11 somewhere telling people how he used to be in the NFL.
MULLY
I hope they drop the headhunt on Henry

[Guest happyrid]

Wow, makes Marvin's press conferences mean a lot more. He has been saying that odell wasn't really a part of the team's plans this season. Now I believe him.

I wonder if we end up cutting him? Or does he get one more chance? I'm assuming there is no trade market for him.

[TheBZ]

I have no trouble believing that the Bengals were 100% behind his suspension for the season.

They realized they had a real problem on their hands, and they had to remove him from the rest of the team.

The influence on Henry/McNeal is already obvious...Even if it was a passive one.

If that is the case, I don't blame the administration one bit for working with the Commissioner to take a problem out of their midst. It is better for the team, better for the City, and better for the reputation of the NFL.

So...What is the conspiracy theory? That the NFL and the team both actually wanted to do the right thing by taking this very damaged player out of the league for a year?

In the end...If he doesn't implode over the next 9 months, I think he can get a fair shake the next time spring camps roll around. But it is truly on him now, to use that time and be ready...And no one's name but his has to be dragged through the mud.

BZ

[Bengalnutt]

[img]http://forum.go-bengals.com/public/style_emoticons//33.gif[/img] ... We were all young and dumb. But for the most part learned from those mistakes. It just shows that these guys are stupid in my opinion. Odell has cost himself a quarter of a MILLION Dollars because he didn`t know how to dial the phone for a cab. Henry is on the verge of the same thing. Will he see the light before the league pulls the switch on him? Marvin needs to put him on the work release program. Just lock his DUMBASS up until time to practice and play games. I know, can`t really do that. But this seems the only way Henry Won`t mess up. At this point I would be very surprised if Henry makes the rest of the season without screwing up in a big way. I guess we could start laying odds as to what after what game he gets arrested. Then I guess we could break it down for what offense they take him in on. I am getting so tired of this shit.............................

[|Tigers Johnson|]

Does anyone remember the fight last year between Reggie Myles and somebody else? Wasn't Odell involved in some way? Maybe Marvin Lewis could see Odell dividing his locker room...

[texbengal]

[quote name='Tigers Johnson' post='354553' date='Sep 30 2006, 06:37 AM']Does anyone remember the fight last year between Reggie Myles and somebody else? Wasn't Odell involved in some way? Maybe Marvin Lewis could see Odell dividing his locker room...[/quote]

I think the Myles fight was with Carl Powell, who's no longer with the team - but maybe Odell was involved in some way.

Between this article, Marvin's veiled comments this year, and other quotes and articles (for example, Carson's recent comment about the year-long suspension), it's become even more clear that as good a player as Odell was/could be, he was also a handful to handle... and as much as teams tolerate that in the interest of getting great production, I think that given:

- Simmon's production and steadiness at MLB;

- The strong locker room/chemistry that has developed, without Odell;

- The desire to shield other young guys from Odell's bad habits, especially since they're off to a good start, and who needs another (big) distraction; and

- Odell's inability to handle his business "the right way", even in the face of additional league sanctions, PLUS his supposed lying to Mike Brown...

the suggestion that the Bengals pushed for the swift sanction makes sense. I don't know if Odell gets another shot here next year or not... I guess it depends on how he does on his own this year, and how he comes back next year.

I'm rooting for him to come back strong -- and contrite, I don't see it happening. But even if not, I'm guessing that there's a number of teams that will take a chance on Odell if the Bengals part company. And, the drafting of both AJ Nicholson and Ahmad Brooks looks a whole lot smarter now.

It'll be interesting to see what happens with Frostee Rucker. Pastabelly's intimating that there might be some activity on the legal front probably refers to the case in CA with his ex-girlfriend... the aspiring actress who was interviewed for that ESPN show that aired this summer. At least, I HOPE it's that case, and not another one.

And, I wonder if Goodell is trying to extend the olive branch to Mike Brown means that Henry will get a mere slap on the wrist? One would hope, but I'm not holding my breath. But it's not as if ol' Roger didn't cut Odell a break - he was just a bit faster on the trigger on what would have happened eventually.

[|Tigers Johnson|]

Honestly they did Odell a favor by just extending his suspension to a year...If he had come back to the team after his four game suspension his suspension for the new arrest would have went into next season. Maybe all the Bengals want is Odell to get his head on straight and give him one last fresh start next year. If he screws up again he won't be playing for anyone....

[Guest ONYX]

What a freaking dumbass !!!!


The more I find out about what really was going on with
Odell, the less compassion I feel for him.

And right about now, my compassion level for Odell is approaching zero.

[Guest oldschooler]

Personally, I hope Odell gets his life and his priorities straightened out in the next year.
And I hope he returns to play for the Bengals.

Yeah he has made some stupid mistakes. But I don`t think they warrant being shipped out of here.
Marvin was hard on Odell last season, even before he got into any trouble. And with the other off the
field incidents, it seems like Marvin is using Odell as his wiping boy, to send a message to other players.

[Guest Agent Orange]

Now this news explains why the Odell jerseys at the Pro Shop were really being sold for [s]60[/s] 40 bucks.

[Guest oldschooler]

I posted this article yesterday. It only got one reply and not many views.
Probably because of the title. But, this is a pretty good read, and he mentions
when Odell came to Cincinnati, not long after being drafted.


Just gives you a look at another side of Odell...


[quote][size=5][b]Image has suffered, but not team's focus [/b][/size]

Column by The Post's Lonnie Wheeler


What I can't get out of my head is the image of Odell Thurman waiting alone at baggage claim, looking lost and vulnerable. It was shortly after he had been drafted in the second round last year, and he was coming back to town for a minicamp. During the first of those, I'd approached him as he was lying on his back in the locker room, tuckered out from a full morning of learning middle linebacker and calling signals for the defense. "I was on top of my game," he had declared, smiling proudly.

At the airport, though, the rookie from Georgia was not quite so self-assured. Big-time athletes are often unaccustomed to traveling by themselves, having generally depended on their teams for interstate transportation. I suspected that Thurman might need a ride to wherever he was staying. He was happy to have one.

My two oldest kids were also along, and after we dropped Odell off at his Covington hotel - he wasn't sure of the name, but recognized it when he saw it - my son remarked that he didn't look all that big for an NFL linebacker. My daughter replied, "Did you see his shoulders?" Later, when I related that to Thurman, he smiled that same satisfied smile and said, "She knows talent."

He was disarming in a Chad Johnson sort of way, full of himself but not repulsively so, not without a measure of self-aware whimsy. There seemed a certain sweetness about him, a characteristic he shared with that year's third-round draft choice, wide receiver Chris Henry, whose approachable, understated manner utterly belies his rap sheet.

This is not to soft-pedal the misdeeds of that irresponsible pair, or make of them sympathetic figures. In spite of their charms and good sides, the things they've done in the past nine months have been socially dangerous, seriously dumb and sadly self-defeating, some of them perpetrated under the influence of nothing but abominable judgment.

If you're Henry, for example, what in the world are you thinking going out with Thurman after Sunday's huge victory over pissburgh? If you're Thurman, what are you thinking going out with Henry?

Wouldn't it be nice, for the sake of society, the players at issue and also the team, if the Bengals could assign a cop or chaperone to watch over these guys when they're away from Paul Brown Stadium? When Hank Aaron was fending off random hatred during his pursuit of Babe Ruth's home run record, the Braves hired a policeman to serve as his bodyguard and constant companion. Henry and Thurman, too, are continuously threatened outside the workplace - by themselves. The assailants are unceasingly in their midst, and clearly the imperiled athletes need protection.

But only Henry and Thurman can request or arrange for such essential assistance. Unfortunately, the team can't impose it.

"You can't hold somebody's hand every day," said receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh, in whose place Henry joined Cincinnati's starting lineup for the season's first two weeks. "It's not tough at all (to stay out of trouble). It's just the choices you make."

Not as simple, though, is the enduring riddle of why such privileged and apparently good people persist in making such blatantly bad choices. We could ascribe it to background or circumstance, but that makes it no less unacceptable, as Marvin Lewis has pointed out. His purge of Thurman's locker - even before the linebacker's NFL suspension was increased to a full season following Sunday night's alcohol-related arrest - demonstrated a grim diminishing of his remaining tolerance. Carson Palmer observed this week that the coach was "fed up" with trying to guide Thurman through the minefields of his misconduct, and "done with it."

For whatever reason, Lewis seems less fed-up with Henry, in spite of the budding star's more frequent rate of arrest. Or maybe he's merely hamstrung by league policy.

"Coach has done all he could do," said veteran defensive tackle John Thornton, one of the Bengals' leading citizens. "He reminds us to stay out of trouble."

But what of the troubled players' teammates? Could they do more? Could guys like Thornton and Houshmandzadeh take on more responsibility for their youthful peers, perhaps even accompanying them on potentially hazardous evenings?

"That's just one night," said Houshmandzadeh.

"You have to worry about yourself," added Thornton. "You just try to take care of your own business and be accountable as a person.

"I've got a family at home. I play with guys who are veterans, and we don't have time to babysit anybody. You won't be around too long trying to spread yourself too thin."

It has become evident, meanwhile, that the Bengals refuse to be significantly weakened by personal problems of whatever stripe. While Thurman led the team in tackles last year, the linebacking seems presently improved with Brian Simmons in the center. Lewis allowed as much the other day, when he said that "Brian Simmons, Dexter Jackson and Sam Adams have been added to strengthen our team down the middle, where we really faltered last year."

Similarly, Henry's dazzling talents were a blessing when Houshmandzadeh was sidelined, which served mainly to underscore the Bengals' impressive depth. And their resilience.

Lewis is a coach who prefers to keep his team in the bunker, and his men, in turn, are at their best when answering the hail of artillery. Neither Palmer's serious injury at the end of last year, nor the several more that have hit the roster this season, nor the unrelenting lawlessness, nor the terrible publicity that attends it, has diverted them from a 3-0 start. If the Bengals' image has suffered, their competitive aptitude has obviously not.

"What adversity?" asked Houshmandzadeh. "There's nothing going on right now that's adversity.

"We're winning."

Most of them are, anyway. One or two are lost and vulnerable.

Contact Lonnie Wheeler at lwheeler@cincypost.com.[/quote]



[url="http://news.cincypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060929/SPT03/609290352/1022/RSS0302"]http://news.cincypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/ar...52/1022/RSS0302[/url]

[Guest IndianaBengal]

if, and a big if here, he has a drinking or drug problem, the [u]worst[/u] thing for him is to be by himself, secluded from his teammates. I would think that if the Bengals ever wan't him to play for them again, they are seeking and following through private counseling of some sort.

[STRAYCAT]

The team did the best thing and cut ties right now...he is not allowed in PBS either. They need to Chain Henry to Sam Adams....he won't go nowhere Sam doesn't want to go.

[CinciFan]

Odell is likely done in the NFL, IMHO.

He's on a year suspension now.

While on a 4 WEEK suspension, he couldn't stay out of trouble for those four WEEKS. Now he has 48 more weeks to stay clean or ELSE.

Next violation is lifetime ban.

He'll never be back, and Marvin won't even have to decide it.

[Guest IndianaBengal]

Breaking news.... I'm sending help to Odells' residence as we speak.[img]http://monasticism.org/monk/wp-images/media/Trappist%20Pics/m-br-isaac-reading.jpg[/img]

I think he will be a bengal killer if he leaves and someone else fixes his problems..

[Bengals_12th_Man]

[quote name='CinciFan' post='354597' date='Sep 30 2006, 10:17 AM']Odell is likely done in the NFL, IMHO.

He's on a year suspension now.

While on a 4 WEEK suspension, he couldn't stay out of trouble for those four WEEKS. Now he has 48 more weeks to stay clean or ELSE.

Next violation is lifetime ban.

He'll never be back, and Marvin won't even have to decide it.[/quote]


X2



Unfortunately, I see that happening too...

[85fanwilkes]

I still hope that Odell can come back that is why I am not removing him from my sig. Because I am hoping that he realizes that he fucked up and that he can grow from this and come back to the team next season.

[Guest BengalsOwn]

I seem to remember reading something about Odell lying straight to Mike Brown, and Mike being very upset about it.

That's probably why they wanted him gone.

[85fanwilkes]

[quote name='BengalsOwn' post='354605' date='Sep 30 2006, 10:35 AM']I seem to remember reading something about Odell lying straight to Mike Brown, and Mike being very upset about it.

That's probably why they wanted him gone.[/quote]

Yeah I remember hearing that as well.

[Guest oldschooler]

[quote name='BengalsOwn' post='354605' date='Sep 30 2006, 09:35 AM']I seem to remember reading something about Odell lying straight to Mike Brown, and Mike being very upset about it.

That's probably why they wanted him gone.[/quote]



A lot of players have lied to Mike Brown... ecspecially in the 90`s.
They all said they were good and worth the money...

[Guest IndianaBengal]

kagyna....

[Storm]

[quote name='oldschooler' post='354608' date='Sep 30 2006, 02:39 PM']A lot of players have lied to Mike Brown... ecspecially in the 90`s.
They all said they were good and worth the money...[/quote]


If he would have had a decent coaching staff and scouting dept he wouldn't have had to take their word for it

[Guest Coy Bacon]

[quote name='oldschooler' post='354571' date='Sep 30 2006, 09:05 AM']Personally, I hope Odell gets his life and his priorities straightened out in the next year.
And I hope he returns to play for the Bengals.

Yeah he has made some stupid mistakes. But I don`t think they warrant being shipped out of here.
Marvin was hard on Odell last season, even before he got into any trouble. And with the other off the
field incidents, it seems like Marvin is using Odell as his wiping boy, to send a message to other players.[/quote]

This is so much Liberal nonsense. How people can be so harsh when it comes to ordinary people and so soft-headed when it comes to pampered celebrity types astounds me. Odell, examined from both postures, is presently bad news, and until he gets himself together - if he gets himself together - he's a cancer that needs to be excised. For his sake I hope he does get it together. I doubt that he has a future here, but should he, through some miracle, come to his senses and rejoin the fold in a productive capacity, that would be fine with me - don't hold your breath though.