New Jersey Bengal Posted April 10, 2007 Report Share Posted April 10, 2007 [b]Judgment Day for Bengals In the case of Chris Henry, all parties – except, of course, for Henry – have acted responsibly. The commissioner has set a strong tone by suspending him for eight games. The Bengals have done right by expressing their full support. And most significantly, the NFLPA is to be applauded for setting selfishness aside, seeing the big picture and going along with sterner sanctions for wrong-doers. It was appropriate, also, that the ruling was rendered prior to the upcoming draft. And while it shouldn’t affect the Bengals’ strategy in terms of the positions they choose to fortify – surely they won’t forsake the defense for another wide receiver in the early rounds – it serves to reinforce the urgency of selecting players who can be counted on. It’s doubtful that they’ll ever again draft a class as star-crossed as the one from 2005. The neck injury of top-choice David Pollack was a tragic accident that has left his football future still in limbo. But the guys from the next two rounds, Odell and Henry, have only themselves to blame for their arrests and suspensions. The fifth-rounder, offensive tackle Adam Kieft, is yet to play a down as he recovers from a serious knee injury. Tab Perry, the sixth pick that year, missed most of last season with a hip injury. The final guy, Jonathan Fanene, has never made it onto the field prior to a season’s 12th game. Only Eric Guiaciuc, the center taken in round 4, has contributed consistently. The thing is, they’re all good football players. But the sum of them, last season, were unavailable for 76 of a possible 112 games. Already next season, Henry is gone for eight games. There’s no telling, at this point, whether Pollack and/or Thurman will play in either 2007 or thereafter. Amazingly, the class of 2004 has not fared a whole lot better. Chris Perry, taken first, has been injured for most of his three years. Second-rounder Madieu Williams missed three-fourths of his sophomore season. And from Marvin Lewis’s first draft class in 2003, only Carson Palmer, Jeremi Johnson and Scott Kooistra remain. That pattern simply cannot continue if the Bengals are to remain factors in the AFC. Injuries happen, and for the most part they’re out of the club’s and players’ control. But good judgment has reached the imperative stage in the Cincinnati camp. It can no longer be suspended.[/b] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Khatmandude Posted April 10, 2007 Report Share Posted April 10, 2007 Lonnie Wheeler is one of the only sports writers in Cincinnati I take seriously. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheChosenOne Posted April 10, 2007 Report Share Posted April 10, 2007 [quote name='IKOTA' post='469803' date='Apr 10 2007, 04:31 PM']Lonnie Wheeler is one of the only sports writers in Cincinnati I take seriously.[/quote] I don't really like this article, it seems like he complains a lot more about the guys who have gotten injured (C Perry, Madieu, Pollack, Kieft, T Perry, and implicitly Weathersby because he does talk about the '03 draft) or that some of our past picks aren't with the team anymore, and then he concludes that the organization's bad judgment during drafts needs to stop. "Selecting players who can be counted on" is a hell of a lot harder than he thinks it is and just because a guy doesn't have any red flags doesn't mean he will end up contributing to the team-- a point proven in his own article and one that should be obvious to anyone who has followed the Bengals and knows about the horrible draft record of the '90s. At any rate, we won't be taking any players with "character questions" in this year's draft. Goodell made sure of that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhoDeyThink Posted April 10, 2007 Report Share Posted April 10, 2007 [quote name='TheChosenOne' post='469806' date='Apr 10 2007, 04:36 PM']I don't really like this article, it seems like he complains a lot more about the guys who have gotten injured (C Perry, Madieu, Pollack, Kieft, T Perry, and implicitly Weathersby because he does talk about the '03 draft) or that some of our past picks aren't with the team anymore, and then he concludes that the organization's bad judgment during drafts needs to stop. "Selecting players who can be counted on" is a hell of a lot harder than he thinks it is and just because a guy doesn't have any red flags doesn't mean he will end up contributing to the team-- a point proven in his own article and one that should be obvious to anyone who has followed the Bengals and knows about the horrible draft record of the '90s. At any rate, we won't be taking any players with "character questions" in this year's draft. Goodell made sure of that.[/quote] He is just telling it like it IS. and why would he talk about draft picks that are not witht hte team anymore? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
New Jersey Bengal Posted April 10, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 10, 2007 [quote name='TheChosenOne' post='469806' date='Apr 10 2007, 04:36 PM']I don't really like this article, it seems like he complains a lot more about the guys who have gotten injured (C Perry, Madieu, Pollack, Kieft, T Perry, and implicitly Weathersby because he does talk about the '03 draft) or that some of our past picks aren't with the team anymore, and then he concludes that the organization's bad judgment during drafts needs to stop. "Selecting players who can be counted on" is a hell of a lot harder than he thinks it is and just because a guy doesn't have any red flags doesn't mean he will end up contributing to the team-- a point proven in his own article and one that should be obvious to anyone who has followed the Bengals and knows about the horrible draft record of the '90s. At any rate, we won't be taking any players with "character questions" in this year's draft. Goodell made sure of that.[/quote] [b]Agree here..It's not the Bengals fault that these players who were drafted got injured..It is their fault for drafting boneheads..!![/b] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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