Hobson's Choice--Looking for Sanity

[DanvilleBengal]

[b]Here is the latest Hobson from Bengals.com

More and more, I'm starting to think that Hobson is someone on here....


[quote]Hobson's Choice: Looking for sanity

May 24, 2007


Q: Why won't Marvin Lewis address some of his players' issues instead of deflecting blame? He wouldn't address these issues when they first started happening. Now he is saying local law enforcement is targeting his players. He is going to start losing a lot of respect.
--Steve, Orlando, FL

STEVE: Let me get this straight. We’ve got somebody over in Kenton County who may have committed governmental misconduct in broad daylight, and the guy who gets sautéed in the media is a coach shaking his head over a player getting pulled over for not turning on his signal?

At no time has Lewis deflected blame to anyone but himself and his players, as reflected in his roster moves (A.J. Nicholson), Gameday moves (Chris Henry, Deltha O’Neal) and in his position as the only head coach at commissioner Roger Goodell’s Conduct Summit back in February. P>And he certainly has addressed this stuff with the local and national media, ad nauseum. You only have to go back to the AFC coaches media breakfast in March at the NFL’s annual meeting, where he spun on the spit with the ham and eggs for 45 minutes.

Maybe I’m nuts, but when I read what Marvin said to Dan Patrick I didn’t think he was saying that the police had made his players targets. To me, he was saying his players are high profile and that they’re going to stand out because of who they are. And, in that sense I thought he was saying they aren’t black or NFL players, but celebrities.

And now seeing Marvin’s clarification on Thursday, I wish he had been able to say it just like that. But he didn’t and paid a ludicrous price.

Look, he’s a football coach. I’m not looking for him to be a latter-day silver–tongued William Jennings Bryan but, unfortunately, you have to be nowadays to survive the manholes of 24-hour news.

Of course he wasn’t dissing the Cincy police. Look at all the work he’s done in the community and all the work he’s done with the police and, like police everywhere, they do a hell of a thankless job.

But I think you’ve got to give him a mulligan for being upset on the turn signal. I think a lot of people are with him on that one.

Yet the most disturbing thing is how a few syllables from Lewis got stretched into a controversy while there is a full-scale problem sitting wide open in Kenton County that needs no context.

Flat out, here’s a judicial institution going public with a false accusation, which would, at the very least, seem to be a gross abuse of office.

And a head coach who has raised nearly $3 million for the community is getting flayed for a remark that has to be clarified?

He’s still got my respect.

I sure wish these guys had a game tomorrow. It seems like that’s what everyone needs to get sane again.[/quote] [/b]

[scharm]

After what happened this week between Kenton County and Chris Henry like it or not Marvin's initial comments can be supported.

The actions of Kenton County moved this from possible speculation to actually proving they are targeting Chris Henry and make no bones about wanting to nail him for something.

Last time I checked Chris Henry is one of Marvin's players and Kenton County is local.

So what's untrue? Is it Marvin's fault that reporting of this doesn't seperate the different off the field arrests? I don't ever recall him stating ALL. He said there is profiling and used a very good example.

Then Mr. Kenton County Rep comes in this mornings paper and destroys all doubt about Marvin's comments and basically proves it for everyone to read.

[|Lucid|]

[quote]Let me get this straight. We’ve got somebody over in Kenton County who may have committed governmental misconduct in broad daylight, and the guy who gets sautéed in the media is a coach shaking his head over a player getting pulled over for not turning on his signal?

At no time has Lewis deflected blame to anyone but himself and his players, as reflected in his roster moves (A.J. Nicholson), Gameday moves (Chris Henry, Deltha O’Neal) and in his position as the only head coach at commissioner Roger Goodell’s Conduct Summit back in February. P>And he certainly has addressed this stuff with the local and national media, ad nauseum. You only have to go back to the AFC coaches media breakfast in March at the NFL’s annual meeting, where he spun on the spit with the ham and eggs for 45 minutes.

Maybe I’m nuts, but when I read what Marvin said to Dan Patrick I didn’t think he was saying that the police had made his players targets. To me, he was saying his players are high profile and that they’re going to stand out because of who they are. And, in that sense I thought he was saying they aren’t black or NFL players, but celebrities.

And now seeing Marvin’s clarification on Thursday, I wish he had been able to say it just like that. But he didn’t and paid a ludicrous price.

Look, he’s a football coach. I’m not looking for him to be a latter-day silver–tongued William Jennings Bryan but, unfortunately, you have to be nowadays to survive the manholes of 24-hour news.

Of course he wasn’t dissing the Cincy police. Look at all the work he’s done in the community and all the work he’s done with the police and, like police everywhere, they do a hell of a thankless job.

But I think you’ve got to give him a mulligan for being upset on the turn signal. I think a lot of people are with him on that one.

Yet the most disturbing thing is how a few syllables from Lewis got stretched into a controversy while there is a full-scale problem sitting wide open in Kenton County that needs no context.

Flat out, here’s a judicial institution going public with a false accusation, which would, at the very least, seem to be a gross abuse of office.

And a head coach who has raised nearly $3 million for the community is getting flayed for a remark that has to be clarified?

He’s still got my respect.

I sure wish these guys had a game tomorrow. It seems like that’s what everyone needs to get sane again.[/quote]


[img]http://forum.go-bengals.com/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/41.gif[/img]

Hobson gets fiery.... And nails it.


[quote]After what happened this week between Kenton County and Chris Henry like it or not Marvin's initial comments can be supported.

The actions of Kenton County moved this from possible speculation to actually proving they are targeting Chris Henry and make no bones about wanting to nail him for something.

Last time I checked Chris Henry is one of Marvin's players and Kenton County is local.

So what's untrue? Is it Marvin's fault that reporting of this doesn't seperate the different off the field arrests? I don't ever recall him stating ALL. He said there is profiling and used a very good example.

Then Mr. Kenton County Rep comes in this mornings paper and destroys all doubt about Marvin's comments and basically proves it for everyone to read[/quote]


X2

[Scoutforlife591]

Well, he got fiery, and he was on mark, I don't know about nailing it though.

It still wreaks of Bengals propoganda.

ie: Writing how Marvin was the only coach to go to the Goodell Summit is an absolute positive.

[|Lucid|]

[quote name='Scoutforlife591' post='491151' date='May 25 2007, 04:05 PM']Well, he got fiery, and he was on mark, I don't know about nailing it though.

It still wreaks of Bengals propoganda.

ie: Writing how Marvin was the only coach to go to the Goodell Summit is an absolute positive.[/quote]

I don't think Hobson meant it is a positive.. .Merely an example that Lewis has more than shouldered his fair share of the burden for what is in reality a league wide problem (and in Kenton County). (Why exactly WAS Marvin the ONLY coach there?)

This statement was made in response to a suggestion that he was diverting blame. I actually agree with Hobson. Lewis has done anything but avert the problem.