Catching up with Mike Brown

[T-Dub]

Also it's bullshit to say they never get up for big games. It's just that nobody considers it a big game when they win. It's always how they lucked out and didn't deserve it, ugly win, blahblahblah. The usual prevarication from a halfhearted fan base, but that's another topic and a fruitless discussion, at that.

[rcarpenter62]

If Mike is speaking truthfully about his intentions then I'm definately on board

in regards to Dalton.  With the way this team is built ( very strong one ) I would

continue to surround the QB with a quality offense and defense and see where

the chips fall at QB. 

 

Dead on.  Bottom line w/ Mike is the guy will be truthful when interviewed to a fault.  He lays it all out there as to what he is thinking and it sometimes makes him look like a boob.  In this case, I am on board.  I hope they do get Dalton signed to a long term deal sooner rather than later b/c the sooner it happens (presumably) the lesser the $$$'s.  If Dalton's agent holds out for the kind of money that f-ing Flacco got after winning the SB, Mike flat out won't do it.  If he plays out the last year of his deal and they make a deep run in the playoffs (dare I say the big one), then they'll have to pay the ginger a helluva lot more.  But it will be worth it b/c he has proven himself.  It's a win-win to approach him now with a deal that fits money wise where the guy is right now... a talented yet not totally proven young QB.

[Oldcat]

The front office has done a great job the last 4 years IMO, and that front office has very little input from MB. Jones is more of the entitled petty tyrant type, and it's rubbed off on his team, too. I would rather have an owner that knows he isn't some great football mind and is content to sit in his luxury box and watch the team win, make a little speech if they win the SB, and otherwise stay out of the way. That being said, he is the owner so if he wants to play with his action figures that's certainly his prerogative.

After all the screaming for MB to step down, it's kinda funny how few people seem to recognize that he has quietly done so.

Anyway.. I feel like I'm repeating myself. Go back and reread what I actually posted if you think I'm being overly critical of the guy.

 

I disagree.  Yes, MB doesn't rule with an iron fist and demand we take some college sprinter tenth overall.  But the way the organization works - build through the draft, make smart decisions, stay as loyal as possible to the good players on your own team...this is still all being done the MB way.

 

To me, that's a good thing.

[T-Dub]

I would agree that Marvin's little sideline clapping routine when they screw the pooch can be infuriating, but we've also seen him tear the team a new blowhole behind closed doors thanks to HK. I wish he had a little more of that on-field fire we saw from Zimmer, though, absolutely. He plays things so close to the vest in dealing with the public that it's hard to tell just what his personality is, exactly.

[Oldcat]

I would agree that Marvin's little sideline clapping routine when they screw the pooch can be infuriating, but we've also seen him tear the team a new blowhole behind closed doors thanks to HK. I wish he had a little more of that on-field fire we saw from Zimmer, though, absolutely. He plays things so close to the vest in dealing with the public that it's hard to tell just what his personality is, exactly.

 

That's a two edged sword, though.  I was in Chicago in the Ditka years.  The bluster worked for him for about 5-6 years.  Eventually, though, the team started to tune it out and he started to lose his grip on the team.

[T-Dub]

 
I disagree.  Yes, MB doesn't rule with an iron fist and demand we take some college sprinter tenth overall.  But the way the organization works - build through the draft, make smart decisions, stay as loyal as possible to the good players on your own team...this is still all being done the MB way.
 
To me, that's a good thing.

Yeah, definitely. My only gripe is that he reminds me so much of Eeyore. Credit due for dropping that "redeemer" stuff though and recognizing he's running a football team and not a halfway house.

[Khatmandude]

I would agree that Marvin's little sideline clapping routine when they screw the pooch can be infuriating, but we've also seen him tear the team a new blowhole behind closed doors thanks to HK. I wish he had a little more of that on-field fire we saw from Zimmer, though, absolutely. He plays things so close to the vest in dealing with the public that it's hard to tell just what his personality is, exactly.

 

I'm not sure what his personality is either.....all I'm saying is that if you're going to complain about someone's personality rubbing off on the team, look at Marvin as opposed to MB due to the amount of interaction players have with each of them respectively. 

[HairOnFire]

 My point was that as the guy at the head of an organization in which leadership is so important, he always sounds like a perpetual loser. You know the "Old Gill" character from the Simpsons? Or Droopy Dog for you old farts? That.

 

Pretty sure the writers on the Simpsons killed off the Gil Gunderson character. A rather predictable suicide, I think.

 

As for Droopy, my memories are hazy but I seem to recall he often won in spite of himself...usually because a rival focused on humiliating Droopy instead of focusing on the task at hand.

 

As for Mike Brown's most recent remarks, I can't decide whether they're incredibly profound and enlightening OR just another example of him negotiating through the media.

 

I lean towards the latter.

[Khatmandude]

I don't remember droopy dog, but I do like alternative lifestyle droopy character that Jay Mohr does.   Google it.  

[Oldcat]

 

Pretty sure the writers on the Simpsons killed off the Gil Gunderson character. A rather predictable suicide, I think.

 

As for Droopy, my memories are hazy but I seem to recall he often won in spite of himself...usually because a rival focused on humiliating Droopy instead of focusing on the task at hand.

 

As for Mike Brown's most recent remarks, I can't decide whether they're incredibly profound and enlightening OR just another example of him negotiating through the media.

 

I lean towards the latter.

 

I think they are both.

 

Sure, he is getting some digs at the negotiations, but it is true that if contracts at one spot explode, it will hurt the team overall.  You can't pay everyone already, and if it becomes a requirement to pay your QB 20 million then you need to pay the line to protect him and some targets for him to use and bam - you have a league of 1980s San Diego Chargers.

 

Look at both the Steelers and the Ravens - each is having a heck of a time keeping up their old style defensive team while paying their QB the current 'fair rates' already.

 

And if you decide to go cheap on QBs, there are the perennial examples of Cleveland, Oakland, Jax of how bad a brand of football you get if the franchise guy isn't good enough.

[T-Dub]

I don't remember droopy dog, but I do like alternative lifestyle droopy character that Jay Mohr does.   Google it.  

Heheh yeh, that shit is hilarious & half the reason I tune in, at least.

edit: also the ranting about the.. arby's? bk? creepy ad guy.

[Orange 'n Black]

 

I think they are both.

 

Sure, he is getting some digs at the negotiations, but it is true that if contracts at one spot explode, it will hurt the team overall.  You can't pay everyone already, and if it becomes a requirement to pay your QB 20 million then you need to pay the line to protect him and some targets for him to use and bam - you have a league of 1980s San Diego Chargers.

 

Look at both the Steelers and the Ravens - each is having a heck of a time keeping up their old style defensive team while paying their QB the current 'fair rates' already.

 

And if you decide to go cheap on QBs, there are the perennial examples of Cleveland, Oakland, Jax of how bad a brand of football you get if the franchise guy isn't good enough.

 

For me this is one of the stronger arguments for keeping Dalton. We as Bengals fans have been really spoiled with good QB play for over 10 years now. It's really easy to say "just get another guy in the draft" but we rarely remember how difficult that is, and how horribly it can go wrong.

[Oldcat]

 

For me this is one of the stronger arguments for keeping Dalton. We as Bengals fans have been really spoiled with good QB play for over 10 years now. It's really easy to say "just get another guy in the draft" but we rarely remember how difficult that is, and how horribly it can go wrong.

 

I lived in Chicago in the 80s, and it is pretty bad that Jim McMahon is the elite standard QB for the decade...heck probably for the generation up to Cutler.  They would have competitions every year between QBs that wouldn't have made the Bengals roster then.  Maybe not even in the 90s.  Blake was better than any of them for sure.

[Khatmandude]

Heheh yeh, that shit is hilarious & half the reason I tune in, at least.

edit: also the ranting about the.. arby's? bk? creepy ad guy.

 

Carl's Burgers?  Hahahaha....that shit is hilarious too.    I tune in to Jay Mohr whenever I'm driving between noon and 3pm.  People probably laugh at me cuz I'm losing my shit while driving.  Wait, I have tinted windows....they can't see me thankfully.   Nor would I care.......the endorphin release his show gives me is worth looking like a weirdo for a second to a complete stranger.  

[Bengals1181]

ORLANDO, Fla. - Mike Brown detests instant replay. He'd rather answer questions about Marvin Lewis' status any day of the week than sit through a delay on Sunday caused by review.

Always has and so while he expects his fellow owners to approve the NFL going to The New York System Tuesday, he's not so sure it's going to be the best thing for the game if the delays become even longer.

"They've come up with restraints that should prevent it from taking longer, but whether that's how it works out, in fact, is not certain, in my mind," Brown said. "Because I've seen over time a lot of assurances about what it would and what it wouldn't do and the one thing I do know is that our games are longer and I don't like that. I don't think our games should be three hours and now we're sitting on three hours and seven minutes and we're saying that's fine. I don't think so. I would rather that we do things to shorten them."

The idea is that when there is a play under review, the referee on site consults with a centralized location in New York staffed with NFL people. The ref has final authority, but he's going to get plenty of input. After appearing with NFL competition committee co-chairman Jeff Fisher and Rich McKay at Monday's late afternoon press conference, Dean Blandino, the NFL's vice president of officiating, offered those assurances the new system won't lengthen the game.

"We feel it will be more efficient. It will tie into our communication system. The officials will be able to communicate wirelessly," Blandino said. "Then the referee is going to be able to communicate to New York and the replay official (in the stadium). As soon as he makes his announcement, we can start that conversation, versus, now he has to make the announcement, run over 30, 40 yards and put the head set on. So we feel we can certainly speed up the process."

Brown isn't so sure.

"I don't know if there is ultimate justice in football any more than there is in real life. I can accept officiating error. It balances out over time," he said. "Some of these calls are so close, you really can't tell even after you see the instant replay. It happens very fast often times. I would just be content to let the referees call the game the old-fashioned way and make it go faster."

Maybe the one thing the centralized system can hopefully abolish for the most part is the dreaded Tuesday letter. The one where the league responds to a team's list of questionable flags and admits it screwed up a call.

"I think it will," Blandino said. "We're trying to be more consistent, more accurate and more efficient. We think this process will lead us in that direction."

Brown likes the fact the ref is going to be able to tell the coach exactly what is going on in real time.

"One of the pluses to that is he can explain to the coach on the sideline exactly why he did what he did. And on occasions he can explain to the public," Brown said. "If he's the one doing it he can explain better and I think explaining is better than not explaining."

But for Brown, it all gets back to waiting. And waiting. Waiting on a process that is never going to be perfect no matter how many people are looking at it.

"I understand the arguments for it. They're logical, but I don't think the game is perfectible in this area. I don't think any game is," Brown said. "It might make one call better. We have calls it doesn’t process. Even if it has jurisdiction over everything, there are going to be calls it doesn’t process. I am so utterly conservative that it is easy for me to accept that officiating isn't perfect. It has error in it. I can live with that. I don’t get too bothered by it."

 

 

http://www.bengals.com/news/article-1/Brown-replays-why-he-doesnt-like-it/2d0c88f8-bd64-4e66-92c5-4eee8526f36c?campaign=cin:fanshare:twitter

[Le Tigre]

I lived in Chicago in the 80s, and it is pretty bad that Jim McMahon is the elite standard QB for the decade...heck probably for the generation up to Cutler.  They would have competitions every year between QBs that wouldn't have made the Bengals roster then.  Maybe not even in the 90s.  Blake was better than any of them for sure.

My favorite Bear QB of all time was Bobby Douglass ( OK it was the 70's). And my favorite coach was Abraham Gibron. Damn, those were some awful teams...but actually a blast to watch.

[Le Tigre]

For me this is one of the stronger arguments for keeping Dalton. We as Bengals fans have been really spoiled with good QB play for over 10 years now. It's really easy to say "just get another guy in the draft" but we rarely remember how difficult that is, and how horribly it can go wrong.

That's it...nobody remembers the drought years.

[happyrid]

 

For me this is one of the stronger arguments for keeping Dalton. We as Bengals fans have been really spoiled with good QB play for over 10 years now. It's really easy to say "just get another guy in the draft" but we rarely remember how difficult that is, and how horribly it can go wrong.

 

I also think that is why it is so important that they draft his potential replacement in 2014 instead of 2015.

 

With a full year of seeing the rookie in practice every day, they should have a pretty good idea what he is capable of. If they watch him and think that he is more of a Colt McCoy/Brady Quinn type, then they know they might have to bite the bullet and overpay Dalton. If they watch him all year and think they have found a Russell Wilson, Drew Brees, Colin Kaepernick, Andy Dalton, etc. then they know they can either play hardball with Dalton or just let him walk.

 

You are absolutely right though that they can't just let Dalton walk next spring without having somebody they have reason to feel good about already under contract.

[T-Dub]

Want to speed up the game? Put a micro tracking device in the ball and wire the field. No more grabass clown routine spotting the ball, no more conference calls with Vegas over whether it crossed the goal line, no guesswork on FG attempts.

[Oldcat]

Want to speed up the game? Put a micro tracking device in the ball and wire the field. No more grabass clown routine spotting the ball, no more conference calls with Vegas over whether it crossed the goal line, no guesswork on FG attempts.

 

You'd have to track everyone's knees and elbows and butts too.

[T-Dub]

 
You'd have to track everyone's knees and elbows and butts too.

IDK if that'd be necessary but it's certainly possible. The inconsistent way they call forward progress would also end. Honestly the tech fix for a lot of this stuff is old news so I can only conclude that the fudge factor is left there on purpose. I'll leave off speculating as to why in order to avoid the usual conspiracy theory/tinfoil hat accusations. I mean, we all know that nobody has ever conspired in secret to do something wrong. Particularly not a fine, upstanding institution like the one governing pro football. Beyond reproach, certainly. Yep.

[|Bunghole|]

Also it's bullshit to say they never get up for big games. It's just that nobody considers it a big game when they win. It's always how they lucked out and didn't deserve it, ugly win, blahblahblah. The usual prevarication from a halfhearted fan base, but that's another topic and a fruitless discussion, at that.

I don't agree. The Bengals are an epic fail pretty much in EVERY "big" game, whether it's Sunday night, Monday night, Thursday night, playoffs (playoffs?), anything in prime time or against the Patriots. We suck in those situations. Please cite otherwise.

[Elijah15]

 
 
AJ Green definitely had drops, lack of effort at times last year.....he's not free of blame either.   I certainly don't want to hand him a blank check.....in fact, a few months ago, I asked a question.  Who was the last SB winning team whose WR was making the most money on the team or even making top 5 money?   There aren't (m)any so I proposed letting AJ go on somewhere and drafting or acquiring his replacement.   I understand he's an elite WR and top 3 in the league....but he will be VERY expensive.   Though it seems MB is ok with paying AJ big bucks or maybe the sly fox is holding on to AJ for 2 more years at about 14 million total....and will find his replacement in the meantime.   I wouldn't doubt that....or hate it. 

Finding a replacement for AJ? R U DUMB? U make it sound easy. There are not alot of Aj Greens hanging around there. Hes the best draft pick we had in years.

[Oldcat]

I don't agree. The Bengals are an epic fail pretty much in EVERY "big" game, whether it's Sunday night, Monday night, Thursday night, playoffs (playoffs?), anything in prime time or against the Patriots. We suck in those situations. Please cite otherwise.

 

We beat the Pats this year and the Steelers in prime time in September.  Beat the Eagles on the road on Thursday night last year.

[Khatmandude]

Finding a replacement for AJ? R U DUMB? U make it sound easy. There are not alot of Aj Greens hanging around there. Hes the best draft pick we had in years.

 

YOU shouldn't be asking anyone if they're dumb.   I know anytime a WR is talked of negatively you lose your shit because you play WR in HS.  Great.  But look at the post and argue it's validity vs saying "R U DUMB" 

 

Who's the last SB winning to have an extremely highly paid WR?  One that's making the most money on his team?   And the best draft pick we've had in years wasn't even a draft pick, but an UDFA.