Catching up with Marvin Lewis

[Bengals1181]

Marvin Lewis, Mike Brown and the Bengals are all-in on Andy Dalton. They've said so in words during this week's league meetings in Orlando. Next they'd like to say it in dollars. As far as Lewis is concerned, it needs to happen sooner rather than later.

Sitting down at the annual meetings AFC coaches' breakfast with the media Lewis went on for over an hour on a number of issues, but the most notable revolved around his quarterback and the strong words from his owner on Sunday. Here's the link to those answers. Brown said the offseason has to begin with Dalton and their top priority right now is finding a way to get this deal done and then move forward with the other players needing an extension.

"We are hopeful we can get a deal done that doesn't preclude us from doing everything else we also want to continue to do — and soon," Lewis said, "because we are sitting on a chunk of cap in order to get him done and continue to put the team together around him."

Asked multiple times about Dalton, the coach unequivocally stated he wants Dalton as his quarterback going forward and believes in him. Dalton is his guy. Period.

"He's done what most people haven't ever done," Lewis said. "He's taken a team to the playoffs three years in a row from a rookie on. He continues to ascend and get better."

For the health his quarterback, his team and the club's financial flexibility, Lewis understands the urgency to lock up his quarterback for the long term before he enters the final season of his rookie contract. Having the situation hanging over Dalton as camp opens would be a significant burden in Lewis' eyes.

"We are hopeful we can get a deal done that works and Andy can put it behind him," Lewis said. "He can get back focusing on football. He doesn't have to go into the season and worry about this contract thing, every week someone is going to ask him a question and then it gets to there and then are you franchising — all those things that come into play later on. Let's get it behind us. Let's get something that works for everyone and enables us to keep tackles in front of you, receivers on the outside, guys on the other side of the football so it works for everybody."

Lewis stressed the need to do a fair deal that doesn't strap the team financially, because it would hamper their ability to provide the proper support to keep the team's roster deep and Dalton upright. Lewis spoke about too many young quarterbacks ruined by lack of protection.

He believes Dalton understands his best interest is to secure a quality deal that also allows the team to place players around him, but suggested it may be time for the quarterback to assure the camp around him stands on the same page.

"I think he gets it. But at some point you got to push everyone else to get it. Hey, this is what's best for me long term so I am not maimed. If you can make this much money for this many years as opposed to this much for two years because you are maimed — and you see it. Look at the quarterbacks that keep changing teams and they are guys that got thrown in as young guys and weren't protected. There's one on the street right now. When you are not protected at that position as a young player you start seeing ghosts. We've been good to protect our young player at that spot time and time again so he can perform him job and prosper."

So, pushing the chips to the middle on Dalton is the plan, but is there apprehension doing so with a player 0-3 in playoff games, including a three-turnover performance that helped bury the Bengals against San Diego?

"We lost the football game and the quarterback gets the blame when you lose," Lewis said. "We didn't cover people on third down, we fumbled the football, Andy had a fumble, we didn't protect Andy. We as coaches have to do a better job — we all lost."

When asked why he seems defensive about Dalton, Lewis offered his latest stamp of approval and indication of the direction he'd like to see the franchise go with the most important position.

"I'm tired of answering questions about Andy that don't make any sense," Lewis said. "Andy has done a fine job for us. We all want to be better. Once he does that all the rest will go away. He's being compared with Drew Brees, he's being compared with (Aaron) Rodgers, guys that didn't get the chance to play until later on. They sat and watched. We had to throw Andy right in right away and I think he's done a really good job and will continue to get better. Until he proves he won't. He's done for the most part what we've asked the quarterback to do and that's take care of the offense. We put a lot on our quarterback and take care of the ball. We are only as good as our last time out when we lost that game so everybody feels that way right now, unfortunately."

 

http://www.cincinnati.com/story/blogs/2014/03/25/marvin-lewis-pushes-for-dalton-extension/6863521/

[Bengals1181]

Lewis wants a Dalton deal before season

 

 

 

ORLANDO, Fla. - Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis would like quarterback Andy Dalton to get a deal now.

"We are hopeful we can get a deal done that works and Andy can put it behind him. He can get back focusing on football," Lewis said at his Tuesday morning media availability at the NFL meetings.

 "He doesn’t have to go into the season and worry about this contract thing, every week someone is going to ask he a question and then it gets to there and then are you franchising — all those things that come into play later on. Let’s get it behind us. Let’s get something that works for everyone and enables us to keep tackles in front of you, receivers on the outside, and guys on the other side of the football so it works for everybody. "

Lewis' comments come on the heels of Bengals president Mike Brown talking about the club's effort to get Dalton locked up because of the high price and how it hinges on putting together the rest of the roster under the salary cap. Lewis said he thinks Dalton realizes how important the timing is and how critical it is to keep the team together.

"I think he gets it. But at some point you got to push everyone else to get it. Hey, this is what’s best for me long term so I am not maimed," Lewis said. "If you can make this much money for this many years as opposed to this much for two years because you are maimed — and you see it. Look at the quarterbacks that keep changing teams and they are guys that got thrown in as young guys and weren’t protected. There’s one on the street right now. When you are not protected at that position as a young player you start seeing ghosts. We’ve been good to protect our young player at that spot time and time again so he can perform him job and prosper."

Like Brown before him, Lewis said the Bengals are embracing Dalton as the quarterback of the future despite three brutal post-season appearances. Those games are juxtaposed against a 30-18 regular-season record and a franchise best 33 touchdown passes this past season.

'Because he’s done what most people haven’t ever done," Lewis said. "He’s taken a team to the playoffs three years in a row from a rookie on. He continues to ascend and get better."

On other topics, Lewis said he realizes with just a one-year extension, the heat may very well be on him to win his first playoff game to keep his job.

"I think that’s important, yeah. Mike and I both understand that. You always have to win this year. Look around. It’s the nature of the business," Lewis said.

Asked if this might be it if he doesn't win a post-season game, he offered, "Could be. Can’t tell that."

Lewis also said he read the Ted Wells report that documented the Richie Icognito-Jonathan Martin mess in Miami and said he was "appalled." He believes he has enough leaders in Cincinnati that it wouldn't happen. Former Dolphins tackle Jake Long, he noted, had left the team by that time.

"The thing I thought was interesting in that was Jake Long was never mentioned. Who interviewed Jake Long? When he was a Miami Dolphin he was in charge. So that didn’t really go on to that extent," Lewis said.

"I think you have to have leadership in place throughout your team that understands what our focus here is to win football games. Our focus is if that is our starting tackle to have him feel as good about himself as he can feel each and every day because that is a big, strong man that has to go and block big, strong men. So we certainly don’t want to tear him down and expect him to go out and battle with us on Sunday. This doesn’t work. You can’t belittle him and expect him to do things he does."

But the story of Lewis' 66-minute sitdown with the national media was his take on Dalton. It didn’t get contentious, but as one reporter told Lewis, he sounded defensive defending his embattled quarterback.

"I’m tired of answering questions about Andy that doesn’t make any sense. Andy has done a fine job for us. We all want to be better. Once he does that all the rest will go away," Lewis said. " He’s being compared with Drew Brees, he’s being compared with (Aaron) Rodgers, guys that didn’t get the chance to play until later on. They sat and watched.

"We had to throw Andy right in right away and I think he’s done a really good job and will continue to get better. Until he proves he won’t. He’s done for the most part what we’ve asked the quarterback to do and that’s take care of the offense. We put a lot on our quarterback and take care of the ball. We are only as good as our last time out when we lost that game so everybody feels that way right now, unfortunately."

 

http://www.bengals.com/news/article-1/Lewis-wants-a-Dalton-deal-before-season/e623446e-2425-4bfd-b29a-db7d64f68918?campaign=cin:fanshare:twitter

[Bengals1181]

Lewis highlights from AFC coaches breakfast

 

 

 

ORLANDO, Fla. _ Highlights of Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis' interview at Tuesday's AFC coaches'  breakfast with the national media at the NFL's annual league meeting:

Q: How important is it for you to get Andy (Dalton) locked up long term?

ML: It's something we hope we can do sooner than later because it's a big piece of our puzzle that is kind of holding out there nebulous right now. So we'd like to get it done where it makes sense for us and makes sense for him and we can preserve a small portion of the football team to go forward.

Q: What is it you see in him that he's absolutely the guy long term?

ML: Andy is being compared to a lot of players who didn’t play for their first three years. What he's accomplished has been great .. We want to continue to grow with him. He's got all the work ethic and the dynamics of why we drafted him to begin with, so that hasn't changed. All he's done is made good on everything we thought he would.  One player doesn't lose a playoff game…we feel like we have a great young player in Andy, we are hopeful we can get a deal done that works and Andy can put it behind him….

He can get back focusing on football. He doesn’t have to go into the season and worry about this contract thing, every week someone is going to ask him a question and then it gets to there and then are you franchising — all those things that come into play later on. Let’s get it behind us. Let’s get something that works for everyone and enables us to keep tackles in front of you, receivers on the outside, guys on the other side of the football so it works for everybody. 

Q: Do you think he gets that?

ML:  I think he gets it. But at some point you got to push everyone else to get it. Hey, this is what’s best for me long term so I am not maimed. If you can make this much money for this many years as opposed to this much for two years because you are maimed — and you see it. Look at the quarterbacks that keep changing teams and they are guys that got thrown in as young guys and weren’t protected. There’s one on the street right now. When you are not protected at that position as a young player you start seeing ghosts. We’ve been good to protect our young player at that spot time and time again so he can perform him job and prosper. 

Q: You seem defensive about Andy

ML: I’m tired of answering questions about Andy that doesn’t make any sense. Andy has done a fine job for us. We all want to be better. Once he does that all the rest will go away. He’s being compared with Drew Brees, he’s being compared with Rodgers, guys that didn’t get the chance to play until later on. They sat and watched. We had to throw Andy right in right away and I think he’s done a really good job and will continue to get better. Until he proves he won’t. He’s done for the most part what we’ve asked the quarterback to do and that’s take care of the offense. We put a lot on our quarterback and take care of the ball. We are only as good as our last time out when we lost that game so everybody feels that way right now, unfortunately 

 

 

Q: How do you replace Michael (Johnson)?

ML: We drafted Margus (Hunt) a year ago as part of that transition. And we'll have other guys that step up.Wallace Gilberry had a great year last year. Robert Geathers comes back from injury. We'll be fine.

Q: When you look at Margus, there aren't a lot of guys like that. Are there guys you can compare him to in gauging his progress?

ML: Last year (safety) George Iloka played almost every snap for us without playing for us as a rookie. I think they're the same transitional guys. They all jumped through the same hoops to get there and now they have an opportunity to do the best they can do. Margus got some experience we didn't expect him to get. All that is just great, no one is going to work harder at it than him. He just needs to continue to get time on task.

Q: Does he have to learn more than others because he's new to the game?

L: It's a reactive game and he has to continue to have opportunities to react.

Q: Does it matter left or right end?

ML: No.

Q: What's it mean to you to be the second most tenured guy in this room (next to Patriots head coach Bill Belichick)?

ML:  I guess it speaks to the profession. It's a difficult thing week in and week out. I've known that throughout out coaching,. You’ve got to have great respect for what everyone does. To be now second behind Bill and I guess fourth or fifth in the league in experience. I remember when I was a young. Now I'm no longer the young coach.

Q: How rare is Bengals president Mike Brown in this league?

ML: He comes from being fundamental and sound in things. It's because of his background learning from his father and those are the things week in and week out he wants to build upon. He doesn't get really high with the highs or real low with the lows. That's rare nowadays. Not many people have come up through football like he did. There are only a handful of those owners still left that came up through football.

Q: When you scout college players, how much do you monitor their social media?

ML: We have somebody who goes through that. Our guys are monitored every week when they're allowed to do it because there are certain periods we ask them to shut it down. Our team, from the inside out, has asked them to shut it down. It's not a big deal.  What they do is they don't think who's going to be reading it when they tweet something. We just remind them who some of their followers could be and to make sure it's appropriate and don't re-tweet something stupid that somebody else says. I will tell you it's more important in college right now than it is for our guys. They think it's a cool thing in college. If you go to Alabama, or Missouri, or Tennessee, or where ever, and you're tweeting and you have these followers, it’s the natural reaction of the fans. They think someone cares. No one here cares where you went, what you're eating. Can you imagine that with Chad (Johnson) in '04 when he began to be a good player?

Q: Your thoughts on the Wells report?

ML: It was appalling. It was embarrassing. And it was just a very unfortunate situation, embarrassing situation, I think, for any person to have to go through.

Q: How do you prevent what happened in the Wells report?

ML: Your players, first off. The thing I thought was interesting in that was Jake Long was never mentioned. Who interviewed Jake Long? When he was a Miami Dolphin he was in charge. So that didn’t really go on to that extent. I think you have to have leadership in place throughout your team that understands what our focus here is to win football games. Our focus is if that is our starting tackle to have him feel as good about himself as he can feel each and every day because that is a big, strong man that has to go and block big, strong men. So we certainly don’t want to tear him down and expect him to go out and battle with us on Sunday. This doesn’t work. You can’t belittle him and expect him to do things he does.

Q: Are you for a command center in replay?

ML: I am. I think it’s something officiating feels really good about… it gives the opportunity to maybe correct four or five times a year something that maybe happens, maybe the replay official doesn’t capture and they are able to give their input and say, hey, look at this. We feel like it will speed up the process that by the time the official comes, because we still have to go by the sideline and do what we are doing because of the location of where our units are on the field maybe in future time we can speed up the system a little better where they don’t have to get all the way there they can get maybe right to the boundary. We think it will be able to speed up our process and it will get better, our process was better last year. We continue to cut time out of that process. 

Q: Will it be just as fast?

ML: I hope so. The game has gotten a little long. We have done everything we can to continually shorten the game.

Q: What do you like about your new backup tackle, former Packer Marshall Newhouse?

ML: We like his versatility, we like that he’s a young guy still emerging. He has that great experience. He played on a great football team in Green Bay and won a lot of football games, so all those qualities. He’s Andy Dalton’s best friend. There’s a lot there. We got him there now. It doesn’t limit us going forward in the draft as well. We have covered ourself to replace (Anthony Collins). 

Q: How important is the swing tackle job?

 

ML:  It’s really important. You have to have flexibility up front in the offensive line and good, young talent. We brought Mike Pollak in last year to do that on the inside because we had AC on the inside. Now we’ve kind of got that going again. You have to have some depth there. It’s a position they do good because they play together. We are really looking at him as one of our guys. He may not open up the first game as the starting tackle but I hope what he feels like is he’s one of the starters. You got to have guys who go about their job and prepare as if they are starting every week. I think he’s conscientious like that.

 

http://www.bengals.com/news/article-1/Lewis-highlights-from-AFC-coaches-breakfast/9bb0db17-dc43-4607-bfa5-4b2d7e23c1e7?campaign=cin:fanshare:twitter

[rcarpenter62]

I love this "pressure" they are publicly putting on Dalton re: new contract.  Especially pointing out that they want to get him signed so that they can get to the others that need attention.

[Bengals1181]

Lewis endorses Bucs’ signings of ex-Bengals

 

 

ORLANDO — Three free agents recently signed by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers come highly recommended by the head coach who welcomed them into the NFL.

 

 

Bengals coach Marvin Lewis said the Bucs made smart decisions by adding defensive end Michael Johnson, left tackle Anthony Collins and defensive tackle Clinton McDonald in the past two weeks.

 

 

Cincinnati selected Collins in the fourth round of the 2008 draft, and he was used primarily in a backup role until a knee injury to Andrew Whitworth led to seven starts for Collins in 2013.

 

 

Collins is expected to replace Donald Penn as Tampa Bay’s starting left tackle this fall.

 

 

“Anthony didn’t get the opportunity to play quite as much (as Johnson), but every time he got the opportunity to go in he did a great job for us,’’ Lewis said Tuesday at the AFC coaches breakfast with media. “He’s really matured over time from a guy who felt he had a little chip on his shoulder to getting an opportunity and making good on it.’’

 

 

Johnson (third round) and McDonald (seventh round) were both drafted by the Bengals in 2009.

 

 

Johnson posted 26 1/2 sacks with Cincinnati, missing only one game in five seasons. He is slated to start at right end, with Adrian Clayborn shifting to the left side.

 

 

“From the time I first met Michael in Mobile, Ala. (2009 Senior Bowl), he has really gone about things the way you’d want him to do it,’’ said Lewis. “He’s grown up as a young man and he’s a stellar person all the way through.’’

 

 

The Bengals traded McDonald to Seattle in 2011 and he earned a Super Bowl ring with the Seahawks two months ago.

 

 

“McDonald is salt of the earth,’’ Lewis said. “Tampa Bay has three guys who will help them. We’ve grown all of these guys from the ground up and that’s the greatest part of the system -- if you do things the right way, you get an opportunity to be rewarded and go somewhere else with a chance to prosper.’’

 

http://tbo.com/sports/bucs/lewis-endorses-bucs-signings-of-ex-bengals-20140325/

[coup000]

They are really doing a lot of negotiating through the media with Andy, implies his agent is looking for a top QB deal. I'm a definite Andy supporter, but not for some crazy number like $15M a year.

[Bengals1181]

They are really doing a lot of negotiating through the media with Andy, implies his agent is looking for a top QB deal. I'm a definite Andy supporter, but not for some crazy number like $15M a year.

 

 

I don't think $15M/yr is crazy, but its as high as I'd be willing to go.  His numbers are actually on par with the guys who are getting $17M-$18M at the moment.

[HairOnFire]

They are really doing a lot of negotiating through the media with Andy, implies his agent is looking for a top QB deal. I'm a definite Andy supporter, but not for some crazy number like $15M a year.

 

I'm guessing 15m represents the floor for a young QB whose HC keeps comparing to Drew Brees and Aaron Rodgers.

[Bengals1181]

 

I'm guessing 15m represents the floor for a young QB whose HC keeps comparing to Drew Brees and Aaron Rodgers.

 

 

fwiw, Marvin was saying that Dalton SHOULDN'T be compared to Brees and Rodgers.  He said the same thing a few weeks ago, albeit clearer.

[Rumble In the Jungle]

I'd rather him play for his contract and perform to get that raise. I wish I had a job where I can do just OK and get a fucking raise!

[HairOnFire]

 

 

fwiw, Marvin was saying that Dalton SHOULDN'T be compared to Brees and Rodgers.  He said the same thing a few weeks ago, albeit clearer.

 

Fair enough.

 

Truth is, by skipping most Dalton threads I've probably missed a blurb or two.

[Bengals1181]

 

Fair enough.

 

Truth is, by skipping most Dalton threads I've probably missed a blurb or two.

 

 

yea his basic point is that you can't compare him to other guys, particularly those who didn't play their rookie years (like Brees and Rodgers).

[Bengals1181]

here's a video snippet of the transcript above.  They touch on the replay/length of games, and the Miami situation.

 

The only real thing of note is that Marvin is not in favor of expanding the rosters.

 

 

Cincinnati Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis: The game has gotten a little long