Fix PBS field

[Catitude]

Mike if you read this please fix the field in time for our next home game, our guys cant get thier footing and Cory is to valueable to lose to field conditions.

Fix the field nuf said

[hottub]

Actually, a bad home field should be an advantage for the home team. They should be better prepared for it. For example, consider the late, not-so-great Vet in Philly. Bad surface, but a big advantage to the home team.

I'm not saying that they shouldn't fix it - they should - but that it's no excuse. Both teams have to cover the same ground.

[B24]

Looks like we'll have to wait until next year to get a new turf. One company the Bengals and Hamilton county have been looking at to install the new turf said the Bengals don't have enough time inbetween home games to get the field installed.

This is a positive sign though, that they are looking into getting the new field turf.

Maybe they can find a company that can get it installed in a few weeks time.

[HoosierCat]

This is a positive sign though, that they are looking into getting the new field turf.

Maybe they can find a company that can get it installed in a few weeks time.

I vaguely recall a story from last year in which the excuse was that the Bengals wanted to see how FieldTurf held up at other outdoor stadiums around the league...which sounded pretty bogus to me. So now it's, "gee wiz, we just don't have time..."? Well, that's probably true, but I wouldn't be surprised if the real explanation is simpler: Mikey doesn't want to pony up the cash to put in a new field. We'll see.

[kevnz]

but I wouldn't be surprised if the real explanation is simpler: Mikey doesn't want to pony up the cash to put in a new field. We'll see.

I would disagree with that. Mike Brown has shown all offseason that he is willing to doll out the cash for a good cause. Let's face artificial turf is not a good as the real deal. Players don't last as long, and injuries tend to be worse. You don't just rush out and go for the latest greatest thing, you wait until you make sure your superstar running back won't destroy a knee and end his career because of the new turf. Let's be honest, the field at PBS sucks, but I for one am glad they have tried to do all they can to use real grass, but if it takes something artificial then so be it.

[HoosierCat]

Mike Brown has shown all offseason that he is willing to doll out the cash for a good cause.

Then why is the team $4.5 million under the salary cap? I'm willing to give Mikey credit when he does good things like hiring Lewis, spending on a new weight room, and locking himself in a closet...but the skunk hasn't changed his stripe that much.

Let's face artificial turf is not a good as the real deal. Players don't last as long, and injuries tend to be worse.

Not on FieldTurf. It's miles from the old Astroturf crap. Many players actually prefer it to natural grass. And there's hardly a lack of evidence about its performance; it's used in NFL and college stadiums around the country.

You don't just rush out and go for the latest greatest thing, you wait until you make sure your superstar running back won't destroy a knee and end his career because of the new turf.

Sounds more like thats going to happen on our wonderful natural grass field. Even Cowher was beeching about it today, saying they would have had a run back for a TD if the return man hadn't slipped on the crappy surface (hmmm...maybe it isn't all bad...)

Trust me, it's all about $$$. Mikey wants the county to pay for the new field. One of the many farms given away when the stadium deal went down was that the county agreed to pay for any upgrades to PBS that were needed to keep it competitive with other facilities. At worst, waiting to see how FieldTurf plays out elsewhere is just to build a case for exactly that: it's needed to "keep up with the joneses" so the taxpayers have to foot the bill. But can you imagine the outcry if that's proposed now? After a few wins, sure, but at 0-3 all it would do is generate an avalance of negative publicity, which is the last thing Mike "2 sellouts in a row" Brown wants. After all, he has to recoup all that money he spent on thos big Marvin Lewis billboards...

[kevnz]

Sorry JoiseyCat but I think you are wrong about Brown on this one. As for the cap, they only got that by cutting some dead weight on the final cutdown so it's not like the could have used it for free agents earlier so I think you really missed that call because they had almost no cap room after signing all the Free Agents that they did. In fact those Free agents are even more proof that Mike Brown was willing to spread some cash around unlike previous years.

Also, as for they field, they did try to fix it up this offseason. They hired a new groundskeepr and replaced the field with a different mix than what they had last year.

Like I said earlier I applaud them for trying to keep the grass, but it looks like that it's just not gonna work.

As for trying to get the taxpayers to foot the bill...Well I don't even think that he would consider that after having people want to sue him...It's just bad press to do that, and let's face it he doesn't want the Bengals to get any more of that(see him going into hiding and letting Lewis do his thing).

Cheers

Kev

[HoosierCat]

Sorry JoiseyCat but I think you are wrong about Brown on this one.

Heaven knows nothing would make me happier, but Mikey still seems to be keeping two hands on his wallet. Let him spring for a new field and hire a half a dozen more scouts and maybe I'll believe that skunk stripe was just paint.

As for the cap, they only got that by cutting some dead weight on the final cutdown so it's not like the could have used it for free agents earlier

They got about $2 million in space from the final cuts, the rest was still there, surrounded by the usual excuses. At the very least they could have gotten DiNapoli. And a good cap manager plans for some give-backs at final cut time. Yet another reason this team could use a real live GM.

In fact those Free agents are even more proof that Mike Brown was willing to spread some cash around unlike previous years.

Well, if they didn't spend that money on FAs it would have gone to keeping Spikes against his will instead, so it would have been used regardless. And Mikey has spent on FAs in previous seasons (Frerotte, Westbrook, etc.). The difference this year is that, thanks to Marvin Lewis' presence, we actually got some quality guys and not the usual crop of foulups, bleeps and blunders.

Like I said earlier I applaud them for trying to keep the grass, but it looks like that it's just not gonna work.

I'm with you on the applause, but you're right, it isn't going to work.

As for trying to get the taxpayers to foot the bill...Well I don't even think that he would consider that after having people want to sue him

Mikey would do it in a heartbeat. He isn't worried about lawsuits. But as you and I both appear to agree, the negative pub would be killer, and that will hit him in the gate recipts. So they'll waffle for now and wait and see how the W-L record goes. At least, IMHO.