Thurman Suspended

[HairOnFire]

We can't go on drafting this way; the war room needs a revamp.

As the only poster here who expressed a pre-draft desire to see Brooks in stripes....I've gotta disagree.

This team is fresh off it's first division championship and playoff berth in recent memory, and is increasingly stacked at nearly every important position on both sides of the ball. Holes do remain, but the talent level of this team is drastically improved from that of a few years ago and most of it is young and under contract for years to come. Plus, there are plenty of good character types on the roster, and most of those who are of the questionable type were fairly cheaply acquired and mostly play complimentary roles.

I see nothing wrong with repeatedly taking chances on potentially great players who have fallen into the mid rounds. Dare to be great, right? Didn't Marvin say that achieving mediocrity wasn't the goal anymore? Well, today he rolled the dice again and at the cost of a late 3rd round pick he added a player with an early 1st round pedigree. Don't expect me to complain.

BTW, has any coach been fired because of his poor history of drafting players in the 3rd round? I sorta doubt it.

That said, today does sting because Odell has officially joined Henry in the ranks of the melted down. Both proved over the course of a season why they were considered worth the risk, and then just as quickly proved that assuming that type of risk comes with a price. And the price in Thurman's example is higher than the rest. Because of pure screaming need the Bengals used a very high 2nd round pick on Thurman, a much higher draft price than the other "pricks and retrobates" being discussed.

Ouch, says I.

However, it should be noted that I liked the division championship, playoff berth, and Super Bowl contender status enough for me to still be in favor of constantly using late 3rd round picks on risky players who could be great.

No kidding.

[kingwilly]

Joisey, you are correct, sir.

"BTW, has any coach been fired because of his poor history of drafting players in the 3rd round? I sorta doubt it.".... Who cares about a coach getting fired....to be perfectly frank, I don't care who the F coaches this team. The fact that these picks are law-breaking, rule-breaking, anti-social retards that hinder the foward progress of the team, I;d say that ML will feel some heat. Coaches come under fire when the players they pick go to jail, get suspended, ruin the reputation and credibility of the organization.

[Defender]

I need SOME type of postitive spin on this PLEASE!!! Is there any silver lining to be found?

[HoosierCat]

This team is fresh off it's first division championship and playoff berth in recent memory,

Thanks in significant part to two players who appear to be rapidly "characterizing" their way out of the league, as you pointed out earlier.

All the Bengals are doing is setting themselves up for a different kind of churn. In the dark years, they continually churned through a succession of players who could stay on the field but weren't worth a damn. Now we have players who are talented but can't get on the field because they would rather be smoking pot, beating women, stealing from their roomies or waving a gun around outside a Miami nightclub.

Neither approach is going to win a Lombardi.

[HairOnFire]

Who cares about a coach getting fired....to be perfectly frank, I don't care who the F coaches this team. The fact that these picks are law-breaking, rule-breaking, anti-social retards that hinder the foward progress of the team, I;d say that ML will feel some heat.

Did Thurman and Henry hinder the forward progress of this team last season? Weren't they major factors in why the team advanced to it's first playoff berth in more than a decade?

I won't argue the point about Marvin taking some heat over this issue because he already has, and he'll continue taking that hit right up to the point when the whistle blows. After that, all you'll hear is how instinctive Nicholson is, how Rucker is better than you'd heard he was, and what a monster-in-waiting Ahmad Brooks is looking like.

Wait for it.

It's coming.

[alleycat]

I just wanted to point out one thing.

Reports of Odell's suspension suggest that he missed the test, not failed the test. Now we can all see why this logic exists, because someone who recently took drugs probably wouldn't want to be tested and caught, uh, yellow handed.

HOWEVER, and I am reaching here because I need a little comfort, but wasn't Odell a notorious discipline problem for showing up late to and missing meetings last season? Weren't there reports of Marvin repeatedly fining him for such offenses? Is it all possible that, like many of my latino friends, Odell just doesn't exactly have the same concept of the importance of punctuality as the rest of us, and just missed more that one scheduled drug test?

Again, a reach, I know, but so far I haven't heard anything that he tested positive for a particular substance.

[BengalByTheBay]

I just wanted to point out one thing.

Reports of Odell's suspension suggest that he missed the test, not failed the test. Now we can all see why this logic exists, because someone who recently took drugs probably wouldn't want to be tested and caught, uh, yellow handed.

HOWEVER, and I am reaching here because I need a little comfort, but wasn't Odell a notorious discipline problem for showing up late to and missing meetings last season? Weren't there reports of Marvin repeatedly fining him for such offenses? Is it all possible that, like many of my latino friends, Odell just doesn't exactly have the same concept of the importance of punctuality as the rest of us, and just missed more that one scheduled drug test?

Again, a reach, I know, but so far I haven't heard anything that he tested positive for a particular substance.

In my understanding of the confidentiality issues -- we will likely never know. If it makes you feel better, then okay he might just have a penchant for doing his own thing without watching the clock. I tend to think the (diclaimer) PFT report passes the smell test a little more, however. I believe he got intervened on by Marvin & company and spent part of May & June at Shady Acres trying to get straight. It doesn't really matter does it?

[ShulaSteakhouse]

Odell - all physical talent - no brains.

Marvin - I've lost quite a bit of faith this off-season in his ability to handle and develop players.

Other than Palmer and JJ, all of his draftees are bit players, and if they're any good, they're in trouble and can't play.

I wish the nerds with the "In Marvin We Trust" crap banners and signs would change the "we" to "I."

Competency does not equal greatness.

Disappointing development. Marvin's arrogance is astounding.

[alleycat]

I just wanted to point out one thing.

Reports of Odell's suspension suggest that he missed the test, not failed the test. Now we can all see why this logic exists, because someone who recently took drugs probably wouldn't want to be tested and caught, uh, yellow handed.

HOWEVER, and I am reaching here because I need a little comfort, but wasn't Odell a notorious discipline problem for showing up late to and missing meetings last season? Weren't there reports of Marvin repeatedly fining him for such offenses? Is it all possible that, like many of my latino friends, Odell just doesn't exactly have the same concept of the importance of punctuality as the rest of us, and just missed more that one scheduled drug test?

Again, a reach, I know, but so far I haven't heard anything that he tested positive for a particular substance.

In my understanding of the confidentiality issues -- we will likely never know. If it makes you feel better, then okay he might just have a penchant for doing his own thing without watching the clock. I tend to think the (diclaimer) PFT report passes the smell test a little more, however. I believe he got intervened on by Marvin & company and spent part of May & June at Shady Acres trying to get straight. It doesn't really matter does it?

Well it does matter in this regard. All of those who are claiming the sky is falling because someone did an illegal substance would at least be calmed a bit. It also means that the league might go lenient on him if he misses a test again and gets nailed but does a test and shows he's clean.

[Kazkal]

I'm sure it was posted but i'm suprised they diden't rip him and us apart aleast in this tidbit

POSTED 4:53 p.m. EDT, July 13, 2006

THURMAN SUSPENDED FOR FOUR GAMES

A league source tells us that Bengals linebacker Odell Thurman has been suspended four games for violation of the NFL's substance abuse policy.

The suspension helps to explain the team's surprising decision to select linebacker Ahmad Brooks in the third round of the Supplemental Draft. However, Brooks has had his own history with banned substances; he was once arrested for possession of marijuana, and Jason Cole reported for the Miami Herald last month that Brooks failed two drug tests while at the University of Virginia.

As to Thurman, word is that he is making a conscientious effort to rectify the problem. We're told that he wants to comply with the rules and to play football. With that said, a four-game suspension is imposed only after a player has progressed through several levels of the substance abuse program, which means that the problem has been around for a while. Here's hoping that he can get on the right track, because he definitely has the talent to be a force in the NFL.

The four-game suspension takes effect after the final preseason game on September 1 at Indianapolis. He'll miss games on September 10 at Kansas City, September 17 at home against the Browns, September 24 at

[Section 310]

SO DOES THIS MEAN ALL OF YOU PFT HATERS ARE READY TO ADMIT THEY HAD THE INFORMATION BEFORE ANYONE ELSE??

For weeks we have had post after post by guys trashing PFT. Face it, they get it right more often than not.

[Kazkal]

re

[ArmyBengal]

I think this is a huge hit to Marvin and how he and the organization are viewed. I agree that Odell and Henry were key parts in the Division championship last season and I want them both back, but if this is an ongoing thing, this should really be reconsidered. This just pisses me off !!! I can't believe these guys can be so f*cking stupid !!! Most people would give their left nut to have that opportunity and here they are just f*cking it all away. God d*mn pathetic. I don't care that we won't miss much with Landon in there, there's no excuse except to say that they are a bunch of f*cking retards...

Color me pissed off !!!

WHODEY !!!

[DC_Bengals_Fan]

I just wanted to point out one thing.

Reports of Odell's suspension suggest that he missed the test, not failed the test. Now we can all see why this logic exists, because someone who recently took drugs probably wouldn't want to be tested and caught, uh, yellow handed.

HOWEVER, and I am reaching here because I need a little comfort, but wasn't Odell a notorious discipline problem for showing up late to and missing meetings last season? Weren't there reports of Marvin repeatedly fining him for such offenses? Is it all possible that, like many of my latino friends, Odell just doesn't exactly have the same concept of the importance of punctuality as the rest of us, and just missed more that one scheduled drug test?

Again, a reach, I know, but so far I haven't heard anything that he tested positive for a particular substance.

In my understanding of the confidentiality issues -- we will likely never know. If it makes you feel better, then okay he might just have a penchant for doing his own thing without watching the clock. I tend to think the (diclaimer) PFT report passes the smell test a little more, however. I believe he got intervened on by Marvin & company and spent part of May & June at Shady Acres trying to get straight. It doesn't really matter does it?

Well it does matter in this regard. All of those who are claiming the sky is falling because someone did an illegal substance would at least be calmed a bit. It also means that the league might go lenient on him if he misses a test again and gets nailed but does a test and shows he's clean.

You don't get 4 games for the first one. So unless on is to believe he missed 3 tests, he's smoking up (or snorting up).

Unless Odell is Ojuiced. You do get 4 games for 'roids the first time.

[schweinhart]

Looks like the Thurminator could have used a Whizzinator.

Or better yet had enough sense to recognize the opportunity he had to ge great. Maybe he'll come clean, but if he can't the game goes on.

It is interesting to note how the pre-season 1st team lines up on D now in terms of how they got to be Bengals.

D-Line: 3 vets free agents and a pre-Marvin pick. Most notable backups are a 4th round pick and a waiver wire claim.

LBs: Marv 1st rounder, Marv 3rd rounder and pre-Marv pick. Most notable backups are a vet free agent and a Marv 3rd pick minus Nicholson and Brooks.

CBs: trade acquisition, vet free agent with backups being 1st and 2nd Marv picks and a vet free agent.

S: 2nd round Marv pick and a vet free agent.

For starters that's 3 Marv picks projected to start going into his 4th year plus a key player via trade. Maybe more should be expected from the talent evaluation side in terms of draft picks and maybe a better fix on what was going to be schemed and matching it with the right personnel could have been there from the beginning instead of the yearly Chinese fire drill up front, but all in all this year's D should be the best we've seen in the Marvin Ball era.

[Spor_tees]

How about we keep Marvin OUT of the draft room and just let him deal with the players on the field? We could bring in Pat Robertson to be talent evaluator and draft specialist, since he thinks God talks to him and he is all knowing?

P.S. I'm surprised Hobson gave PFT credit on the Dot-Com for the story after the response he wrote back to my e-mail!

[Stripes]

The score, PFT 1, TDB 0.

This sucks.

[stilldiesel]

So you guys won't have him in week three against us. Well, at least he will be back for the season ending game.

[andybren]

...like many of my latino friends...

Huh? Unless that's a weak Cheech and Chong joke, I don't get your culturally insensitive reference.

SO DOES THIS MEAN ALL OF YOU PFT HATERS ARE READY TO ADMIT THEY HAD THE INFORMATION BEFORE ANYONE ELSE??

For weeks we have had post after post by guys trashing PFT. Face it, they get it right more often than not.

My distaste for PFT has nothing to do with their truthfulness. Or as Stephen Colbert would say, their truthiness.

How about we keep Marvin OUT of the draft room and just let him deal with the players on the field? We could bring in Pat Robertson to be talent evaluator and draft specialist, since he thinks God talks to him and he is all knowing?

Can't tell if you're serious, but I don't see how Marvin gets the sole blame for the failure of the team's draft picks. Should the team re-evaluate their selection process in light of recent events? Sure. Do recent events mean the team is on a downward spiral? Not even close.

As others have aluded to, the team is in a position of strength right now. We're in a position to take chances on questionable guys. Even if Henry, Rucker, Nicholson and Brooks completely wipe out, we'll still be okay. But it still sucks when your 20-to-1 pick does even get out of the gate.

As for Thurman, I'm not ready to lump him in with the other 4.

[PMThor]

I can't sleep. I am so pissed off right now.

What are these guys thinking?

f**k. f**k!

[kingwilly]

Who cares about a coach getting fired....to be perfectly frank, I don't care who the F coaches this team. The fact that these picks are law-breaking, rule-breaking, anti-social retards that hinder the foward progress of the team, I;d say that ML will feel some heat.

Did Thurman and Henry hinder the forward progress of this team last season? Weren't they major factors in why the team advanced to it's first playoff berth in more than a decade?

I won't argue the point about Marvin taking some heat over this issue because he already has, and he'll continue taking that hit right up to the point when the whistle blows. After that, all you'll hear is how instinctive Nicholson is, how Rucker is better than you'd heard he was, and what a monster-in-waiting Ahmad Brooks is looking like.

Wait for it.

It's coming.

Henry's situation is a tough one. Yes, he shined...could he have been better if he was not smokin? Most probably. It is not about how far they came but how far they went... Odell is a real disappointment. sad.

as for the rest of your statement.....I really, really hope you are right. honestly.

[Stripes]

How about we keep Marvin OUT of the draft room and just let him deal with the players on the field? We could bring in Pat Robertson to be talent evaluator and draft specialist, since he thinks God talks to him and he is all knowing?

Good Lord!

Abandon ship!

I'm pissed about Odell, but let's not get friggin' rediculous.

[ChadJohnson-85]

I can't sleep. I am so pissed off right now.

What are these guys thinking?

f**k. f**k!

Same here. THIS IS SOME BULL !

[HoTbOy]

Once again the PFT guy was on to something, we should all be pissed about this, that is all of the questionable picks that we had for the last 2 drafts in trouble....and you gotta believe that CHenry is next....yeah and if OThurman gets caught again he is gone for 1 year aka RWilliams...maybe that was it, maybe OThurman and RWilliams are friends maybe RWilliams turned him on to some weed from India...

[The_Next_Big_Thing]

I just read on Profootball talk that in order for Thurman to get to this level(4 game suspension) he has had to go through several levels of the substance abuse program.

Which means that the Bengals likely knew this before the draft.

Which begs the question,why would you draft Nicholson(character question) to replace him?

How about because Nicholson is one hell of a linebacker, and you want guys who are aggressive on your defense, regardless of possible character issues?

By the way, Odell's suspension does not mean he did anything more than missed drug tests.