Thug Life: Part XXXXIVV

[HairOnFire]

Frankly, the defense has far too often performed like the afterthought it seems to be, and if the Bengals were tempted by the siren song of a risky quick fix then who could blame them?

No one. I didn't say I didn't understand the high-risk strategy, just that I don't agree with it. Hopefully, it works out better with Ahmad Brooks than it did with Thurman.

But that's just the thing. You don't agree with it now that the results are known. Last season you, me, and almost everyone here was loudly raving about the play of Odell Thurman, and silently breathing a sigh of relief that the hole in the middle left by Kevin Hardy and Nate Webster appeared to be filled.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but I have a hard time getting my arms around the idea that Marvin doesn't deserve the benefit of the doubt for taking the risks he's taken.

[Riagogogoindanati]

OK, men.......does Miss Ria have to come in here and calm you guys down?

BTW......I ain't no Hollaback girl. LOL

[HoosierCat]

Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but I have a hard time getting my arms around the idea that Marvin doesn't deserve the benefit of the doubt for taking the risks he's taken.

And at what point do you stop giving that benefit to him? It isn't just Odell. It's also Chris Henry. and Nicholson. And Rucker. And Brooks. Time and again a character risk blows up in the Bengals' faces...and time and again they take another one. So far Brooks is the only bomb that hasn't gone off, and he's the one who been here the least amount of time.

I mean, is there a specific number of arrests or suspensions that need to happen before you can officially quit giving the benefit of the doubt and say Marvin's pursuing a flawed strategy? How many years do they operate under the high-risk strategy without a noticeable defensive improvement before we're allowed to advocate a change of course?

[HairOnFire]

I mean, is there a specific number of arrests or suspensions that need to happen before you can officially quit giving the benefit of the doubt and say Marvin's pursuing a flawed strategy? How many years do they operate under the high-risk strategy without a noticeable defensive improvement before we're allowed to advocate a change of course?

No, there's no number of arrests that would shake my confidence...as long as the players in question prove themselves as capable players and the arrests are minor in nature. In fact, I've mentioned several times that the biggest reason the Bengals are the current poster child for this type of stuff is due to Chris Henry's attention getting crime spree.

The Bengals have been crushed under the weight of numbers, but most of the transgressions aren't eye opening stuff. Granted, I think people should leave their weapons at home instead of taking them to the party, but athletes partaking of booze, weed, and hookers doesn't concern me much. And to that list you can add parking on the curb infront of a videa store, the bizarre theft of your own property, boating while beer buzzed, and the casual destruction of a womans cell phone during a party.

Last, let's not get lost on this one. You can criticize the strategy from atop a soap box all day long, but the San Diego Criminal Chargers and the Chicago Barely Legals are amongst this years favorites to reach the Super Bowl, so it's been proven beyond any doubt that the strategy works well enough as long as the risks are measured.

OK, men.......does Miss Ria have to come in here and calm you guys down?

Uhhh, what do you have in mind?