AJ Smith: “We're being compared with the Bengals!

[Kazkal]

AJ Smith

So is he gonna cut Light switch because I'd say a cheater is worse then a pot head.

[Spor_tees]

The Chargers should be looked at as worse than the Bengals...at least the Bengals aren't on roids...

*CougH* Cheaters *CougH*

[jjakq27]

Or selling Red Bull mixed with cough syrup. Or getting shot by police.

Hopefully these kind of comments from other places will wake up some of our finer citizens and make them realize what they are doing to themselves and their team.

I also hope that Gene Upshaw is willing to tighten things up among the players ranks or the damage could be irriversable. Basketball has long been associated with the thug-element and it's popularity has suffered for it. However it seems like football is making up ground quickly.

In a related note, it's a good thing we didn't keep Foley.....It looks like he is done.

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/art...87/1067/SPT0301

[Stripes]

On an unrelated note, I found this sentence very amusing:

The immense TV deal is in place, as is the collective bargaining agreement (which many owners now wish they hadn't signed and may revisit in 2008).

Mike Brown and Ralph Wilson were subjected to a lot of bashing when the CBA was signed into action due to their "no" votes, and it looks like they're no longer in the minority.

[Kazkal]

Well with how the cap is jumping up it might as well be baseball almost...they need pick a set amount and just stay with it o_O

[HairOnFire]

AJ Smith

So is he gonna cut Light switch because I'd say a cheater is worse then a pot head.

They won't cut Merriman because he can play, and that franchise has already proved that it doesn't care about steroid use when it used a 1st round pick on Castillo. So, cheaters can stay.

Here's my best guess. Foley will be cast off precisely because he wants to be cast off. In short, the size of his lawsuit would get cut to the bone if he proved he could still play...so that's not going to happen. Instead, a player already near the end of his career will call it quits and take a swing at landing a big payday in court.

Next, Keil will be ritually sacrificed. He's already been arrested twice, and he's a central figure in a federal check bouncing investigation. Most importantly, he's a marginal player.

Finally, the 3rd string TE who got drunk will have one of his veins opened up on the steps of the San Diego Tribune. He'll live, but the pictures will be splashed everywhere.

Everyone else is safe.

[ThortonMelon]

^ Exactly.

What f**king right does AJ Smith have to talk about the Bengals? He is grandstanding for the media, by saying he'll make changes but all he is going to do is cut players that wont make the team anyway. How does cutting Foley send a message when his career is over anyway because of extensive nerve damage?

Hey AJ, if you want to send a message why dont you cut Merriman? I'm guessing that AJ's message doesnt apply to Merriman.

[ShulaSteakhouse]

Well the Bengals' are doing a good job of upholding their reputations in Miami this past week:

Peter King, CNNSI

C. Marvin Lewis, I'm told, quite reliably, that a few of your lads were in a place on South Beach called the Jersey Diner Friday morning around 5. Yes, Friday at 5 a.m.

[Stripes]

Does Peter King expect Marvin to walk through the city with the team holding hands and leash everyone to his belt when they cross the street?

[ShulaSteakhouse]

Lol, I don't think that was the intent, rather, this highlights the fact that the Bengals' players are going to be pointed out in these situations across the country at this point. They need to be careful.

Furthermore, I take things like this and all the other problems, as a lack of respect for Marvin, and the Bengals' organization in general.

You don't see Tony Dungy's players out partying all night and getting arrested for DUI's, drug possession, domestic violence etc.., constantly. It happens once in a while and there's always one or two bad apples, but the Bengals' have too many of these types.

The Bengals' need less of the partiers and more of the sober, eat/sleep/breathe football types.

I will keep saying that.

Some of y'all are more worried about defending their behavior and excusing Marvin, than you are looking at the situation objectively and realizing how it will continue to affect, distract and harm their success.

To say the suspensions and arrests didn't have an affect on the outcome of this past year's disappointing finish, is just being naive.

I thought the San Diego GM's comments were quite funny actually.

I hope the Bengals' become more and more embarrassed, and are forced to change their behavior and be more cautious and thoughtful when out in public.

AJ Smith

So is he gonna cut Light switch because I'd say a cheater is worse then a pot head.

And to add to this, for all we know Odell failed a steroid test as well - he failed two drugs tests - "that" is "cheating" to an extent, or blatant, habitual drug use. We do not know what he tested positive for ultimately.

Let's not play the lesser of two evils game - fact is the Bengals' have had almost twice as many arrested as the Chargers the last year.

[HairOnFire]

Let's not play the lesser of two evils game - fact is the Bengals' have had almost twice as many arrested as the Chargers the last year.

As usual you're not even close to being correct....but that's sorta your thing, right?

The whole point of the article is how closely the Chargers mirrored the Bengals in the number of players arrested as well as the number of total arrests. And many of the Chargers transgressions were far more serious. For example, Foley was shot multiple times after threatening a police officer. Merriman tainted a stellar season by removing all remaining doubts that his career is founded juice. And even though he hasn't been charged yet, Kiel is said to be involved in a check bouncing scheme that defrauded many people out of several hundred thousand dollars.

Frankly, the real issue here isn't whether AJ Smith has any reason to complain when the Charger team he built is compared to the Bengals. That comparison is not only more than fair, but the Chargers won/loss record this season, and the Bengals record last season, is ample proof that what happens off the field has little or no impact on what happens on it.

In addition, AJ Smith has held for years the very same GM position that many feel the Bengals need to fill immediately, but the fact that the Chargers players performed as badly within the rules of society as the far more heavily criticized Bengals proves very well that having a GM isn't a major factor in preventing players from crossing paths with law enforcement.

[ThortonMelon]

Well the Bengals' are doing a good job of upholding their reputations in Miami this past week:

Peter King, CNNSI

C. Marvin Lewis, I'm told, quite reliably, that a few of your lads were in a place on South Beach called the Jersey Diner Friday morning around 5. Yes, Friday at 5 a.m.

What the hell is wrong with being at a diner at 5 in the morning? This is only news if they were robbing the diner at 5 in the morning.

It is Super Bowl weekend in Miami. You go there to stay out late and party. I guess Peter King would be skeptical about 25 year olds having fun in Miami, because when he was that age the only fun he had was polishing off an extra-large pizza alone on a Friday night.

[Stripes]

Well the Bengals' are doing a good job of upholding their reputations in Miami this past week:

Peter King, CNNSI

C. Marvin Lewis, I'm told, quite reliably, that a few of your lads were in a place on South Beach called the Jersey Diner Friday morning around 5. Yes, Friday at 5 a.m.

What the hell is wrong with being at a diner at 5 in the morning? This is only news if they were robbing the diner at 5 in the morning.

It is Super Bowl weekend in Miami. You go there to stay out late and party. I guess Peter King would be skeptical about 25 year olds having fun in Miami, because when he was that age the only fun he had was polishing off an extra-large pizza alone on a Friday night.

It's two birds with one stone as far as King cares. I'm sure he was in that diner stuffing his fat face, and when he saw a chance to rip the Bengals during a very non-Bengals weekend, he got all giddy with joy (and probably spat up some fried chicken skin onto his bib).

[ShulaSteakhouse]

Let's not play the lesser of two evils game - fact is the Bengals' have had almost twice as many arrested as the Chargers the last year.

As usual you're not even close to being correct....but that's sorta your thing, right?

The whole point of the article is how closely the Chargers mirrored the Bengals in the number of players arrested as well as the number of total arrests. And many of the Chargers transgressions were far more serious. For example, Foley was shot multiple times after threatening a police officer. Merriman tainted a stellar season by removing all remaining doubts that his career is founded juice. And even though he hasn't been charged yet, Kiel is said to be involved in a check bouncing scheme that defrauded many people out of several hundred thousand dollars.

Frankly, the real issue here isn't whether AJ Smith has any reason to complain when the Charger team he built is compared to the Bengals. That comparison is not only more than fair, but the Chargers won/loss record this season, and the Bengals record last season, is ample proof that what happens off the field has little or no impact on what happens on it.

In addition, AJ Smith has held for years the very same GM position that many feel the Bengals need to fill immediately, but the fact that the Chargers players performed as badly within the rules of society as the far more heavily criticized Bengals proves very well that having a GM isn't a major factor in preventing players from crossing paths with law enforcement.

Hair - debating issues with you is pointless. Nothing I stated above, was disproven by you - it's more of your purely opinionated reasoning, that "this crime is worse than that in my mind" etc.., etc..., and personal attacks to cover up your lack of a sound point.

Drunk driving kills people for instance, you are assuming that is not worse than doing roids or writing bad checks? Cmon. Give me a break - even Mike Brown wouldn't hire you to be his schill!

And from my understanding, the Chargers had what, 5 arrests last year? The Bengals' had 9, right? Please tell me exactly HOW I am wrong there? HOW? Where am I wrong with those #'s? (aside from you moral filtering) Even if my #'s are off, that's almost twice as many technically.

Again Odell failed two drug tests then proceeded to get a DUI - yet you and other blind nut homers are bitching about Merriman?

And you have the nerve to say Odell's absence, and the wasted draft picks of AJ Nicholson and Frostee as it relates to last season, on top of the fact Deltha missed a crucial game, and Henry missed 2-3 of them in addition, had NO affect on an 8-8 record?

Please enlighten me with more of your disillusioned, opinion-based, Hobson-like spin!

I also stated I thought the GM comment was comical - what are you missing there?

And one example of a GM - of a team who had a better record than the Bengals' AND beat them last season - is your excuse for the Bengals' not having a GM, in that it is an example of how it won't curb bad behavior?

Next you'll be telling us Free Agency is a total waste of time because Archuleta didn't work out for the Redskins!

Do you understand a GM here would help with over-all personnel issues and not just be a vice principal? They are responsible for more than that.

There are only six teams in the entire NFL without a GM - and 5 out of 6 of them were not in the playoffs again this year.

If you are responding just to argue with people, fine, but don't make personal assumptions about me or my posts unless you have something better than the crap above to rebuke what I said with.

If you can't disagree with someone, without acting like an adolscent a$$, go to Bengals.com and join the idiots there where you'll feel more at home!

[HairOnFire]

And from my understanding, the Chargers had what, 5 arrests last year? The Bengals' had 9, right? Please tell me exactly HOW I am wrong there? HOW? Where am I wrong with those #'s?

Are you too stupid to understand what you've just read? The article states..."The Chargers have had eight arrests, linebacker Steve Foley and safety Terrence Kiel slammed twice (Kiel's latest is for classy urinating in public)."

As for moral filtering, even you aren't stupid enough to suggest that each arrest is automatically equal to any other arrest, right? So anybody with a functioning brainpan is well served to look past the numbers to consider the seriousness of the crime. But in your rush to be outraged by everything not only do you refuse to do that...you can't even get the number of arrests correct. But you've never been very good with facts, have you? In fact, all you're good for lately is overreacting to everything.

As for Merriman, his use of steroids is an affront to the game itself as it's a deliberate attempt to gain a competitive advantage by illegal means. And yeah, I do take that more seriously than a drunk driving offense because the later is a crime that society is equipped to deal with without any help from the NFL. But we're all sport fans interested in a game that is supposed to be built upon a foundation of fair play, and steroid use corrupts that foundation. Drunk driving doesn't. Smoking weed doesn't. Teenage hookers don't.

Finally, I didn't mention the GM angle in response to anything you said. I offered it in response to recent article that suggested the Bengals needed to hire a GM, even a powerless one, because Marvin needed help controlling his players. Well forgive me for pointing out the obvious but hiring a GM doesn't guarantee a team it's players will be under any better control at all, and AJ Smith is living proof of that. And just for the record, he's one of the most powerful GM's in the NFL, and has of late been one of the most successful.

If you can't disagree with someone, without acting like an adolscent a$$, go to Bengals.com and join the idiots there where you'll feel more at home!

Take your own advice and move on if my responses upset you. Or better still, learn what the facts are before you post your nonsense.

[Kazkal]

The Bengals' need less of the partiers and more of the sober, eat/sleep/breathe football types.

SOme of us even bitch at those type of players.

[Stripes]

The Bengals' need less of the partiers and more of the sober, eat/sleep/breathe football types.

SOme of us even bitch at those type of players.

It's a fair point. Chad needs to stop bitching about his involvement when we lose, but it's a fair point.

[Kazkal]

Drunk driving kills people for instance, you are assuming that is not worse than doing roids or writing bad checks? Cmon. Give me a break - even Mike Brown wouldn't hire you to be his schill!

Cell phones well driving kill people yet people still do it,

Plus bengals are suppossed to have a line that you can call now for a ride even though they should be able to afford a cab