Ox Posted March 7, 2008 Report Share Posted March 7, 2008 Happy, sad for Odom at the same timePosted by PaulKuharsky at 3/4/2008 6:47 PM CST on Tennessean.comBy PAUL KUHARSKYI feel happy for Antwan Odom. I feel sad for Antwan Odom.It’s a thrilling time for him. He’ll endorse and deposit a giant check. Barring financial foolishness he and his family are set forever.But as often the case, the joy that comes with the check is accompanied by a more difficult work situation in which the odds of failure increase.He said in Cincinnati he’s anxious to make his own name, getting out of the shadow of Albert Haynesworth and Kyle Vanden Bosch. It’s what you want to hear if you are the Bengals.But playing in that shadow is what allowed Odom to be so effective. Haynesworth had an All Pro season, Vanden Bosch had a Pro Bowl season, and Odom did well to take advantage of the one-on-one matchups that resulted.As a Bengal, he’ll be the one drawing the double teams, and others will be the ones trying to take advantage of less attention. As a Bengal, he’ll be expected to get double-digit sacks. If he matched his eight of 2007, he’d likely be judged a failure or certainly not a home run.He’s a complicated and largely misunderstood guy. I came to like him very much and occasionally had deep conversations with him, like the one where he told me he understood he was sacrificing his long-term health in exchange for getting to play football, and that if he can’t run around with his grandchildren someday, he’ll just roll around with them instead.But I fear what awaits him.He had to go, though the best situation for him was here. It’s the nature of the business that the ideal pay doesn’t usually come in the ideal setting.If things don’t pan out well for him in Ohio, it will be a mistake to say the Titans made the right choice letting him get away. If he’d stayed – and we don’t know if he even had a competitive offer to do so – the circumstances would have been different, and the results may well have followed.I hope I’m wrong about what will happen in Cincy. I hope Odom is close to the top of the AFC sack leader board this fall.Link Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bengalsfansince68 Posted March 7, 2008 Report Share Posted March 7, 2008 If he matched his eight of 2007, he’d likely be judged a failure or certainly not a home run.If Odum gets us 8 sacks and some pressures, I doubt if I'll be judging him a failure.I'll leave that to Shula.Not impressed Mr. Kuharsky, but thanks for your sad sack input, sir. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bryce40 Posted March 7, 2008 Report Share Posted March 7, 2008 I'm glad that we let Justin Smith go, and signed Odom. I subsribe to The Sporting News magazine, and last week they talked about team needs and what they were likely to do in FA. In all of the teams they discussed needing a DE, they said they would go after Odom, and if that didn't work out; then Smith. Makes me think Odom was the more desirable DE of the two and we were able to get him cheaper than Smith. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoosierCat Posted March 7, 2008 Report Share Posted March 7, 2008 Sour+grapes? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cincyhokie Posted March 7, 2008 Report Share Posted March 7, 2008 I want Odom to be a major upgrade from Smith but I just don't see it happening. The only way I see Odom repeating his 8 sack performance is IF we upgrade the DTs and get healthy LB play this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
membengal Posted March 7, 2008 Report Share Posted March 7, 2008 I don't think that guy understands how low the bar has been set for what will be considered a success in terms of sacks from that position on this team... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skyline Posted March 7, 2008 Report Share Posted March 7, 2008 Sour+grapes?Possibly, but it's the consensus shared among most TN fans. Odom was very fragile at first, and didn't finally break out until last year. Most fans aren't sure if it was a fluke or simply due to the good players around him.While I think a good part of it is that they're not happy he's gone and are therefore trying to placate themselves, they do make a valid point. I have high hopes for Odom, but he's still unproven at this point. One good season playing on an excellent d-line isn't enough to declare him a regular 8-sack guy. Here's hoping Odom proves them all wrong. I'm obviously pulling for the guy.As a side note, I went to two Titans games this past season with seats in the first 5 rows. Physically, Odom is an absolute beast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DesperateDerelict Posted March 7, 2008 Report Share Posted March 7, 2008 I don't think that guy understands how low the bar has been set for what will be considered a success in terms of sacks from that position on this team... sad but true Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bengalsfansince68 Posted March 7, 2008 Report Share Posted March 7, 2008 Possibly, but it's the consensus shared among most TN fans. Gee Sky, seems like you have been here long enough to know that the value of fan opinion is marginal at best. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skyline Posted March 7, 2008 Report Share Posted March 7, 2008 Possibly, but it's the consensus shared among most TN fans. Gee Sky, seems like you have been here long enough to know that the value of fan opinion is marginal at best.Haha, most certainly, which is why I continued to say in my post that they're mostly just bitter that he's gone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobcat Bengal Posted March 7, 2008 Report Share Posted March 7, 2008 Possibly, but it's the consensus shared among most TN fans. Gee Sky, seems like you have been here long enough to know that the value of fan opinion is marginal at best.Uhm, '68.......is there any particular reason why you outline other poster's comments in blood red?That s**t kinda creeps me out, quiet as kept. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HairOnFire Posted March 7, 2008 Report Share Posted March 7, 2008 John Thornton was recently quoted about the adjustments Odom will face, noting the Titan's defensive line strategy of everyone going all out for sacks, while in Cincinnati......not so much. All things considered I thought it was rather telling and speaks directly to the recent performances of Justin Smith, Robert Geathers, and Thornton himself. Remember, Thornton came from the Titans and immediately led all NFL DT's in sacks in his first year as a Bengal. Since then.....not so much. In fact, who can forget Smith and Thornton's overheard comments about how none of the Bengals stunting or gaming resulted in sacks? As for the number of sacks Odom might get playing out of the shadow of Albert Haynesworth, the Bengals have repeatedly shown how interested they are in finding their own version of Haynesworth, and though twice spurned I wouldn't count them out just yet. Finally, I was as impressed with the number of QB pressures Odom was credited with as the number of sacks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bengalsfansince68 Posted March 7, 2008 Report Share Posted March 7, 2008 Uhm, '68.......is there any particular reason why you outline other poster's comments in blood red?That s**t kinda creeps me out, quiet as kept.Quiet as kept?I never really thought of it as blood red.Perhaps if they offered more of a crimson it might creep you out less, though, I'm unsure why it would creep you out at all.Changing the color on the quotes just makes my posts stand out a little to me and makes it easier to scroll back looking for some inane rebuttal to something I wrote.What the hell does "quiet as kept", mean? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobcat Bengal Posted March 7, 2008 Report Share Posted March 7, 2008 Uhm, '68.......is there any particular reason why you outline other poster's comments in blood red?That s**t kinda creeps me out, quiet as kept.Quiet as kept?I never really thought of it as blood red.Perhaps if they offered more of a crimson it might creep you out less, though, I'm unsure why it would creep you out at all.Changing the color on the quotes just makes my posts stand out a little to me and makes it easier to scroll back looking for some inane rebuttal to something I wrote.What the hell does "quiet as kept", mean?quiet as kept.....low keyon the lowkeeping it realhonestlyfor real for realactually I understand where you're coming from with that explanation...but the blood red kinda 'colors' you (pun intended) as kind of angry when responding to the posts, I suppose.....yao-ming? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bengalsfansince68 Posted March 7, 2008 Report Share Posted March 7, 2008 quiet as kept.....low keyon the lowkeeping it realhonestlyfor real for realactually I understand where you're coming from with that explanation...but the blood red kinda 'colors' you (pun intended) as kind of angry when responding to the posts, I suppose.....yao-ming?Yao Mingbasketball playerHouston Rocketsreally, really tallfrequently injuredWell, that would be someone else's perception, and I guess I figured that both of us could live with whatever that perception might be.Does the blue creep you out more or less? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobcat Bengal Posted March 7, 2008 Report Share Posted March 7, 2008 quiet as kept.....low keyon the lowkeeping it realhonestlyfor real for realactually I understand where you're coming from with that explanation...but the blood red kinda 'colors' you (pun intended) as kind of angry when responding to the posts, I suppose.....yao-ming?Yao Mingbasketball playerHouston Rocketsreally, really tallfrequently injuredWell, that would be someone else's perception, and I guess I figured that both of us could live with whatever that perception might be.Does the blue creep you out more or less?the blue's fine, actually.....Honestly, I figured since you're gonna highlight the posts at all, they would be orange.....considering......but hey, that works fine too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kazkal Posted March 7, 2008 Report Share Posted March 7, 2008 What I disliked was article when was talking about JT and Odom....It was supposed get you hyped yet depressing because you think is Odom a JT DE? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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