Ghiaciuc says Chad is a distraction

[icehole3]

http://www.profootballtalk.com/2009/06/03/...d-distractions/

FORMER BENGAL TALKS ABOUT OCHOCINCO-FUELED DISTRACTIONS

Posted by Mike Florio on June 3, 2009, 8:17 a.m. EDT

Center Eric Ghiaciuc left the Cincinnati Bengals via free agency, landing with the Chiefs.

And Ghiaciuc recently told his new team’s official web site that a certain player on the Bengals often is disruptive.

“As much as you try to focus on football with your day-to-day routine of meetings, lifting, walkthroughs, practices, games, you can focus but it’s still there,” Ghiaciuc said. “It’s like when you turn your head, it’s still behind you. I think we were doing our best to focus on what needed to be focused on in our profession, but it was there and it was a bit of a problem.”

That’s different from what we’ve previously heard about the receiver formerly known as Chad Johnson.

Sure, the guy is a distraction. But the most of the players have gotten numb to his antics.

Then again, a guy in prison can get used to the food — and then complain about it once he’s on the outside.

So maybe it’s good that Ochocinco is spending the voluntary portion of the offseason workouts away from guys who might be much happier not having to deal with him.

[Ickey44]

While Girlchek may be right, I don't know that he had a clue what was going on around here while he was a Bengal because that whole time he was on his ass.

[HoTbOy]

Yeah maybe that's why EGhiaciuc(The Matador)was so bad, cause Chad was a distraction to him...

[markymark69]

I agree that Ghiaciuc was out-manned at center, but lets not totally discount what he is saying. Being in a work situation myself where the atmosphere doesn't foster a lot of positive energy it can be tough to do your job when you are distracted. I have no doubt he is right --- but I don't believe it had anything to do with the fact that he just couldn't measure up on the field.

[gregstephens]

Yeah, for whatever our opinions are on Fredo, I don't put a lot of stock in this. Distraction or no, Ghiaciuc just isn't much of an NFL caliber center. I'm not going to use this relatively meaningless story to throw Fredo further under the bus. The line sucked. The running game sucked. Fitz was in over his skis. Fredo performed like a scrub. It was what it was.

[BengalByTheBay]

I agree that Ghiaciuc was out-manned at center, but lets not totally discount what he is saying. Being in a work situation myself where the atmosphere doesn't foster a lot of positive energy it can be tough to do your job when you are distracted. I have no doubt he is right --- but I don't believe it had anything to do with the fact that he just couldn't measure up on the field.

Meh....more Shawn Smith-type babble. Ghiaciuc spent his whole career here, so what's his frame of reference? College? I have no doubt that many teams have one or more players who cause a distraction, so it may be simply that Ghiaciuc has to transition to the NFL. Thus, while I have no doubt that Chad is a distraction, that's life in the bigs. These marginal cast-offs seem to believe that the only way somebody is going to listen to them is if they talk about Chad and, you know what, they're right. In 2 years no one will have any clue who Ghiaciuc is/was, so I guess he has to do what he can to get some (very nominal) attention now. Would anyone even print it if he said "hey, Chad wasn't any distraction at all when I was a Bengal"?

[COB]

While giving this interview at Chiefs' OTAs, the waterboy bumped into Trampled-Check, flattening him. After he got up he heroically stayed on his feet for the rest of the interview, in spite of a stiff breeze blowing in from the west.

[TJJackson]

The big distraction to me last season was watching Carson, face bloodied and covered with a towel, walking dejectedly off the field

or when they carried him off the field after the 846th sack early in the regular season

[Kazkal]

Ghiaciuc was a distraction with his horrible ass play.

[derekshank]

Yeah yeah... Ghiaciuc sucks. We all know it. But it's funny to me that his quality of play (or lack thereof) somehow makes his opinion less valuable.

He shouldn't have been starting, but he has far more insight than any of us on how Chad effects the locker-room. And while it might seem a bit like an excuse for his poor play (when the only real reason is he wasn't good enough) I have no problem believing him when he says that Chad made it difficult to focus on football.

After all... isn't that what half of the threads in this forum are about right now?

[bengalsfansince68]

I'd bet dollars against donut-holes that most of the players want to say the same thing.

[gregstephens]

Yeah yeah... Ghiaciuc sucks. We all know it. But it's funny to me that his quality of play (or lack thereof) somehow makes his opinion less valuable.

He shouldn't have been starting, but he has far more insight than any of us on how Chad effects the locker-room. And while it might seem a bit like an excuse for his poor play (when the only real reason is he wasn't good enough) I have no problem believing him when he says that Chad made it difficult to focus on football.

After all... isn't that what half of the threads in this forum are about right now?

I don't discount your argument that the offseason crap made it difficult to focus on football.

However, that is not a free pass for an entire offensive line to allow defenders to rush through like a Greyhound bus and steamroll your multi-million dollar, future of the franchise quarterback. Even I can't blame Fredo for a broken nose and a busted elbow.

Get on the field, leave all the crap in the locker room and pick up a blitz

[bengalsfansince68]

Hey Greg...

Bluto sucked and our line sucked...

but he's right on this one.

[HairOnFire]

Yeah yeah... Ghiaciuc sucks. We all know it. But it's funny to me that his quality of play (or lack thereof) somehow makes his opinion less valuable.

He shouldn't have been starting, but he has far more insight than any of us on how Chad effects the locker-room. And while it might seem a bit like an excuse for his poor play (when the only real reason is he wasn't good enough) I have no problem believing him when he says that Chad made it difficult to focus on football.

After all... isn't that what half of the threads in this forum are about right now?

There it is.

[BengalByTheBay]

I have no problem believing him when he says that Chad made it difficult to focus on football.

No reasonable person does. Chad is clearly a distraction, it's just that when a bad player goes to another team and whines it certainly seems like they're just trying to get some attention. The source always matters. That doesn't mean he's not right, just that it's not very interesting coming from such a source. I think I'm probably like most Bengals fans in that I would be happy to forget Giaciuc completely and this simply lengthens that process.

[gregstephens]

Hey Greg...

Bluto sucked and our line sucked...

but he's right on this one.

Yeah, but take that rationale to the logical, or illogical, extreme. Under that theory, Fitz sucked because Fredo was a distraction. The special teams sucked because Fredo was a distraction. Chris Perry fumbled so much because Fredo was a distraction.

I'm not saying the guy wasn't a distraction. I didn't say he wasn't right to an extent. I'm saying Bluto can't get out of Dodge and then make a comment that basically sounds like he's saying he's not really that bad of a center, but played horribly because of Fredo, which is what I see between the lines.

If we (read I) bash Fredo at times because of his unprofessional translating to his play, then we (read I again) have to hold Guy-chick to same expectation.

In other words, put the bs behind you and block for your freaking quarterback!

[membengal]

pft is certainly doing their level-best to be a distraction right now, that's for sure.

1. Johnson is not with the team. That may be a good thing. It may be a bad thing.

2. Johnson was a tool last year, at the least. No sane person can question that.

3. We don't know if Johnson will be a tool this year. We can suspect it, but yaneverknow.

4. Pieces like that, that stir the pot, are not helpful to the chances of Johnson actually not being a tool this time around.

5. In the end, it is up to Johnson which path he chooses, whatever idle chatter Florio digs up to try and fan flames.

[Ickey44]

Hey Greg...

Bluto sucked and our line sucked...

but he's right on this one.

Yeah, but take that rationale to the logical, or illogical, extreme. Under that theory, Fitz sucked because Fredo was a distraction. The special teams sucked because Fredo was a distraction. Chris Perry fumbled so much because Fredo was a distraction.

I'm not saying the guy wasn't a distraction. I didn't say he wasn't right to an extent. I'm saying Bluto can't get out of Dodge and then make a comment that basically sounds like he's saying he's not really that bad of a center, but played horribly because of Fredo, which is what I see between the lines.

If we (read I) bash Fredo at times because of his unprofessional translating to his play, then we (read I again) have to hold Guy-chick to same expectation.

In other words, put the bs behind you and block for your freaking quarterback!

I didn't read anywhere where he said that the team's performance had anything to do with the distraction. He was simply stating that it was a distraction. That being said, I have trouble believing the kinds of things ex-Bengals say because you don't know if it's sour grapes or not. People like TJ, Rudi, and Girlchek have not had nice things to say about Cincinnati after leaving. Hell, even Spikes took some shots at us after he left.

[derekshank]

Hey Greg...

Bluto sucked and our line sucked...

but he's right on this one.

Yeah, but take that rationale to the logical, or illogical, extreme. Under that theory, Fitz sucked because Fredo was a distraction. The special teams sucked because Fredo was a distraction. Chris Perry fumbled so much because Fredo was a distraction.

I'm not saying the guy wasn't a distraction. I didn't say he wasn't right to an extent. I'm saying Bluto can't get out of Dodge and then make a comment that basically sounds like he's saying he's not really that bad of a center, but played horribly because of Fredo, which is what I see between the lines.

If we (read I) bash Fredo at times because of his unprofessional translating to his play, then we (read I again) have to hold Guy-chick to same expectation.

In other words, put the bs behind you and block for your freaking quarterback!

To this point we have not heard any players talk about Chad being a distraction. It's mostly media outlets and logical deduction based on his attitude on the field combined with news of suspensions and the like.

I'm not sure what Ghiaciuc's motives are for saying what he said. Perhaps he's trying to make excuses for the reason he sucked so bad, perhaps he was simply answering a question he was asked. I don't much care. Frankly, had it been a guy on the practice squad it wouldn't hold any less weight in my mind.

As far as considering the source... I'd have to say it's a legitimate source. A lot of people bashed Jose Canseco when he wrote his book because he was nothing more than a sideshow trying to make some money. Well... that might be true, but that doesn't make what he wrote false. It simply means that he used his intimate knowledge in way to get himself paid. Perhaps not a particularly noble act - but certainly reliable.

I see no difference here. Regardless of his reasons, he merely stated out loud what many already expected. Chad is a crappy teammate and makes it difficult to focus on football. I don't need to read into it any more than that.

[kingwilly]

While giving this interview at Chiefs' OTAs, the waterboy bumped into Trampled-Check, flattening him. After he got up he heroically stayed on his feet for the rest of the interview, in spite of a stiff breeze blowing in from the west.

very well played...

I have no lve for guysuck, or ochopinko but that is funny.

[agreen_112]

Hey Greg...

Bluto sucked and our line sucked...

but he's right on this one.

Yeah, but take that rationale to the logical, or illogical, extreme. Under that theory, Fitz sucked because Fredo was a distraction. The special teams sucked because Fredo was a distraction. Chris Perry fumbled so much because Fredo was a distraction.

I'm not saying the guy wasn't a distraction. I didn't say he wasn't right to an extent. I'm saying Bluto can't get out of Dodge and then make a comment that basically sounds like he's saying he's not really that bad of a center, but played horribly because of Fredo, which is what I see between the lines.

If we (read I) bash Fredo at times because of his unprofessional translating to his play, then we (read I again) have to hold Guy-chick to same expectation.

In other words, put the bs behind you and block for your freaking quarterback!

Spot on Greg. As Ali G would say, Respect.

[derekshank]

Hey Greg...

Bluto sucked and our line sucked...

but he's right on this one.

Yeah, but take that rationale to the logical, or illogical, extreme. Under that theory, Fitz sucked because Fredo was a distraction. The special teams sucked because Fredo was a distraction. Chris Perry fumbled so much because Fredo was a distraction.

I'm not saying the guy wasn't a distraction. I didn't say he wasn't right to an extent. I'm saying Bluto can't get out of Dodge and then make a comment that basically sounds like he's saying he's not really that bad of a center, but played horribly because of Fredo, which is what I see between the lines.

If we (read I) bash Fredo at times because of his unprofessional translating to his play, then we (read I again) have to hold Guy-chick to same expectation.

In other words, put the bs behind you and block for your freaking quarterback!

Spot on Greg. As Ali G would say, Respect.

Again, to me... this has nothing to do with the messenger. Unless we believe he has a reason to be lying, his reasoning for saying it carries no weight.

Last year Rudi had some negative things to say. He came across as a bitter malcontent. He very well may have been, but he was right about what he said.

So, you can take shots at Ghiaciuc for saying what he said. That's fine. Most of us did it with Rudi last year too. But what you can't do is discount his statements as untrue or unreliable. Even if his motives may have been self serving, it seems to me that there are likely a few dozen players currently on the Bengals roster that would probably say the same things if you got them off the record.

[Baraka]

did this come as a surprise to anyone?

i thought it was a forgone conclusion that ocho psycho was a distraction. he's certainly a distraction on ths board, at the very least.

i haven't posted on chad but since that's all that seems to be talked about anymore i was feeling left out.

[HairOnFire]

did this come as a surprise to anyone?

Actually, I'm suprised it's taken this long. Other Bengal players have tap danced around the subject before, but the only ones to comment directly about whether Chad is a negative distraction were team captains like Thornton and Willie. Sadly, yet predictably, both of them played the role of good soldier.

i thought it was a forgone conclusion that ocho psycho was a distraction.

Agreed. In fact, I'd compare the Chad situation to every Bengal player, coach, and fan being married to a crazy woman, with each of us constantly asking ouselves.....will today be a good day or a bad one?

[Ickey44]

Agreed. In fact, I'd compare the Chad situation to every Bengal player, coach, and fan being married to a crazy woman, with each of us constantly asking ouselves.....will today be a good day or a bad one?

Been there, done that. And I left that *****. That's why I don't understand why that haven't gotten him off of the team yet.