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Letter from Marvin to the fans.


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Coach Lewis's email to the fans.

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THANK YOU, THANK YOU for all of your support in 2004. Whether you cheered the team on by being at Paul Brown Stadium, watched Bengals games on television or listened to Bengals radio broadcasts, we are grateful to have you as our fans. Paul Brown Stadium was an exciting place in 2004 – with all of the regular season games sold out – and we are looking forward already to the excitement continuing in 2005.

I would like to take a minute to share my perspective on the 2004 season, and provide a quick look-ahead to the 2005 season.

2004 SEASON

First and foremost, we fell short of our goal – a winning season and advancing to/through the playoffs. As a result, we are not satisfied and have a lot of hard work ahead of us to become the kind of team we know we can be. There was real disappointment from our players in the locker room after the season concluded – we wanted to keep playing.

With that said, we accomplished many good things in 2004. Carson Palmer showed tremendous ability and progress over the course of the season. The offensive line played well once it got healthy, and helped Rudi Johnson set the Bengals single-season rushing record. Our receiving corps of Chad Johnson, T.J. Houshmandzadeh and Kelley Washington was prolific, with Chad Johnson leading the AFC in receiving yards. On defense and special teams, we created the most turnovers since 1996. Our kicker Shayne Graham set a new team record for most points scored in a season with 122. And we had several rookies, including Madieu Williams, Keiwan Ratliff, Kyle Larson, Robert Geathers and Landon Johnson, contribute in real ways to our team and our wins.

Finally, of course, we were proud of the fact that Willie Anderson, Tory James and Chad Johnson were selected to the Pro Bowl. While Willie's injured knee may jeopardize his availability to play in the Pro Bowl, I hope everyone will cheer for Tory and Chad on Sunday, February 13 at 7:30 p.m. EST.

NEXT SEASON

The 2005 season started for us the day after our season finale in Philadelphia. We will have a busy offseason and will look at every way our football team can get better.

The 2005 draft is scheduled for April 23 and 24. The Bengals draft 17th in the first round and my coaching staff and I will get our first look at draft prospects when we head to the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama the week of January 24. We’ll have an opportunity to watch and interact with some of the exciting 2005 draft prospects. Additionally, the last week in February we head to the scouting combine in Indianapolis to see several hundred draft prospects participate in various workouts and drills.

The focus in this year's draft will be similar to 2004 insofar as we will be looking for quality players anywhere and would like to draft the best player available regardless of position. I am a believer in that, especially since we have quality starters at every position and are not counting on a draft pick to start immediately. Instead, we want the best young players who can contribute this year, and who can be great players in the future.

As for our veterans, we have several quality players of our own who are un-signed for next year. These include Richie Braham, T.J. Houshmandzadeh and Rudi Johnson. We are already underway with working to retain them for next season and hope we can keep our core players together.

Our offseason workout program will run from April through June and we are expecting to have great participation. The offseason workout program gives us opportunities to not only keep our players well-conditioned but also build better team relationships.

As you can see, we are already hard at work on the 2005 season. We hope to see you back at Paul Brown Stadium and count on your help to make 2005 even better. We have an exciting schedule and face, in addition to our division rivals, playoff teams in Indianapolis with Peyton Manning, Green Bay with Brett Favre, and Minnesota with Daunte Culpepper and Randy Moss - all making their regular season debuts at Paul Brown Stadium.

As a football team, we're moving forward and have the ingredients for a very good team. We're working hard to make those ingredients come together for a great 2005 campaign. As our fan, we want you to know that we are hard at work on 2005, and that we appreciate your support. Thanks again!

Sincerely,

Marvin Lewis

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hes brought us some excitement back to Bengals football.

Yes, he has brought excitement back to Cincinnati and Bengals football, but even more importantly he's brought promise and hope.

GOD BLESS YOU COACH LEWIS!!

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The focus in this year's draft will be similar to 2004 insofar as we will be looking for quality players anywhere and would like to draft the best player available regardless of position. I am a believer in that, especially since we have quality starters at every position and are not counting on a draft pick to start immediately.

Thank you Black Jesus. And now, let those of us in the flock collectively drop to our knees and pray with all of our hearts that the best player available to us isn't a running back.

Can I hear an AMEN?

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Thank you Black Jesus. And now, let those of us in the flock collectively drop to our knees and pray with all of our hearts that the best player available to us isn't a running back.

Can I hear an AMEN?

Y'know, there's a sick and twisted part of me that would just love to see them take an RB in the first, purely for the internet message board entertainment value alone. :lol:

The odd thing is, it isn't necessarily the worst move they could make, depending on how things go in talks with our current starter. If Rudi and the Bengals can't come to a long-term deal, it's a real possibility.

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I can't say how glad I am to have Marvin Lewis as coach. Marvin not only brought back excitement, but he also brought a winning attitude and class. Both are necessary for champions.

Ditto.

I hope he becomes synonymous with the Bengals organization in the future.

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I can't say how glad I am to have Marvin Lewis as coach.  Marvin not only brought back excitement, but he also brought a winning attitude and class.  Both are necessary for champions.

Ditto.

I hope he becomes synonymous with the Bengals organization in the future.

Actually, I hope he elevates this program and then moves on somewhere where they have more class than to refer to him as "Black Jesus."

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This is football, not politics, I'm not sure what to say about wanting him to go somewhere else, you must be crazy! But, I'm sure Marvin is reading this right now and is outraged by the comment and is submitting his resume all over the country right now. Give me a break, lighten up a little, it is Martin Luther King day!

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What can I say that hasn't already been said?

Coach Lewis=The Mack. 2005=Playoffs. God Bless Marvin Lewis and the Cincinnati Bengals.

BN1281

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I can't say how glad I am to have Marvin Lewis as coach.  Marvin not only brought back excitement, but he also brought a winning attitude and class.  Both are necessary for champions.

Ditto.

I hope he becomes synonymous with the Bengals organization in the future.

Actually, I hope he elevates this program and then moves on somewhere where they have more class than to refer to him as "Black Jesus."

More class? :rolleyes:

Whatever man.

Black Jesus is a honor in itself.

A little grandoise, but still a compliment none the less.

I'm seriously wondering why you think this is a lack of 'class' on their (bestowers) part.

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Furthermore,

Coach Lewis (that's what I've always called him, sorry to shatter your assumptions) is a 'cult' figure (pun intended) and people love him here. He would be known as "THE GUY" who did the impossible.

If he wins a Superbowl, this guy will be a living legend.

NOW WHY THE f**k WOULD HE WANT TO LEAVE?

I'm guessing you think that maybe Cincy isn't good enough for him, but then again, I'm guessing that the majority of your posts are made in a condescending tone. Maybe I'm 2/2 or 0/0.

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I can't say how glad I am to have Marvin Lewis as coach.  Marvin not only brought back excitement, but he also brought a winning attitude and class.  Both are necessary for champions.

Ditto.

I hope he becomes synonymous with the Bengals organization in the future.

Actually, I hope he elevates this program and then moves on somewhere where they have more class than to refer to him as "Black Jesus."

More class? :rolleyes:

Whatever man.

Black Jesus is a honor in itself.

A little grandoise, but still a compliment none the less.

I'm seriously wondering why you think this is a lack of 'class' on their (bestowers) part.

I rest my case.

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Furthermore,

Coach Lewis (that's what I've always called him, sorry to shatter your assumptions) is a 'cult' figure (pun intended) and people love him here. He would be known as "THE GUY" who did the impossible.

If he wins a Superbowl, this guy will be a living legend.

NOW WHY THE f**k WOULD HE WANT TO LEAVE?

I'm guessing you think that maybe Cincy isn't good enough for him, but then again, I'm guessing that the majority of your posts are made in a condescending tone. Maybe I'm 2/2 or 0/0.

"Black Jesus" isn't condescending?

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I can't say how glad I am to have Marvin Lewis as coach.  Marvin not only brought back excitement, but he also brought a winning attitude and class.  Both are necessary for champions.

Ditto.

I hope he becomes synonymous with the Bengals organization in the future.

Actually, I hope he elevates this program and then moves on somewhere where they have more class than to refer to him as "Black Jesus."

More class? :rolleyes:

Whatever man.

Black Jesus is a honor in itself.

A little grandoise, but still a compliment none the less.

I'm seriously wondering why you think this is a lack of 'class' on their (bestowers) part.

I rest my case.

How so?

Obviously it must be something I said.

OBVIOUSLY.

Someone like me could never hope to achieve the level of class you possess already.

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Furthermore,

Coach Lewis (that's what I've always called him, sorry to shatter your assumptions) is a 'cult' figure (pun intended) and people love him here.  He would be known as "THE GUY" who did the impossible.

If he wins a Superbowl, this guy will be a living legend.

NOW WHY THE f**k WOULD HE WANT TO LEAVE?

I'm guessing you think that maybe Cincy isn't good enough for him, but then again, I'm guessing that the majority of your posts are made in a condescending tone.  Maybe I'm 2/2 or 0/0.

"Black Jesus" isn't condescending?

Uhm, no.

Unless I'm getting the connotation of condescending wrong.

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I can't say how glad I am to have Marvin Lewis as coach.  Marvin not only brought back excitement, but he also brought a winning attitude and class.  Both are necessary for champions.

Ditto.

I hope he becomes synonymous with the Bengals organization in the future.

Actually, I hope he elevates this program and then moves on somewhere where they have more class than to refer to him as "Black Jesus."

For what it's worth, the nickname Black Jesus was given to Coach Lewis by one of his players at the beginning of his tenure as coach. I think it might have been during the mini camps in '03 or during training camp that year. I might be wrong but I think it was given to him by Chad Johnson. If someone remembers for certain please let us know.

So the members of this board and other fans are only running with a name that someone else came up with.

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I can't say how glad I am to have Marvin Lewis as coach.  Marvin not only brought back excitement, but he also brought a winning attitude and class.  Both are necessary for champions.

Ditto.

I hope he becomes synonymous with the Bengals organization in the future.

Actually, I hope he elevates this program and then moves on somewhere where they have more class than to refer to him as "Black Jesus."

For what it's worth, the nickname Black Jesus was given to Coach Lewis by one of his players at the beginning of his tenure as coach. I think it might have been during the mini camps in '03 or during training camp that year. I might be wrong but I think it was given to him by Chad Johnson. If someone remembers for certain please let us know.

So the members of this board and other fans are only running with a name that someone else came up with.

Chad would do something stupid like that - if it was him.

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It was Peter Warrick during training camp. Tub-Humper, just let it go, you sound like a clowns fan... If people want to go along with Warrick in saying he is an Icon and someone to have faith in the things he is doing, then let them, without opening your mouth and demonstrating your lack of class or loyalty. :player:

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