Lewis disputes character issue

[jjakq27]

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/art...010405/1066/SPT

Sunday, May 1, 2005

Lewis: We didn't ignore character

Draft choices researched

By Mark Curnutte

Enquirer staff writer

The Sporting News, a respected voice in NFL coverage, gave the Bengals a C-plus grade for their draft.

"They drafted some talented players," the weekly publication wrote, "but get downgraded for ignoring character, a Bengals tradition. They did fill needs nicely, and the defense should be improved."

Three of the Bengals' seven picks come with some character baggage.

Second-round linebacker Odell Thurman has had run-ins with police.

Third-round wide receiver Chris Henry exhibited negative off-field behavior and missed a game last season at West Virginia due to a coach's decision.

Sixth-round wideout Tab Perry had academic problems at UCLA because, he said, he plagiarized Internet material for a class paper.

In his first two years as Bengals coach, Marvin Lewis has opted more for choir boys than bad boys but says the team's 2005 draft does not come littered with behavior questions.

"I don't think we ignored character," Lewis said this weekend. "I think we looked very, very hard at character. We probably looked harder than most teams."

"I think it's very unfair (to say the Bengals disregarded character)," added Lewis. "Time will tell, won't it?"

Then Lewis took a not-so veiled swipe at defensive linemen Luis Castillo of Northwestern (San Diego) and Anttaj Hawthorne of Wisconsin (Oakland). Castillo admitted to using steroids, and Hawthorne tested positive for marijuana at the annual NFL scouting combine in February at Indianapolis.

"Oh, there were a lot of other guys who used drugs and other things," Lewis said.

Position coaches Hue Jackson (wide receivers) and Ricky Hunley (linebackers) spent time with prospects at the combine in Indianapolis in February and made a campus visit.

The picks were made only after exhaustive research.

"There's no question, in this day and age of pro football, this day and age of any organization, character is the No. 1 issue," Jackson said.

Jackson went to Morgantown, W. Va., to visit Henry personally. He then invited Henry to Cincinnati and, as part of that trip, had Bengals veteran receivers Chad Johnson and T.J. Houshmandzadeh go to dinner with Henry. Peter Warrick was invited but could not attend.

"I wanted him to interact with our players," Jackson said. "I asked them (Johnson and Houshmandzadeh) what they thought, and they were able to give him a high recommendation."

Henry had on-field problems with penalties and was ejected from a game in college. The issue, Jackson determined, was not off the field.

Then Henry met with Lewis.

"He (Lewis) told me to put all the things people said about me in the past and move on," Henry said Saturday. "Once I get here, just to work hard and be myself."

Thurman's issues were off the field and involved police.

"Everybody looks at it. I think it's going to get pushed past me now that I'm here, and I can show people that I am a really good person," Thurman said. "In a few years, it will erase itself."

Under Lewis, the Bengals have a draft philosophy not to allow problems into the building on draft day.

This is the same organization that once drafted running back Corey Dillon and wide receivers Carl Pickens and Darnay Scott - all character questions - once they fell into the second round. They all had first-round talent.

"Nobody's a certainty, but I know we're going to create an environment in which they can have success," Jackson said. "And now it's up to them."

[AGrizzlyBaer]

hey he was part of the ravens who won a super bowl with ray ray and j. lewis only playing around

[BengalszoneBilly]

hey he was part of the ravens who won a super bowl with ray ray and j. lewis only playing around

Well you shouldn't have. I'm in no way condoning their actions, but that's the kind of players that typically excel in the league. I'll wager over half the guys the NFL's HOF in Canton don't exactly have an unblemished past concerning them running afoul of the law a time or two. (maybe a time or TEN in some cases!)