Is there any news on Pollack

[obrien775]

This topic has been non-existant for a couple of days. Is there any hope he will be in practice tomorrow?

[membengal]

This topic has been non-existant for a couple of days. Is there any hope he will be in practice tomorrow?

None that I can see. You are right, there has been nothing in terms of news. I expect we will hear tomorrow that they are stalemated again.

If what I am hearing is correct, the Bengals have been giving and it is still not enough on Condon's part. If that is really the case, I join Hair and Joisey (who finally seem to have reached some common ground on this) in hoping the Bengals tell team Pollack that their best offer is on the table, the clauses are non-negotiable, and Pollack's agents can go vigorously bugger themselves. That's the only way to shift the leverage back in the short term.

At some point, enough has to be enough.

[obrien775]

Where is he? This is ridiculous. Everyone just needs to pop their heads out of their a** for only a couple minutes to sign and then they can re-insert them. F***!

[ShulaSteakhouse]

I can only pray that Warrick returns tonight and Pollack by tomorrow.

Who knows, but this team needs those two, the sooner, the better.

[Kazkal]

Bengals | No Progress with Pollack

Sat, 13 Aug 2005 15:34:07

Mark Curnutte, of the Cincinnati Enquirer, reports no progress was evident Friday, Aug. 12, in negotiations with rookie OLB David Pollack, the team's first-round draft choice. A spokeswoman from his representatives said nothing was happening.

from kffl.com

linky poo

[obrien775]

I can only pray that Warrick returns tonight and Pollack by tomorrow.

Who knows, but this team needs those two, the sooner, the better.

Well Warricks back

[ArmyBengal]

This whole Pollack thing is out of control. I hope the Bengals don't give in to what they are wanting. Meeting half way is one thing, giving up the fight is quite another. Make it worth our while to go through this type of a hold out. I'm just getting more and more pissed as the days go by. It will be great when it's all said and done, but at the moment, it just SUCKS !!!

WHODEY !!!

[WHO DEY AGAIN?]

I'm with you ArmyBengal! Fire your f**king agents Pollack and get your sorry ass into camp. You've already blown your rookie season.

3rd down pass rusher at best

[Whur CHad At?]

Reports are that Pollacks agents were vacationing for the weekend

[7/11]

Reports are that Pollacks agents were vacationing for the weekend

sweet. just kidding, that sucks.

[jbengals1]

My sorces say he will sighn this week - its just a matter of crossing all the T's & dotting all the I's

[PalmerforPresident]

with the length that hes held out, i dont see him contributing a whole lot early, but i hope im wrong.

[redsfan2]

with the length that hes held out, i dont see him contributing a whole lot early, but i hope im wrong.

Doubt that you are wrong. Thurman is playing his original position, and look at the rookie mistakes he made. Now imagine Pollack ... new position .... all the missed practices etc. He better be more than good ..... at this point he needs to be a prodigy.

[DontTakeAkili]

Am I the only one who thinks that signing David Pollack isn't that big of a deal? After watching the preseason game, I truly believe that our best three LBs were on the field. I am really concerned with the Bengals putting Landon Johnson on the bench this year. He had a serious case to be on the all-rookie team, and this could be a step back for him. If his shoulders are ok, he should start on the outside with Simmons. Thurman looks like he is going to be a beat in the middle.

So what if Pollack comes in late? We have a nice cushion for his learning curve. If he shows that he can hold down the OLB spot, then more power to him. But I am skeptical of a guy being GIVEN a starting spot that is so unimportant to him that he can't get his ass into camp to learn the position!

[Stripes]

Am I the only one who thinks that signing David Pollack isn't that big of a deal?  After watching the preseason game, I truly believe that our best three LBs were on the field.  I am really concerned with the Bengals putting Landon Johnson on the bench this year.  He had a serious case to be on the all-rookie team, and this could be a step back for him.  If his shoulders are ok, he should start on the outside with Simmons.  Thurman looks like he is going to be a beat in the middle.

So what if Pollack comes in late?  We have a nice cushion for his learning curve.  If he shows that he can hold down the OLB spot, then more power to him.  But I am skeptical of a guy being GIVEN a starting spot that is so unimportant to him that he can't get his ass into camp to learn the position!

Agreed, for now. I would rather Landon start than Pollack for the early games...More experiece on the field for a faster start to the season. That said, I still want Pollack signed and practicing soon so he can be prepared to sack many a quarterback in good time.

[jjakq27]

THe latest from bengals.com.

http://www.bengals.com/press/news.asp?iCur...=0&news_id=3068

No Pollack

8/15/2005 - 8-15-05, 6:15 a.m.

BY GEOFF HOBSON

The Bengals were intrigued by an ESPN report over the weekend that said the agents for David Pollack object to contract language, particularly the Carl Pickens Loyalty Clause that exposes signing bonus money if a player criticizes teammates, coaches or management.

News to the Bengals. Apparently the club isn’t aware of such concerns and thought the main issue is still the escalators and how difficult/easy they should be to make. The Pickens Clause has been a staple of Bengals’ contracts since 2000, the year after Pickens blew himself out of Cincinnati by ripping club president Mike Brown’s decision to retain then head coach Bruce Coslet.

It’s expected that Tom Condon and Ken Kremer would fight the Pickens Clause since it’s believed they haven’t had a client in Cincinnati with it. But they may not have much leverage in the Terrell Owens era.

Still, indications are that Condon and Kremer are keen on trying to get the Bengals to re-write several provisions that the club considers standard.

As head coach Marvin Lewis indicated last week, it appears the Bengals feel they have already given in too much, and are mystified why the deal isn’t done. It’s been suggested they feel they have offered a deal firmly in the slot between Nos. 16 and 18 in the first round, and that they have even offered an escalator package signed by players taken ahead of Pollack.

[ArmyBengal]

15 August 2005... Still pissed off !!! Enough with the crossing the T's and dotting the I's... Not worried ?? Say what you will about having Landon in there (I have gone on record to say he should start early on), but there is no way we can afford to not have Pollack in camp right now learning before the season starts. How the hell do you let a #17 pick (who by the way you penciled in as a starter) not get into camp until the second game of preseason ?? How many times do we as fans have to go through this crap ?? What if Landon's shoulder goes out ?? Don't say the thought isn't on everyone mind either !!! If you are comfortable with this situation fine, but I for one, AM NOT !!!

NOT WHODEY !!!

[TJJackson]

I was Pollack's biggest backer going into the draft, but even i am pretty much at the point where I have to say - it's unlikely he'll be of any use for the 2005 season.

My thought at this point is to withdraw all offers except the first, and if he doesn't sign, ah well, he can re-enter the draft next year and lose a TON of money doing so. I think the Bengals are a good enough team at this point that they can take this stance.

One other alternative: replace a substantial portion of the guarenteed money with incentive-based pay. That way, if he overcomes the loss of all these practices and actually helps us win a few games, he gets paid.

I'm serious. It's bulls**t paying a rookie his full slotted money when he misses most of training camp and is probably not going to contribute to his team as much as he might for his rookie year.

[Spain]

He has screwed his rookie season now the lil twat, Marvin on the pregame blasted pollak saying he thinks he is an expert on contracts(or something like that) He also said Pollak cant win everytime. This gives me the impresion this has gotten persoanl. I say screw the twat get him out of here as soon as we can the guys a head case!

[HoosierCat]

It’s expected that Tom Condon and Ken Kremer would fight the Pickens Clause since it’s believed they haven’t had a client in Cincinnati with it.

That caught my eye. Not about the clause, but the implication that Condon and Kremer haven't had much experience with the Bengals'...ahhhh...quirky front office lately. That and the bit about rewriting some provision that "the club" considers standard helps explain the snail's pace of talks since the slot got established. I definitely get the feeling that there is zero level of comfort and trust on the agents' part with the Bengals, and clearly a growing sense of frustration on the team's side. And so the beat drags on...

[IckeyShuffle]

It is frustrating, no doubt. We need 4 good linebackers, not 3, and 5 would be even better. I do see a positive in now not having pressure to be the starter, rather letting him be a 3rd down sack specialist. But he has definitely hurt his rookie year and his image because he was poised to be the guy everybody would love, high motor and a playmaker. My guess is that in October we'll be over it because he will have 4-5 sacks in crucial times and we'll just be talking playoff hopes and not preseason holdouts. History is though that holdouts over-try when they come in late and end up injured. Please for the love of football gods let that just be history. Landon is a better OLB right now, so get in camp and learn your back-up role mr. #1 pick.

[redsbengalsbucks]

He needs to be told that if he is not in camp by the second preseason game, all talk is over and the money slotted for him will go to the signing of a veteran backup LB and reupping some of the veterans on the team that are in the last years of thier contracts. He is now just a distraction and project for later in the season anyway. Get to camp David and apologize to the team for listening to your agents for so long.

[HairOnFire]

Is it a big deal? Yeah, but less so with each passing day. What Pollack is sacrificing is the opportunity to be something other than a designated pass rusher in his rookie season. You have to wonder if the Bengals AND Pollack's agent haven't already reached that conclusion...and if true then the two sides are probably digging in deeper and becoming less willing to compromise in the battle over incentive triggers. Even Pollack's agent has to have doubts now that Pollack can get going before midseason.

Not so fun fact: During Justin Smith's mega-holdout his agent was said to be adamant about 4 sacks being all that was needed to trigger the largest of his incentive bonuses. Not surprisingly the Bengals refused to consider paying a bonus for a performance that marginal. After a holdout that lasted almost until the start of the regular season the two sides eventually agreed to a contract that paid Smith half of his bonus for 6 sacks and the remainder if he produced 8.

[HairOnFire]

That caught my eye. Not about the clause, but the implication that Condon and Kremer haven't had much experience with the Bengals'...ahhhh...quirky front office lately. That and the bit about rewriting some provision that "the club" considers standard helps explain the snail's pace of talks since the slot got established. I definitely get the feeling that there is zero level of comfort and trust on the agents' part with the Bengals, and clearly a growing sense of frustration on the team's side. And so the beat drags on...

Why do you think I keep bringing up the remarks made by Carson Palmer's agent? He claimed to be familiar with the Bengals front office and believed he knew how to deal with them. That said, he admitted that the Bengals first offer was so low that it still surprised him. But again, he felt it was simply a starting point thrown out by a team that never gives away signs of what it's willing to pay. So he kept emotion out of the negotiations and continued grinding, and the result was an early signing and negotiations that were said to have been smooth from start to finish.

It's Kremer's responsibility to know how to get a deal with the Bengals. He has to trust them to play their role while always looking for enough compromise to produce an agreement. Likewise, it's not his job to teach them how he'd run a front office if given the chance.

[HoosierCat]

marvin weighs in again...

Holdout tests Lewis creed

8-15-05, 12:40 p.m.

BY GEOFF HOBSON

GEORGETOWN, Ky. _ With David Pollack’s holdout stretching to 18 days and 20 practices Monday morning, Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis had his harshest words yet for one of three unsigned first-round draft picks left in the NFL.

A visibly frustrated Lewis chose a news conference to discuss how Pollack’s holdout has flown in the face of the unselfish culture he’s created in his three seasons running the Bengals.

“I think we’ve really fought very hard to eliminate these kind of actions around here and it’s a shame that it occurred,” Lewis said. “We have other guys who have chosen to be here and we’ve eliminated selfishness that occurs. I’ve said it many times. If that’s what it comes down to, a dollar here a dollar there, they’re on the wrong football team. This football team will never, ever be guided by one guy. . .We’re not going to be compromised by one player or one person and that’s not going to change.

“That’s been important. It’s important to the guys who sit in these chairs every night that we do not change that because we believe in that,” said Lewis in a room that doubles as the team’s meeting space here at Georgetown College. “It’s been proven around the league that’s what wins.”

Lewis reiterated that he feels the club has “given in every way,” to Pollack’s agents, and “then it’s not good enough.”

<shrug> I actually agree with Hair insofar as both sides apppear to have nothing but diminishing incentives to consummate the deal.