Maybe we should have kept him (Rackers)

[combatbengal]

Neil Racker (110 points this year) is the number 1 kicker in the NFL. Maybe we should of kept him. Shane omatic (97 points this year) is number 4! Chad is the number 2 receiver in the leage. He's only 89 yards behind the leader!

[ShulaSteakhouse]

He's hurt and probably done for the season...fyi

[jungleman]

shula he is playing today.

and no he is kicking in a perfect climate phoenix. shane kicks in windy conditions here in cincinnati.

[bengalindian]

Yep, he's playing today.

[ShulaSteakhouse]

My bad, damn, waived him on my fantasy team, better get him back.

[cincy9275]

i am very happy with shane who is the leading vote getter for the probowl. and who just kicked the game winner

[Spain]

Rackers had a mean on side kick!

[PMThor]

Rackers had a mean on side kick!

There is no such thing as a "mean" on side kick. It goes....boing......boing......booooooiing....pile on.

[BENGALTHEM]

We should have kept Steve Foley.

[Columbusbengal]

and no he is kicking in a perfect climate phoenix. shane kicks in windy conditions here in cincinnati.

I think he had a problem kicking on the old surface at PBS. But he wasn't that great the first two years he left here either. Just like a lot of other kids, he got better with experience (he also might have changed his practice exercises and the amount of seriousness with which he practiced.

[Section 310]

Rackers had a good camp and preseason the year he was cut loose. However, based upon his abysmal performance in the previous couple of seasons, Lewis had to let him go.

Lewis may have screwed up on Foley, Lamont Thompson and Mark Roman.

[HairOnFire]

Lewis may have screwed up on Foley, Lamont Thompson and Mark Roman.

I've always limited my 2nd guessing to the decision to cut Lamont Thompson. The Bengals had plenty of roster space at the time he was cut loose and even if he didn't improve was capable of providing backup help at both safety positions. But he did improve, quickly earning a starting job with the Titans, and after being cut he immediately joined the Titan special teams, a role Lewis repeatedly claimed he couldn't play for the Bengals.

Just for the record, the Bengals claimed they had no roster space to keep Thompson, yet they found room that day for special team washout LB Tito Rodriguez.

[skyline]

Lewis may have screwed up on Foley, Lamont Thompson and Mark Roman.

I've always limited my 2nd guessing to the decision to cut Lamont Thompson. The Bengals had plenty of roster space at the time he was cut loose and even if he didn't improve was capable of providing backup help at both safety positions. But he did improve, quickly earning a starting job with the Titans, and after being cut he immediately joined the Titan special teams, a role Lewis repeatedly claimed he couldn't play for the Bengals.

Just for the record, the Bengals claimed they had no roster space to keep Thompson, yet they found room that day for special team washout LB Tito Rodriguez.

Yeah...I wonder if there was something going on there that we never heard about. A personality clash, bad attitude, etc.

Living in Nashville and watching every Titans game every year, I will say that Thompson hasn't been that good in TN. He's a had a good game or two, but he's out of position a lot and hasn't been a sure tackler. Still, he is servicable...I'd rather have him on the field than Ohalete.

[CincinnatiKid]

Rackers was part of the cancer on the diseased Bungles and had to be "cut" out (pun intended). It was a good move that I will stand behind even if Rackers never misses another kick.

[HairOnFire]

Living in Nashville and watching every Titans game every year, I will say that Thompson hasn't been that good in TN. He's a had a good game or two, but he's out of position a lot and hasn't been a sure tackler. Still, he is servicable...I'd rather have him on the field than Ohalete.

Fair enough. I'm not suggesting they start making a bronze bust of Lamont, but the reasons given that there was no room for him on the roster has always rubbed me the wrong way. And again, had he been stashed on the bottom of the roster he could have provided quality depth at both safety positions, something this team has lacked since Marvin arrived.

[Stripes]

Shayne Graham is a very consistent kicker, and just won a game for us. Why bring up the Rackers question now?

[Jet23]

Shayne Graham is a very consistent kicker, and just won a game for us. Why bring up the Rackers question now?

Yup! The true value of a kick is how they kick when the game is on the line. The only kicker I'd even consider trading Golden Graham for is possibly the greatest clutch kicker of all time, Adam Vinatieri. Somebody once say (may have been Rackers) a kicker doesn't even get good until he is cut at least once.

I would love to see Graham kickoff better, but I still say they find a punter that can also kickoff.

[jjakq27]

I guess this is this month's version of the Marvin Lewis Hindsite Report. For some of you newer guys we have these same discussions every few months or whenever someone that we turned loose has a good game somewhere else.

I am not saying that all of Marvin's moves are perfect but you can't argue with the progress. Also I believe that many of the moves were related to guys that fit his system. Some were also related to turning over the dead weight, bitchers, gripers and underachievers that existed here before 2003.

So off the top of my head here goes.

Steve Foley: Foley was injured the last four games of the 2001 season and all of the 2002 season. What game tapes could Marvin watch of him? He was a bigger, less mobile LB than Lewis' style.

Takeo Spikes: Despite of all the talk about "why didn't they offer him more money, etc.", the man did not want to be here anymore. He was tired of the losing and felt that Buffalo was an up-and-coming team. Obviously that didn't work out for him. I wonder if he regrets his move?

Lamont Thompson: The knock on him was that he was afraid to hit and had poor coverage skills even though he was a safety and had a ton of INTs in college. Again in Lewis' system, the safeties have to be somewhat interchangeable with the CBs. That's why KK is still here.

Mike Goff: I am not sure on this one, other than attitude or the potential price of his next contract. I did like that guy and thought he was a tough nut.

Lorenzo Neal: A $1 million fullback is something a poor team can not afford when there are so many other glaring waeknesses to fill. Jeremi Johnson has done quite well and Rudi set the team yardage mark last year and has 1000 yards this year.

Corey Dillon: Another guy that didn't want to be here and Lewis got something in return with a second round pick (Madieu Williams). Probably the biggest cancer this franchise has known or a close second to Carl Pickens. The guy got his ring last year so he should be happy.

Neil Rackers: Rackers was injured towards the end of training camp. He also was one of the biggest head cases ever (bad field or not). Special teams coach Darrin Simmons had been hired from Carolina and knew Shayne Graham. The Panthers kept Jon Kasey and cut Graham. The Bengals snapped him up. This team needed stability and that meant a guy that would make all of his extra points and be consistent inside of 40 yards. Rackers has had an extraordinary year but I'll take Graham.

Peter Warrick: He would be here if they thought he could outplay Chris Henry and/or TJ. Apparently he could not. I wish he were here for the good times because they put alot on his shoulders when he got here. But I am happy that he'll be in the playoffs for Seattle.

Here are a few of the others that Marvin has dispatched to date since then:

From the 2002 roster: JoJuan Armour, Brandon Bennett, Vaughn Booker, Sean Brewer, Jeff Burris, Reggie Coleman, Canute Curtis, Travis Dorsch, Ron Dugans, Chris Edmonds, Danny Farmer, Gus Frerotte, Joe Germaine, Oliver Gibson, LaVar Glover, Brock Gutierrez, Cory Hall, Nick Harris, Artrell Hawkins, Ligarius Jennings, Riall Johnson, Stephon Kelly, Dwayne Levels, Victor Leyva, Marquand Manual, Mario Monds, Reggie Myles, Matt O'Dwyer, Eric Ogbagu, Jason Perry, Scott Rehberg, Tito Rodriguez, Mark Roman, Adrian Ross, Akili Smith, Derek Smith, Ron Smith, Armegis Spearman, Glen Steele, Jamain Stephens, Thatcher Szalay, Richmond Webb, Michael Wesbrook, Bernard Whittington, Tony Williams and Reinard Wilson.

Other than the DBs, Mark Roman, Cory Hall or Marquand Manual, I see the leftovers from one very bad football team.

[turningpoint]

eh who cares both Rackers and Graham will be in the Probowl, which is very interesting....

since they were teamates for about a week.

[rob_justdmb]

Let's not forget that isn't Phoenix the second highest seas level in the NFL?

[HairOnFire]

I guess this is this month's version of the Marvin Lewis Hindsite Report. For some of you newer guys we have these same discussions every few months or whenever someone that we turned loose has a good game somewhere else.

I am not saying that all of Marvin's moves are perfect but you can't argue with the progress. Also I believe that many of the moves were related to guys that fit his system.?

Lamont Thompson: The knock on him was that he was afraid to hit and had poor coverage skills even though he was a safety and had a ton of INTs in college. Again in Lewis' system, the safeties have to be somewhat interchangeable with the CBs. That's why KK is still here.

Again, I've always limited my 2nd guessing to cutting loose Lamont Thompson so that's where I'll limit my responses. And I think I can do this without anyone being able to claim that I'm arguing with the direction the team has gone in or the progress made. So lets look at the reasons given for why he may have been cut.

Special Teams - Lewis repeatedly warned that Thompson's inability to immediately earn a starters position or fill a special teams role would likely result in his being cut. But you have to wonder why Thompson, a player with the undeniable potential to become a starter, had no defined role on special teams with the Bengals. Both sides have admitted that he was a willing participant, and after signing very late with the Titans he still managed to rank 3rd in special teams tackles. That hardly sounds like a player who should have been cut in favor of a special teams afterthought like LB Tito Rodriquez, a player who had no absolutely no chance to ever become a starter. At the very least...why wasn't Thompson given the last roster spot so that he could develope?

Hitting Ability - Rumors swirled that Thompson was a reluctant hitter, but they can't be directly linked to Lewis. More importantly, Thompson promptly arrived in Tennessee and produced a lengthy highlite reel of monster hits. In fact, the latest one I've seen was from a few weeks ago when he managed the exceptionally rare trick of crushing Peyton Manning on a blitz.

Doesn't Fit the Scheme - It's the strongest argument I can think of, but Lewis never mentioned it as a reason until the buildup prior to the Bengals/Titan game last season...when Thompson was still tied for the NFL lead in interceptions. The fact remains that Thompson was drafted by the Bengals to be a pure zone style safety, a centerfielder, and that's very clearly NOT what Lewis was looking for. That said, since cutting Thompson Lewis has never managed to have what he was looking for at SS and it remains a gaping and bloody wound. So why not work with Thompson instead of casting him off without getting anything in return?

Doesn't Fit the Mold - Thompson most certainly isn't a FS/CB tweener like a K2 or Kim Herring. He's far too big and lacks the change of direction skills needed to play CB. But he does fit the description of a FS/SS tweener and had he been retained he could have provided the Bengals with much needed depth at both of those positions even if he never developed into the starter he's become for the Titans. And he has certainly been better than Tito Rodriquez, right? But I'll argue further that he's been far better than Rogers Beckett, Kim Herring, or the he-looks-nothing-like-the-prototype Iffy Ohalete.

Last, I'll end by repeating that I'm not suggesting that Lamont Thompson is a great player. However, he has filled the special teams role it was said he couldn't, proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that he wasn't afraid of contact, proved he is far more duable than the laundry list of players the Bengals have used as SS replacements, has managed to provide the Titans with valuable depth at both safety positions, and last...he earned a starters position.

And he's still young.

[jjakq27]

Good points, well taken, Hair.

I am sure there is some reason why he wasn't really considered. There must have been something that turned him off to Thompson though. I am sure he was scouted while Marvin was with Washington. Maybe it was something that occurred during that time or it was just a matter of bringing his own guys in.

I know it sounds goofy but Marvin is always talking about players that are knee-benders or hip-benders and are able to stay low. Perhaps he played too upright and stiff for Marvin. I dunno.

The other point that I needed to make earlier is that there will always be cases of guys that do well after they leave here since our talent level is so much better than it was. It's funny how it has changed. We used to get everyone else's leftovers in the past. Now we'll have guys that won't make this team but will start for someone else.

As Marvin likes to say, "that's a good thing".