CHAD's incident

[The_Next_Big_Thing]

Profootballtalk's RUMOR MILL is usually WAY OFF. I don't know where you guys get off saying they are "usually accurate".

1. If it happened, Chad would have ridden the pine in the second half.

2. If it happened, it would be reported by a REAL media source. They have more people in the locker room.

3. That's not Chad's style.

[Jet23]

Why not? After all, this is Shleprock, Ohio U.S.A., the town where possible good fortune is dealt with swiftly by injury and misfortune. Latest victim: Armein Kirkland. This city is flippin cursed!

[membengal]

For f**kssake, stop acting like profootballtalk deals in anything approaching truth.

We could do the same thing here, print anything we feel like, and evntually something we print would be right. But it doesn't make our unsubstantiated flights of fancy truthful. Ever. That story, like everything else from them, if pure bulls**t until proven otherwise. And, acting like it's true, is WAY beneath thinking bengals fans.

In my opinion.

Actually, I think this thread should be locked, but that's just me.

[AMC]

profootballtalk IS A NOT TO BE BELIEVED!!!!!!! That is the worst website ever put up. They put stuff up just to CREATE rumors. Not actually report the truth. Sigh....

[bengalboomer7]

I check that site everyday just cause I think it's funny, and I think their a little more respected than you guys give credit. They are usually right about 50% of the time, and when they're wrong, they usually run another piece saying they're wrong.

Personally, I thik we''ll see a shakeup coming soon. Could be anywhere, Brat, Chad, Kitna, the WHOLE DEFENSE, could be anyhting.

Keep this in mind, too. It is called a Rumor site for a reason, and rumors often get blown out of proportion as it moves from mouth to mouth

[ShulaSteakhouse]

Why would this guy report something that detailed just for kicks?

They do have contacts in each organization and wouldn't be around still if everything they posted was unsubstantiated.

Chad has issues - big issues - and Marvin will not address any of this, EVER, in public, you will not hear about it most likely.

Furthermore a local beat writer or reporter who would print this, risks being black balled by Marvin and will not take the chance without a comment from a player or member of the organization.

Also, this is something I'm sure Chad hopefully would apologize for - you know how competitive he is - and how emtional he is - but there is nothing that indicates he'd be willing to pull a stunt like this and not apologize to the coaches and explain himself, and make amends.

It was an ugly day with Palmer going down and the look I saw on TJ's face on the bench in the 2nd half makes something like this even more plausible - TJ looked completely and utterly dejected.

Read my sig for the reasons these things always happen to us.

[kentjett]

Something happened at halftime but it got blown out of proportion. A simple argument was past down as a fight then the next person added his own words and before you know it, Chad is trying to beat up Marvin.

[HoosierCat]

Good breakdown, schweiny

As for the PFT report, PFT has been right before, they've been wrong before. Like Hair, I don't find anything implausible about. I also don't se any reason to jump to the conclusion that it represents some kind of terminal locker room rift; most likely it was a heat-of-the-moment thing brought on by the horrible situation the team found itself in after Carson went down.

As for Chad, if he wants the ball more, I would say he needs to catch the ball more. He's a great receiver, but for the last month or so of the season he had a notable and recurring case of the dropsies. And he had a key drop Sunday on that play that was challenged and reversed.

[Kirkendall]

Something happened at halftime but it got blown out of proportion. A simple argument was past down as a fight then the next person added his own words and before you know it, Chad is trying to beat up Marvin.

That may be true. But the fact NO ONE has yet to report it has us a little suspect.

Wasn't PFW the site that said the Saints are going to interview Bratkowski? That story has yet to be confirmed by the team or Bratkowski...

[bengalboomer7]

I agree that it seems Marvin wouldnt have him even suit up for the second half if the incident occured as they reported it...

Im under the impression that Marvin has to use the fatherly approach with Chad most of the time.. For all his ability and his enthusiastic antics on the field the guy seems like he's very insecure in himself and hasnt really matured emotionally....

Rumors are that James, Ohalete, KK and Mitchel might have seen their last days as Bengals....

Marvin was throughly pissed at the playcalling of Brat and wants him gone being replaced by Zampese .

The front office is no longer enamored with Kitna as a backup either.

John Thornton doesnt think he'll be back.. he said it then recanted after talking with Marvin about him going public with it..

Lots of changes on this team on on the horizon....

Where'd you get the rest of those rumors. (Even though half of them are obvious)

[Jet23]

Why would this guy report something that detailed just for kicks?

They do have contacts in each organization and wouldn't be around still if everything they posted was unsubstantiated.

Chad has issues - big issues - and Marvin will not address any of this, EVER, in public, you will not hear about it most likely.

Furthermore a local beat writer or reporter who would print this, risks being black balled by Marvin and will not take the chance without a comment from a player or member of the organization.

Also, this is something I'm sure Chad hopefully would apologize for - you know how competitive he is - and how emtional he is - but there is nothing that indicates he'd be willing to pull a stunt like this and not apologize to the coaches and explain himself, and make amends.

It was an ugly day with Palmer going down and the look I saw on TJ's face on the bench in the 2nd half makes something like this even more plausible - TJ looked completely and utterly dejected.

Read my sig for the reasons these things always happen to us.

You are right, TJ looked way too dejected early in the 2nd half. I don't know about Chad taking a swing at ML, but it appears as if something significant took place.

[HoosierCat]

I agree that it seems Marvin wouldnt have him even suit up for the second half if the incident occured as they reported it...

Im under the impression that Marvin has to use the fatherly approach with Chad most of the time.. For all his ability and his enthusiastic antics on the field the guy seems like he's very insecure in himself and hasnt really matured emotionally....

Rumors are that James, Ohalete, KK and Mitchel might have seen their last days as Bengals....

Marvin was throughly pissed at the playcalling of Brat and wants him gone being replaced by Zampese .

The front office is no longer enamored with Kitna as a backup either.

John Thornton doesnt think he'll be back.. he said it then recanted after talking with Marvin about him going public with it..

Lots of changes on this team on on the horizon....

Where'd you get the rest of those rumors. (Even though half of them are obvious)

That set of rumors, currently making the rounds of various Bngals boards, comes from Lance over at 1360 Homer, who in my experience is an even less reliable source than PFT. (Note: the Thornton bit comes from his comments about Askew a few weeks back, if you'll recall.)

Last time I checked, we went 11-5, won our division, and lost a home playoff game largely because our starting QB went down on the second offensive snap. Whatever Marvin's feelings in the immediate aftermath, I seriously doubt that there will be any major, precipitous changes.

IF Brat gets an HC opportunity, he will likely be allowed to move on, but I don't see him getting canned.

Like you said, the departure of guys like Ohalete and Mitchell falls under the category of obvious. James and K2...maybe, maybe not, you can make a case either way...but I'm not sure they blow up a secondary that showed such ballhawking ability this season so quickly.

As for Kit, they aren't going to say anything nice about him for fear of raising his price. I think they'd be comfortable keeping him or letting him go and moving on to another vet backup.

[ShulaSteakhouse]

The Thorton thing was kind of joke - Thorton has no idea if he'll be back or not - he assumes he will.

I can definitely see KK being replaced, possibly a few other vets such as Justin Smith, Clemons, Robinson, maybe James if a replacement is found (but less likely) Geathers given a new role, and even Brian Simmons isn't guaranteed anything, let alone Landon.

There will be changes on this team - even the 0-line hopefully is not kept totally intact (needs upgrading).

If they keep the defense as-is, while maybe only adding a high draft pick, they will be lucky to win 5-6 games next season all things considered.

It'll take more than just accepting the status quo on defense for them to improve beyond a one-win-and-out playoff team (Palmer playing Sunday only gave them a better chance to win - not sure they would've won anything either way).

[Jonboat]

My first reaction was this can't be true however after listening to 1360 Lance mentioned someone as saying they need to quit being so selfish but @ the time I think lance was assuming it may have been Odell they was alluding to but now I'm praying I'm wrong but maybe this did happen & it was CJ they was referring to. Damn, I hope I'm wrong & this is BS.

[ShulaSteakhouse]

From Lance's Blog:

Chad/Marvin rumor: I've gotten a "no comment on lockerroom matters from two Bengals I've talked to this morning.

I'm guessing this actually happened, no one is denying it did - i understand they don't comment on locker room issues at all now - but if this "didn't" happen - there's absolutely no reason a player couldn't simply say "no way."

Chad needs his head checked, and this town is just cursed. UC loses it's hottest player for the year last night with a torn ACL to boot - go phuqing figure.

Nothing good ever happens here.

And if anyone thinks this team will win more than 4-6 games next year now, they're dreaming. Kitna is awful and unless the defense suddenly vaults itself into the top 5, they are in trouble.

I really need to get my mind off cincy sports right now - sorry.

[HairOnFire]

I did notice the Ohalete charge, finger pointing, and yelling on the sideline after the trick play TD but couldn't tell who he was going after. If it were a coach that said something to him about that play, they need to apologize to him because what happened on that play was not his fault. When they watch again, they'll see that Ohalete was where he should've been and there was no way he could have covered both Wilson and Hines Ward, who was also wide open on the same side below Wilson. James should have known better than to come up for the run and stayed in man with Wilson. Somebody other than Ohalete should've had Ward but nobody did. Bauman blitzed on the play and if he wasn't 5 foot 4 he might have knocked the ball when Randel El threw it back across the field to Big Ben.

Agreed, the most guilty party on that play was Tory James, who abandoned coverage very early and ended up in no-mans land, too far away from Ben to matter and completely out of the play. My only problem with Ohalete in that play was his decision to attack the LOS immediately after Randel El threw the ball back to Roethlisburger. Ohalete was nearly all the way across the field when the play unfolded and he couldn't afford to take any wasted steps towards the LOS. Instead, he moved towards the LOS roughly three yards before attempting a mad dash across the field.

BTW, I think it's obvious that all of the gadget plays were designed to take advantage of a too aggressive run defense. In this example the entire Bengal defense not only sold out against the fake reverse, but after the ball was thrown back to the QB both James and Ohalete's first actions are those of defenders who thought the play was designed to spring Roethlisburger to run.

As for the PFT report, PFT has been right before, they've been wrong before. Like Hair, I don't find anything implausible about. I also don't se any reason to jump to the conclusion that it represents some kind of terminal locker room rift; most likely it was a heat-of-the-moment thing brought on by the horrible situation the team found itself in after Carson went down.

Yup. I'm betting that something happened, but probably nothing as dramatic as the headline suggests. That said, I think Marvin would be well served to move past the "no comment" stance and offer an explanation or a flat denial.

[oldschooler]

From Lance's Blog:

Chad/Marvin rumor: I've gotten a "no comment on lockerroom matters from two Bengals I've talked to this morning.

I'm guessing this actually happened, no one is denying it did - i understand they don't comment on locker room issues at all now - but if this "didn't" happen - there's absolutely no reason a player couldn't simply say "no way."

Chad needs his head checked, and this town is just cursed. UC loses it's hottest player for the year last night with a torn ACL to boot - go phuqing figure.

Nothing good ever happens here.

And if anyone thinks this team will win more than 4-6 games next year now, they're dreaming. Kitna is awful and unless the defense suddenly vaults itself into the top 5, they are in trouble.

I really need to get my mind off cincy sports right now - sorry.

Since when don`t the Bengals comment on locker room issues ?

I remember not so long ago reading about Reggie Myles and Powell

getting into a fight.

And I thought Lance was supposed to be a "Homer" ?

He sounds like a doom and gloom asshat there.

[oldschooler]

Chad: There was no fight

By Mark Curnutte and Paul Daugherty

Enquirer staff writers

Bengals wide receiver Chad Johnson today denied reports that he was involved in a locker room fight at halftime on Sunday during the Bengals' playoff loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

When asked about a report from the Web site nfltalk.com that claims Johnson was involved with an altercation with receivers coach Hue Jackson, and then swung at head coach Marvin Lewis, Johnson said nothing happened.

“That sounds like drama," Johnson said. "At halftime, I was getting an IV. Nothing happened. Why don’t you talk to the coaches, they’re all down there today.”

The Bengals had no comment.

“We don’t comment on rumors,” Bengals public relations director Jack Brennan said.

Citing an unidentified league source, nfl.com reported that several Bengals players witnessed an altercation between Johnson and Jackson as halftime concluded.

Jackson did not return a message left this morning on his office phone at Paul Brown Stadium.

The site nfltalk.com reported: “Per the source, the last few minutes of intermission were ticking away, when the players were startled by the sight and sound of a helmet slamming against the glass pane of the training room door. Johnson and (wide) receivers coach Jackson were engaged in an altercation,” according to the Web site.

“At one point, Johnson was seen holding Jackson in a headlock.

“Coach Marvin Lewis entered the training room to intervene, and Johnson (per the source) took a swing at him. Eventually, receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh broke up the skirmish, within a minute or so of the team exiting the locker room for the second half.”

The Bengals led 17-14 at halftime but lost 31-17 in the wildcard game.

The Web site reported that Johnson was unhappy about the lack of passes thrown to him, three with two completions in the first half.

Johnson caught two of the three attempts in his direction in the second half to finish with four receptions for 59 yards.

In post-game interviews Sunday, defensive tackle John Thornton was among the handful of players who talked in general about the lack of cohesion and that the team concept was lost and must be regained.

Thornton, reached this morning via cell phone, said, “I can’t confirm or deny anything that happened in the locker room.”

Thornton did say Sunday that the issue did not involve rookie players.

In his post-game comments Sunday, Lewis alluded, generally, to a problem, saying, “We came in here as a football team and we need to leave out of here as a football team and understand that it's about working through the tough times. You work through the critical points in the game and do you job.”

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/art...SPT02/301100008

[The_Next_Big_Thing]

Uh huh. Why is it I believe a REAL NEWS SOURCE over the craprumormill?

[smith288]

Well, if Chad was getting an IV, that would probably put him in the training room. Perhaps Jackson and Johnson were discussing the game and Johnson said a little about his looks and Jackson told him to shut it and just "do your job" and Chad got scrappy?

[cindaddy]

Why would Thornton refuse to deny this rumor? Something happened in there. It's doubtful Chad took a swing at Marvin. More likely Marvin stepped between the two at the wrong moment (or right moment).

[oldschooler]

Why would Thornton refuse to deny this rumor? Something happened in there. It's doubtful Chad took a swing at Marvin. More likely Marvin stepped between the two at the wrong moment (or right moment).

Thornton probably refused to comment because it`s not his place to

comment one way or another.

[turningpoint]

this would of been all over ESPN and the local news if this thing really happened, just move on and who cares.

[walzav29]

I believe it 100%. People don't just make rumors up for nothing. This will gain momentum, and it will probably be on NFL total access tonight. Thorton obviously was talking about Chad. You can see where it fits Chad's personality and Thorton didn't deny it. I think that Chad thinks he's bigger than the team and he might be moving into distraction territory.

[membengal]

walzav is a cross-dresser.

There, I just made up a rumor for nothing. It was easy.

Come on, man, people make up stuff all the time for a multitude of reasons.