any interesting comedy tid-bits that anyone noticed? Lipp cutting Runnels (he has MJ disease as well, ironic or not) at 5:30am? Where's Marvin? (oh, that's right...it was Mikey's decision) Ability? What a douchebag...like they cut players based on ability...hahahaha, oh man...a reality show about a comedy... really mike? converting a DL to TE? he's 6'6 and white, so he must be a stud, and fits the bill of a TE - IN HIGH SCHOOL!!!! what a joke, they only sign veteran players when they absolutely have to, and they over-pay for them...terrible...terrible terrible (sounds a lot like what the reds do, however)...even better, the look on all the coaches face, priceless...Mikey leading the meeting, depressing and sadly NOT surprising...Marvin with no comment on the matter, again NOT surprising...Punkin talking about Smith...wow...really? have you even called his agent? or do they relay things over the media...also, if you happened to catch the show, HBO showed a little of Smith working out with a coach on the side where he lives...does he look like somebody you would want to invest $40 mil on? NOPE...I think I knew guys that I lined up with in HS that were tougher than that dumbs#!+...

all we can do is pray...I do every night...my dream last night was that one day the swine flu virus will be spread to the front office at PBS on a Sunday...I think Mike is 72 now, so with good karma he won't be able to survive if infected...

either that, or my guess is that he will be alive for another 20 years...so hopefully I can experience a true NFL team in Cincinnati god-willing while I'm still on this planet and not buried under it...

ps...the bit about roy williams baffled about the bengals charging cash for tv, great as well & lipp asking runnels if he had a flight home was good...

CHILD PLEASE (**** you in OC talk) MIKE BROWN!

The part about charging the players for TV's so reaked of Mikey's cheapness. That was so embarrasing...

Child, please...

BB

p.s. Looks be damned, Andre Smith didnt give up a sack last year in the SEC. Good enough for me...

"Falc, just because I respond, please dont take it to mean that I give a sh!t about you. I respond because you are the type of person that needs to be told what a whack job you are or else you will go on thinking your behavior is normal and accepted. "

yeah, but that doesn't mean s#!+ in the afc north, or after the bengals front office and coaches mess with him...

agreed...i really think the whole show was a play by marvin and co. to show the nfl commish how badly things are run by the dictator...runnels and every player that ever put on stripes deserves/deserved better...you think any up and coming football player who saw the last 15 minutes of that show would say "boy they sure do treat their players right in cincinnati, i want to be a bengal..." and we wonder why nobody signs here or even gets an offer to sign here (can we switch this defensive linemen in a TE, I can't afford to pick somebody off waiver wire...screws up our bottom line too much)

At least I was not the only one who was disturbed about the part when "Pat" came to cut me at 530am saying that we only keep talent or whatever he tried to say. I mean.. seriously... if you are going to cut me... at least let me sleep in!!!!!! But no!!!!!!!!!!

Our organization wants to make sure that we give that player a good opportunity to get on another team!!! Again, at 530am......

Let the man sleep MikeHole!!!!

I will play the role of the good guy here.

#1--Most teams do not provide TV's or any other form of media..ipods/lap tops/ect....
I believe the college itself is charging for the TV's, not the team...but I will check on that.
Think about it, they are in college dorm rooms that don't have anything in them, so why would a team go out and purchase a sh!t load of tv's every year for a short span of time?
Plus, I know for a fact, that the rookies get a list things to bring and what is provided during camp, so they know in advance.

#2--I have watched Hardknocks every year, and every GM sits in meetings and states opinions or whatever.
When the Chiefs were on, they switched a linebacker to fullback, Grigsby (I think).
The Cowboys had JJ sit in every meeting and he had all kinds of wild suggestions.
So Mikey sitting in the meetings and saying that the Harrington kid might have to switch spots, is not that crazy, and gives the kid a shot at making the team at TE, or he will be cut or placed on the practice squad, b/c he has 4 vets infront of him at D-end.

#3--Cut downs...some teams have players come to thier office and cut them and some go to the rooms.
I would have them come to the office, but whatever.
They had to get him up and out of there before the day started, wake up time is 6:45, and his plane was leaving at 7:00.
So, I don't see that as a bad thing at all.
I did wonder why they cut a fullback with 4 years in the league and kept fat azz that is gaining wieght isntead of losing it. Jeremy Johnson just needs to go.

Utecht will be back and that gives you 4 TE's, if Harrignton tries to make the switch, that will give you five TE's.
So why in the world would you go and ink an out of work aged TE?
Try the kid out, he has nothing to lose and the team has nothing to lose.

I don't like thier style of the Oklahoma drill.
Watched the show with my 13 year old last night and he laughed at the drill.
We go with 3 defenders vs 1 blocker and 1 ball carrier 5 yards from the endzone and create a very narrow path.
The defenders give up a touchdown, then they run, the bak does not score, then they run.
Greatest drill on earth to weed out the non-hitters.

I think the whole episode of allowing a film crew to accompany you to cut a guy at 0530 was in extremely poor taste. First, like DBek said, you should at least let him sleep in or have one final breakfast with his teammates. Second, why would you allow a camera into a guys bedroom at 0530 anyway? Clearly this was staged. I'm sure the cameraman and soundman didn't just happen to catch Lippencott (or whomever he was) on the way to the dorm at that hour and say, "hey we better follow him something good might happen." So when it became clear that Runnels was embarrassed by the camera and humiliated by the bad news, then, and ONLY then did Lippencott close the door. If the Bengals were trying to protect Runnels feelings by getting him on a plane before breakfast then why bring a @$#%^$ camera to his bedroom? I just thought that whole event was disgraceful, sorry.

I dont' know, this is the NFL.
Bottom line, it is a business.
I remember the Chiefs year, they would call the guy into the office and tell him to bring his playbooks.
So they guy knows what is going on before he even gets there and they filmed him from the time he left his door untill after he was told he was cut, and even filmed him getting into the van with tears in his eyes.

To me, it is a non-story, the guys like Runnel, know they are a long shot to begin with.

I will make a point of note here.
Bratkowski loves Jeremy Johnson...Marvin does not share that passion for the guy..lol.
Will be fun to watch who wins that battle.

The parrish guy, they inked...pretty bad when HBO rips you by saying that you didn't look like you belonged there.

Never would have predicted it -- murf is playing devil's advocate for mikey-boy. Remind us again what you're doing at a site called "mikebrownsucks.com"?

"No one is talking about some government takeover," (Obama) said. "I'm tired of hearing that. ... These folks need to stop scaring everybody."

BA, you and Murf need to hug it out, man.

Wouldn't that be gay?

"No one is talking about some government takeover," (Obama) said. "I'm tired of hearing that. ... These folks need to stop scaring everybody."

BMN'S LIST OF ENTERTAINING, CRINGEWORTHY AND
TELLING MOMENTS DURING EPISODE ONE OF "HARD KNOCKS"
=====================================================

- ENTERTAINING: Chad OchoCinco's entire segment. It was entertaining in its non-entertainingness (if that makes sense). It communicated the specter of a wide receiver who's still trying to be an entertainer but failing at it. He acts as though "child please" was something he made up (when a 5'5 bald Canadian white man knew about it over a decade ago, you didn't make it up). He acts like his actions on Twitter are revolutionary. All the while he grows dull as an entertainer, he forgets how inefficient he's become as a receiver.

- CRINGEWORTHY: Watching Tank Johnson try to impart moral lessons to a fourth grader. There's a difference between telling a kid "those two are scrapping because they're giving their all and this is their livelihood and their passion" and "you should always fight to resolve your problems."

- TELLING: Roy Williams shows up expecting a TV in his room to be a given but is told he'll have to pay to rent it. Esp. telling as it happens with a player who everyone knows was on last year's HBO series with a different team and therefore has a point of comparison on how things work. My girlfriend, who's only really been following the NFL for a year, didn't even need me to explain or contextualize how bush league it made the Bengals look. She broke out in laughter the moment she heard "we have to pay for a TV?"

And before murf even tries to defend it (oops, too late), there's a difference between "you ain't getting a TV, this is about training camp" and "you ain't getting a TV.....unless you want to pay for it." A big difference.

- ENTERTAINING: As a Nebraska fan, it was nice to see Maurice Purify light Williams up.....although discouraging at the same time since we need an energized Williams more than we need an energized Purify.

- CRINGEWORTHY: Watching Mike Brown speak to the team. I've taught over a dozen public speaking classes so I've sat through some BORING drones and Mike's was right up there with them.

- TELLING: In same speech, Mike says "we have a chance to be...really good." Not to win a title, but to be "...really good." If you didn't see it, close your eyes and imagine a man telling his wife, "that dress makes you look...really good" and you get the idea.

- CRINGEWORTHY: Lippincott informing Runnels of his cut. Even my long-windedness doesn't do it justice. In a situation that calls for being blunt, he was still too blunt. No "we appreciate your effort" or "keep hustling because there's opportunity everywhere." It came across instead like "you stink, you're cut, get out of my face."

- TELLING: Marvin chides three players for being late......but fails to mention them by name and fails to mention their punishment. Players' looks indicate "yeah, few people are late, whatever....."

(Sidenote: I'd like to see more of Zimmer, he looked like he still had the pi$$ and vinegar going in his system).

- TELLING: Carson tries to tell a receiver if he messes up, he'll "kick him in the nuts" but struggles to get the words out of his mouth. Later in the same segment, he tries to pep talk Chad into the importance of getting things going right from the start but Chad appears to be in Chad's world.

- CRINGEWORTHY: Hearing Katie Blackburn speak about Andre Smith. She sounds like the most naive individual on the face of the planet. I remembered the story of her snapping at some fans in Dallas last year and telling them "you have no idea how hard it is to run an NFL team!!!" and I can now actually visualize that scenario having heard her speak about the Smith situation.

- TELLING (in BMN's apartment anyway if not on the film itself): 1.5 seconds after Andre Smith opened his mouth and my girlfriend looked at me and goes "That guy? Seriously?"

- ENTERTAINING: The TE storyline and Chase Coffman having to evolve quickly made for good TV. Speaking of which.....

- CRINGEWORTHY, ENTERTAINING AND TELLING ALL AT ONCE: Mike Brown's brainstorming session on the TE situation was easily the climax of the episode for me. In a matter of a few moments and a few camera shots, you have one situation and a host of facial reactions that tell you exactly why the franchise is in the state it's in. I've been in situations where someone supervising you clearly knows less about something than you do, yet has the power to take you out of your position. The look in everyone's eyes in this scene rang so familiar to any time I've ever encountered that situation.

That one scene near the end, bookended with Brown's speech near the beginning, cements the theme: "here's the dullheaded uninspired guy who's running things" but it doesn't do it in a mean or condescending way. It's capturing a man on film who literally thinks there's no reason to fear the camera because the camera is capturing him doing what he does best, when in fact he's making a fool of himself. Poetic, really.

BMN

"And before murf even tries to defend it (oops, too late), there's a difference between "you ain't getting a TV, this is about training camp" and "you ain't getting a TV.....unless you want to pay for it." A big difference."

sorry Murf, BMcaper is dead on here. Either no tv's or tv's, but dont charge players. God, I was so embarrassed for Mike Brown yesterday - it made his admin look pathetic and cheap.

Katie Blackburn is Mike Part II. What kind of dipsh!t says what she says when she knows it isnt true. Pay the man more money than the #7 pick, you idiot!

I hope Purify makes the team. I have heard nothing but good things about his ability and effort.

Classless on HArd Knocks for showing the cut and classless and (surprise) cheap of Mikey to do it at 5:30 am to save money on a flight or room and board.

BIg John Thornton's take:

"The releasing of fullback J.D. Runnels. Ive seen guys get cut before but the way that this was done was kinda classless. This guy was the same guy that was doing a good job a few days before, and not only does he get released, but you do it a 5:30 a.m., and you tell the guy he has no ability. The person who told him was Jim Lipincott. I like Jim and I think he is a good guy, but that was just way too cold for me. Show the guy some respect. He didnt even give J.D. time to realize he just got cut before he was asking him where he was flying to. I know Jim has a hard job, and having to tell guys that their dream of playing in the NFL may be over is tough, but there has to be a better way to do it. This was one of the few dark spots of the show for me. Ive watched Hard Knocks before and each team at least gave the guy being released better treatment than this. Maybe this part was edited to make it look harsh, but wow, it doesnt have to be so wham bam, thank you

I am not shocked that you guys would jerk off to the negatives, or I should say the trumped up negatives.
The TV's--please, that is about as sad as the old small towel debate.
Rookies got a list of what was provided and what was not provided, and a Veteran like Williams, knows better.
Plus, how many millions do they make?
Plus, I believe, not positive, but I believe that the college was running the tv rental thing.

Anyway...
Andre Smith, the more he talks, the more I dislike him.
Katie looked stupid, I'll give you that much...pumpkin, the first rounders are easy, slot the guy and lets move forward.
If you did not want to pay him that much money, then you should have listened to me and not drafted a sloppy fat kid that you are forced to give all pro money to.

Chad is Chad..loves himself more than anything, looks good, I hope he is back to form.
Marvin is Marvin---
Carson looks liek he is ready to go.

Williams getting beat by a wideout..who cares, it was a stupid Oklahoma drill that Williams had no desire to be apart of.
I remember everyone gettting a woody over Bustin Smiths Oklahoma drills...and amounted to nothing on the field.





"Mom said that when I wear this badge you're supposed to treat me like a man of the law"
Officer Goofy Gilmore...aka TrooperHook

"Rookies got a list of what was provided and what was not provided, and a Veteran like Williams, knows better."

Well, from the looks of the show, it appeared that the Cowboys never did anything like that. Regardless of whether or not Georgetown did it or not, Mikey still had to approve it and it made the Bengals FO look cheap and petty. No shock there...

I agree with your take on Katie. Just slot him and pay him. Anything else is disingeuous hyperbole and again makes the Bengals FO look cheap, inompetent and Bush league-ish.

The TVs were a college thing? For crying out loud, so were the dorm rooms. The Bungle players don't pay for them. Why wouldn't the front office pay the extra tab for the TV rentals as well?

Actually, that's a rhetorical question. We know why they wouldn't pay the TV rental along with the room rental.

It's Mikey's Bungle legacy to be insane and incompetent. His Sheep will defend him for it, but it's why top tier free agents stay away from the organization.

The cowboys might have provided all sorts of things, I don't know.
I know the Rams didn't provide anything like that years ago.
Bettis did an interview about his rookie camp and he talked about how they had nothing and had to walk a 1/4 to get to the practice field.
The Chiefs rented bikes to the players to get to the pratice field.

I guess you can call it cheap, but most teams don't provide anything special to these guys and they should not provide anything special.
The team just paid these guys millions of dollars...
Buy your own damn tv and bring it...or rent one for a few weeks.

murf, yet again the master of evasion.

The "old towel debate" and TV point aren't tired, it's a valid point because IT MAKES PLAYERS NOT WANT TO COME HERE! And bellyache about today's modern player being spoiled all you want, it doesn't change the situation.

And you never addressed my original point which was: if they're spoiled to have a TV, then don't offer them one in the first place. TV = operations normal. No TV = man, they're hardasses. No TV unless you rent it = man are these bastards ever cheap! It comes across as "they're WILLING to give us the TVs but not willing enough to pony up the scratch." Zero discipline communicated and it makes the organization look ridiculous.

Tell me, murf, what young hungry college player would have watched last night's episode going "boy, I sure hope the Bengals draft me, they look like a world class organization!!"

But of course, I forget that it's not about leaving a positive impression on potential superstar players or coaches, it's about leaving a good impression on murf.

I'm not "jacking off on the negatives," I don't think Williams getting run over in the OK drill means THAT much, but Mikey's micromanagement definitely disturbed me, especially given his track record of accomplishing nothing.

BMN

He is missing the point. Its not that the TV's were offered or not offered. Its that they were offered for a price, which is hysterical.

Yeah man... that TV thing felt a little weird to me too. But I did laugh out loud at the part when the OLine was in a meeting and some answer to a question on some quiz I guess was about Andre Smith running the 40 without a shirt on. I dont remember the exact verbage, but I laughed out loud at it.

And Chad was smart. He brought his own TV to camp. Roy Williams.... you are not in Dallas anymore with your oil-owner JJ.

"The "old towel debate" and TV point aren't tired, it's a valid point because IT MAKES PLAYERS NOT WANT TO COME HERE! And bellyache about today's modern player being spoiled all you want, it doesn't change the situation."


I also heard something about players having to buy their own jocky straps and sweat socks back in the 90s as well. WTF was that about, Mikey?!??!??!?!!!? What kind of 1940s sh*t is that? Take care of your players and then maybe they would give you a couple more W's in the win column. The feeling is--I'm suspecting from the players--is that the owner doesn't give a sh*t--then why should I?

Would I be accurate at that statement?





"So he got fired? Big deal. It's happened to the best of us. So he got kicked out of his house by his 400 lb'ed wife?!?!? That's probably better for him anyways."-OldSchooler on ChrisMBHater's absence

Guys, do we need to have this debate again....

Players do not come here based on perks in camp.
players go where the money is first and secondly, they go to places that fit them, like Roy williams comming here, he is here b/c of Zimmer and Marvin and took less money to do it.

BM--
I did not miss the point, the point is well taken, but you are wrong.
Players know comming in that they do not have certain things and are given a list.

Why on earth would you spend 40k for tvs in dorm rooms for a few weeks?
That would be stupid.




"Mom said that when I wear this badge you're supposed to treat me like a man of the law"
Officer Goofy Gilmore...aka TrooperHook

I am now officially convinced Murf is either related to or works for the Brown family.

For someone not to see the embarrassment of "renting" Tv's to professional football players in order to make a buck is ridiculous.

Its kinda like selling Girl Scout Cookies back to the Girl Scouts who sold them to you.

Or not... who knows. Its bad and embarrassing.

Just got done watching Hard knocks, who could have imagined that things could be worse than they appear?

the whole organization shows a lack of emotion, everyone understands that there is nothing they can do, the Harrington deal made me vomit in my throat

------------------------------------------
In Memory of Darren

I watched it.  I really enjoyed watching the team practice, attend meetings, and overall get insight into how the Bengals are run.  

The things that bothered me were the following:

1)  Mike Brown makes them pay for their own TVs.  I know that Murf said the college runs TV rental.  If the college does rent out the TV's, so what?  They rent out the rooms too.  The Bengals pay for room rental, so why can't they also pay for the TV rental?  Oh, that's right.  It's an added expense that Mike Brown doesn't want to pay for.  Chad has been there before and was smart enough to bring his own TV.  Roy Williams, on the other hand, was new to Bengals training camp and was not aware of Mike Brown's frugal ways.  Coming from an organization like the Cowboys, he was shocked he had to pay for his own TV.   

2)  Mike Brown gives a speech.  He remarks that the team has a chance to be "really good".   Define "really good".  To Mike, that could be 8-8 or 9-7 and barely missing the playoffs.  It gives the sheople hope for the next year.  Besides, the goal for every single NFL team should not be to be "really good" but to be GREAT.  Great in shooting for the moon - the Super Bowl.  Mike Brown is content with merely being competitive, competitive enough to give the fans hope but not competitive enough to win the Super Bowl.

3)  Mike Brown was sitting in on the personnel meetings, and he made a suggestion to switch a defensive player to tight end!  Now we know where the idea to switch Shirley came from!  I just didn't realize this was done on the pro level.  I thought this was something done perhaps on high school level.  This clearly shows the depth that Mike Brown is involved in day to day decisions of the team.  Why not leave that to the coaches and trainers, better yet, why not also hire a GM to aid in decisions? 

4)  Katie Brown was talking about her frustration regarding Andre Smith.  I started yelling at the TV.  Katie acts offended that he won't take what she thinks is a "generous" offer.  Sure, it's a lot of money that most regular folk would love to have, but in reality, it is less money than the guy picked behind him!  Andre Smith is asking for less than $2 million more than the guy picked behind him and significantly less than the guy picked in front of him (albeit a QB), so simply pay the man the money, and get him into camp!  Carson's life depends on it.

5)  Perhaps it's just me, but I thought they were too tough on Coffman.  He just kept berating him and berating him and making him do more pushups.  I know football is tough, but I always work better when someone isn't yelling at me, as I am more relaxed.  I guess they feel in football you have to play under pressure, so they have to apply the pressure. 

6)  Last but not least, I felt terrible for the guy cut at the end.  I thought it was horrible the way Lipp  knocked on his door at 5:30 in the morning.  I guess they felt it would be better before the other guys got up to avoid embarrassment.  They totally negated that by bringing the Hard Knocks crew along.  I'm sure Hard Knocks has done this in past seasons, as they want to show the workings of an NFL team, and that includes cutting players.  That includes the struggle of players to make the team and the crushing blow when cut.  That poor guy looked devastated.  Then Lipp proceeds to tell him that they cut based on ability, yet here is a man who is in shape and doing everything they asked, and they cut him and keep J. Johnson who is overweight, out of shape, and was complaining about some lingering injury involving the leg.  Lipp tells him that they are cutting him so another team can pick him up, yet in the same breath basically says he doesn't have the ability to play.  Lipp mainly seems concerned with hurrying him out of there, I guess to save on rent.  Did he have to pay for his own flight, or were the Bengals going to fly him home?   Even John Thornton thought the way he was let go was harsh.  I believe someone posted his comment in this thread.  Willie Anderson said on Twitter that J. Johnson is one of Mike Brown's guys.  Apparently Mike Brown had him tracked down in Kentucky to get him to play this year.  He's one of the guys Mike Brown wants to keep out of "loyalty", even if it hurts the team in the process.

One final note is that while I like Chad as a player, I think the whole "Child Please" thing is a bit juvenile.

-------------------------------------------
"America you are beautiful . . . and blessed . . . . The ultimate test of your greatness is the way you treat every human being, but especially the weakest and most defenseless. If you want equal justice for all and true freedom and lasting peace, then America, defend life." - Pope John Paul II

"He remarks that the team has a chance to be "really good". Define "really good"."


That's Corporate Speak for "we may eek out a few wins". However, what Mikey doesn't understand is he's going to be feeling more heat at the end of this season for going 4-12 again this year. Then his daughter for being an all-out bonehead for not negotiating any better with Pighead (Smith) is one of the many things that is going to get Carson killed this year. Stop whining, Mrs. Blackburn--and get that Mutha Facka into Training Camp Pronto. Nah--I don't expect that happening. Or him being signed before the season begins, for that matter.

In fact, I can't see Smith being a Bungle at all. I hope that Cucumber feels real good, you know--the one I previously mentioned in the other thread that you read, Katie? Because your azz should have been moving days ago--not chickening out for 9 days whining about this agent's demands.


Sidenote: Murf--come'on. Really. Mike Brown had a chance to woo his critics by ciphoning 40K that you mentioned out of his tight azz to pay for those TVs. I'm sure even some of us would have been impressed by that. But NOOOOOOOO--Mikey gives validation for his "harsh" critics--and even the existence of our little site here and the WhoDey Revolution for getting on his fatazz for a couple of decades.





"So he got fired? Big deal. It's happened to the best of us. So he got kicked out of his house by his 400 lb'ed wife?!?!? That's probably better for him anyways."-OldSchooler on ChrisMBHater's absence

Commenting on how good Runnells was and then saying he has no ability then after telling him he has no ability they are going to do him a favor and cut him early so he can be picked up by another team???????????????????? If he has no ability then he has no chance of being picked up by another team! and why in the hell are you picking up players that have no ability?




------------------------------------------
In Memory of Darren

Seriously?
You guys are mad that a business owner did not waste thousands of dollars on something pointless like tv's for multimillionaires?

How many other teams don't provide these type of things?
I agree that the Bengal org. is cheap at the little details, there is no denying that.
I know a former coach very well and he told me he was shocked when he went to another team and they gave him a box of items, like shirts and jackets and hats and when he asked how much, the guy looked at him like he was crazy.
I get it, trust me, I truly get it.

My point is, who cares?
Players come and go based on coaches and scheme and money..not tv's.
If a player onyl comes to a team for perks, then he a selfish player and I wouldn't want him on the team anyway.

The Runnels cut...I guess you never watched Hardknocks before...it is part of the program.
Every year teams cut players with the cameras in thier face.

Katie looked stupid...I give you that, and Smith looked stupid.

Mike Brown sitting in meetings...
All GM's sit in on meetings.

Making the suggestion for the Harrington kid to switch...
He is not making this team on defense, so why not try it?
What do you have to lose and there have been many players swith positions in the NFL.
Grigsby from the Chiefs, went from linebacker to fullback
Hines Ward and Randall El both went from qb to wideout.

The kid from UC Barwin went from TE to end...
It is not that uncommon to try and switch things up.

..."Mike Brown sitting in meetings...
All GM's sit in on meetings."


Some of them have a fuggin clue. Sitting in on meetings is one thing. Running them is another. Mr. Mike "I have handed over control to Marvin" Brown is full of shhit and clueless. Hence this site and his winning percentage. Real simple concept that somehow eludes you. Of course simple concepts eluding you is par for the course.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Seriously? You guys are mad that a business owner did not waste thousands of dollars on something pointless like tv's for multimillionaires?
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

No, we're mad that they were given the option to pay to rent one.

Have them in the rooms or don't offer them. I explained this already but you refuse to engage my argument head-on and choose to distort it instead. Not that I'm surprised or anything.....

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
How many other teams don't provide these type of things?
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

How many other teams put a rental price up on the desk?

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
I agree that the Bengal org. is cheap at the little details, there is no denying that.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Well, we have some agreement at least!!

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
My point is, who cares?
Players come and go based on coaches and scheme and money..not tv's.
If a player only comes to a team for perks, then he a selfish player and I wouldn't want him on the team anyway.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Here's where we DISagree.

Again, it's reputation we're talking about here. The TVs alone aren't going to drive players out of Cincinnati, of course. But it's just symptomatic of the larger problem: if there's a "major league" way and a "bush league" way of doing something, chances are the Bengals will do things the bush league way. And don't think this isn't lost on players.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Every year teams cut players with the cameras in their face.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

.......at 5:30 in the morning.......without the coach or owner or GM getting involved.......without any small "thanks for the effort" or "keep working hard and you'll land somewhere else."

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Katie looked stupid...I give you that, and Smith looked stupid.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

And she will inherit the team one day. And Smith was our #1 pick. These things should worry you. (Mind you, in your defense, you were always worried about Smith but then again so were we, but you accused all of wanting him as #1 when most of us just said we wanted an OL, just not Smith).

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Mike Brown sitting in meetings...all GM's sit in on meetings.
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Nobody's SHOCKED at the sight of it, but it doesn't make it any less enraging or pathetic. Here's a man with a proven track record that he doesn't know what he's doing and he's sitting at the head of the room laying the law down to everyone. It's the most depressing thing in the world.

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Making the suggestion for the Harrington kid to switch...
He is not making this team on defense, so why not try it?
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Because you could be picking up a TE off of waivers that's more qualified for the position and not wasting everyone's time? (Also Hines Ward was already a receiver at UGA, so that example doesn't fit with the others).

But more than the idea itself, what's depressing is how the scene revealed how EVERY discussion probably goes. Mike Brown says something, a lot of people clearly disagree but know that either a) Mike can fire anyone who disagrees or b) Mike won't listen to what they say and will do what he wants anyway, so they sugarcoat their words to please the boss. And the boss is an invalid (I read someone else who made a comparison to Michael Scott in "The Office" and it's such a valid comparison that I almost cried upon reading it.....)

BMN

I am going to go out on a limb and say the Bengals are probably the only team that charges its players for TV's in training camp.

Murf, you fail to see the big picture. All these little things add up and makes it difficult to get free agents who are talented. We have no problem with the crappy ones because we overpay and they have no where else to go.

Why do you think the majority of players who leave the Bengals and play elesewhere bad madmouth the team? And they bad mouth them about this kind of crap!

"Falc, just because I respond, please dont take it to mean that I give a sh!t about you. I respond because you are the type of person that needs to be told what a whack job you are or else you will go on thinking your behavior is normal and accepted. "

Vick was coming to the Bengals until he seen Hard Knocks


..."Mike Brown sitting in meetings...
All GM's sit in on meetings."

mike brown was not sitting in on meetings, mike brown was the meeting, the rest of the staff was sitting around with glazed looks and lumps in their throats.

I've seen happier people at their arraignemnets

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In Memory of Darren

Why do I get the feeling that as soon as MikeyBoy left that room it erupted in a unison groan?

"Why do I get the feeling that as soon as MikeyBoy left that room it erupted in a unison groan?"

I am sure someone was like "WTF!! Was he serious about the switch to TE? Are we in High School?"

why do I get the feeling Hard Knocks is goign to pack it in early and say "this team is joke"

I finally had a chance to see the first episode for myself. Many good observations have been made here already, but what the heck, it's fun to join in. A few thoughts on general topics...

Lack of Context

Hard Knocks is made by the NFL to benefit the NFL, so we can't expect much in the way of unflattering background material. Still, they could do better than those passing references to last year's losing record. On the flip side, whatever happened to the Paul Brown legacy that Steve Sabol wanted to feature? Perhaps Mikey-Boy put him off, explaining that, "Dad rejected outright displays of affection; can't you tell by the way I turned out?" (Seriously, PB supposedly hated people to make a fuss over him, at least overtly.) It's too bad for the show. More context would make it more compelling.

Unappealing Front Office

To the naive viewer, I suspect the coaches and players came across fairly well. But when the cameras focused on Mike or Katie or Jim Lippincott, the contrast was probably jolting. Yuck. Who are these quaint but unimpressive people who seem so pleased with themselves?

Mike Brown

Deadly-dull is an understatement. I somehow managed to miss hearing Mike Brown speak over the years. I knew he would be uninspiring, but wow. BMN's comments didn't even prepare me for that monotose droning. Geezus, if I had to listen to that everyday, I'd just slit my wrists and get it over with.

Our favorite guy isn't a Jerry Jones media hog. Nor is he a big shot CEO-type. He rather reminds me of the civil servant who's stuck at his current (high) pay grade. The type who was moved long ago to one of those do-nothing positions. Comfortable and secure, he simply needs to plod along as there's no reason to press. How an NFL owner can come off this way who has one of the most enviable jobs going is... well... a major historical oddity.