Mike Brown gets semi-served by C. Trent Rosecrans & Gildenstern
My boy C. Trent recently took the wood to Mikey Brown in a question and answer session. Towards the end
of the interview, C. Trent and Mikey were discussing the Collective Bargaining Agreement, at which point Brown started to use a bunch of cliches and generic phrases like "There's lots of
ways to skin a cat" and "...we
have cut the cloth accordingly."
Basically Brown alluded to the point that the CBA makes all teams competitive in this league. That is where C Tr
ent's genius steps in with this statement:
"Some would argue you have not been successful in that time."
Not knowing what to say, Brown basically brushed it off and said,"We've been at the midpoint and we want to get over the hump and do better than that."
"We want to do better than that?" How about, "We want to win a Super Bowl!" Is better than the midpoint (9-7) all we are really shooting for???? If you had any doubt that the goal of the Bengals is just enough above mediocrity to avoid upsetting the masses, here is your proof otherwise. If you're expectations are like mine, than you are part of WhoDeyRevolution.
On a sidenote, WDR is proud that some journalists are starting to ask Mike Brown the tough questions about his reign of terror. However, C. Trent used the classic journalistic side step of confronting the issue directly by prefacing his statement with "Some would argue..." Actually, C. Trent, facts prove that the Bengals have not been successful - 0 playoff wins in 17 years is a failure on all levels. Asking a question like that would be what Barbara Walters would do if she interviewed Mahmoud Ahmadinejad: "Some would argue that you want to wipe Israel off the face of the earth." Facts are facts and journalists need to confront those who have a merciless grip on power with the truth.
However, I have to still recognize C Trent for asking a question that few others would (Paul Daugherty being one notable exception). But, do you think that C Trent will ever be granted access to Mikey after asking him one non-softball question?
Another comment of interest is when Brown said he was going to talk to Carson about the OSU thing through the media... I thought men talked to each other in person, especially owner to franchise QB. I don't know, maybe I am reading to much into it... But the entire Q&A is pasted below for your own interpretations... Enjoy!
Q: What are the expectations for this team?
A: We
disappointed ourselves some last year and we disappointed our fans. We
have a solid team and think we can rebound and pull out some of that
sting from a year ago, but you have to prove it out on the field. I'm
not in the predicting business. All I can tell you is I think we're
solid and I think we're ready to go. We'll see what happens.
Q: Have you talked to your quarterback about his comments about the Buckeyes?
A: I was going to have a talk to him through you (the media). Tell him
that he might not know my dad coached at Ohio State and beat USC two
years in a row, 33-0 and 28-12, and if he wants to make something of
that, he knows where he can find me.
He thought he was in friendly waters, and he was, he just didn't understand the outreach. It got back here and I don't think anyone takes that seriously, and if they do, they shouldn't. It's just having fun.
Q: You
expect a lot out of Carson Palmer, but it looked like he put too much
pressure on himself last year. Can the pressure be eased off his
shoulders?
A: He's our lead dog, isn't he? We go as he goes, he's a splendid player, we're lucky to have him. I have great confidence in him.
Q: Can the relationship with Chad Johnson be healed?
A: I consider it healed -- being a miracle worker. It was a rough patch,
he was doing his little dance, he had his reasons for it. I wish it
could have been avoided, but it's behind us now. We need him. He's an
integral part of this team. He's a brilliant player. I would hate to
think of us without him. He's over it now, he’s ready to get back in
the swing with us and I welcome him back.
Q: With Jeremy Shockey going to New Orleans, Jason Taylor headed to Washington, why was your situation different?
A: I'm
not going to do their business for them, they're pretty good at what
they do. I'll let them tend to their knitting, I'll tend to mine. I'll
repeat that Chad Johnson is one of the greatest players we've had here.
We want him here. He makes our team better and I'm glad he's going to
be here and in the spirit of things. I'm happy with where we are now,
going forward. Maybe there were times when this wasn't going as it
should, but we're over that.
Q: You made a statement when
Chris Henry and made a tough decision about Odell Thurman, have you
turned a corner from taking those chances?
A: I guess the
world is divided up between redeemers and non-redeemers. I happen to be
a redeemer. I think people can be made better and right. If that's a
fault, so be it. These guys misstepped, they made mistakes and they
paid prices for it verging on ruinous, but that doesn't mean I don't
like them personally, I like them as people. I regret what's happened
to them and I regret they're no longer here. As far as going forward,
we don't want that kind of behavior. We've tried to be more conscious
of the guys we bring in than maybe we were before. In all honesty, if
you look at their records, contrary to some of the things you hear,
they were not as difficult cases in college as some make them out in
hindsight. Things just conspired to undo them. They were, at least in
one case, tragic. That's all history now. We're going forward and we'll
try to go forward with the kind of guys we can count on, the kind of
guys who are not just good players, but good citizens.
Q: That said, you drafted Jason Shirley, who when you drafted him still had charges against him.
A: I can only tell you that he's here and we're going to try to help him
work through his situation. He's a talented kid. He's really a pleasant
kid. The charges against him were so far unproven. He was not totally
exonerated, but he wasn't convicted. He has to go through it again. I
can't tell you I know for sure what happened, but I can tell you his
side of the story. I lean toward him and want to support him. I want
him to get through it and get his life straightened out, get here and
be a productive player.
Q: Do you like what you’ve seen so far from Mike Zimmer?
A: I like him, he's a good coach. He's aggressive, he's a hands-on coach
in practices. Players know he's there. He's forceful when he addresses
him. He doesn't hold back, no matter who he's addressing. I think he's
going to be a real help for us.
Q: Is there a sense of
trepidation moving forward considering the end of the collective
bargaining agreement and the future of the NFL and the possibility of a
cap-less league and moving toward baseball and having a difference
between large and small markets?
A: That's been a trend in
sports dating back to the time our restrictive player rules were
changed. You guys, being high-paid people, tend to identify with the
multi-millionaires you have to contend with. It's been good for the
players, it's been good for the teams, I would argue it's been good for
the fans. It's an exciting package and I want it to keep up and
running. I think we all do. I think we have enough sense to figure this
thing out.
Q: If it doesn't get figured out are the Cincinnati Bengals in trouble in a new world order in the league?
A: It
would depend, wouldn't it, on how that's structured? We've been able to
fend here. We don't have the revenue that some other teams have and we
have cut the cloth accordingly. Yet, I think we can make it work the
way we do it, we can be competitive.
Q: Without a cap?
A: As you know, I can't get into the collective bargaining in specifics,
because we're not allowed to debate this. It's done centrally. If you
didn't have one piece, you could have another piece. There's lots of
ways to skin a cat. But the cap system has worked effectively in the
National Football League, not just for the teams, but it's made good
competition and the fans like that. It's benefited the players because
the players on all teams are going to be competitive, they want to go
to competitive teams and have a chance to win. The cap system has been
effective in doing that. I don't know why anyone should not want the
cap, including the players.
Q: Some would argue you have not been successful in that time.
A: Who is that 'some'? I'm just kidding. You're right, we are what we are,
I can't disguise our record. We've been at the midpoint and we want to
get over the hump and do better than that.
Can we get some good nicknames for Mike Brown going now that he has made it clear that his priority is to "redeem" bad character players instead of winning?
I'll begin with the wildly unoriginal "The Redeemer".
Posted by: Todd | July 24, 2008 at 03:52 PM
The Warden
Posted by: Paul Katz | July 24, 2008 at 04:32 PM
Because he always has a place for his wayward sons to stay.
Posted by: Paul Katz | July 24, 2008 at 04:33 PM
Principal Joe Clark - aka Morgan Freeman from "Lean on Me." In a school with no hope. In a city that had given up. There was one man who still believed in these kids. Morgan Freeman is - Principal Joe Clark.
Posted by: Andrew Simon | July 24, 2008 at 04:37 PM
Mike "the methadone clinic" Brown
Posted by: Klinglered | July 24, 2008 at 10:02 PM
Motherf***er Teresa.
Posted by: IgnatiusJReilly | July 27, 2008 at 08:08 PM