Mike Brown Speaks: WDR's Take

Finally, he speaks.

After the defining 'soul-sucking' performance of the Marvin Lewis era yesterday afternoon against the Ravens, Mike Brown Bengals owner Mike Brown decided to make his first public comments of the season (if you don't count his lament that a high school has better facilities than his NFL team). 

Let's break this down, with the original Q & A from Curnutte and Brown, followed by Who Dey Revolution's take.

Question: What is Marvin Lewis’ status as head coach?

Answer: “I am not going to give one of those endorsements. They (Lewis and his coaching staff) are the same people who have been here for years now. They coach the same. They are teachers. They do their jobs.”

WDR's Take:  Couple things here. 

First of all, he is making the statement that this is the same staff (save a few positional coaches and Chuck Bresnahan) that coached the 2005 squad.  The same squad that got bounced in the first round of the playoffs.  I've said it before and I'll say it again:  2005 was the worst thing to happen to Bengals fans.  If Mike Brown lives to be as old as his father (Mike is 71, Paul Brown lived to be 82), 2005 set this franchise back a good 15 years...because he will always look back on that season and say...we did it once our way, and we can do it again. 

Second, I think Mike is saving himself from embarassment.  Mike and Marvin are heading towards a showdown in the offseason, where essentially Marvin will demand front office help or else.  Mike will obviously decline, and a buyout will be reached.  Marvin will walk-away with somewhere between 3-4 million (he is owed $7 million on the remaining two years of his contract).  It's hard to endorse someone when you are headed into an offseason like that. 

Q: Where have things gone wrong this season?

A: “It is hard to have success in this league without your key players. We’re playing with literally less than half of the people we thought would be our starters. … We lost Carson Palmer, who is our linchpin player. We lost our best defensive player before the season started, (linebacker) Odell Thurman.

"The linebacker corps we thought that we would be playing with was (Keith) Rivers, Thurman and (David) Pollack. They are all gone, two for good.

“When you have that kind of erosion on your football team, it is hard to be successful. We have not managed to overcome it.”

WDR's Take:  Of course, Mike Brown took the injury excuse.  What makes the man look senile, however, is regretting that the Bengals don't have players that haven't taken a snap in OVER TWO YEARS!!  You were counting on Odell Thurman and David Pollack playing this year, seriously?  Pollack has had an unfortunate set of circumstances, but crap we all thought the guy was done playing back in September of 2006...and now Mike Brown is just realizing that he's not out there making tackles?  As for Odell, the Bengals knew they were taking a big time chance when they drafted him in 2005.  He came out of Georgia with baggage, so you can't cry foul when it doesn't work out.  It's hard for someone to be your best defensive player in 2008 when he hasn't played in a real, live NFL game since the infamous playoff game in January 2006. 

If college football is a coaches league, then the NFL is a players league.  You need to have a defined system and approach to selecting players...so that when players do get hurt, you can fill their spots with players who can perform at a high level, and still win football games.  

And about Carson Palmer...keep in mInd Mike that this team was 0-4 with Carson at the helm.  Carson doesn't play running back, doesn't play offensive line, and doesn't play defense.  This team, at absolute best, would be 3-9 if Palmer was healthy. 

Q: Will Marvin Lewis have the chance to overcome this season?

A: “You cannot answer that question without undercutting someone. I am not going down that path. I think in many ways he has done an incredibly good job. Our players still try hard. He has them out there trying to the best of their ability.”

WDR's Take:  While I am in no way blaming this entire disaster of a season on Marvin Lewis...imagine the riots in the streets in ANY OTHER NFL CITY if their team finished a season with ONE WIN, and their coach of six years was brought back.  Then imagine that their offensive coordinator, with a bottom feeding offense, was brought back for his ninth season.  Now you can understand how absurdity of "he has done an incredibly good job."  No wonder Mike Brown talks only twice a year. 

Q: Is this season worse than 2002, when you finished 2-14 and made major changes? Does this season require as much change to fix?

A: “I don’t want to compare disappointments. This one is felt keenly. … I am pleased with the effort. I am pleased with our coaches’ effort.”

WDR's Take:  Any owner that is pleased with a coaches or players effort that results in a 1-10-1 record should be removed from office.  Period.  In 2002, three year commitments were up for club seat holders.  Mike made a change, because he needed the 100% Bengals-only revenue that those seats produce.  Some either renewed their seats or dumped them...only to come back later in 2003...or after the 2005 season.  Well in either case, their contracts are up after this year.  I'm not saying we are getting Bill Parcells in the offseason, but I'm just saying Mike needs something like Marvin Lewis in 2003 to sell this franchise in 2009.  While season ticket holders are important...it is the CLUB SEATS and SUITES that the Bengals desparately need.

Q: You have had 20 players go on injured reserve this season. Is there a problem somewhere in the organization that you have so many season-ending injuries?

A: “Twenty-one. (Safety Marvin) White will go on injured reserve today. He tore his ACL yesterday (against the Ravens) and still played more than half of the game. … (The injuries), I wish I had an explanation for it. We have led the league in injured reserve players the past couple of years. It is a problem. We are looking for a solution.”

WDR's Take:  Any solution that does not have General Manager or double-digit scouting department is not a real solution.  The Giants lost their two starting defensive ends from last season.  The Ravens have had double digit players on IR.  The Steelers have played most of the year without their featured running back.  The Patriots lost the most celebrated quarterback of this decade, and they are 7-5.  Injuries happen to everyone, but if you don't have a specific plan to select players that work in your system...you end up with a record like the Bengals. 

Q: Did Marvin Lewis make the sole decision on Chad Ocho Cinco in Pittsburgh when he disciplined him?

A: “(Lewis) sent Chad home without talking to me. When he did, I backed up his decision. (Discipline of players) has been all his and it is all his.”

WDR's Take:  So Mike, when you decided to 'discipline' Chris Henry by re-signing him to a two year deal...that was Marvin's call too?

Q: What has to happen to turn the team around?

A: “I think things would take a quantum leap forward if we had Carson Palmer back on the field and playing the way he can play.”

WDR's Take:  Again, this team was 0-4 with Carson Palmer at the helm, and would be at best 3-9 if he was healthy and in the lineup for all 12 games this season.  All the injuries this year is just another crutch for Mike Brown and the front office...and the only way it gets turned around is by changing the entire culture of this franchise.  Not the repair of Carson Palmer's elbow.

Q: Are you going to essentially fire yourself and hire a general manager?

A: “I call them themes. They (fans and customers) like to talk about different themes when things don’t go well. Part of being in this job, the good side of the coin is it shows the emotional connection the fans have with this football team.”

WDR's Take:  Themes, sayings, little nothings whispered in your ear...call them whatever you want.  Mike, this team will never have long-term, sustained success without a football person in charge of player personnel and an increased scouting department.  When Marvin Lewis said that the difference between winning and losing is a lot closer than people think...he was absolutely right.  And it's much closer than it was when this team was founded in 1968.  That is why you need to be OBSESSED with drafting well, finding the best players to fit your system, and investing in scouting...BECAUSE the playing field is so even.  You need to scour for every single little advantage that you can.  You need to be relentless.

Bottom line:  Interviews like this prove that Mike Brown does not have his eye on what Bengals fans do:  A Super Bowl Championship.  Say what you want about Bob Castellini, but can you imagine him being 'pleased' with a 1-10-1 record?? 

Brown told Bengals.com that this talk about a general manager would all go away if the team would win.  He thinks to himself, the Steelers don't have a GM, why do we need one?  Mike, the day your team wins five super bowls, is perenially in the running for a division crown, and has one of the most respected defensive units in the NFL...I'll go on record to say you don't need a GM. 

Until then, you will be hearing from Who Dey Revolution.  Unlike you, we are relentless.

Comments

[Bolshevik Bengal]

Un-fucking-believable. When we write these articles about Mike Brown not caring and simply not having a clue, a part of me hopes that it's just a conspiracy theory and that things are actually OK behind the scenes. And then Mike Brown speaks, and I realize that things are 100% as bad as we can possibly imagine.

It is so crystal clear from his statements that he does not care AT ALL how this team performs. To say that anyone is doing a good job or that you are pleased with ANYTHING in a 1-10-1 season is a fucking insult to every single fan of this team.

Mike Brown will NEVER, EVER change. He is a completely delusional, totally self-involved, abhorrently greedy egomaniac. If he does anything short of expanding the scouting department and hiring a GM this offseason, I am done with the Bengals. I can already see them drafting a WR #2 overall in 2009, and it makes me physically ill.

Go fuck yourself, Mike Brown. That's a pretty common "theme" among fans for the last 18 years.

[johnnyhollywood]

odell is our best defensive player? i am trying to type while i upchuck this guy is so flipping outta the loop. i hate the bengals i am such a douchebag i love the bengals. mikey boy brown get a clue

[Kyle Phelps]

I didn't read one thing about that article that didn't make complete sense. I wish that something could happen top Mike Brown to make him realize that Bengals fans hate him. He is in denial about the Bengals doing badly, and eventually he'll probobly resort to comparing the Bengals to the Cardinals, some teams take longer to develop than others. Now I don't know alot about Cardinal's history so I don't know if their existance has just been bad luck or if it was continuous management problems, but I do know that the Bengals COULD be a good team if Mike Brown would put some effort and money into the team. For god sakes, he beat the IRS, he cant be hurting for money. If there was a way to force Brown to look at this website and read through your explanations, I think that either he'd once again prove that he has no competence whatsoever, or maybe, just maybe, he'd actually open his eyes to the real problems of the team. And really, we are telling him EXACTLY how to fix the team, it can't get much easier.

Honestly, with the last 20 years, you would think that Bengals fans would abandon their team, or the Bengals would leave like the colts did so many years ago. But the fans are so loyal to the team that we allowed Brown to build his precious stadium which didn't help at all. Infact we lost one of the best kickers in the league because he looked terrible on that crappy field, I'm talking of Rackers of course. We saw what happened when he left. I just think that Bengals fans deserve more than this.

Its not all Brown's fault... why? Because he doesn't actually have the ability to play a position, aside from that you can't blame very much on anyone else. I think Marvin Lewis would be a terrific head coach if he had a different owner watching him, and giving him the freedom that he needs. Let Marvin do the drafting, hire a GM for all its worth. Make sure we KNOW that our drafts will be good with a decent scouting program, and with that new program will come a better knowladge of the other teams.

Mike Brown is an idiot, and I really wish that he would sell the team. Just not to rodger goodell, if there is one person who is almost or just as stupid as brown its goodell

[Kid Evil]

What a waste of Hall Of Fame Sperm!!

[Tremain Crack]

Let's talk about the softballs that the these douchebags lobbed him. How's about a little pressure? Mike Brown needs to get hit by a car driven by a football GM on his way into work. Period.

[Ocho Stinko]

Kyle - that is a double negative

Mike Brown is metaphorical double negative. He can take a negative (i.e. Bengals sucking) add another negative (i.e. Odell Thurman) and somehow try to come up with a positive (e.g. we wouldn't be so shitty if we had Odell Thurman for those 3 games before he would have got suspended again).

As with any organizational failure, it all starts at the top. But I really wish that people would quit saying that Marvin would be a better coach if he had better players. I would be a millionaire if I had more money. Seriously, I have unfortunately invested in the NFL ticket so I can watch this team divulge me of any hope I ever had for a winning Bengals franchise. And I can say that Marvin and Brat both appear to be terrible coaches. The jury is still out on Simmons since I am sure it is difficult for any D coordinator to look compitent when his unit is on the field for 90% of the game. But Brat is just brutal, running plays on 3rd and 12? And they can't complete any passes. Are the players really that bad? Have they really just quit playing? I would at least think some are trying, like TJ, because he is in a contract year. But has Chad really become that bad? Or is the play calling just that brutal.
All that being said, I do think they would complete more passes if they fitted Fitz with some stilts so he wasn't constantly throwing the ball at the hands of defensive linemen.

[dan nieman]

i would suggest the bengal fans that are sick of this crap from mike brown have a rally at fountain squre invite the media and show the nation that we are fed up

[Who Che]

Reading that interview made me want to go play in oncoming traffic. I know we all have criticized Mikey Boy for not speaking to the media or to the public (myself included) but I NEVER want to read an interview with this smug bastard until the day the Revolution forces a hostile takeover. On that day, the interview will be a straight up interrogation.

This was a cupcake interview. He was at least questioned about the GM arguments, and like the shister attorney he is, he just avoided the question. I think he got a lesson from "Slick" Willy Clinton.

Hey Mike... I KNOW you hear about our Revolution and I KNOW you will feel your pockets becoming shallow. Man up and have a sit down interview with WDR under the hot lamp. Look your true fans in the face.

Thanks for ruining another year. You're pretty good at that.

[Scott Ricketts]

Mike Brown. Oh how I wish I could quit you.

Mike's not delusional, any more than Ted Haggard was. He's just like Ted, he knows that the team sucks, he just doesn't give a shit! He gets up and says this shit to make it sound like he's clueless. Chumley goes home every night and says to himself "Man, I have those fuckers fooled! And now, I'm going to take off all my clothes and roll my corpulent, pale, sore-ridden body around in this giant fucking pile of money that I make"

This grass fucker is a superior class of greedy asshole and is going to do everything he can to keep milking us douche bags for every last dime he can. Mike Brown is a world champion rectal wart licking fucktard and will likely live another 30 years, ensuring that I will never see another Monday night game again with my beloved Bengals. And douche bag that I am, I will continue to hope and pray to my God that this year will be different.

Mike Brown drives the good men and women of this town to drink our pain away. He is an ass spelunking sadist who lives not on food or water, but the hopes and dreams of the people of southwest Ohio.

Stinky Mexican Farts!

[Ejm1]

The Nightmare continues

[Rich]

Ah, Mike Brown's naive pursuit of repeating 2005. As I read this, I thought that I will see you all at the same time, same place next year for the same conversations. Its going to take death to deliver us!

[Josh]

It's an insult to our fan base's intelligence to say that this is one of those "themes" when the job doesn't go so well.

Mike, we have almost gone TWO DECADES with just one winning season. What's the common denominator for all these years? YOU!!!! Your failure to see that you don't know anything about the game of football has ran this franchise into the ground.

This one starts at the top. Mike, it's time to give your ego a rest and realize that you cannot run a professional football franchise by yourself. Not many people can. It's time to get a legitimate system in place with a good football mind for a general manager and increase the scouting department. You can't ask the coaching staff to also be scouts when they are only getting a pay check as a coach.

Let the GM manage, let the scouts scout, let the coaches coach, and let the players play, and you can sit back and reap the benefits of the profit of a winning team and a reviving fan base without having to do anything yourself. Everyone wins.

[BMN]

You ARE the theme, Mike. And you sound like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MK6TXMsvgQg

I think there needs to be a fan protest at the next Bengals game in which everyone brings signs that say "The theme is: WE WALK!" and march outside the stadium.

Anything playing off of the word "theme," really.

BMN

[WC]

You people are ALL missing the point for Mikey Boy... he wants to make money. He doesn't care how much so long as he is profiting. He has no incentive to field a better team because he already makes enough money in revenue sharing to assure that he makes said profit.

Mikey Boy Brown runs the Bengals like business (which, to be honest, it is). That means he needs to be profitable and as I've already said, he can field a horrid product and still be profitable. He cannot be fired by the league and he knows that. He runs this as a business and that is about it. He doesn't have a second business that he can funnel profits and losses and tax situations through like an Eddie DeBartolo and the 49ers etc. He has -- JUST THE BENGALS. I hate to inform people of this but even the vaunted New England Patriots DO NOT MAKE MONEY! Robert Kraft has other sources of making money -- the Patriots are his 'play-thing'. To win in the NFL, you will operate at a loss because you will pay the full amounts of salary caps etc. That is not what MBB is all about.

We just need to know that we missed our opportunity to tell MBB to get sit and spin -- when we voted in the stadium -- when we voted with our hearts rather than our heads. Now we got to live with it.

As to the comment about Goodell, I will give you that. Some of his things (like making a 'horse-collar' tackle illegal -- and not allowing even a quarter of a step on a defenseman rushing the QB then hitting him after the throw...) are a joke. The only thing good about him is his wife.

[Sleeping With Bieniemy]

WC - Given the cushy leasing deals and revenue sharing it is quite easy to make a TON of money on an NFL franchise. You do not have to operate at a loss to win in the NFL.

In fact, a winning team would make the Bengals much more profitable long term. Beefing up the front office, hiring scouts, building indoor facilities and hiring a world class medical staff would not substantially raise the cost of running the Bengals (the one time expenditure for indoor facilities might take a year or two's profits though) and it would produce millions of additional revenues each year in merchandise, increased ticket prices (club, suite and luxury too), sponsorships and concessions, etc.

However, that does not matter to Mike Brown. People confuse Mike Brown wanting to make a profit with his wanting to simply do it his way. Meaning: run the show with his family in charge and no one else of consequence. Sure he is notoriously cost conscious but that is not the real source of the Bengal's woes. His desire to keep it in the family is.

[Deric]

How many of you die-hards felt sick while reading this? His ignorance/arrogance is unbelievable! His ego will search for ANYTHING positive to take out of this season, no matter how bleak the outcome. Carson got beat up all pre-season & went 0-4 before getting pummeled to the point of season-ending injury...& he is the key reason we are losing? What I take out of this is that Mr. Brown thinks we are all idiots & will actually buy that load of garbage...anyone else feel insulted when he talks about us and our "themes"?? Like we are all sheep and just say what everyone else is saying? Well Mike, there is damn good reason everybody (including Boomer & Collinsworth) are saying you need to admit your failures & hire a G.M.!!! But it's now obvious to me Mikey doesn't have a rational bone in his body...

[Deric]

How many of you die-hards felt sick while reading this? His ignorance/arrogance is unbelievable! His ego will search for ANYTHING positive to take out of this season, no matter how bleak the outcome. Carson got beat up all pre-season & went 0-4 before getting pummeled to the point of season-ending injury...& he is the key reason we are losing? What I take out of this is that Mr. Brown thinks we are all idiots & will actually buy that load of garbage...anyone else feel insulted when he talks about us and our "themes"?? Like we are all sheep and just say what everyone else is saying? Well Mike, there is damn good reason everybody (including Boomer & Collinsworth) are saying you need to admit your failures & hire a G.M.!!! But it's now obvious to me Mikey doesn't have a rational bone in his body...

[Randy]

I am so done. After hearing Mike mock us like that in his interview, that makes me sick. We do nothing but support his piece of shit team year in and year out and he wants to mock us. All we ask for is a winning team. Hell right now I'd be happy with 8-8. You don't have to win a super bowl right away for me to be happy. Just give me something Mike. I'm trying so hard to forget the fucking Bengals and root for someone else. I'm desperately trying. Mike, you've completely ruined professional football in this city forever. After your old ass dies, we will be stuck with your dipshit daughter who will run us further into the ground. The Brown/Blackburn family will never change. Fuck you all!!!

[Flash]

Take it easy, Mike. Why don't you sit this next one out, stop talking for a while...

[Raymond]

Mike Brown has never understood that NFL teams have to be built around the interior defensive and offensive lines. Paul Brown understood this, which is why his very first Bengal draft pick was Bob Johnson, a center. It's never been more true than today if you look at the competition in the AFC North. Mike thinks the only thing that matters are the skill players. The scariest thing in his interview is his belief that all we need is Carson back. He simply doesn't know what it takes to be successful in the NFL.

[Southern Illinois Douchebag]

I'll tell you how this diehard felt reading that vomit-inducing Q&A. Pissed enough to wish he had ass cancer. A lengthy, painful bout of ass cancer that leaves him lingering in severe and unabating pain for fucking years. I haven't hated someone this much since my old boss. You know how I controlled that hatred of her? Moved on. You know how I'm controlling my hatred of him? Moving on. I started boxing up all my Bungals shit last night and I'm mailing it back to this motherfucker with a letter. Will it matter to King Brown? Hell no. Will it make me feel much better? Fuck yeah. Comrades, I'll support you in spirit.

[T. Rais]

That's it. I'm officially done with this team. There is no way that this relic of an owner is going to make any sort of meaningful changes. From the above interview it is completely apparent that he is either a) out of touch with reality, or b) has no desire to win. I think the only real solution is to have the franchise move to another city and cross our fingers that we can land a new team in the next decade. I used to think that if numb-nuts died maybe things would be different; however, I don't think I have any faith in Katie, Troy, Pete, or Paul either. That whole gene pool has been poisoned with the hapless loser gene. I'm done. No more watching them, no more buying their shit, I'm not even going to mention them any more to anyone. This team is dead to me. Now the only problem is picking a new team...I live in Denver but hate the donk-o's but at least they find a way to win and the term "win" is never preceding by the word "almost" when the coach or owner is looking to polish some turds.