WhoDeyRevolution: Phil Savage Is a Mean Guy, But At Least He Exists

Who Dey Revolution Manifesto

Preamble
IN THIS TIME of perpetual Cincinnati Bengals incompetence and futility, with zero playoff wins in the eighteen seasons since the WhoDeyRevolution Godfather, Paul Brown, passed away in 1991 and handed the team to his fortunate son, the Despot, Mike Brown;

Introduction

WE, the members of the Who Dey Revolution, in our fervent dedication to the Cincinnati Bengals and fanatical desire to transform our hometown team into perpetual Super Bowl contenders, call for a popular revolution of fans to demand comprehensive reform to the managerial decisions and approach of Cincinnati Bengals ownership, management, staff and players, and hereby call for the adoption of the following Who Dey Revolution Manifesto:

Manifesto Demands

THAT the Mike Brown, Katie Blackburn, Marvin Lewis, along with every other member of the Bengals management, staff and personnel, state publicly to all Bengals fans, “I will do everything in my power to help the Cincinnati Bengals win a Super Bowl;”

THAT Mike Brown will hire a general manager, drastically expand the scouting department and relinquish all control of player personnel;

THAT all training, rehabilitation and medical facilities are considered best-in-class compared to other NFL teams;

THAT the management fill the team only with players who fit the system, both mentally and physically, and are not reluctant to makes changes to player personnel when needed, regardless of cost or loyalty concerns;

THAT offensive and defensive line depth is considered the top priority for all player personnel decisions;

THAT all decisions made by ownership, management, staff and players, both on and off the field, are judged only by this criterion: “Does this help the Cincinnati Bengals win a Super Bowl?”

December 02, 2008

Phil Savage Is a Mean Guy, But At Least He Exists

This is pretty old news on this here interwebs, but if you haven't seen it, it's worth a look. Cleveland Browns General Manager Phil Savage sure doesn't take too kindly to a little constructive criticism. A frustrated Browns fan decided to email him during the Browns MNF game against the Bills a few weeks ago. Here is a transcript of said email, via Deadspin:

"You are easily the worst GM in the NFL. Chud, Crennel and Tucker should NOT have jobs. How the hell do you play prevent defense the entire game? How do you NOT use Jerome Harrison more? Why the hell would you throw the ball with 6 minutes left? This is officially a regime that is worse than Butch Davis'. By the way, just like last week - this email was written while the Browns still had the lead."

Not the most genius observations, but nothing too outlandish in there either. Mr. Savage had a rather, shall we say crude, response:

"Go root for Buffalo-f#@* you-"

Not a friendly guy, that Savage.

Now, I know what you're thinking. "Aren't you the guy who normally writes 3,200 word unreadable posts criticizing Hobson? The one who is too lazy to come up with any original style? Also, why is this on a Bengals blog? You are wasting my life again." All valid considerations.

The reason that this is on this fine blog is I took a cue from this genius Browns fan and decided to email our fine general manager with a list of concerns. After Sunday's debacle of an effort against the Ravens, it had to be done. That email and the response is after the jump.

From: jeffqueryrules2009@mikebrownsucks.info

To: gm@bengals.com; generalmanager@bengals.com; redeemer@bengals.com; mikebrown@bengals.com; igetmoney@bengals.com; bengalsgm@bengals.com

Subject: A few concerns

To Whom It May Concern:

I regret to inform you that I am a fan of the Cincinnati Bengals. For this most part, this unfortunate arrangement has caused me nothing but pain and suffering. Countless Sundays where I questioned the direction of my life and general reason for living have been a byproduct of watching the team you have put together. I have made for you a list of concerns. I would appreciate nothing more than a response addressing my views. Thank you for your time.

1. The defense cannot generate a pass rush. Not with the front four, not with a blitz, and probably not with a scud missile. While I have approved of the job Mike Zimmer has done with the defense (bringing a much needed attitude), his blitz packages are unimaginative and obvious. In this day and age, teams can easily counter blitzes that they can see coming. I really feel like if this defense could generate a pass rush consistently they could be in the upper half of defenses in the league. Robert Geathers and Antwan Odom don't count. A game changer is needed up front. You should be charged with doing whatever it takes to get said game changer.

2. The offensive line is beyond horrible. Part of this isn't your fault. Levi Jones looked like a franchise tackle in 2005 and was paid as such. He hasn't produced at a high level since then. Hard to blame that on you. As for the rest, it's rather easy to blame it on you. Letting Eric Steinbach go was obviously a mistake. You were blindly loyal to Willie Anderson. While he may have been a great offensive tackle and an even better person, committing to him instead of a younger Steinbach was a mistake that wouldn't have been made if emotions didn't get in the way. The team has only developed one quality offensive lineman since 2003. The Stacy Andrews Project is one not worth gambling further resources on. I don't have the faith that you will realize this.

3. Chad Johnson's situation has been mangled beyond repair. I've said it before, but I'll express it here. Chad Johnson is the greatest route runner I've ever seen. I'm not old enough to remember Jerry Rice or Art Monk or anyone else from that era, so take my word with a grain of salt. Still, he's an undeniably great talent. It's quite possible his talent is surpassed only by his stupidity and selfishness. If he doesn't want to be here, it's not worth making him try. He will poison this team at every possible opportunity. Also, let us not forget, he's 30 years old. He may age gracefully due to his aforementioned route running ability, but even the most optimistic projections have him starting a decline in five years. If a team offers a first round pick and a conditional pick that is at worst a third and at most a first, that's an offer that must be accepted. Instead, the team is in the same situation this offseason with the exception that you will be lucky to get a second round pick out of anybody for Chad's services. Obviously, this situation was not handled correctly.

I can only hope you address, or at the very least consider, my concerns. It pains me to see the team I love go in a direction I cannot support. Nothing would make me happier than to be proven wrong on all of this. However, if we are to go by past results, I shouldn't hold my breath.

Thanks again for your time, and my God have mercy on your soul.

From: MAILER-DAEMON@yahoo.com

To: jeffqueryrules2009@mikebrownsucks.info

Subject: failure notice

Hi. This is the qmail-send program at yahoo.com.I'm afraid I wasn't able to deliver your message to the following addresses.This is a permanent error; I've given up. Sorry it didn't work out.

<gm@bengals.com>:

Sorry, I wasn't able to establish an SMTP connection. (#4.4.1)