Why change when it's working so well?

Last offseason, the Enquirer revealed the well-earned GM bonuses Mike Brown had given himself for doing such a bang up job (.349 winning percentage, no playoff wins-- you all know the story).

Obviously, Mike's performance in team-building alone should prevent him from 1) Being the GM; 2) Paying himself extra dough to fill the position; 3) Smiling (that's right Mikey, you can't smile. Take that); and 4) Standing at press conference like this. It's a perfectly good podium and backdrop, don't sully it with your half-drunk/half-asleep/completely confused/overbearingly idiotic look.

But wouldn't one hope, considering the failure of Mike's teams, that the man would at least make some moves in hopes of improving his club? Rarely do poor teams get any better without any personnel (or coach) turnover, and the Bengals have had a lot of teams needing to get better.

The Pro-Football-Reference blog researched an interesting list of teams with the most and least roster turnover. The most valuable players of a team, as judged by AV (Approximate value, just a simple benchmark of performance) counted more than than the low value players towards the turnover percentage.

Using data from 1993-2007, the findings: the Bengals had the second least turnover at 89.6%, less than a percentage point behind the Texans.

Now someone might be pondering, "Isn't it kind of a good thing when a team keeps its best players?" Yes and no. Yes, if there are valuable players on a team full of misfits, those guys should generally be kept. However, keep in mind that these players had this value relative to their teammates; on the awful teams we have seen in Mike's tenure as owner and GM, average players would have greater value than those with the same skill but on better teams, in this study.

Also, it isn't like the Bengals have had a core like the Indianapolis Colts, an organization that, at least in the 2000's, can afford to keep their basic group of players together. Cincinnati's teams have not nearly been good enough to warrant almost no change; this is for certain.

This is just another piece of data that confirms Mikey Boy's limited interest in building a winning team. Although moves were necessary, blind loyalty and a will to make money prevented ole' Pumpkin Head from making them. Like I said, those well-earned GM bonuses.

Comments

[Brian]

"Using data from 1993-2007, the findings: the Bengals had the second least turnover at 89.6%, less than a percentage point behind the Texans."

this is my surprised face.

[TheCarlPickensClause]

It actually is a surprising statistic seeing as how so many of their draft picks are busts. I would have figured that they would have had one of the highest player turnover rates in the NFL.

[WCH]

...and you need to take into consideration the 'Cancer' factor. Guys that are good players can be poisoned by being in and amongst a group of lesser players -- even lesser attitudes. Yep, the bad guys can bring down the good guys and believe me, it HAS happened many a time in Cincinnati! In most cases though, it seems that the cancers (i.e., poisoners) are the good players but terrible in skills otherwise. With the Bengals and their lack of turnover, a guy who gets in with MBB stays with the team and then brings down some of the incoming players. 'Turrible!'

[Wyatt]

WCH,

I think you've just described Jeremi Johnson to a "T". Come in, play at a high level for a year or two, receive a contract that's hardly commensurate with your ability level, then get fatter and fatter, eventually eating your way into unemployment. But then you get brought back for redemption and take up a roster spot that could be better spent on a hard-nosed rookie who actually hits people.

Incidentally, was anyone else pissed that they kept saying Jeremi was on the street because of a knee issue on EVERY episode of Hard Knocks? And also by the fact that we keep fullbacks for their receiving ability over their blocking ability, and tight ends for their blocking ability and not their receiving ability? Isn't that backwards?

[concretefish]

Well said, WCH. Chris Pressley should be on the team, and fatass should be on the street. How the hell do you come to camp and get BIGGER?!? Unreal.

[mike_brown_is_an_assclown]

Maybe Jeremi Johnson can play tight end. Nobody else can. They haven't had a good one since Holman.

[Jddubb]

Surprise. We've kept Marvin for how long? Brat for how long? We won't let players that don't want to be here leave, opting for them to be cancerous in the locker room. Family members as inept as their father/step father that are running the organization.

We make Al Davis look like a young, intuitive thinker.