WhoDeyRevolution

Bengals Ranked Worst Professional Sports Franchise

Now this wakes us up from our Summer slumber - ESPN the Magazine has ranked the Bengals as the worst sports franchise out of all 122 teams in MLB, NHL, NBA and NFL.  The Bengals ranked 7 spots behind the Atlanta Thrashers, a franchise that no longer exists.

Now are these rankings totally subjective and basically immeasurable?  Of course.  They are in no way scientific or statistically significant.  And some of the rankings make you scratch your head.  For example, from 2010 to 2011, the Bengals ranking in "Players" (effort on the court/field/ice and likeability off of it) dropped from 82nd to 122nd, and "Coaches" (Strength of on-field leadership) went from 60th to 114th.  That's a pretty serious drop for a team that hasn't made that many changes, except for the firing of Brat and signing TO.  "Affordability" (Price of tickets, parking and concession) dropped from 80th to 114th even though ticket prices didn't change.

So yeah, a little confusing.  But some categories which make perfect sense include "Fan Relations" (openness and consideration of players, coaches and management toward fans), and "Title Track" (championships won, or expected to be won, during the lifetime of current fans).  The Bengals ranked dead last in each of these categories.  Not surprising for a team that has a long history of treating its fans like dirt and no track record of winning championships. 

But what is the most suprising development from this whole ranking is that it actually motivated the Bengals to respond, in Baghdad Hob's "Who Dey Perspective" column on bengals.com. Most of the column is expected, but then they write something I have never seen in print or said by anyone affiliated with the Bengals - a firm commitment to win the Super Bowl:

Every person who works at Paul Brown Stadium wants the same thing – to win a Super Bowl for the fans and Cincinnati. Until we win that final Sunday of the season, we know we have fallen short of our goals and leave our fans unsatisfied and wanting more. We want more as well. Make no mistake … the goal every season is to win the Super Bowl.

This has been a WDR Manifesto since the beginning: "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.”  Sure, this was Bengals.com and not Mike Brown or Marvin, but heck, it's a start.

So, in summary, these rankings are pretty much meaningless, but also not suprising for lifelong Bengals fans, and maybe it has sparked the team to actually make more of a committment to actually winning and being more fan friendly.

 

Denver Broncos - Committed to Win the Super Bowl

PFT brings our attention to a letter sent by Pat Bowlen, the owner of the Denver Broncos, to the team's season ticket holders in response to the Jay Cutler debacle, which some would argue rivaled last year's Chad Johnson debacle.  Leaving aside what you think about the Jay Cutler situation, let's consider two points:

(1) The Broncos had a young, promising quarterback that showed an ability to succeed early in his career (which as we know, is hard to come by).  Cutler was about 1/20th as loud as Chad Johnson was last year in asking for a trade.  Nonetheless, the situation became a distraction for the Broncos as the Quarterback was non-responsive to his team and his agent insisted that Cutler be traded.  Rather than bringing that distraction and media frenzy into the 2009 season, they dealt him (for Kyle Orton, 2 first round draft picks and a third round pick).  Only time will tell if this deal is a good one but given the spiraling out of control of the situation, it's tough to argue with the Broncos pulling the trigger.  Perhaps Denver coach Josh McDaniels' decision to go after Matt Cassell and try to trade Cutler was a mistake in the first place but that's besides the point.  The team had a player who didn't want to be a part of the team and a potential distraction (and one not nearly as big as the Chad circus last year) and they dealt with it.  Meanwhile, despite Chad's antics last year, Chad remains on the Bengals this year and after a horrid 2008 season, is once AGAIN skipping voluntary workouts.  And this despite the fact that Carson, Chad and TJ couldn't get on the same page during voluntary workouts last season after the latter two skipped last year's voluntary workouts. 

(2) More importantly, Denver's owner wrote the season ticketholders a letter to address the Cutler media frenzy and assure Bronco fans that Denver is committed to being a championship team.  Bowlen writes to his fans:

Understand this:   it remains about team.  Our franchise has gone to the Super Bowl six times, with three different coaches and with many different players.  It has never been about one player, and it never will be.   Coach McDaniels shares this vision, and everyone in the organization — players, coaches and staff — must understand and accept this unconditionally.   If anyone does not, that person will not be a part of this franchise.

Cincinnati Turning Against Mike Brown

NKU conducted a survey measuring interest and support of the Reds and Bengals, and the results are clear.  Cincinnati is turning away from Mike Brown's Bengals and towards the Reds.  This can not be only due to on field performance, because the Reds have been just as bad as the Bengals (or even worse).  While comparing NFL and MLB teams performance is complicated, it is clear that the Reds have not performed better than the Bengals.  The Reds have not been over .500 since 2000, while the Bengals were above .500 in 2005.  The Reds have not made the playoffs since 1995, the Bengals made the playoffs in 2005.  But why then did self identified Reds fans rise to 35% from 33%, while the Bengals dropped to 25% from 38%?  Management.  The Reds have not won.  But they have convinced fans that they are at least making an effort.   The Reds went out and hired a GM with a track record of success.  Mike Brown is stuck with himself.  More evidence why WDR will win and Mike Brown MUST change after the jump.

Taking Responsibility

 The San Diego Chargers went 8-8 last year.  While this might be deemed a smashing success down in the front office at One Paul Brown Stadium, in San Diego they were extremely disappointed.  You see, the San Diego Chargers' goal is to "win" or even "win" the "Super Bowl."  Here is what Chargers GM A.J. Smith said recently about his own recent performance:

“I’m not very pleased with my own contributions the last two years personally,” Smith said. “I critique myself every year just like I do with everybody else. I need to do a better job. I’m not happy with some of the player personnel decisions that have been made in looking back. I need to do a better job in the decision-making process.”

How much different does that sound than anything you might hear out of Marvin "Chuckles" Lewis or MikeyBoyBrown?

Here is what Marvin had to say recently about these "new" Bengals:

"A lot has been said that they don't do this and they don't do that. Well, that's not really true. We do do, and we do it at a very, very high level," Lewis said. "We need to kind of get rid of that bad perception and (the media) will help that by not giving into the old ways before '03. Whatever they were, which I'm not privy to. It's about winning games and winning games now.

RIght.  So going 4-11-1 and making superficial moves in free agency (backup QB, franchising a kicker, replacing one WR with another) is supposed to make us believe that "it is all about winning games?"  How about taking on some responsibility? 

This is not just about Marvin.  We have said many times at WDR that Marvin is probably doing the best he has with limited resources.  But wouldn't it be refreshing to hear someone on the Bengals take responsibility for the team? 

The Chargers have gone 54-24 in the last 5 seasons, with 4 playoff births and 3 playoff wins.  To that team, that is not acceptable.  The Bengals have gone 38-41 over the same stretch.  To the Bengals, this means that it is "about winning games now."  Evidence speaks to the contrary.

(h/t to Allan Chandler, again)

10 Reasons I Hate the Super Bowl

The Super Bowl is the biggest sporting event in America.  I would rank it below your average mid week ACC or Big East College Basketball game. 

Blasphemy you say?  The Super Bowl is no longer a "sporting event", it is now just an "event". 

One caveat - Mike Brown do not take this article as a reason to try and NOT make the Super Bowl.  As much as I hate the game, that can all be washed away if the Bengals play in said game.  Yes, Mike it is legal for the Bengals to play in the Super Bowl. 

Top 10 list, Letterman Style after the jump.

NHL Team Adopts Revolution; Mike Brown's Head Still Stuck in Sand

The Chicago Blackhawks have been the Bengals of the NFL for decades - constantly losing, stadium half-empty, and a longtime owner who just didn't care about winning - valuing profits over performance.  Much like the previous post on the Rams, sound familiar? 

Then the tightfisted owner, Bill Wirtz, died last year and his son, Rocky Wirtz, inherited the team.  And you know where this story is going - among his first tasks was hiring a Team President to run all NHL operations for the team who has turned around the team in a year, adding 10,000 season ticket holders, hiring longtime coach Scotty Bowman and landing a few key free agents.  And as this ESPN the Magazine article shows, the steps implemented by new Team President John McDonough read like the WDR Manifesto to the left. 

WDR Manifesto #1 and #6, in McDonough's words: "...there has to be the idea that there's never enough winning you can do. There's never enough you can do for your fans. There's never enough times you can get to the playoffs or win a Stanley Cup. There's never enough you can do to market your team. To do that, we had to embrace change."

Revolution Demands Adopted by NFL Owner; Mike and Marvin Continue To Make Bengals Fans Take Crazy Pills

Comrade Meier, fan of the blog, sends along an article from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch about new Rams owner Chip Rosenbloom.  You see, Chip became the owner in January upon the death of his mother.  Sound familiar?  The Rams have started the season 0-2 after getting embarrassed in their first two games.  Yep, that sounds like something I can relate to.  But, then in an interview yesterday, Rosenbloom made it perfectly clear that losing was not acceptable and wholesale changes would be made if needed:

"Obviously, the game of football is about winning," Rosenbloom said. "The level of play is not acceptable to me or anybody in the organization."

GOOD GOD.  Can you EVER imagine Mike Brown saying anything resembling this?  Instead, Mikey hides from the media in his bunker underground at PBS that was paid for with YOUR tax money and makes Marvin take the heat from the media. 

But Rams coach Scott Linehan gets it too - after being told about Rosenbloom's comments, Linehan said:

"It's the way it works. I've told you that from the beginning. I've accepted that — only as part of the job, but not as part of where we're going. In my mind we're going to beat Seattle. I'm not making any guarantees — you can call it what it is — but in my mind we're going to beat Seattle and we're going to right this ship. Because we don't have a choice. I don't have a choice, and neither does anybody else around here."

Actually Scott, it doesn't work that way in Cincinnati. 

WDR Now Accepting Resignations...or Acts of Seppuku

In a dream world, of course, Mike Brown would hold a press conference, apologize for 18 years of losing,  step down as owner...and hand the team over to the editors of WhoDeyRevolution.  We couldn't possibly be worse than the current ownership.  However, in the wake of a miserable opening loss to the lowly Baltimore Ravens, I think the next person on the chopping block should be Offensive Coordinator Bob Bratkowski.  Every year, the analysts drum up the same tired line about the Bengals' "high-powered" offense.  But the statistics suggest otherwise. 

Naked Cutout of Mike Brown Needs to Happen

We joked about it earlier this summer that the comparisons to the 2008 Bengals and the cinematic masterpieces of Major League and Major League II was pretty dead on.  For example, Big Willie is clearly Eddie Harris - grizzled vet and man of God who is respected in the locker room.  We joked that Marvin was clearly Coach Lou Brown and Mike Brown was penny-pinching owner Rachel Phelps, albeit with a less desirable figure.  Read whole post to get more comparisons.

However, this is not a joke anymore.   The only way that Marvin Lewis regains control of his locker room is to totally distance himself from Mike Brown.  We talked yesterday about how Marvin seems to be doing just this in his public comments about re-signing Henry and the rumors about shopping Rudi, showing that these decisions are all Mikey's.  We also challenged Marvin to publicly distance himself from Mikey. 

Then I read this week's  Sports Illustrated article about Marvin putting his foot down with Mike Brown, getting him to cut Henry and Odell and restraining Chad Johnson.   This article came out before Chris Henry was re-signed.  So much for re-establishing control of the locker room.  The only way that Marvin can reestablish control of his players is by letting his players know that they play for him, and not for Mike Brown.

If the players are playing for the owner, they are only concerned with pleasing Mikey - who is only enthused by mediocrity and loyalty.  If the Bengals are going to have any chance of winning some football games this season, they need to play for their coach.

WDR Note to Self: Start Gambling More

For those who missed the now prescient article we posted the other day, "There Will Be Blood," we hope the stark image to the left will knock the optimism out of you: it is going to be a LONG, LONG season. In fact, we have been so money in our predictions of how things would go this offseason (see this article on the proposed tinkering with the O-line, a full 5 months before it happened; see this article about how the Henry debacle would unfold before it happened) that we should open up our own sports betting operation. Any of the yahoos out there who still think we're going to be good--who think that bringing back Chris Henry does anything other than confirm our status of as the laughing stock of the NFL--feast your eyes on the crap sandwich that was the Bengals-Saints game.