Another good read on Burfict: http://espn.go.com/nfl/draft2012/sto...-espn-magazine
Another good read on Burfict: http://espn.go.com/nfl/draft2012/sto...-espn-magazine
How do we know he's not Mel Torme?
I wanted the Bengals to draft Burfict in the 5th or 6th round. He was the guy in the draft who was worthy of a flier being taken on him. The thing is, in a draft if you get 3 starters then you have done a good job. Too often 5th 6th and 7th rounders just don't hang around often enough. You end up with guys like Corey Lynch in the late rounds, guys who you take fliers on. Burfict has more talent than about 6 rounds of drafted guys. I don't worry about the personal issues considering none of them have to deal with breaking the law or getting arrested.
I'm convinced there's a "Weekend at Bernie's" thing going on with Mike Brown. Who is making these sane decisions?
Witty signature.
I must admit that I root for these kinds of guys but if I'm being completely honest, it's for selfish reasons. I want my team to develop this diamond in the rough, not because I'm happy for Vontaze but because I want to think my team is better than your team at finding and developing talent.
Now, have any of these projects ever worked? I would say probably not although I would opine that the Bengals don't win the division in 2005 without Odell Thurmond and Chris Henry. Has PacMan worked out? Not really but I suppose it can be argued that he's a contributor.
As for Vontaze, I'm still not sure if he's going to work. I wish I'd read in that article how his frustration led him to studying extra video and going in for extra work. I think Mike Brown ought to fork out money for him to get a place at Lytle Tower and change his environment as well as keep him close to Paul Brown Stadium. In other words keep him on a short leash. Then work him into the lineup slowly and let him be a head hunter on special teams out of the box. Tell him that he will get more playing time when he earns it and remind him that his position (MLB) is wide open and asking for someone to take it. When he screws up coach him, see if he learns from his mistakes and explain to him that such mistakes are the reason he's not starting. Let's see how he responds to all of that.
I hope he does respond because quite frankly we need head hunters in order to compete in the AFC North. Pittsburgh and Baltimore will hit you in the mouth and when they do, it's nice to have a guy like Burfict to hit back.
In recent years they've worked out more often then not. Mauluga despite his issues has been a starter. PacMan has contributed, but injuries have held him back more than poor actions. Bernard Scott is another guy who had dropped due to the dreaded character issues, and he's turned out to be a solid citizen.
Someone mentioned Frostee Rucker and Tank Johnson on the radio today, again they were able to contribute and they didn't do anything stupid once they got here. On the whole I'll consider that a win.
Wear gaudy colors, or avoid display. Lay a million eggs or give birth to one. The fittest shall survive, yet the unfit may live. Be like your ancestors or be different. We must repeat!
Heck, even Larry Johnson and T.O., the two most notorious clubhouse cancers in the NFL, mostly kept their mouths shut here and played decent football. Marvin has a way of keeping such a crazy group on their best behavior that he doesn't get enough credit for. When I heard that Marvin talked in person with Vontaze, I got a hunch that he knew what he was doing, and that we'll probably see this kid take the field at some point this season. Yet whenever players with issues like that have left Cincinnati, they've tended to fall off a cliff quickly (Ochocinco, Owens, Johnson). I'd say that Marvin is perhaps the best judge of character of anybody in the NFL today.
That's a good question Sea Ray. Being a knucklehead off the field doesn't actually cost the team anything other than PR points. On the other hand, being a knucklehead on the field is easier to coach the guy out of you would think.
I agree with the post you made further down the line. The Bengals are now going to be good enough to cut a lot of good players who will likely be picked up by other teams. So now if Burflict performs well enough early on, the team will be as vested in him as they are in a draft pick, because they'll have likely given up a previous draft pick to keep him.
How do we know he's not Mel Torme?
Yes, but Ahmad Brooks was not highly drafted. He was taken in the supplemental draft as a result of character issues. The Bengals took the chance and the Niners reaped the benefit. I realize this is a common tale in the NFL, but I'd like to see the Bengals reap the benefit of the risk they're taking in a guy like Burfict.
How do we know he's not Mel Torme?
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