ESPN News Reporting Larry Johnson to sign with Bengals

[WVRed]

And the best part, LJ gets to face his former team in week 16.

Remember when the Pats traded for Randy Moss? I see this having a similar impact.

[GIDP]

If hes coming in under the impression that hes not going to be given anything I already have gained some respect for him. He could have probably signed with a handful of other clubs that would easily guarantee him reps but instead he's coming here where everyone knows he isnt going to take over for Benson and that we have a pretty decent back up in Scott and a pretty good 3rd down guy in Leonard.

It tells me he wants to prove himself and work hard and be a part of a winning team and no matter what it takes he will do it, even if that requires him to be a 4th back and a special teamer at 1st.

Now lets just see if thats true or if he's just dumb and will piss this chance away.

[The Operator]

Ugh. Really? Already?

http://chiefsblog.kansascity.com/?q=node/1102

[Matt700wlw]

interesting. no issues, yet, in my book.

[WebScorpion]

Originally Posted by GIDP

If hes coming in under the impression that hes not going to be given anything I already have gained some respect for him. He could have probably signed with a handful of other clubs that would easily guarantee him reps but instead he's coming here where everyone knows he isnt going to take over for Benson and that we have a pretty decent back up in Scott and a pretty good 3rd down guy in Leonard.

It tells me he wants to prove himself and work hard and be a part of a winning team and no matter what it takes he will do it, even if that requires him to be a 4th back and a special teamer at 1st.

Now lets just see if thats true or if he's just dumb and will piss this chance away.

He picked the Bengals because it gives him 5 weeks to establish himself before Kansas City comes to town on the Sunday after Christmas. He's gonna be asking Santa for a start.

One thing this may do is give us a very dangerous weapon for a few Wildcat plays...with LJ and Ced in the backfield, who will the defense key on? Worth a thought...

[SunDeck]

I just hope Carson and Co. have a little Come to Jesus meeting with Larry and tell him they were playoff bound before he came along.

[Hoosier Red]

The more I think about it, the more I like this move. Mike Brown and Marvin have really earned a lot of trust with the way they've handled this year(from the last few games of last year.)

Old ways: Carson was healthy enough to play at 70-75% for the last week so he would play in order to get the ticket buying public excited.
New ways: Carson needed the extra time to guarantee 100% health, so Carson sat.

Old ways: Andre Smith signed a gigantic contract, he should be playing.
New ways: Dennis Roland(undrafted FA) is playing best so he starts, if Andre Smith moves ahead of Anthony Collins he'll be on the active roster.

Old ways: Chase Coffman was drafted in the 3rd round he should be playing.
New ways: He's third on the depth chart and doesn't play special teams, he sits on the inactives until one of those two things changes.

Old ways: Jerome Simpson was drafted in the 2nd round, time to bring him in and show what he can do.
New ways: Maurice Purify is ready to contribute right away so we'll make the necessary roster moves and make it work.

Old ways: We can't bring in Larry Johnson, Bernard Scott or Cedric Benson. These guys have rap sheets and attitude problems, our fans will never stand for it. Our locker room can't handle the distractions.

New ways: Just win baby. If you have talent and come in with the right attitude, we'll see what you can do.

[traderumor]

Originally Posted by Hoosier Red

The more I think about it, the more I like this move. Mike Brown and Marvin have really earned a lot of trust with the way they've handled this year(from the last few games of last year.)

Old ways: Carson was healthy enough to play at 70-75% for the last week so he would play in order to get the ticket buying public excited.
New ways: Carson needed the extra time to guarantee 100% health, so Carson sat.

Old ways: Andre Smith signed a gigantic contract, he should be playing.
New ways: Dennis Roland(undrafted FA) is playing best so he starts, if Andre Smith moves ahead of Anthony Collins he'll be on the active roster.

Old ways: Chase Coffman was drafted in the 3rd round he should be playing.
New ways: He's third on the depth chart and doesn't play special teams, he sits on the inactives until one of those two things changes.

Old ways: Jerome Simpson was drafted in the 2nd round, time to bring him in and show what he can do.
New ways: Maurice Purify is ready to contribute right away so we'll make the necessary roster moves and make it work.

Old ways: We can't bring in Larry Johnson, Bernard Scott or Cedric Benson. These guys have rap sheets and attitude problems, our fans will never stand for it. Our locker room can't handle the distractions.

New ways: Just win baby. If you have talent and come in with the right attitude, we'll see what you can do.

I am with you until the last one. They have been drafting and signing character issue guys all along, to the chagrin of many fans (not me, btw). They are currently on a good run with those types working out and staying out of trouble, but there is no change of philosophy here, just change in fortune. Maybe they have some kind of support system in place that has improved this, but its also likely that they just have been fortunate.

[Brutus]

Originally Posted by Hoosier Red

The more I think about it, the more I like this move. Mike Brown and Marvin have really earned a lot of trust with the way they've handled this year(from the last few games of last year.)

Old ways: Carson was healthy enough to play at 70-75% for the last week so he would play in order to get the ticket buying public excited.
New ways: Carson needed the extra time to guarantee 100% health, so Carson sat.

Old ways: Andre Smith signed a gigantic contract, he should be playing.
New ways: Dennis Roland(undrafted FA) is playing best so he starts, if Andre Smith moves ahead of Anthony Collins he'll be on the active roster.

Old ways: Chase Coffman was drafted in the 3rd round he should be playing.
New ways: He's third on the depth chart and doesn't play special teams, he sits on the inactives until one of those two things changes.

Old ways: Jerome Simpson was drafted in the 2nd round, time to bring him in and show what he can do.
New ways: Maurice Purify is ready to contribute right away so we'll make the necessary roster moves and make it work.

Old ways: We can't bring in Larry Johnson, Bernard Scott or Cedric Benson. These guys have rap sheets and attitude problems, our fans will never stand for it. Our locker room can't handle the distractions.

New ways: Just win baby. If you have talent and come in with the right attitude, we'll see what you can do.

You left out the most important one (and the one that is strangest to say):

Larry Johnson signed with the Bengals because they give him the best chance of winning immediately.

(Can't believe I just typed those words)

[Hoosier Red]

Originally Posted by traderumor

Maybe they have some kind of support system in place that has improved this, but its also likely that they just have been fortunate.

They do have a new and improved support system in place. It's called winning. Winning makes everyone better leaders. Quite honestly I never bought the character argument too much anyways, what they had was a bunch of immature and stupid guys. They got rid of the majority that was only stupid and let the other guys mature enough. Now there's enough mature veterans on the team that have the power to either make Larry Johnson step in line or get out of the way.

[GIDP]

Larry Johnson presser is at 3