IN MY OPINION, character matters in the NFL, especially in regards to teams adopting a team-first philosophy over the individual, me-first antics of a player such as Chad Johnson.
i.e. The Patriots.
Respectfully that just is not true. I don't care if one is a Bengal fan or not - opinions, for the most part, are formed by observation. Watching/listening to the games, as well as the actions of the players. Yes, there is some media influence, but not 100%.
And just like a majority of Red fans are able to reason for themselves that the media is wrong when they talk about Dunn striking out too much, they also know that the Bengal's problems can't be solely laid at Chad's feet. I have never said they were.
In the case of Chad, he's an emotional player who craves the spotlight/attention. They want to be seen and incite reactions. Therefore, they need the media, whether it's those cameramen, announcers, ESPN, or print media. What good is wearing props and doing endzone acts if no one is going to witness them?
Why? Why would the media, especially the local Cincy media, need to go after Chad? What does it benefit? I'm not saying that the media has always been fair/objective with Chad, but again, when he goes out of his way to draw attention to himself, and no one can deny that he loves the flamboyant, then he has to learn to take the good with the bad. It can't always go his way. And he has done things where he does deserve criticism IMHO.and it seems pretty obvious to me that the media has a bias with Chad Johnson.
Not the TD celebrations so much; but situations as seen below....
You obviously didn't watch the same game that many others watched. But the only one who got "reigned in" was a hot Carson who, when sprinting down the field to obviously confront Chad, was prevented from doing so because he was grabbed by one of his own players to hold him back.Yeah Carson and Chad screamed at each other on the field. It was because Chad ran a wrong route, which he admitted later. Carson was reigning him in right there, but instead of Carson getting credit for leadership, it's just one more example of Chad being a distraction and what is wrong with this team?
Now why would one of your own players grab you, with the objective to restrain you, if he didn't think that it was about to possibly turn into an ugly situation between your QB and highly emotional WR?
As I stated earlier - I felt sorry for Carson. And yes, I do think it shows Chad's selfish side. Why? Your QB throws an INT, and the last thing any QB needs at that moment is for his WR to continually be confronting him over on the sidelines faulting the QB. Even if the QB was at fault, and it happens every Sunday, you don't compound his "misery" after an INT by doing what he did on the sidelines. You're right, Chad later on came back and apologized and said he ran the wrong route.
And that gets back to a point some have made earlier - maybe try to think before you act, and quit wearing your emotions on your sleeve when it's not going to benefit anyone, and possibly cause trouble. And to say that that particular situation wasn't a distraction is not dealing in reality IMHO.
Yes the defense is terrible. And every Sunday on the Bengal game threads, and the week following, this defense is consistently talked about.Offense: 5th in the NFL
Defense: 28th in the NFL
But that's not as fun to talk about. Just like it's not as much fun to talk about Reds relief pitching as it is to talk about Adam Dunn striking out or being "lazy".
The Bengals offense can play with just about anyone, it's the defense that is the problem.
Again - no one who disagrees with CJ's antics, has stated that they were the sole cause of the Bengal's woes this season. This keeps being brought up and no one is saying that on here to the best of my knowledge. Fingers can be pointed in many areas on this team, and people have said that.
Roy puts it most aptly.....
Finally - It was Chad Johnson who felt he needed to make an announcement that he wouldn't celebrate touchdowns until the team reached .500.
So besides his possible character flaws, the guy doesn't know math.
Last edited by GAC; 12-01-2007 at 09:01 AM.
"In my day you had musicians who experimented with drugs. Now it's druggies experimenting with music" - Alfred G Clark (circa 1972)
The local media is horrible in this city. And the media does have a bias in this city because a guy like Chad and Marvin are more likely to go to a national guy than a local guy. I have seen multiple interviews with Chad one ESPN but the local guys get nothing.Why? Why would the media, especially the local Cincy media, need to go after Chad? What does it benefit? I'm not saying that the media has always been fair/objective with Chad, but again, when he goes out of his way to draw attention to himself, and no one can deny that he loves the flamboyant, then he has to learn to take the good with the bad. It can't always go his way. And he has done things where he does deserve criticism IMHO.
As for respect, I am sure he is one of the most respected players on the bengals. Football is not a 3 hour sport. What you do behind the scenes, what you do away from the cameras is where you gain respect.
We'll go down in history as the first society that wouldn't save itself because it wasn't cost effective ~ Kurt Vonnegut
Back in highschool if a player would have been flagged for doing the kind of stupid things Chad does we would have all whized in the soap dishes and splashed him in the face when he was showering.
Yeah, that's exactly what he said.Chad Johnson = a racist old lady that kept Hitler memorabilia in her house? That's what celebrating touchdowns equates to in your mind?
All fans of NFL football defend their clowns and slam the other teams clowns, day in and day out.
They're all clowns from where I sit, I see more moronic antics in 10 minutes of football (from both sides of the ball) then I do in a whole season of baseball. They're all too proud of doing what they are paid for and they all think they that they have a little Catskill Entertainer in them.
I find it a turn off, they're all a bunch of fools in my book.
Weak?
I've seen Charlie Joiner, Charlie Sanders, Isaac Curtis, John Stallworth, Lance Alworth, Bob Hayes, Fred Biletnikoff, Harold Jackson, Lynn Swan, etc... I think I have a broad view of the increase in celebrations within the league.
Shoot, it's happened in Basketball and Baseball too, not hockey though, you'd get knocked on your rear if you played the crowd like it was all about your magic.
I'm not sure how this love/hate Chad thread is still going. Its one of those topics that has been beat to death. The way I look at it is this, you can hate Chad and what he does all you want, but his results are not debatable. I think I saw that somebody wrote he was having a bad season. I just had to look at that and shake my head. He may not be in the endzone as much as some like, but his yards are still there. He is #4 in recieving yards, #5 in yards per game, and tied with a lump of recievers for 14th with 6 TD's. If I was a betting man, I'd put money on him finishing higher in TD's by the end of the year. If thats what happens in a down year for Chad, then you have to admidt that he is a special player. It isn't that he can't back up the talking, its that people don't like the talking or the show boating. I'm willing to bet that if he was just another run of the mill reciever, you wouldn't hear the talk or see the celebrations. He is a special player. If you don't like him, do like I do to Shakira, Fergie, and Beyonce videos, mute the TV. Now, I know its not that easy, but if he gets under your skin, just ignore the guy. I don't like the constant showboating. I hate when people have to draw attention to themselves. But thats Chad, and if you want his talent, you have to take his personality.
This thread has been interesting so far, but I don't know how you can argue over wether you should love him or hate him. Thats a personal decision, and once it is made it is very hard to change it. He puts up results, the Bengals failure has nothing to do with Chad, and yes he does showboat. None of that is questionable IMO. Should the Bengals trade him? Maybe that is debatable, but who will pick up the slack? They have no impact recievers in waiting IMHO. How do you replace Chad's numbers? Trading him for the sake of trading him makes no sense what so ever.
Again, if I were a betting man, I'd put a lot of money on Chad not being traded and I'd already be trying to decide what to do with my winnings. It just doesn't make any sense other than in the sports writers heads who want to create a buzz. When was the last time an player of Chad's caliber was traded just because he was thought to be selfish? He is locked up at under market value at that. I have yet to see one good argument for why he should be traded. Personality isn't a good enough reason IMHO.
The players being clowns isn't as weak as this generalization. I don't like slamming anybody in the NFL. TO isn't even worth slamming in my book, and he is on the top of almost everyone's list. I just don't think that you can slam a player for being a clown in a league that enables players to act like clowns. The stage these players play on every sunday is huge. They are very talented, but some feel it necessary to "entertain." Thats fine, and some people even like it. It doesn't take away from the parts of the game that I like IMO. I like the intensity. I like the strategy. I don't like the showboating, but its part of the game. No game is perfect, but that shouldn't keep me from enjoying it.
It's not a generalization, I think everyone sees their team in a different light then they see their opponents, thus they give more slack to their colors and more crap to the others. It's the nature of the beast, we all do it to some extent. Whether defending the antics of the celebration or the skill set of the guys doing the celebration.
The reason hockey players don't celebrate is because there are no fans to celebrate and show off to!
Just messin WOY
Also, why does anyone care if Chad Johnson is in fact the root of all evil? Just curious. Be happy that your team can beat ours with Ocho Cinco ruining everything for us.
Nice Marge reference too.
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