First and foremost we at WhoDeyFans are Bengal fans.  We buy tickets and merchandise and support the Bengals.  However, articles like this one from Michael Silver on yahoo (thanks WhoDeyRevolution for the link) make us want to vomit.  We root for the best NFL team but are cursed with the worst owner.  Below are two excerpts from the article pertaining to Mike Brown.

Owner rankings, Part 1: Brown makes 'em laugh - NFL - Yahoo! Sports

Last spring Brown was at it again, this time as one of the only voices against lengthening the regular season. Brown’s concern about a potential move to an 18-game regular season (while cutting back to two preseason games) wasn’t based on player safety; rather, it had to do with weather considerations. “If you were giving me my choice,” Brown told a stunned audience of 50 owners and club executives, according to two witnesses, “I’d rather sell an extra preseason game in August than another regular season game in January. It’s bad for us to sell tickets in the cold. My fans would rather have the game when it’s warm.”

To Brown’s credit, he announced at last week’s owners’ meetings in Atlanta that he had changed his mind – he’d rather have a ninth regular season contest at Paul Brown Stadium than a second preseason home game. There was just one caveat: no home games in January. When NFL schedule czar Howard Katz assured Brown, “You can be away the last month of the season,” the owner enthusiastically agreed.

Said one NFC owner: “There are 31 teams who’d rather play at home down the stretch … and then there’s Mike Brown.”

 -or-

 

31. Cincinnati Bengals – Mike Brown: In 2009 the Bengals were one of the NFL’s pleasant surprises, winning the AFC North for the second time in five years under coach Marvin Lewis – the franchise’s only playoff appearances since 1990. Lewis, whose contract expires after the 2010 season, was honored as the AP’s coach of the year, and Brown responded by lowballing him in negotiations, setting up what is likely to be a lame-duck season. The owner also did his best to ensure that tackle Andre Smith(notes), the sixth-overall pick in the ’09 draft, would be a non-factor as a rookie: The team offered the rookie, who was known to have conditioning issues, a below-market deal that kept him out of training camp and away from the team until late August, when he finally caved. Smith then missed most of last season after fracturing his left foot just days after signing. Last summer we saw on HBO’s “Hard Knocks” that Brown runs the team’s personnel meetings, a truly scary thought for Cincy fans. Brown, shrewd and ever-conscious of the bottom line with perhaps the sweetest stadium deal of any owner in sports, reportedly offered $40 million in lease concessions to cash-strapped Hamilton County in exchange for the option of getting out of his lease (which runs through 2025) almost 10 years early, potentially increasing franchise value. On a league level, Brown is viewed as a contrarian with an aversion to progress. “He doesn’t have a conscience,” says the aforementioned NFC owner. “He’s all about revenue-sharing – he comes right out and says, ‘I just want some of your money.’ He’s worn out his welcome with 99 percent of that room. He came out and said that new stadiums are the worst thing to happen to the NFL because they raised the bar for other clubs. Unbelievable.”

Four years and 28 million dollars was the price the Bengals were willing to pay for a wide receiver and Antonio Bryant bit.  He's young, he's fast, he's good and he has the potential to be a great compliment for Chad Ochocinco.  He was widely regarded as the best wide receiver on free agency and there is no doubt in my mind that he is a major step up from Coles.

I am glad to see that the Bengals decided not to go with a one year deal for an older vet (even though if I said there was no part of me that wanted TO to be a Bengal this year I'd be lying) and opt for a  younger guy and a multi-year deal.  That shows me that Mike Brown and the front office are looking towards the future and not just putting a band aid on a bullet wound.  I think that Bryant has #1 receiver tallent and he should open up things for Ochocinco and Carson and make their jobs much easier next season.  I can see Ochocinco as the #1, Bryant as the #2, Caldwell as the #3 and Matt Jones as occassional help when needed (if he makes the team/stays out of trouble).  Already the Bengals passing game looks better.

For me, this changes the draft outlook for the Bengals.  Before the Bryant signing, I was convinced the Bengals would find a Coles replacement in the draft but now that is obviously not the case.  I think it is very possible for the Bengals to draft a defensive lineman or safety in the first round and maybe a tight end in the second or vise versa.  Either way, this is two years in a row that Mike Brown has impressed me with the moves that the Bengals have made in the offseason.  My unadulterated rage is fading away and being replaced by feelings of euforia and hope.  Is Mike just easing me into a false sense of security that he will bring crashing down on me when he drafts Ryan Leafs little brother (I think his name is Isuckmorethanryan Leaf) in the first round?..... I don't think so.  For the first time that I can remember, I am thinking that Mike Brown is starting to get it.

         Actually no, Jules..... not anymore he doensn't.... not anymore

In other news, the Bengals re-sign Daniel Coats..... WHAT THE F*CK MIKE!?!

Most off-season's at this time there is not much to talk about.  However, there is some interesting news right now concerning the Cincinnati Bengals and Hamilton County Ohio. The Bengals have opened the door for the county to come back to the negotiating table to renegotiate a contract that was made between the county and the Bengals when Paul Brown Stadium was built. I was not sure about how I was going to comment on this situation until I read the latest post on the Bengals "fan" site WhoDeyRevolution.

I usually enjoy the articles this particular author writes, he obviously has great football knowledge and can usually drive a point about the Bengals that I may not have thought of.  However, in his latest post it seems he is ripping apart a letter from Troy Blackburn of the Bengals front office to the County Administrator of Hamilton County. The very short version of the letter says that the Bengals are willing to make some concessions in order for the county to make some money but there will be some concessions the county must make in order to receive these changes to the current contract.  The writer for WDR focuses on the introduction and attempts to discredit Troy Blackburn as being a totally evil human that will attempt to bully and manipulate the negotiations. It comes off as rather petty and lame.

Below I will detail the meat of the letter and show the concessions the Bengals are making and what is expected of Hamilton County: (quotes from the letter will be in BOLD)

Short-term Assistance

1. The Bengals would agree to annual rent for the 2010 through 2014 seasons of $1,000,000 (total $5 million) paid as currently set forth in the lease. If there is a labor stoppage during 2011 (or another season), then the unpaid rent obligations would be deferred until the next season when football was fully reinstated.

This is unchanged from the current deal I believe.

2. By the end of the 2011 season, the Bengals would agree to perform the following capital repairs on behalf of the County: (a) replace the existing point-of-sale system, (b) replace field level carpeting, (c) install an electronic ticketing system, and (d) contribute towards the stadium field replacement.  These contributions would be capped at $2 million, which represents real savings for the stadium fund. The items would be accepted (when completed) by the County as additional rent above and beyond any other payments.

The current deal calls for the county to make these repairs as long as they are present in a percentage of the other 31 NFL stadiums. Here the Bengals are making a real monetary concession to the County.

Long-Term  Assistance

3. Starting in 2017, the Bengals would relieve the County of the obligation to make "out year payments." This would generate savings to the stadium fund approximately $30 million. These years would instead become team option years on the terms set forth in section 5.5 of the lease; the current options for 2026-2035 would be unaffected with the Bengals receiving additional options through 2045. Throughout the term, we would appreciate clarification that, if our Club is selected to play an international game, there are no issues under the lease.

4. Commencing January 1, 2010, stadium management would proceed as set forth in Section 11.1 of the Lease, and the County would reduce its staff accordingly (we estimate that this staffing reduction would save roughly $2 million over the next 15 years). In addition, the Bengals would continue funding the staffing costs we cover today; which would save the stadium fund $3 million over the next 15 years.

I cannot claim to know the staffing needs and numbers at Paul Brown Stadium.  However, you can take a look at other government run institutions and know that staffing numbers set by the government are rarely accurate. While the Bengals are not making concessions here, they are aiding the county by telling them they are wasting money on over staffing.

5. In consideration for the above financial commitments to Hamilton County, effective January 1, 2010 the County would grant the following to the Bengals (a) relinquish its suite to the team, (b) give the team the County's portion of "other event revenue”, and (c) surrender its small remainder interest in naming rights. On this last point, as you recognized when we met, even if naming rights were sold today, the County would not likely receive any revenues for a decade (if ever), and it is simply not practical to think that naming rights could be sold anytime soon in this economy.

6. The County would provide non-economic cooperation to the team – including procuring unused City billboard credits - to help the team build an indoor practice facility and to expand advertising opportunities at Paul Brown Stadium.

If I can no longer pay my bill to the Bengals they are going to take my seats too.  It is no one else's fault and no matter how many people whine, it is the right thing to do. Here the Bengals are outlining what it is going to cost the county, their suite, their other event revenue and naming rights. The Bengals are also telling the county that they want to use the revenue from billboards the county has not used. Again, this is something the county would "give up" for this new deal.

9. As you suggested last week, we would also need assurance that the County is committed to a constructive long-term relationship with our organization. Naturally, public comments are an important part of that, and we would need assurances that the County will pursue a more positive route. While we would ask you to consider what form that can take, one element would be an agreement that future disputes would avoid public bickering and would instead be subject to binding private arbitration between the parties.

I am sure this last point is going to make some waves.  This is the institution of the "Carl Pickens Clause" into the deal. I am not against this. The fact that the County did smear the Bengals in the court of public opinion when the Bengals were bound to the same deal that the County negotiated was not right. The Bengals have lost a lot of football games in recent history and the county jumped on the fact that fans were upset and used that to sway the public into blaming Mike Brown. It wasn't hard to do when the fans were disgruntled anyway.  Some so called fans blame Mike Brown for them losing their job, keys girlfriend and the snow that may come this weekend. These people are morons.

Lastly Troy states:

The dollars are significant and total roughly $40 million. We have not included a new ticket tax as you requested because we do not think - in these economic times - it is appropriate to increase ticket prices for Bengals fans.

Take it for what it is worth.  However, the bottom line is the Bengals are making concessions when they are not forced too. They are considering the fans in this last point and this flies in the face of the "Down with Brown" crowd.  You will get no argument from me about the ownership performance of the last 19 years.  However, I think this post is just another item in the growing list of the things that the front office for the Cincinnati Bengals has done in the last year + that is proving to me the organization is focused on winning.

It's obvious where we stand when it comes down to getting people in the stands, but if you haven't heard the game is avoiding the black out out because of a sponsored purchase. One thing in that article pretty much blew my mind though.

"Fox19, Fifth Third Bank and Kroger led the way in helping ensure the blackout would be lifted, and the Bengals purchased tickets for distribution to local military families."

Like him or not, that's pretty awesome.  Maybe that Mike Brown isn't such a bad guy after all...  

...or maybe I shouldn't get carried away just yet.

I just don't get it.  Bengals fans cry when the Bengals don't make a move and they cry when they do. After reading too many articles about whether or not it was a good idea to sign Larry Johnson, I came across this one by David Fleming of ESPN. These are exactly my thoughts and I feel like he stole my words (except he wrote them much better than I ever could and he got paid to do it.)

The situation is very simple. The Bengals have a great running back. That running back is dinged up with the kind of injury that can linger. Who knows what kind of news the Bengals training staff is releasing. I don't trust those reports at all, you will all remember Carson Palmer was day to day for about 12 games last season.

So the Bengals see a weakness and go out and sign the best possible running back on the market, you know a two time pro-bowler who has set records in Kansas City.  Now people are worried about Cedrics feelings. Look, Ced has been a great running back so far this season, but the goal in the NFL is not to have all your players feeling really good about themselves. It is to win football games. So if Ced is a little nervous about some competition coming in than so be it.  It is a pretty simple philosophy in organized sports.  If you are better than the guy ahead of you then you will play.

What I personally think is going to happen is Cedric is going to sit the next two games and be inactive.  A hip injury on a running back is nothing to mess with. Larry Johnson and Bernard Scott get to split carries with Larry taking the majority.  I think Scott can be a great back but still needs some polish. Tell me you don't want him healthy and returning kicks in January spotting the Bengals the kind of field position they were getting against the Steelers.  When Cedric is healthy enough to play, give him his job. Now, if Larry runs the ball lights out, and Cedric struggles on his return, let the hot hand run the ball. The goal is to win.

A good GM would make these same kinds of decisions that Mike Brown is making this year.  I am just saying.

Larry Johnson signed a 1 year contract with the Bengals this morning.  Benson is still nursing a hip injury from the Pittsburgh win and is limited on practice this week.  Benson may play this weekend at Oakland but if he can't go, the Bengals will have a few options at runnning back.  Rookie Bernard Scott (who is up for the rookie of the week award for his kick return last week), third down back Brian Leonard, and now 2 time pro-bowler Larry Johnson. 

There are going to be so many people that complain about this pick up but there is nothing to complain about.  This move says one thing to me.... "We want to do whatever it takes to win.."  And that's what they are doing.  Having Larry Johnson on the team isn't going to hurt the Bengals at all.  It should do nothing but help.  There are going to be people that worry that Johnson is going to ruin the "good vibes" in the locker room with his bad attitude.  A players attitude can pull a complete 180 when you leave a bad team like the Chiefs and go to a team like the Bengals who have a chance to go to the playoffs.  Also, if he does cause problems then you cut him and you really don't lose anything.  The way I see it, this is a low risk/huge reward scenario for the Bengals.  It also makes the December 27th game against the Chiefs a little more interesting.  Mike Brown may still be in my dog house but after the offseason we've had and now the Johnson signing I'm putting some extra food in his dish.

According to ProFootballTalk.com it looks like the Bengals may be signing Larry Johnson to the roster today.

Many Bengal fans gut reaction will be that this is a terrible idea.  However, take a step back and think. Larry Johnson is a sturdy running back that has set records and been to pro bowls. Cedric Benson is this teams starting running back but why not add a guy that is a proven tough runner and can allow Benson to get healthy.  If Mike Brown pulls this off he would prove to many that he is making huge strides in trying to win this year.  Johnson may have been disgruntled in Kansas City this year but honestly, who wouldn't be on a team that bad. Winning seasons change everyone's attitude.

I live this idea.  WhoDey