What Does it Take?

NFL Football
Today, somewhere in Cincinnati, two men, Bengals owner Mike Brown and Head Coach Marvin Lewis stepped to microphones for a press conference. If you've followed the Bengals enough to have listened to one of these press conferences before then you know that you shouldn't feel positive that one is about to take place. Today's conference was no different.

A.J. Green was Cincinnati's first
round draft pick

Just when the common Bengals fan was feeling optimistic. Feeling like the drafting of A.J. Green out of Georgia and Andy Dalton from TCU signaled the beginning of a new era and a solid season ahead. Out comes the owner and head coach to make sure all of those positive feelings were squashed under a display of idiocy that Bengals fans should be used to by now. Have listened to the highlights of the conference, since I was unable to hear the entire thing, I'm left asking the same question I always end up asking, "What does it take to run a NFL franchise?" 


Seriously.

The drafting of Andy Dalton in the
second round was cause for excitement
among Bengals fans

Because if Mike Brown is the example we're going with of what it means to be an NFL owner, it doesn't take a lot. In fact, I'm convinced I could name 100 jobs off the top of my head that are harder, again, if we're saying Mike Brown is what it means to be an NFL owner. At least all 100 of those jobs require some sort of logic, an ability to know right procedures from wrong ones and, hopefully, call for some pride in a person's work. But judging from Mike Brown's example, none of those things, especially pride in the quality of your work are necessary to being an NFL owner. Let's start on the topic I've already been harming since the end of the lockout began approaching: Carson Palmer. 


Today Mike Brown repeatedly referred to Palmer in the past tense, said he was "retired" and that the Bengals "wished him well". That's it. He's gone. 

As of 7/26/11, Carson Palmer
is "retired"

I could go over this again and again and again and again and again and again and again. Mike Brown and the Bengals gain absolutely NOTHING by allowing Palmer to just walk away. Particularly when it's become clear that Palmer's intentions, as explained by ESPN's John Clayton, is to simply bide his time and then, "...he'll come back next year when they're going to be close to the cap after the season, plant his $11.5 million salary on their salary cap and at that point he'll be able to move on..." Brown says that Palmer is walking away from his commitments and he thinks that granting Palmer's wishes would start a chain-reaction of players coming and demanding to be out of Cincinnati. 


Lots of issues there, first, as Ryen Russillo and Lance McAlister pointed out today, it's wrong for Brown to talk about commitments and delivering on promises when he's failed to deliver time and again on his primary promise, to at least attempt to field a winning team. Moreover, Brown thinks he is maintaining the position of authority in this situation, dictating  Palmer's actions, but is apparently to blind by his own stubbornness to see he isn't. As John Clayton outlined above, Palmer is dictating the situation, no matter how much Brown thinks he is. And let's get right down to it, what is the worst thing that will happen if you let Palmer leave? Someone else (like Ochocinco) marches into your office and tells you he wants to leave? Ouch, so terrible. This entire situation is a problem of pride for Brown that is harming the Bengals, I've been in charge of organizations, you know what I've always said from the start? 


Give me people that want to be here. 


Those people I can work with. I'd rather have a roster full of non-superstars who want to work hard and actually be a part of a franchise than who don't. Shouldn't you start looking for that as an NFL franchise? Is Mike Brown afraid that no one wants to be in Cincinnati? Hmmm...interesting concept. Why could that be?


In case you read what I just wrote and thought, "oh, Joshua is right. There's no way Mike Brown can see miss the logic that this Palmer situation exposes. He'll realize he's a bad owner and the mandate to spend 99% of this year's cap will fix him!" 


You're wrong. And I can prove it. 

Bengals owner Mike Brown thought
being called the worst professional sports
franchise was something to laugh about

Because during the press conference, Brown was asked about the ESPN the Magazine article wherein the Bengals were ranked as the worst sports franchise and the Cincinnati Enquirer article, "122 ways to fix the Bengals". What was Brown's response to that? That there must be something wrong with the people at ESPN the Magazine because he could think of more than 122 things that are wrong with the Bengals. And he laughed about it.


AND HE LAUGHED ABOUT IT! 


I GET MAD WHEN I LOSE GAME ON MY XBOX WHICH ISN'T REAL AND THIS MAN IS LAUGHING ABOUT HIS REAL-LIFE MILLIONS OF DOLLAR FRANCHISE BEING RANKED WORST IN SPORTS WHEN THERE'S A BANKRUPT BASEBALL TEAM THAT'S BOUNCING CHECKS OUT THERE! - yes, I'm shouting.


Apparently, you don't even need to care about your NFL team to own one and at this point! I cannot figure out how somebody could care this little about a team's performance. I still hold out this vain hope that maybe Mike Brown will finally get it, especially now, as I said, he has to spend money. But I doubt it.


At the beginning of this whole thing I was really against Carson Palmer and upset that he wanted to leave, but after today's conference, I totally get it. I wouldn't want to play for that either. Should he walk away? No. Should the Bengals trade him? Yes. But still, I get it. So I wish Palmer lots of luck in whatever he does now and lots of luck to all you Bengals fans who are ready to go out on a new team search of your own. 


I wouldn't blame you.


More to come,
XoXo
-Joshua


Links:
122 Ways to Fix the Bengals
John Clayton on the Scott Van Pelt Show