WhoDeyRevolution

Small Market BS

A classic Bengals excuse for not spending money on free agents, facilities and staffing is because of Cincinnati's market size compared to other NFL teams. This was the same argument they used to negotiate one of the sweetest deals in the NFL. Former Hamilton County Commissioner Bob Bedinghaus, who was the cheerleader-in-chief to get public financing of the Reds and Bengals stadium’s said in 2000: “Their concern is, "We will always be operating in a smaller market than many of the other football teams in the NFL.'” 

Bedinghaus is now the Bengals Director of Development for Paul Brown Stadium. You can expect more on this issue soon.

Bengals fans need to stop accepting this reasoning to excuse the Bengals management from their constant griping and penny-pinching. The NFL revenue sharing agreement means that even Isiah Thomas could make money running the Bengals. Unlike other major sports, the NFL’s policy means that funds generated from tickets, merchandise, sponsorships and national media deals (such as the NFL’s TV and Radio contracts) are divided equally between all 32 teams.  

Major League Baseball, on the other hand, lets teams negotiate their own TV contracts, leaving the Yankees with their own TV network (the YES network) and the Reds on Fox Sports Ohio. Guess which team generates more money in this situation?

A recent article in the Enquirer detailed the financial arrangement of Bob Kraft and the New England Patriots. Kraft purchased the team in 1994 for a then NFL record $172 million, then put $350 million of his own money into their new stadium. To recoup this investment, Kraft sold the naming rights to new P&G brand Gillette and is building a mixed use development adjacent to the stadium, at an additional cost to Kraft of $850 million.

To CBA, or not to CBA? That is the question.

NFL owners unanimously voted to opt out of the current Collective Bargaining Agreement on Tuesday.  Just two years go Mike Brown and Ralph Wilson were the only ones to vote against it.  What does all this mean?  Lets examine, shall we?:

As much good that the current deal brings to the league, it does have its fair share of flaws.  Brown and Wilson recognized this 2 years ago, but now it seems as though everybody does.  Here are a few reasons why the owners now want out:  Bonuses paid to players that later breach their contract are not recoverable.  Rookies are allowed to be paid millions more dollars than the proven veterans who have put in the time and won Superbowls for their teams.  Not to mention the ever increasing sums of money that must be spent on stadiums and such, when the players are getting a majority of the pool of money.  Not that the teams are going broke, but it does put a financial strain on them at times.  You can read the leagues official statement for opting out here.

A Tale of Two Franchises

The Saints’ big draft-day trades to twice jump ahead of the hapless Bengals to take the best available DTs on the board highlights the difference between an aggressive front office who are determined to win and a complacent front office who are hoping to win.

Both the Bengals and Saints finished 2007 with disappointing 7-9 records – but each teams’ response in the offseason could not be more different.  

In the free agency window, the Saints were active in addressing their weaknesses. They had one of the worst defenses in the NFL in 2007. So they traded a 4^th rounder to the Jets for LB Jonathan Vilma and signed LB Dan Morgan. They also signed big-time free agents CB Randall Gay from New England and DE Bobby McCray from the Jags.

In the Bengals offseason, they only signed DE Antwan Odom from the Titans after botching a few trades to bulk up their interior line and refusing to trade Chad Johnson. The Bengals remain well under the salary cap. 

Depth, Depth, and More Depth

You don’t draft in the first two rounds to add depth when you are a sub-.500 team. Sadly, this is a concept that Marvin Lewis and co. haven’t seemed to grasp in five years of drafting. Not trading up for Sedrick Ellis was inexcusable. Not trading Chad Johnson for two first round picks was inconceivable. But after watching Marvin piss away his fifth draft in six years, I must say I’m almost relieved we didn’t detract talent from this year’s team in order to add future picks. Almost.

WHO NEEDS A PLAYMAKER?

Keith Rivers will be a solid yet unspectacular player, much like the last two first round picks, Leon Hall and Johnathan Joseph. He’ll have a career somewhere between Brian Simmons and Landon Johnson, and that won’t be all that bad- particularly if Odell Thurman and Ahmad Brooks can play up to their potential on the outside.

I’m going to take a wait-and-see approach on Jerome Simpson, who bears a scouting report awfully similar to TJ Houshmandzadeh. I’m in the minority of Bengals fans who actually wanted a receiver in the second round (and again in the third) mainly because I’m not a believer in Trevor Laws or the other D-lineman that were available around the 46^th pick.

However, my initial reaction to the Simpson pick was pure disgust - not because of his small-school resume but because of his lack of upside.  Every single scouting report projects him to be a #2 receiver at best - again, not something you should be aiming for in the Top 50 selections. Of course they would take him when the Roy Williams-esque Limas Sweed was still on the board. And they wouldn’t think of trading up for James “Plaxico” Hardy. 

The problem is that this regime never aims for the stars, they’re content getting guys who project to be league average starters, or even worse, rotational depth. When you target players like this, you’re going to end up with your John Thorntons, Brian Robinsons, Antonio Chatmans and Reggie Kellys - guys who are at best league average, and at worse, solid depth.

Marvin has never fully grasped this concept. When he drafted Chris Perry in the first round of the 2004 draft instead of selecting Stephen Jackson, who projected to be an absolute home-run back on everyone else’s draft board, he announced that Perry would provide great depth to the running back position. It sounds eerily similar to how he justified the selection of Simpson over the multitude of bigger home run threats on everyone else’s draft board.

Think that was the only time he opted for depth over a playmaker in the second round? How about in 2006 when he took Andrew Whitworth, who has been a surprisingly pleasant addition to the “rotation of the offensive line,” while a couple of playmakers went in the next five picks afterwards. Their names? Devin Hester and Maurice Jones-Drew. All this coming at a time when our top return man was none other than Keiwan Ratliff. 

Hell, even our “franchise player” Stacy Andrews was franchised because he provides depth on the offensive line. I’m willing to reserve judgment of the Simpson pick, especially given the praise heaped upon it by the NFL Network gurus (who panned the rest of the Bengals draft in the same segment,) but I really hope Bratkowski knows what he’s doing here. 

(more after the jump...)

Bengals Mangement Reaffirms Need for Who Dey Revolution

I am certainly not a football scout, so I will not cram the intertubes with any of my "expert analysis" on the future success of the Bengals draft picks.  Keith Rivers and Jerome Simpson might make the next 15 Pro Bowls in a row or they may be taking a number at the unemployment office behind Chris Henry in a few years.  I'll let others entertain these arguments.

What was made perfectly clear at the draft, however, is that nothing has changed - Bengals management is still a complete joke.  The team was totally outmaneuvered in the first round, made a huge reach in the 2nd, drafted guys late with huge red flags and a couple guys late with local ties.  This has been the Bengals draft day approach for years - why did I think that something would be different this time around?

Round 1 - Keith Rivers, LB, USC

Whether or not they played their hand before the draft, anyone with any football knowledge knew that our top 2 targets in Round 1 were Sedrick Ellis or Derrick Harvey.  Well, the Saints and Jags knew it too - and traded up in front of the Bengals to snag them. 

As Comrade Buck pointed out, why was Mike Brown willing to trade a 3rd and 5th rounder for Shaun Rogers but not trade a 3rd rounder for Sedrick Ellis?  (The Saints traded their 10th overall and 3rd round pick to the Patriots for their 7th overall AND a 5th rounder).  Did Brown even try and trade up to ensure that they could take Ellis? Reports out of New Orleans show that the Saints called every team ahead of them in the draft to try and trade up - so the Bengals management had to know the Saints were working deals to jump ahead of them to take Ellis.  And what did Mike Brown do?  NOTHING. 

As I said before, Sedrick Ellis could be the reincarnation of Big Daddy and Keith Rivers could become the reincarnation of Dick Butkis - that is not the point.  The point is that the Bengals identified Sedrick Ellis and Derrick Harvey as their top targets and sat around and let other teams trade ahead and take their picks.

(more after the jump)

NFL Draft Live Blog

Coming at you live from Over-the-Rhine, Ohio and Washington, DC - welcome to the WhoDeyRevolution Live Blog.  Jason Buck and Andrew Simon will be reporting throughout today's NFL Draft.

Jason's comments will be in italics. Andrew's will be bolded.

7:58: The more I think about this pick, the more angry I get.  This guy likely would have been around in the 3rd round - where the Bengals have 2 picks!  Do the Bengals really think we have the DTs to compete?  Sims and Laws were still available - and were taken soon after the Bengals botched their pick.  John Thorton has never been dominant and Peko was a non-factor all year.  The Bengals got outmaneuvered in Round 1 with the Saints trading up to take Ellis and the Jags trading up to get Harvey - and then in Round 2 with the opportunity to get a guy who could help improve the defense - we blow it.

I can only imagine how they will botch tomrorrow.  My guess for the 3rd round pick: Tom Zbikowski.

7:55: I am still in absolute shock.  Jerome Simpson.  Coastal Carolina.  The Bengals did not improve their pass rush and did not get a run stuffing DT that can draw double teams. They passed up Limas Sweed and Early Doucet to take a guy who has racked up stats against subpar competition.  I guess you could argue that Jerry Rice did the same - but do you really have more confidence in the Bengals scouting department to see something special in this kid more than other teams?

7:47: As bad as I thought it could be, I did not expect it would be this bad.  Wow.  Viva la Revolution.

7:45: Who is this guy???????????????

7:44: FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK!!!!!!!

7:40: Prediction -  Quentin Groves.

7:39: Bengals on the clock....

7:32: Chicago should take a QB (Rex Grossman is our QB) and the Detroit could take a DT in front of the Bengals to make up for losing Shaun Rogers.

7:29: Tyrell Johnson taken.  Calais Campbell and Quentin Groves still available.  If anyone is sitting near Mike Brown, please pass along this information.

7:28: 2 picks to go - please Mike Brown, take defense.  Please.

7:27: Eddie Royal taken in the 2nd round!  I talked about him on Mo's show on Monday.  I am a budding Mel Kiper.

7:16: Jerry Jones interviewed on NFL Network - makes it as clear as possible (since he isn't allowed to talk about trading for players under contract with another team) that he is interested in trading for Chad.  What do they offer though? 

7:14:  I think Avril is off the board for the Bengals until the 3rd round at least.

7:12: Picks I would be happy with: Sims, Tyrell Johnson, Campbell, Groves.

7:06:  If I'm Malcom Kelly...I'm calling Mike Brown to say "You know I loved your work when you beat the IRS in tax court...think you can give me some pointers?"

7:03: Still on the board for the Bengals with 7 picks to go: DeSean Jackson (WR), Limas Sweed (WR), Marion Manningham (WR), Early Doucet (WR), James Hardy (WR), Malcom Kelly (WR), Calais Campbell (DE), Quentin Groves (DE), Cliff Avril (DE), Pat Sims (DT), Trevor Laws (DT), Tyrell Johnson (S).

6:57: I guess we now have to hope for bad WRs to get taken before the Bengals - Thanks Green Bay (Jordy Nelson).

6:51: Chiefs are having a fantastic draft. Has anyone EVER said that about the Bengals?

6:46: Buck, why would the Bengals ever trade up?  They will just take the best available (WR) in Round 2.

6:35:  TRADE UP AND GET MERLING!!  Or sit back and take Trevor Laws.  But with all the WR's falling...you know what that means.

6:24:  Kentwan Balmer taken - is the 3-4 dead for the Bengals?

6:22: Mayne pipes into say "The Bengals are fucking lame.  Simon, write that down."

6:05:  Best defensive lineman still available:  Philip Merling, Kentwan Balmer, Pat Sims, Calais Campbell, Trevor Laws, Lawrence Jackson, Chris Ellis (Va Tech)

5:54: How many RBs do the Titans have now?  Also, more worryingly, no WRs have been taken.  Gonna be hard to pass up a WR in the 2nd round for the Bengals now.

5:50: Every good team in the NFL employs a 2-back system (except the Chargers who have LT).

5:43:  Steelers take Mendenhall?

5:42: Why has Mendenhall dropped so far?  You could argue he's a better all around back than McFadden.

5:36: The Bengals have so many linebackers...we really could have used a DT or DE.  Too bad Mike Brown couldn't have been bothered to make a trade.

5:24:  Bengals trade up to get Kentwan Balmer?  Maybe it makes too much sense.

5:21: One more pick for the Bengals to offload Chad...will it happen?

5:09: Nick Simon: New Chad interview on NFL.com 

Key quote:  I don't blame Marvin Lewis. I love him. You have never heard me say one bad thing about my coaches or teammates. I know it's not up to Coach Lewis. Whether I'm traded, or if we get better players, is not up to him. If it was up to Coach Lewis, then he would do it."

 

Sounds like WDR.  More on this later.

5:01: That's an insult to (FEMA) Mike Brown.

5:00: I still say the Bengals have to go defensive line in the second round...Trevor Laws, Pat Sims.   Or maybe Calaias Campbell out of the U...6'7" plus.

4:52: 5 more picks for the Bengals to trade Chad to the Skins.  The football knowledge between Mike Brown and Dan Snyder would rival the other Mike Brown's understanding of federal response to hurricanes.

4:50: The Chiefs have significantly improved today.

4:49:  Dorsey and Albert?  The Chiefs are having a hell of a draft.

Bengal Hero: Tremain Mack

Chris Henry, Odell, Frostee Rucker, etc. are not the first character risks the Bengals have taken.  The Bengals have been taking huge character risks in the draft for quite some time now.  Obviously Mike Brown loves the draft value of a guy who’s slipped a round or four because of their giant red character flags.  Tremain Mack was the epitome of this.  Mike must have loved him some T-Mack because how else can a quote like this be explained.

Tremain's a very likable guy," said Mike Brown, Bengals owner/general manager. "But to read the media accounts a year ago, you would think he and John Dillinger were cellmates.  (What??? John Dillinger???  Who the hell is that???  Ohhhh, a famous bank robber from the Great Depression, what a hip reference for the end of the 20th century.  Now if Mike had said T-Mack would have been a great getaway driver then I would have loved it)

Tremain Mack was drafted out of the U by the Bengals in the 4th round of the 1997 NFL draft (Another paragon of morals values Corey Dillon was also taken by the Bengals in this draft). This Hurricane was rated as a first round talent at the time but somehow T-Mack slipped to the 111th pick of the draft.  While the rest of the NFL seemingly took him off their draft boards the Bengals apparently saw a talent that just couldn’t be ignored. Now you might be wondering why the rest of the NFL didn’t want to draft T-Mack.  After all he was 1st team All Big East and a special teams dynamo at Miami. Well I’m going to go out on a limb and say the answer probably had something to do with T-Mack’s SIX alcoholic related arrests in his 4 years as a Hurricane and that even BUTCH DAVIS suspended him because of a DUI.  Now in all fairness to the Bengals they apparently claimed they didn’t know the severity of T-Mack’s problems.  I guess the Bengals three scouts not related to the Brown family missed that little nugget. 

But just for now I’m going to ignore all the Bengals idiocy and mismanagement because quite simply T-Mack was the best Bengals kick returner of my lifetime. His best season was 1999 when T-Mack led the AFC in kick returning average and set a Bengal club-record averaging 27.1 yards per return.  This season was made even more amazing because T-Mack didn’t play in the first four games of the season after shockingly being suspended by Commissioner Tagliabue after another DUI arrest.  T-Mack’s off-season conditioning program consisted of spending his summer locked up in the Hamilton County Jail (Jamal Lewis has nothing on T-Mack).  So when he came out for the 5th game of the 1999 season he came out blazing.  Personally I loved Tremain Mack because on every kick off (and there were lots of kicks to return in 1999 as the Bengals started 1-10 on their way to another 4-12 season while they closed Riverfront Stadium in style) I imagined special teams coach Al Roberts telling him to just pretend like he was running from the law.  It must have worked because T-Mack ran so well from the law in 1999 that he was chosen as the AFC’s kick returner in the Pro-Bowl. From county jail to Honolulu all in span of one season. Simply amazing!!!

Sadly as you may have heard T-Mack didn’t have a happy ending with the Bengals.  T-Mack could only run from the law for so long.  He continued to rack up DUI’s at a record pace including one that would have made Bob Huggins proud when the Cincinnati police arrested Mack after finding him sleeping behind the wheel of a car at 3:45 a.m. Surprisingly the cops got suspicious after Mack's vehicle had been parked in the middle of a Clifton intersection for at least an hour.  This Huggins style arrest came two years after WLWT-TV (Channel 5) caught Mack on tape driving to and from Paul Brown Stadium with a suspended license, from the two DUI charges he’d already picked up in Hamilton County. That was great piece of Cheaters style investigative journalism, but the Bengals front office was not pleased with the report referring to the report as a sting operation (more importantly where was channel 5 when we needed them to follow Chris Henry around? you know you would have watched it).  After some more jail time T-Mack was done with the NFL but on the Brightside seems to have cleaned up his life eventually suiting up for the Arena Football San Jose SaberCats. 

But I’ll always remember T-Mack as a bald headed demon who ran like the he heard police sirens blaring behind him.  For T-Mack was running from the law and into the hearts of Bengal fans everywhere. Tremain Mack a Bengal Hero.

T-Mack is the second in what hopes to be a long series of Bengal Hero profiles.  (If you missed part one you can read all about Jeff Query’s glorious 1993 season right here.) 

Join the revolution here

Brown Economics

For those unfamiliar with the premise of the Mel Brooks play The Producers, let me summarize in order to draw an interesting parallel: basically, the producers of a play discover that they can actually make more money by putting out a flop than they can with a hit play.  It would appear that this is Mike Brown's favorite musical of all time, as he has apparently found a way to apply this economic stratagem to Professional Football. 

Should you think I am exaggerating, let me direct your attention to our "Bengals' Futility - By The Numbers" section on the right hand side of the page.  You will notice that, not only has Mike Brown NEVER won a playoff game in his 17 years of ownership, but he was also voted by Forbes magazine (they know a little bit about money management) as the second WORST owner in all of professional sports.  And yet, in all this time, the Cincinnati Bengals organization continues to turn a profit, including a reported operating income of nearly $21 million in 2005, as pointed out by Comrade Simon in his review of the Bengal's scouting department. 

The primary problem we have with Mike Brown--and this is no more apparent than right now given the Chad Johnson fiasco--is that he continues to look at football the way that a CFO would view a balance sheet.  And therein lies the problem.  Mike Brown is NOT a CFO; he is the owner, a position much more akin to being a CEO.  The job of a CEO, in addition to making fiscally responsible decisions, is to create a broad vision and growth strategy for an organization; to deliver a clear and concise mission and to ensure that all employs work towards the realization of that mission; in short, Mike Brown's job, as clearly stated in Manifesto Demand #1, is to make a public statement to us, the fans, “I will do everything in my power to help the Cincinnati Bengals win a Super Bowl."

There is no doubt that Mike Brown is a shrewd businessman (from a dollars and cents perspective) and would continue to have value at the negotiating table.  But as long as he continues to think of the Cincinnati Bengals as a collection of assests whose value he can assess like a P&L statement, we won't go anywhere.  Maybe you can calculate amortization and depreciation in Pro Football--although the assets, in this case, are football players, whose value is more volatile and ever-changing than any stock out there--but Brown appears to do this with such short-sightedness that he ends up recycling run-down players he thinks are a "bargain" (see Sam Adams, Dexter Jackson, etc.)  We'd like him to exercise a little more foresight and take a risk on young talent in the Draft, rather than obstinately sitting on his ass while Chad rots on the sidelines.  The only way to move a team forward is to have a long-term vision--we as fans could care less if you have healthy profit margins (which, we all know, will come if you put a better product on the field).

Comrade Pellegrino, a lawyer by trade, has laid out a great scenario by which we could trade Chad and take advantage of the great offer (potentially two First Round picks) from the Redskins.  I get a sinking feeling in my stomach every time I read a great article like this because I seriously question whether the Bengals' front office is even aware of these potential moves.  I mean, they already massively screwed up the Shawn Rogers trade this offseason, so how can we not question the abilities of this group?

I urge all the fans out there to join the WhoDeyRevolution here, and follow that up by creating as much buzz as possible to get the Bengals to execute a trade for Chad Johnson.  If the Bengals' front office can't figure out how to do it, send them our way.

Bengals Player Personnel Department: Myth or Reality?

Following the 2007 season, Bengals fans were searching for a reason to explain why such a talented team stumbled to a 7-9 finish. One reason du jour was the Bengals scouting department. Much of the criticism has faded as fans ire has turned to Chris Henry’s appearances at the Hamilton County Justice Center and Chad Johnson spending his offseason imitating T.O. on Cold Pizza. Here at WhoDeyRevolution, we do not forget so easily. In fact, the second tenant of the WhoDeyRevolution Manifesto is “THAT Mike Brown will hire a general manager, drastically expand the scouting department and relinquish all control of player personnel;”

Over the next few days, I will look into the size and structure of the Bengals player personnel/scouting department and compare it to other NFL teams. Then I will examine Mike Brown’s claim that his staff is more “efficient” than other teams, and attempt to show how a drastically expanded scouting and player personnel department will yield immediate and long term gains for the organization. Finally, I will offer a modest proposal on some simple steps to improve the front office and most importantly (to Mike Brown) how to pay for it.

First up, how small is the Bengals scouting department? Be prepared, and remember according to Forbes, the Cincinnati Bengals are worth $825 million and generated almost a $21 million dollar profit on revenue of $175 million. I know there are many issues with those Forbes numbers, but I am just using it to give some scale to the organization.

If you can handle it, look here to see the Bengals entire player personnel department,

The short answer is, small. Very very small. According to Bengals.com, the Bengals Player Personnel Department totals nine people. One is a secretary, I mean Administrative Assistant (Debbie LaRocco), and another is former OSU Football Coach John Cooper, who the Bengals themselves don’t consider a full time scout. They say they use him as a consultant to tap into the “vast network of college coaches.” That leaves seven full time executives and scouts in the player personnel department.

Of course, the Department is headed by two members of the Brown Family (Pete, VP of Player Personnel and Paul, Director of Football Operations). Call me crazy, but I think Pete and Paul Brown got their current jobs by who their father is, and not based on some fantastic experience of managing the player personnel department of another NFL franchise.

That leaves five men to run the entire department; Jim Lippincott, Director of Football Operations; Duke Tobin, Director of Player Personnel; Greg Seamon, Scout; and Bill Tobin and Earl Biederman, Scouting Consultants.

Let’s compare that to a successful NFL Franchise, the Indianapolis Colts.

The Indianapolis Colts: Football Operations

Source: Colts.com

Chris Polian, VP of Football Operations

Steve Champlin, Director of Football Administration

Tom Telesco, Director of Player Personnel

Dom Anile, Sr. Consultant to Player Personnel

Cylde Powers, Director of Pro Player Personnel

David Caldwell, Western Regional Scout

Todd Vasvari, Eastern Regional Scout

Bob Ferguson, Special Asst. to the Dir. of Player Personnel

John Becker, Area Scout

Ryan Cavanaugh, Area Scout

Mark Ellenz, Area Scout

Bob Guarini, Area Scout

Byron Lusby, Area Scout

Matt Terpening, Area Scout

Kevin Rogers, Pro Scout

J. W. Jordan, Salary Cap/Personnel Analyst

Stefani Paul, Player Development Administrator

Jamie Moore, Scouting Assistant

Jon Shaw, Scouting Assistant

Debbie Finn, Asst. to the Director of Player Personnel

Good God, where do I start? Well first the similarities; the Colts Player Personnel Department is led by the son of the GM, Chris Polian. Unfortunately, the father in this case, Colts GM Bill Polian, was actually hired to be the GM and did not inherit his title from his father. It also looks like the Colts divide their scouting department between College and Pro Personnel, which seems to make sense, and they have 5 executives and 12 scouts, plus a Salary Cap/Personnel Analyst. Maybe Katie Blackburn can give J.W. Jordan a call and ask him to explain the salary cap ramifications if we trade Chad Johnson.

In fact the Colts have more “Area Scouts,” 6, than Bengals have members of the Player Personnel Department not related to Mike Brown.  Guess what else the Colts have that the Bengals lack? If you said a playoff win in the last 17 years and a Lombardi trophy, you would be correct. That should be the goal, and on first glace, it looks like the Colts have an organization that wants and expects to compete for championships, while the Bengals do not.

There is more to this story so stay tuned as we delve deeper into this issue.

Mike Brown: Pay Underpaid TJ!

It’s time we start to talk about something that is clearly on the minds of Bengals fans everywhere. In early February we heard rumblings about how the Bengals were beginning talks with TJ Houshmandzadeh to sign him to a new contract. Today is April 9^th and still no new contract.

As a matter of fact, the entire process seems to have died down. Granted, the Bengals wanted to see how they could improve their team through free agency early in the off-season, as many teams do. In addition, it seems that huge signings from the Bengals go largely unmentioned until they drop the bomb (i.e.Carson's huge deal a few years back.) However, at this point enough is enough.

I am sick of hearing about how we are now turning our attention to signing our own players, but no talk of signing our most productive receiver who just happens to be tough as nails and a true team player (so far.) He is 100% our most consistent receiver, has great hands, and is totally willing to go across the middle and get killed to make the big play. With the loss of Chris Henry and the ongoing saga with Chad, resigning TJ becomes even MORE of a priority.

My worries now turn to the fact that I’m not even sure if we have the cap room to sign TJ to a long term deal (with a decent signing bonus).  Is there really a chance we just kind of “forgot” to think about his new contract until it was too late? Wouldn’t surprise me one bit! If so, this could turn out to be one of the biggest front office failures in the entire NFL. 

Mark my words, TJ will become very outspoken if something doesn’t get done soon, and I can’t say I blame him one bit. Unlike "CEOcho Cinco", TJ consistently produces, keeps his mouth shut, cares about his team, and is absolutely deserving of a lucrative long term extension.

According to USA Today, Chad Johnson’s 2007 salary cap value was $7,615,370, making him the 4^th highest paid receiver in the NFL behind Terrell Owens, Marvin Harrison, and Tory Holt. Certainly not under compensated by any means. By contrast, in 2007, TJ ($3,288,580) was the 34^th highest paid receiver in the NFL in terms of cap value behind names such as Kevin Curtis ($6,336,453), David Givens ($5,704,320) and Bobby Wade ($4,800,000.) I think that speaks volumes of how incompetent it would be not to give him the money he deserves.

The bottom line is that football is a business.  In running that business, it is the job of the ownership and team brass to compensate their players both competetively and deservingly.  So Mike Brown, if you're reading this, PLEASE PAY UNDERPAID TJ!!!