plenzmd1 Posted January 2, 2007 Posted January 2, 2007 Just thinking out loud here. Seems like we have been hearing for 4 years what a great coach Marvin Lewis is. I know for sure I for one constantly compare him him to GW and MM, and always felt we made a big mistake in not getting him. But after this season, with all the "character" issues they have had there, I am starting to reevalute how I think of him. If I am correct, he has a big say in personnel decisions. 4 years there, three 8-8 records, and one playoff apperance, which was one and done. I know that game may have had a differant outcome with carson not hurt, but thats the breaks some times. Yes, I know he had injuries again this season, but dam, losing three st8 to finish the season and not making the playoffs, think a lot of us would be calling for his head if he did that in Buffalo. Is it only me, or was the the "next Vince Lambardi" label maybe a bit pre mature?
JStranger76 Posted January 2, 2007 Posted January 2, 2007 I was never aware of him being considered a genious or especially the next Lombardi???? He had great players on D in Baltimore and I have NEVER understood any facination with him.
stuckincincy Posted January 2, 2007 Posted January 2, 2007 I've had issues with his coaching and lack of...awareness on field for some time. He is certainly getting slammed in the local press... "Home confinement Chips fall perfectly, but Bengals just fall, miss playoffs BY MARK CURNUTTE Cincy Enquirer 1/1/07 ...It's the Bengals' fault. The schedule-makers and the NFL are not to blame. Neither are the police officers who arrested eight Bengals this past calendar year. Or the media. It's a combination of over-confident, albeit talented, players who - by the admission of their head coach - are still more concerned about "me" than "team." Blame sits at the feet of a head coach whose game management, timeout usage, personnel selection and apparent lack of control in his team's locker room are contributing to undisciplined and inconsistent play on the field." Curnutte is a good beat writer - very much a "just-the-facts" type. So it's unusual for him to pen such words. http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/art.../701010361/1066 I would be surprised if he gets axed - it's not in owner Brown's character to pay off a contract beforehand. There's been some local speculation that Marvin might be a candidate for PGH if Cowher leaves. I don't put much stock in such.
dave mcbride Posted January 2, 2007 Posted January 2, 2007 I've had issues with his coaching and lack of...awareness on field for some time. He is certainly getting slammed in the local press... "Home confinement Chips fall perfectly, but Bengals just fall, miss playoffs BY MARK CURNUTTE Cincy Enquirer 1/1/07 ...It's the Bengals' fault. The schedule-makers and the NFL are not to blame. Neither are the police officers who arrested eight Bengals this past calendar year. Or the media. It's a combination of over-confident, albeit talented, players who - by the admission of their head coach - are still more concerned about "me" than "team." Blame sits at the feet of a head coach whose game management, timeout usage, personnel selection and apparent lack of control in his team's locker room are contributing to undisciplined and inconsistent play on the field." Curnutte is a good beat writer - very much a "just-the-facts" type. So it's unusual for him to pen such words. http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/art.../701010361/1066 I would be surprised if he gets axed - it's not in owner Brown's character to pay off a contract beforehand. There's been some local speculation that Marvin might be a candidate for PGH if Cowher leaves. I don't put much stock in such. well, if graham makes that pretty easy kick, they're in the playoffs. can't blame the coach for that ...
ganesh Posted January 2, 2007 Posted January 2, 2007 well, if graham makes that pretty easy kick, they're in the playoffs. can't blame the coach for that ... But when you lose the last three games of the season with the playoffs on the line, then the coach must be held accountable for not preparing his team.
tennesseeboy Posted January 2, 2007 Posted January 2, 2007 Certainly better than GW or MM by any measure. I'm not sure genius or Next Lombardi would apply at all. He's had his ups and downs (8-8 looks pretty damn good to me!) but we'll have to watch him take it to the next level before I would use the G word. and I think three or four superbowl rings before I'm giving anyone L word treatment.
leh-nerd skin-erd Posted January 2, 2007 Posted January 2, 2007 Certainly better than GW or MM by any measure. I'm not sure genius or Next Lombardi would apply at all. He's had his ups and downs (8-8 looks pretty damn good to me!) but we'll have to watch him take it to the next level before I would use the G word. and I think three or four superbowl rings before I'm giving anyone L word treatment. the problem with lewis is that they annointed him before his time. he brought toughness to the team, initially, and started on the road to better things. i think there was a significant portion of the media out to root for the guy---new head coach, reputation for toughness, passed over by other nfl teams, and look what's happened---HE'S TURNING THE BENGAL'S AROUND!. it's a good story, and if you take the angle that there are not enough minority head coaches in the league, and this obvious gem was passed on by other teams, a good story gets even better. alas, as so often happens, getting the good teams to elite status is tough. so, they annointed him the next eric mangini before his time. let's see what next year brings to mangin, and for that matter, dick jauron. marvin's had a tough year. does bail money count against the salary cap?
ganesh Posted January 2, 2007 Posted January 2, 2007 The criticism I have again Lewis is that he was supposed to be a defensive genius. Unfortunately, that has been the achilles heel for the bengals in the last few years. Their offense has always found ways to score only for the defense to give it back. Until Marvin can fix that defense, the Bengals will not be a deep playoff team.
stuckincincy Posted January 2, 2007 Posted January 2, 2007 well, if graham makes that pretty easy kick, they're in the playoffs. can't blame the coach for that ... Yes, but they also lost by a point to TB, allowed Vick to go 20 of 28 in a 2 point loss, led the Chargers 28 -7 at the half, then gave up 42 second half points to lose 49 - 41, leaving themselves just short of a late win, and decided that they would try to emulate JAX's rushing performance against IND and ignored the fact that they should have passed like crazy against the Colt's heavily-depleted secondary. In the short time leading up to Graham's 39-yard miss, they strolled up to the LOS, despite Palmer making repeated "we're gonna ground the ball" motions, were almost called for delay-of-game (Lewis did call a t-o, their last). Had they hustled, they could have got off a run to get the ball a bit closer, and used up that time out then. 2 yards closer and that would have been 3 points. This type of thing, as well as being generally asleep at the switch when it comes to tossing the red flag, has been chronic. Marvin is a very nice man, and gives people 2nd chances. Very active in his and other local charities. That's good. But in sticking his neck out, some have stepped on it. Too many of his post-game words are "poor tackling", and little more. True, they had a ton of injuries, and the toughest strength-of-schedule (tied with NYG) at season's start. But since they more or less struck it rich with talent at many positions under Lewis' tenure, they have become notable prime-time and critical-game chokers. And a good portion of that has to redound to the Head Coach.
Beerball Posted January 2, 2007 Posted January 2, 2007 The criticism I have again Lewis is that he was supposed to be a defensive genius. Unfortunately, that has been the achilles heel for the bengals in the last few years. Their offense has always found ways to score only for the defense to give it back. Until Marvin can fix that defense, the Bengals will not be a deep playoff team. Same could be said for Dungy. Until he took over calling plays same could be said for Billick (from an offensive perspective)--though his team did win it all without an offense.
keepthefaith Posted January 2, 2007 Posted January 2, 2007 The criticism I have again Lewis is that he was supposed to be a defensive genius. Unfortunately, that has been the achilles heel for the bengals in the last few years. Their offense has always found ways to score only for the defense to give it back. Until Marvin can fix that defense, the Bengals will not be a deep playoff team. NFL teams often operate on the "Peter Principle". Marvin looks like he has reached his own level of incompetence. His players behavior off the field is but another example of that.
Alaska Darin Posted January 2, 2007 Posted January 2, 2007 well, if graham makes that pretty easy kick, they're in the playoffs. can't blame the coach for that ... There's no way a roster with that much talent should come down to having to make one play to make the playoffs.
marauderswr80 Posted January 2, 2007 Posted January 2, 2007 Good coach yes......Genious NO....But good coach!
ganesh Posted January 2, 2007 Posted January 2, 2007 Same could be said for Dungy. Until he took over calling plays same could be said for Billick (from an offensive perspective)--though his team did win it all without an offense. I think Dungy is on thin ice in that regard too....If he doesn't take the Colts deep into the playoffs, the Colts might move on.
stuckincincy Posted January 2, 2007 Posted January 2, 2007 I think Dungy is on thin ice in that regard too....If he doesn't take the Colts deep into the playoffs, the Colts might move on. Dungy... "Cowart sidelined six weeks Last Updated: Monday, November 27, 2000 | 8:36 PM ET CBC News Buffalo Bills linebacker Sam Cowart is expected to miss up to six weeks after spraining his ankle on a hit the team considered dirty. Cowart, who leads the NFL with 181 tackles, was hurt Sunday when Tampa Bay guard Frank Middleton caught him across his lower left leg in the second quarter of the Bucaneers' 31-17 victory. "For you to be beside him and just go after his knee is unethical," Bills coach Wade Phillips said Monday. "I think it was uncalled for." Tampa Bay coach Tony Dungy disagreed. Cowart was blitzing on the play and when Middleton went to cut him, Cowart shifted directions to follow Bucs quarterback Shaun King, Dungy said. "After looking at the tape I don't feel like our guy did anything illegal or not in the framework of our rules," he said. While Phillips agreed the blindside hit wasn't illegal, he said he would ask the league to review the play. "You can accept somebody cutting you when they're facing you. That's part of the game. We're in a violent sport," Cowart said. "But when you got your back turned to the guy... Continue Article" http://www.cbc.ca/sports/story/2000/11/27/cowart001127.html
YOOOOOO Posted January 3, 2007 Posted January 3, 2007 Dungy..."Cowart sidelined six weeks Last Updated: Monday, November 27, 2000 | 8:36 PM ET CBC News Buffalo Bills linebacker Sam Cowart is expected to miss up to six weeks after spraining his ankle on a hit the team considered dirty. Cowart, who leads the NFL with 181 tackles, was hurt Sunday when Tampa Bay guard Frank Middleton caught him across his lower left leg in the second quarter of the Bucaneers' 31-17 victory. "For you to be beside him and just go after his knee is unethical," Bills coach Wade Phillips said Monday. "I think it was uncalled for." Tampa Bay coach Tony Dungy disagreed. Cowart was blitzing on the play and when Middleton went to cut him, Cowart shifted directions to follow Bucs quarterback Shaun King, Dungy said. "After looking at the tape I don't feel like our guy did anything illegal or not in the framework of our rules," he said. While Phillips agreed the blindside hit wasn't illegal, he said he would ask the league to review the play. "You can accept somebody cutting you when they're facing you. That's part of the game. We're in a violent sport," Cowart said. "But when you got your back turned to the guy... Continue Article" http://www.cbc.ca/sports/story/2000/11/27/cowart001127.html Didnt Cowart sack King 3 times in 4 plays leading to that dirty hit???
KD in CA Posted January 3, 2007 Posted January 3, 2007 The criticism I have again Lewis is that he was supposed to be a defensive genius. It's a lot easier to be a defensive genius with Ray Lewis, Fat Sam, Siragusa, McAllister, Bulware and whoever else was on that defense. Just like Dungy was a defensive genius with Sapp, Lynch, Brooks, etc. but now his team couldn't stop Rutgers.
C.Biscuit97 Posted January 3, 2007 Posted January 3, 2007 There's no way a roster with that much talent should come down to having to make one play to make the playoffs. I agree, however, when was the last team Cincy went 4 straight years without a losing season? Lewis, like Jimmy Johnson, believes in giving questionable players second or third (or 4th or 5th chances). Unfortunately, it blew up in his face. But I still think he is a very good coach in the league.
Whitner20 Posted January 3, 2007 Posted January 3, 2007 Way too much talent for that team not to win. And with all of their off the field troubles, Marvin Lewis doesn't look like that great of a choice anymore. He had tons of talent and ruined each year. I can't imagine how his team would look without 5 stars on offense, and a pretty solid defense.
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