Should we lead the league in arrests
Written by Walter Zaviski
?Are you stupid or what??
That was the quote that Deniro?s character Jimmy Conway asked to one of his crew members after the Lufthansa heist in the classic Goodfellas. With all of the thugs and convicts getting added to the team it seems fitting that the Bengals wear stripes. Why not? Most of the players are used to wearing them in their free time.
When I think of the Bengals keeping pace with the Steelers, I didn?t mean for the amount of criminals and criminal charges. It is getting to the point where they?ll need Tony Soprano to be the head coach with Sil and Paulie taking over as the offensive and defensive coordinators.
This latest court case is insane. A.J. Nicholson is charged with breaking into a teammate?s apartment and stealing $1,700 dollars with another guy. After you split that up you have an astounding $850! That is brilliant. Forget that stupid NFL career, this is the smart move. I don?t want to hear about youth and mistakes. Yes we all make them. I stole a shirt when I was fifteen. What?s the difference? Despite my junior varsity touchdown catch I wasn?t exactly being considered for the NFL draft. I?m sure the rookie minimum contract is a bit bigger than $850 dollars.
For the life of me I can?t understand why this guy was even drafted, after Chris Henry Hill?s endless allegations last year. How could you not learn after these incidents? If someone is stupid enough to be a criminal when they are playing ball at a major college program and have a chance at the NFL, then you can bet they are not going to invest in soybean futures and Apple computers when they get that first check.
The frustration level is infuriating when you think about how long it has taken the Bengals to stop being the laughing stock of the league and now all you hear about are breaking and entering, date rapes, waving pistols, speeding with marijuana and a few other incidentals that I?m just trying to forget about.
This team has come so far, so fast with Marvin that I?m surprised that he takes these guys with questionable backgrounds in the draft. Solomon Wilcots said yesterday on Sirius NFL radio that the Bengals were bad for so long, that they have to take flyers on guys with questionable backgrounds to try and close the gap. That worked with a guy like Odell Thurman. The problem is that for every one Odell there has been a Henry and a Nicholson.
I don?t think it is in the Bengals best long term interest to check correctional facilities throughout the United States looking for the next Burt Reynolds led Mean Machine. Let?s get more players with the kind of background that the Palmer?s and Rudi?s of the world have, and quit caring about guys who don?t care about themselves