What, did you really think T.O. would go through an entire 16-game losing season and not say a word?
On the latest installment of the T.Ocho Show on Versus (side note: Does anyone watch that show? I can count on zero fingers how many people I know that do.), Ochocinco asked Owens why the Bengals are 2-11.
Not surprisingly, T.O. had an answer.
From the Cincinnati Enquirer:
“I think there is underachieving you know from the top down,” Owens said. “You start off with the owner, you start off with the coaches and obviously we as players. We are a product of what the coaches are doing, are coaching us throughout the course of the week. Of course we have to go out there and play the game but in order for us to do what we’re allowed to do at the best of our ability the coaches have to put the players in the best position.”
I’ve seen headlines that read, “T.O. blasts coaching staff,” in reference to the quotes above. But I’ve read what he said about four times now and honestly, I don’t think he’s specifically calling out his coaching staff. And in the grand spectrum of things, this is T.O. Lite in comparison to the stuff that usually comes out of his mouth.
It’s not hard to figure out what’s going on with the Bengals. The entire franchise has had a losing mentality since the late 80s and while they’ve had moments over the past two decades (2004, 2009), they’ve largely been stuck in a massive rut. They thought they found a capable head coach in Marvin Lewis to turn things around and it looks like he isn’t the answer. They thought they found a capable quarterback in Carson Palmer to lift the franchise out of the doldrums and he hasn’t been the same since the hit he took in the ’04 playoffs.
But it’s not just the head coach and it’s not just the quarterback – it’s a collection of things that have led the Bengals to this point. The players aren’t executing, the game plans that the coaches are putting together are failing miserably and the ownership doesn’t have a clue how to turn things around. And unfortunately for all parties involved, there seemingly are no answers and no solutions.
Actually, there is one solution but Mike Brown has been unwilling to agree to it: they need to hire a general manager. Hire a good general manager (I’m sure the Patriots have one lying around in their film room), allow him to pick his head coach and then find a quarterback. Once those three things are in place, maybe the ball will get rolling forward for once instead of backwards onto the legions of fans that still mercifully support this team.
I know it’s easier said than done, but at what point does Mike Brown punch a hole through his drawing board and start over?
