Pacman Jones, who just completed his first workout for his new team today, is thrilled to be a Bengal.

“First of all, I want to thank God for putting me in this situation. I want to thank the fans, the media for y’all attention today. I think I still have the skill set that I’ve had that made me a high draft choice.

“I know I have a ton, ton of work to do. It would be a dream come true to come in and help the Bengals in any way I can, also help win a championship. Like I said, I know I have a ton of work to do. To gain you guys’ trust is not going to come overnight, it’s going to take time. So all I can do is take it one day at a time, focus in on the things I’ve been focusing on, and come play football, man.

“Like I said, I’m happy to be here. I want to thank the city of Cincinnati for giving me and my family a fresh start. I want to thank the guys upstairs, Mr. Brown, I want to thank coach, I want to thank coach Zimmer, I want to thank the whole organization. I’m happy to be here and I look forward to talking to you all real soon.

Since 2005, the Bengals have had 20 players arrested, which is more than any other team in the league outside of the Jaguars, who have also had 20 players arrested over that time span. Pacman alone has been arrested six times since 2005, so Cincinnati is a perfect fit for him.

In my humble opinion, Jones doesn’t deserve another chance. It should be a privilege to play in the NFL – not a right. It’s a shame that a team that has had so much trouble with players off the field like the Bengals have had would give another troubled player an opportunity, but this is the reality of the situation. If a player is relatively young and has talent, more times than not his issues will be overlooked.

To borrow an old cliché: it is what it is.

The NFL draft is over and free agency is kind of in a lull. Mini-camps and stories about letting Pacman back into the league, JaMarcus Russell being released, or what counseling Big Ben is attending just don’t help the football jones we all have. So that’s why we’re back with a few Top 10 lists to ponder. This one for the active NFL passer ratings is good because it’s a solid indicator of who you might think about drafting for your fantasy team come August or September. And hey, we’re just a few months away!

1. Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers (97.2)—Rodgers really emerged last season with 103.2 rating, especially once his line decided to keep him upright. He and the two guys immediately below him should win at least one ring in their careers solely because of their own talent.

2. Phillip Rivers, San Diego Chargers (95.8)—Rivers has topped 104 in QB rating the last two seasons. If you told me I could have one quarterback to win one game, I’m not sure this isn’t the guy I’d take. In fact, he IS the guy I’d take.

3. Tony Romo, Dallas Cowboys (95.6)—Romo cut down his interceptions drastically in 2009, but the pundits and fans in Dallas still couldn’t lay off the guy. I’m telling you, they don’t know how good they have it with Romo at QB. As a Giants fan, this is one guy I cringe when facing.

4. Peyton Manning, Indianapolis Colts (95.2)—Always solid, but Manning needed a freakish 121.1 rating in 2004 and two more seasons after that over 100 to make up for some really bad years early in his career. Still, he’s Peyton Freaking Manning.

5. Tom Brady, New England Patriots (93.3)—Speaking of freakish, Brady’s 117.2 in 2007 kicked him up a few spots here. You know, maybe this is the guy I want in a must-win game, but then again, he’s shown to be slightly damaged goods since the 2008 opener.

6. Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints (91.9)—Brees finally won that elusive ring in 2009, and he also led the NFL with a 109.6 QB rating as well as a ridiculous 70.6 completion percentage. Yeah, I’d say he earned that ring.

7. Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh Steelers (91.7)—A great quarterback that sadly has so much baggage, he has the Steelers and their fans wondering if he’s worth it. The two Super Bowl wins surely don’t hurt, but has Ben peaked?

8. Matt Schaub, Houston Texans (91.3)—Finally healthy a full season, this guy was fantasy gold in 2009. Look for his QB rating number to continue climbing—well, assuming he still has Andre Johnson to throw to.

9. Chad Pennington, Miami Dolphins (90.1)—He hasn’t quite matched his 104.2 mark in 2002, but Pennington was always an underrated QB. And kind of still is. I mean, this guy is still a backup? I can think of at least three teams he’d be starting for.

10. Carson Palmer, Cincinnati Bengals (87.9)—He hasn’t reached 90 in QB rating since 2006, but it’s not often you hear anyone say a bad thing about Mr. Palmer.

Notable omissions: Not on this list are Donovan McNabb, Brett Favre, Eli Manning and Matt Hasselbeck. Okay, really, just the first two are surprising, but then again, maybe not so surprising.

Source: Pro Football Reference

Can I take a moment to ruminate about how much I hate the way the Bengals are run? Because it’s enough to make your head hurt.

First and foremost, the structure of the Bengals’ organization is built to fail. They have one of the smallest scouting departments in the NFL, which essentially consists of five or less full-time scouts. The coaching staff and owner Mike Brown, who is clearly just winging it as he goes along, handles the rest of the scouting, which doesn’t seem like a constructive way to build a roster. (The Cowboys are run in a similar fashion, although Jerry Jones has roughly 15 scouts working for him and unlike Brown, he has a talent for evaluating players.)

On Tuesday, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported that the Bengals were close to signing Pacman Jones, who, somehow, isn’t fashioning license plates in prison right now. Granted, the deal is expected to be worth around the league minimum and largely incentive-based, but why? Why add him if you’re the Bengals? You’ve already got two solid cornerbacks in Leon Hall and Johnathan Joseph, who combined for 12 interceptions last season, plus three players in Morgan Trent, David Jones and 2010 third rounder Brandon Ghee who can provide depth. I realize Pacman was a former top 10 pick with more than enough athletic talent to succeed, but how many chances has he been given? How many chances does a player like this deserve?

The running joke with the Bengals is that they’re a safe haven for malcontents like Pacman. But they appeared to be slightly moving away from that last year and they wound up surprising a lot of pundits by making the playoffs. Now they turn around this offseason and fall into the same trap that has haunted them for years. It’s mind-boggling.

Whether or not it’s a low-risk financial move, signing Pacman Jones is unnecessary for a team like the Bengals. One day, they’re going to need to break away from these bad habits or else their ceiling will never be higher than a first round exit in the playoffs.