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Cloud following Bengals
Linebacker Thurman a no-show, could miss season, Lewis says
BY MARK CURNUTTE | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER
GEORGETOWN, Ky. - On the first day of training camp, when Marvin Lewis wanted a fresh start to put a difficult offseason behind him, the Bengals coach said middle linebacker Odell Thurman might not play at all this year.
Thurman was suspended for four games by the NFL for violating its substance-abuse policy a second time. Ninth-year veteran Brian Simmons will play middle linebacker.
"We'll have someone play there for the season, so we won't worry about a guy that's not here or who's not a part of our football team right now," Lewis said of Thurman.
Pressed whether Thurman would show up and participate in training camp practice, which is allowed by the NFL despite the suspension, Lewis then said of the team's leading tackler in 2005: "We don't have to worry about that right now. It's a nebulous question. He's a non-factor."
One more question as to Thurman's whereabouts - he was in Georgia tending to family business - brought this response from Lewis: "If you want to be in charge of him, you're welcome."
On the day when quarterback Carson Palmer made an anticipated return to real practice - less than eight months after undergoing reconstructive knee surgery - the character questions continued to dog Lewis and the Bengals.
He and team president Mike Brown have dismissed the possibility that players' off-field troubles could affect the Bengals on the field.
As the defending AFC North champion Bengals reported to training camp Saturday morning at Georgetown College, players, too, didn't think some teammates' problems would hurt the team's performance.
But the spate of missteps definitely was on their minds.
"I'm a little upset at those guys somewhat because of the fact - I don't think a lot of it is big problems - but it is a problem," wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh said. "We have kind of good things going here, and they bring negative attention to the team. I don't think it will affect us, though.
"They're all young. I hope they can get it together, to be honest, because if things don't go the way we hope, that's what (the media) will point to as the reason why."
Fellow wide receiver Chris Henry has been the major offender. He was arrested four times from December through June.
As a rookie, Henry - who came to the Bengals with a reputation for on-field temper tantrums at West Virginia - was put under the watchful eyes of Houshmandzadeh and Chad Johnson as mentors.
"There is only so much straightening we can do," Johnson said Saturday morning when asked if teammates can positively affect a player's personal behavior. "We can't walk everybody by the hand. We can't live with them. We can only talk to them. What can we say? We're all grown. We can't be with them 24/7."
Though management, coaches and players say off-field issues won't affect the team, in reality they already have.
Henry is in danger of league suspension. He established himself as the team's No. 3 receiver behind Johnson and Houshmandzadeh last season when he had 31 catches, six for touchdowns, and was especially productive in the red zone.
The Bengals signed Antonio Chatman as a free agent and drafted two wide receivers, Reggie McNeal and Bennie Brazell.
Chatman, Tab Perry and fourth-year pro Kelley Washington are expected to compete for the No. 3 slot.
Chatman, Perry and Houshmandzadeh worked out with Palmer for three weeks in late June and early July at the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. Palmer and Henry, who said he tore his posterior cruciate ligament in the playoff loss to the Steelers, worked out together through the late winter and spring as they rehabbed their injuries. Henry was cleared Saturday to practice.
"I think a lot of guys who've had the problems are younger guys, and I think they've kind of figured out that you're not going to get away with much in this league," Palmer said. "You're going to get in trouble if you mess up in this league. Chris and Odell have had their names run through the media in a negative way, and I know they aren't going to like that."
Besides Henry's string of arrests, Thurman's suspension has drawn the most attention.
With Simmons moving from the weak-side to the middle linebacker spot, Landon Johnson will play outside opposite David Pollack.
"It's more a personal issue than a team issue," Simmons said of teammates' legal problems. "Of course, it makes the other guys look bad. Those are personal things they need to get worked out.
"Once we go out there (the first practice was Saturday night), it's going to be a moot point. It's going to be good for guys to get back to football."
Some of the veteran players have counseled the players who have gotten into trouble. But it's not a heavy-handed approach.
"You give advice when a guy wants to talk to you; you don't try to be overbearing, because at some point guys have got to be men and take care of their own business," lineman Willie Anderson said.
"Sometimes, you just put your hand over a guy and let him know you're there as a teammate."
Said free safety Madieu Williams: "The last thing they need is for somebody to beat them over the head. They know what happened. We all know what happened."
Cloud following Bengals
Linebacker Thurman a no-show, could miss season, Lewis says
BY MARK CURNUTTE | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER
GEORGETOWN, Ky. - On the first day of training camp, when Marvin Lewis wanted a fresh start to put a difficult offseason behind him, the Bengals coach said middle linebacker Odell Thurman might not play at all this year.
Thurman was suspended for four games by the NFL for violating its substance-abuse policy a second time. Ninth-year veteran Brian Simmons will play middle linebacker.
"We'll have someone play there for the season, so we won't worry about a guy that's not here or who's not a part of our football team right now," Lewis said of Thurman.
Pressed whether Thurman would show up and participate in training camp practice, which is allowed by the NFL despite the suspension, Lewis then said of the team's leading tackler in 2005: "We don't have to worry about that right now. It's a nebulous question. He's a non-factor."
One more question as to Thurman's whereabouts - he was in Georgia tending to family business - brought this response from Lewis: "If you want to be in charge of him, you're welcome."
On the day when quarterback Carson Palmer made an anticipated return to real practice - less than eight months after undergoing reconstructive knee surgery - the character questions continued to dog Lewis and the Bengals.
He and team president Mike Brown have dismissed the possibility that players' off-field troubles could affect the Bengals on the field.
As the defending AFC North champion Bengals reported to training camp Saturday morning at Georgetown College, players, too, didn't think some teammates' problems would hurt the team's performance.
But the spate of missteps definitely was on their minds.
"I'm a little upset at those guys somewhat because of the fact - I don't think a lot of it is big problems - but it is a problem," wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh said. "We have kind of good things going here, and they bring negative attention to the team. I don't think it will affect us, though.
"They're all young. I hope they can get it together, to be honest, because if things don't go the way we hope, that's what (the media) will point to as the reason why."
Fellow wide receiver Chris Henry has been the major offender. He was arrested four times from December through June.
As a rookie, Henry - who came to the Bengals with a reputation for on-field temper tantrums at West Virginia - was put under the watchful eyes of Houshmandzadeh and Chad Johnson as mentors.
"There is only so much straightening we can do," Johnson said Saturday morning when asked if teammates can positively affect a player's personal behavior. "We can't walk everybody by the hand. We can't live with them. We can only talk to them. What can we say? We're all grown. We can't be with them 24/7."
Though management, coaches and players say off-field issues won't affect the team, in reality they already have.
Henry is in danger of league suspension. He established himself as the team's No. 3 receiver behind Johnson and Houshmandzadeh last season when he had 31 catches, six for touchdowns, and was especially productive in the red zone.
The Bengals signed Antonio Chatman as a free agent and drafted two wide receivers, Reggie McNeal and Bennie Brazell.
Chatman, Tab Perry and fourth-year pro Kelley Washington are expected to compete for the No. 3 slot.
Chatman, Perry and Houshmandzadeh worked out with Palmer for three weeks in late June and early July at the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. Palmer and Henry, who said he tore his posterior cruciate ligament in the playoff loss to the Steelers, worked out together through the late winter and spring as they rehabbed their injuries. Henry was cleared Saturday to practice.
"I think a lot of guys who've had the problems are younger guys, and I think they've kind of figured out that you're not going to get away with much in this league," Palmer said. "You're going to get in trouble if you mess up in this league. Chris and Odell have had their names run through the media in a negative way, and I know they aren't going to like that."
Besides Henry's string of arrests, Thurman's suspension has drawn the most attention.
With Simmons moving from the weak-side to the middle linebacker spot, Landon Johnson will play outside opposite David Pollack.
"It's more a personal issue than a team issue," Simmons said of teammates' legal problems. "Of course, it makes the other guys look bad. Those are personal things they need to get worked out.
"Once we go out there (the first practice was Saturday night), it's going to be a moot point. It's going to be good for guys to get back to football."
Some of the veteran players have counseled the players who have gotten into trouble. But it's not a heavy-handed approach.
"You give advice when a guy wants to talk to you; you don't try to be overbearing, because at some point guys have got to be men and take care of their own business," lineman Willie Anderson said.
"Sometimes, you just put your hand over a guy and let him know you're there as a teammate."
Said free safety Madieu Williams: "The last thing they need is for somebody to beat them over the head. They know what happened. We all know what happened."
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idiot
and 
I'd bet on that as well. And it's nice to know that he's smart enough to miss a test instead of testing positive.
