02-19-2018, 01:37 PM
(02-19-2018, 02:29 AM)Joelist Wrote: I don't think I'd be able to mention either Nate Livings or Stacy Andrews as even remotely success stories with a straight face. In both cases the team signing the player (Dallas and Philly) were laughed at around the league and both players were - in addition to being garbage here - spectacular busts on their new teams.
He also deserves no credit for Mathis and in fact basically pushed Mathis out when Mathis had already proven himself in favor of the incredibly bad Nate Livings. And Cook at his absolute best made it to sort of average - granted that such status is Pro Bowl compared to Bodine. And lest we forget Piano Man lobbied not only for Bodine but also Ghiacuc (another incredibly bad Center) and Ogbuehi (yet another disaster that proper scouting should have avoided).
No other teams laughed at the Eagles or Cowboys for those signings. That is just a lie made up to bash the Bengals. In fact many fans around here claim the Eagles were so much smarter than us because they signed Mathis when he was finished here. It is a perfect example of the mental gymnastics that some fans are capable of when they start bending reality in order to make the Bengals look bad.
"The same Eagles coaches were brilliant for signing Mathis but stupid for signing Andrews. Derp."
Mathis was nothing special and had been cut by two teams before Paul coached him up. The next year ('09) Mathis started in from of Livings until he was injured. that was the year he was recognized as playing on a high level. In '10 Mathis was an out-of-shpe slob who did not deserve playing time. That is why despite looking so good in '09 he had to settle for a league minimum contract to be a back up for the Eagles in '11. But when he got back in shape (he made a video showing the off season transformation) he again played at a very high level.
Ghiaciuc only started two seasons as our starting Center. Cook replaced him and was much better than "sort of average". he only allowed 6 sacks in his first three years as a starer (48 games) and Pat Kirwan listed him as a "Pro Bowl snub".
