Greatest Bengal Short Timer

[kevin]

(05-20-2018, 02:58 PM)bfine32 Wrote: With Holic starting up the next round ROH and Fred doing a series on who was best # I thought I'd bring a little different slant. Who was the greatest Bengal that spent 5 years or fewer here. I don't mean someone like Terrell Owens who had a HOF career outside of Cincy, I mean someone that was only with us for a short time but kicked butt while here.

Some that come to mind for me:

Coy Bacon

Mike Reid

Bill Bergey

Cedric Benson

So who you got and why.

Who didn't know about THE ICKEY SHUFFLE.  His career was short but he made Bengals a National Name as TV shows such as Married With Children and David Letterman and Johnny Carson and Bob Hope talked about THE ICKEY SHUFFLE.  Ickey Woods He really only had the one good year in 1988, but it was a Super Bowl year. Got injured and was on team from 88 to 91, but 88 was his only big season.  Like Fridge Perry for Bears, a short career but Super Bowl made them Prime Time TV Names. 

In the history of the AFL video, it shows the biggest shooting star was Greg Cook.  1969 AFL Rookie Of The Year and looked great but even in 1969 had injuries after high and lowed by several 1969 Super Bowl Kansas City Chiefs great defensive players. Then the Bengals players had this off season basketball team and for instance they played the Browns at Hobart Arena in Troy Ohio in off season before 1970.  One day in newspaper was Greg Cook Injures Arm In Basketball Game.  That was the injury Greg Cook never came back from. Paul Brown was outraged that it happened over a stupid basketball game. Paul Brown stopped these basketball games telling Bengals he isn't paying them to play basketball. The Bengals did get lucky in how good Virgil Carter was and then Ken Anderson.  

So Ickey Woods, Greg Cook. Shooting Stars. 

I'll add a Head Coach I wished had been here as long as Patriots Head Coach.  Forrest Gregg.  I wish Forrest Gregg had been Head Coach here several decades instead of several years.  The best tackling and best blocking and best in football shape Bengals teams ever had was the Hall Of Fame Vince Lombardi NFL Dynasty Forrest Gregg Teams. The 1988 Super Bowl team still had the great O Line Gregg had built.  If we can ever have tackling and blocking like that again, and only then, will this team win in play-offs. 

5 years or less lets me add 1968 AFL Rookie Of The Year Paul Robinson, The Cactus Comet. We never had the 1968 AFL Rookie Of The Year and the 1969 AFL Rookie Of The Year healthy at same time.  In 68 Browns had Leroy Kelly, Bengals had Paul Robinson. He was great. Injured in 69.  Then in 1970 he got healthy and carried Bengals to AFC North Champions in first year Bengals in NFL. 

Nobody ever mentions one Virgil Carter, but Bengals were awful after Cook injury until Carter came over from Bears. Carter was huge in getting Bengals to AFC North Champions in 1970.  He played good QB until Ken Anderson came on strong in 1973.  Carter was Master of the Harlem Globetrotters hidden ball trick.  Defenses never knew who had the ball with Carter at QB. 

Nobody ever mentions Hall of Famer Charlie Joiner here for 3 years.  All the Coy Bacon hype. It was stupid to trade Charlie Joiner for Coy Bacon.  Bacon played for Bengals in 76 and 77.  Joiner was great with Houston, was great in Cincy and was great in San Diego and in Hall of Fame.  So Bengals traded away Hall of Famer Charlie Joiner and that may be one of worst trades in Bengals history.  Joiner, Curtis, Trumpy was tough to cover. 

On 5 years is Bill Bergey, still the best inside linebacker Bengals ever had. Bergey was Pro Bowl with Bengals and Eagles in an era when Butkus, Nobis and many great middle linebackers. Nobody ran up the middle on Bergey. He made plays sideline to sideline. He was our Butkus and he was great. You had to see him play. Very much like Butkus. In the stands fans would shout, " Bergey Got Him". Bergey was a tackling machine. He wanted a long term contract and in 1973 Paul Brown didn't believe in long term guaranteed contracts. Of course they are standard now. What Bergey was asking for is today just a basic contract, but Paul Brown was old school to a fault on that one. Eventually PB had to start giving players those type contracts because most NFL players had them.