Quote:1992-94: Combined record of 11-27 (0.229)
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"We're rebuilding. These things take time."


1995-99: Combined record of 29-51 (0.363)
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"We need a new stadium to compete." And heard increasingly toward the end of this span, "We need a bell-cow quarterback if we're ever going to win."


2000-02: Combined record of 12-32 (0.250)
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"We haven't enjoyed the increased revenue from the new stadium for very long. Give it a few years." And we still heard, "We need a bell-cow quarterback."


2003-04: Combined record of 16-16 (0.500)
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"Marvin Lewis is putting it together, but we'll have to give him a few years."


2005: Record of 11-5 (0.688)
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No excuses were necessary. But I recall reading an interview where MB said, "We should be set for years to come." And why not? None of the old excuses applied any longer.


2006-07: Combined record of 15-17 (0.469)
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"Injuries, injuries, injuries." And of course there was, "Mike Brown didn't miss that field goal or make that bad long snap."


2008: Record starts out at 0-6. (0.000)
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Is there anything he could possibly say now? His bell-cow QB is injured because his offensive line is terrible. He has enjoyed the stadium revenue for eight years. This is Marvin Lewis's sixth year, so the coaching staff has had plenty of time. And can a bad string of injuries every year be attributed to purely bad luck?

But I guess there will always be excuses. Like,"it's the players' and coaches' fault." Sure it is. Mike Brown can just do no wrong. Shame on us all for ever doubting the man.

Quote:Fromhttp://bengals.enquirer.com/1997/12/122197_brown.html :

"I'm unhappy we haven't won. The fans are unhappy we haven't won. We understand that. But I don't agree with the media suggestions for correcting it. ... We feel we've got people here who have the knowledge."

"I'm used to it. I've been criticized for 30 years."

"To say what the coaches put into the decision is minor, or they don't get their way most of the time is wrong. People would be surprised at how little I'm involved. I only interject when I feel it's necessary."

"If you have the bell cow quarterback, it works. You have to have the key guy. If you don't have the key guy, it doesn't matter. ... The system, changed (to free agency), but one thing that didn't change was you still had to line up with a key player or two. Look at San Francisco (Steve Young), Dallas (Aikman), Miami (Marino), Denver (John Elway). They were good before and after the system. I'm not disparaging other players because you need as many good ones as you can get. But the quarterback is the key guy. Look at Buffalo this year."

"When people talk about scouting, it's a red herring for people who don't know what they're talking about. We have all the information everybody else has. There are no secrets. When the Broncos got (running back) Terrell Davis in the sixth round, it wasn't like he wasn't on our board. We talked about him. If they were so sure fire smart, why didn't they take him in the first round? We have the same record as the Rams and they have (eight) scouts."

Quote:Fromhttp://web.archive.org/web/20010729064608/www.cincypost.com/bengals/99preview/mike091199.html :

"If you don't have a productive quarterback, you won't go anywhere. That's the way it works in this league. I know it doesn't seem that simple, but it is."

Quote:On fan's being angry:

http://bengals.enquirer.com/2000/12/02/ben_sullivan_mike_brown.html :

I probably could retire and they wouldn't have to hold a benefit in my behalf. But I want to have an active life. There are a lot of things about this (game) that are enjoyable, even amid the most difficult of times. ... I would like to put it right, and I think we can.

I am not immune to criticism. No matter what we do, I'm ultimately responsible for it. But I think I understand what criticism really is. It's the opinion of others, and that opinion shifts. It reflects the emotion of the moment. I'm not going to make decisions in my life based on opinions other than my own.

http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/AB/20081201/SPT02/312010050/

Quote:Excusing the 4-11-1 record in 2008 (0-4 with Palmer):

"It is hard to have success in this league without your key players. Were playing with literally less than half of the people we thought would be our starters. We lost Carson Palmer, who is our linchpin player. We lost our best defensive player before the season started, (linebacker) Odell Thurman."

"I think things would take a quantum leap forward if we had Carson Palmer back on the field and playing the way he can play."

"I call them themes. They (fans and customers) like to talk about different themes when things dont go well. Part of being in this job, the good side of the coin is it shows the emotional connection the fans have with this football team." [On the calls to hire a GM.]

Quote:From the infamous 2011 "no change" press conference:

On if there are plans to make any changes to the scouting and personnel departments:

BROWN: "The scouting thing is another criticism that rises up when we don't do well. If you look at our record on scouting over the last 10 years, we rank 10th for the number of games played by players we drafted. I think we sank to 11th on the number of players who are in the league that we drafted, and we would be higher than that except for injuries that were serious that players like (David) Pollack suffered, or Chris Perry, or what happened with (Odell) Thurman, or what happened to Chris Henry. We had a number of those. It was disproportionate. I don't apologize for our scouting. It's an easy target, but if you look at the real facts, I think you'll see it differently."

On where the team stands on building an indoor practice facility:

BROWN: "Marvin has a desire to have a practice facility. I have a desire, but probably not as keen. That doesn't mean I don't have a desire to do it. The timing is important. Right now, were faced with major issues in the National Football League, and those are at the front of our agenda. When we get through that, then we'll have time to consider this issue. It's one of the important issues that we have in mind. I would make the comment that some of this is perception. We worked in the cold weather. We played in the cold weather. It didn't seem to hurt us any to practice in the cold weather. We played pretty well in it. But I do know that it's the way it's trending. It's the fact that we have been left behind what others are doing. Whether that makes them better than us because they have an indoor practice facility is a question, but it's coming."

On possible personnel department changes:

BROWN: "We get criticized for that because we run a lighter crew than some teams do, but I don't know if we do badly there. We picked up Reggie Nelson this year that's a pretty good acquisition. The year before, we picked up (Brian) Leonard and he helped us a lot. We have people up there who are attuned to this stuff. (Director of Player Personnel) Duke Tobin is on top of it very, very thoroughly. Today, with the communications you have, you can talk to people anytime, anywhere in this country, and we do. You don't have to have a guy sitting in an office doing just that. You can carry this information with you as you travel and then communicate when it's necessary, and that's what we do. I don't think it works badly -- I think it works all right."

Quote:From a March 2011 interview with Joe Reedy:

We've been up and down over the last six years. I think we've done better than most as far as getting into the playoffs. They keep throwing figures out that you haven't done as well as you should but recently we've done fairly well. I wish it was better. I wish we would've gotten into the playoffs and won more. That bothers us. We have not had a record that is unacceptable over the last half dozen years. I wish it was better but it was in many ways getting into the playoffs better than most. You need to be economically healthy in order to do that (14 of the 32 teams have won more than one division title in past six years)

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20110312/SPT02/103130339/1066/SPT02/Brown-Owners-proposal-fair

At the time of this quote, the Bengals had a record of 44-51-1 (.464) with 2 playoff appearances in the "half-dozen" years Mike was referring to. The man was defending a losing record.

Quote:Talking about Marvin Lewis in September 2012:

"I think he's a good coach. I think he's done well for us," Brown says. "This league has a problem with the mathematical issue that only half the teams are going to win. That doesn't mean everyone else is incompetent or bad. It creates a lot of hand wringing and heartbreak at the end of the year as we kaleidoscope-like re-do the direction of the team and that includes the coaches. I think probably people do too much of this, owners react in response to the public pressure... The way to handle the public pressure is to can the coach and it's his fault and he's the scapegoat... I think the league would be better off if there were fewer firings and we were more patient with our coaches."

http://www.bengals.com/news/article-1/Hat-trick/13d44d63-1747-4732-8880-316ee1daa678

This is one of my "favorite" dumb quotes from Mike. So basically, we can't expect the Bengals to win consistently or win SB's due to a mathematical problem. So just keep your coaches around when the team sucks, because coaches really don't make a difference anyway, because "you win some, you lose some". Or something like that.

Quote:On honoring former Bengals greats:

"I understand the players," Brown said at the team's annual media luncheon. "They want to be remembered. I think it is a good thing to do that. We have never traded here on nostalgia. That's probably my fault. Because a little of it is a good thing. Fans like that sort of thing. What I'm saying is I'm stewing on it. I'm aware of the discomfort with our position." ...

"It's me, it's in my bones," he said. "Like everyone, I tend to look backward some, but I'm always focused on what's coming next. We've had decades now of wonderful players here. I can understand why people feel we should have celebrated them more and perpetuated their achievements better than we have. I'm probably at fault." ...

"We have no statues. We have no Hall of Fame. We have no Ring of Honor," he said. "We do have large pictures of the players in the foyer of the west side. But is that enough? Probably not. I confess it isn't. Maybe someone who comes after me can do better with this."

http://www.cincinnati.com/story/sports/nfl/bengals/2015/07/28/mike-brown-lack--honoring-former-players-probably-my-fault/30789387/

Quote:Defiant attitude after the Pittsburgh playoff meltdown:

Lewis may have been fired from many NFL teams given the messy ending and a 0-7 post-season record. But [Mike] Brown is famous for being the most patient owner in any pro sport. Yet on Tuesday he offered an excellent defense of his guy. A fundamental, pragmatic view of another century.

“If coaches were hired and fired on that account, the NFL would have a turnover rate about three times what is has now,” Brown said. “Yes, we want to win a playoff game, we want to win the Super Bowl. So do a lot of other teams, most of which have not gotten as far as we've gotten.

Quote:After a second consecutive losing season:

The Enquirer: There was a real sense that this partnership was over following the three-game losing streak to Pittsburgh, Chicago and culminating in Minnesota with an ESPN report that Marvin Lewis had decided to walk away. Did you feel that way at that time?

Mike Brown: “I chose not to make a decision on what we were going to do going forward until all the evidence had been submitted. And that meant playing through the full season and not making a call prematurely. I would say that while we had serious reverses and they were unsettling, to put it mildly, we bounced back at the end of the year. We beat two teams that were in playoff runs. We beat them in games that were important for them where they gave their best shot and I was impressed how we rebounded. That played into what was in my mind when I had to make a final call.”

(01-22-2018, 05:14 PM)Shake n Blake Wrote: While looking for an old (2000ish) story on the Bengals making no coaching changes after another miserable season, I stumbled on this thread in MikeBrownSucks message boards. It was so good that I'm going to bring it here. We need to start cataloging all of these weak excuses and mind-numbingly dumb quotes that Mike has served through the years.  

http://www.network54.com/Forum/90650/thread/1223858598/1/Catalog+of+Mike+Brown+Excuses





http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/AB/20081201/SPT02/312010050/








If you can remember any frustrating or puzzling quotes, throw them here. 

(01-22-2018, 05:26 PM)ochocincos Wrote: Gotta love those bell-cow quarterbacks

(01-22-2018, 06:10 PM)Gamma Ray Tan Wrote: Everyone just needs to calm down! Dad is fine, he doesn't need to go to the doctor! He just has a little cold. It's not like he has pneumonia or something. So everybody just needs to trust my judgement and relax. I know what I'm doing!

- Mike Brown (August 4th, 1991)

(01-22-2018, 08:33 PM)bengalsturntup926 Wrote: Did he really say that lol

(01-22-2018, 05:14 PM)Shake n Blake Wrote: "I'm used to it. I've been criticized for 30 years." 

(01-23-2018, 02:25 AM)Go Cards Wrote: Insert face to palm.

He certainly does not except any blame himself.

(01-23-2018, 02:40 AM)Shake n Blake Wrote: Good point. Never once have I seen the man really fall on the sword. He usually doesn't even want to admit a bad season was actually bad, preferring to make excuses or look for a sliver of something positive.

As a fan, I guess that attitude would be ok. As the team owner, it's the worst possible attitude he could have. He's content with the mediocrity and doesn't even really view it as mediocrity. 

(01-23-2018, 08:47 AM)HarleyDog Wrote: And now we know why Marvin continues to repeat “we did some good things” after every loss. It’s just enough that’s needed for job security.

(01-23-2018, 09:25 AM)BigPapaKain Wrote: Didn't read. Already sick.