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Draft Time & Yesterday's Love for the Game - jabor - 04-27-2022
I bet many of you are like me.
I learned to read on the sports page. I learned math by studying baseball and football statistics.
When I was 7, my parents bought me a football outfit (see attached pic). Yes...I put it on every Sunday for the game KNOWING that it helped determine if the Bengals won or lost. And yes, my favorite player became the uniform's #44, RB Doug Dressler. (And yes... I was clearly a doofus, lol).
Like many of you, I went out and played football with my friends virtually every day. My favorite position? Wide receiver.
All these memories came flooding back to me because of a Draft article at Bengals.com about my favorite player growing up: Isaac Curtis. He's probably the strongest early Bengals memory I have. And I will say it: he's the greatest Bengals WR ever. Heck, how many other players have a rule made up for them?
I loved playing WR and here the Bengals were picking one in the 1st round. Watching him that rookie year...wow...he was on another level. Even a 10-year-old could see that. On top of that, the man exuded COOL, from the way he walked to the way he casually flipped the ball over his shoulder after a touchdown. He was like the Shaft of football... even had the same mustache
The two most interesting things about the article were some insights into Curtis' early development. First, he was coached in college by Don "Air" Coryell. In fact, without Coryell, we may never have seen Curtis; it was he that switched Curtis from RB to WR. Second, Ken Riley took extra time with Curtis to teach him how to better run routes.
And whenever I want to beat myself up over what "could" have been with the Bengals (we Bengals fans have many of those moments), I think about what it would have been like if Greg Cook never got hurt. Cook to Curtis.... Heck, if Bob Trumpy could average 22.6 ypc with Cook, imagine what Curtis would have done.
Anyway, here's the article: https://www.bengals.com/news/inside-the-drafting-of-isaac-curtis-and-how-he-helped-the-bengals-change-the-gam
RE: Draft Time & Yesterday's Love for the Game - fredtoast - 04-28-2022
I don't mean this as a knock on Curtis. He was also one of my favorite players. But I remember going to Wilmington for training camp and when the team was doing calisthenics Curtis was barely moving. His "jumping jacks" consisted of him bobbing up and down slightly while waving his arm sat his sides.
RE: Draft Time & Yesterday's Love for the Game - grampahol - 04-28-2022
(04-28-2022, 11:37 AM)fredtoast Wrote: I don't mean this as a knock on Curtis. He was also one of my favorite players. But I remember going to Wilmington for training camp and when the team was doing calisthenics Curtis was barely moving. His "jumping jacks" consisted of him bobbing up and down slightly while waving his arm sat his sides.
The jumping jack doesn't make the man, the man makes the jumping jack.. ~Some dumbass gym teacher somewhere..
RE: Draft Time & Yesterday's Love for the Game - fredtoast - 04-28-2022
(04-28-2022, 12:18 PM)grampahol Wrote: The jumping jack doesn't make the man, the man makes the jumping jack.. ~Some dumbass gym teacher somewhere..
Rep.
"It's not the jump in the jack. It's the jack in the jump."
RE: Draft Time & Yesterday's Love for the Game - fredtoast - 04-28-2022
Another interesting fact about Curtis.
University of California won the 1970 NCAA Track and Field championship, but had the title stripped because Curtis was ruled ineligible due to grades. Curtis had finished 2nd in the 100-yard dash and anchored the 4 X 100 relay team that finished first.
RE: Draft Time & Yesterday's Love for the Game - George Cantstandya - 04-28-2022
Forum member posts a thread about being a fan, what it means to them, and mentioned how much they liked Isaac Curtis.
Fred: Don't mean this as a knock but here are two negative things I'd like to mention about Curtis. Bad jumping jacks at training camp and his track team was stripped of the title due to him being academically ineligible.
RE: Draft Time & Yesterday's Love for the Game - fredtoast - 04-29-2022
(04-28-2022, 06:05 PM)George Cantstandya Wrote: Forum member posts a thread about being a fan, what it means to them, and mentioned how much they liked Isaac Curtis.
Fred: Don't mean this as a knock but here are two negative things I'd like to mention about Curtis. Bad jumping jacks at training camp and his track team was stripped of the title due to him being academically ineligible.
Okay then. Let me balance this out a bit.
In 1981 the Chargers were one of the best teams in the league. The game that really convinced me that the '81 Bengals were a legit Super Bowl contender was when they went on the road and blew that Chargers out late in the season. Curtis was at the end of his career at that time and rookie Cris Collinsworth was the new #1 WR. But Ike went off against the Chargers. 9 receptions for 147 yards and a td.
RE: Draft Time & Yesterday's Love for the Game - Nate (formerly eliminate08) - 04-29-2022
(04-28-2022, 06:05 PM)George Cantstandya Wrote: Forum member posts a thread about being a fan, what it means to them, and mentioned how much they liked Isaac Curtis.
Fred: Don't mean this as a knock but here are two negative things I'd like to mention about Curtis. Bad jumping jacks at training camp and his track team was stripped of the title due to him being academically ineligible.
So true, this is when I have a problem with Fred. To the OP....
