04-14-2017, 11:02 AM
(04-14-2017, 09:11 AM)Whatever Wrote: To be fair, whenever the Bengals release a longtime star that's past his prime, the fanbase goes on suicide watch. Take Willie Anderson, for example.
The argument can also be made that he held onto Chuck Noll for too long. People would say the same thing about Cowher if he hadn't pulled off the SB in '05.
Take Willie Anderson as the only example. Not counting players whose contracts had expired and wound up signing for big money elsewhere - I can't think of any legendary Bengals that were cut once they started slipping. Mike must have been in a weird mood. Cutting both Willie and Rudi (9 years ago) was very uncharacteristic for him.
As for Noll and Cowher...He kept a couple coaches that combined for 28 playoff wins and 5 championships. Even before Cowher's championship run, he had 8 playoff wins and a SB appearance. If Mike Brown kept guys like that "too long" I'd be just fine with it. Instead he holds on to guys like Shula, Coslet and Marvin Lewis.
The training, nutrition, medicine, fitness, playbooks and rules evolve. The athlete does not.
