10-26-2017, 08:47 PM
It's quite interesting - and pretty depressing - to compare Hobson's thoughts on Mike in the OP, with quotes from Mike (and a couple from Katie) in a Hobson article from 1997 about Mike not giving up control:
''I'm unhappy we haven't won. The fans are unhappy we haven't won. We understand that,'' Brown said. ''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,'' Brown said.
''Everybody loves the GM who is hot. A few years ago it was Bobby Beathard when San Diego went to the Super Bowl,'' said Katie Blackburn, Brown's daughter who handles the Bengals' salary cap as the club's top negotiator.
''Now where are the Chargers? I think he should stick with it. We've had some good years around here. I think my Dad knows as much football as anyone out there.''
''If you have the bell cow quarterback, it works,'' said Brown, who saw it work with Otto Graham in the '50s, Ken Anderson in the '70s and Esiason in the '80s.
''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,'' Brown said. ''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.''
''Some of what we do is required by our financial situation,'' Brown said. ''I don't apologize for it.''
Two decades later, It doesn't seem much at all has changed in terms of Mike's thinking.
''I'm unhappy we haven't won. The fans are unhappy we haven't won. We understand that,'' Brown said. ''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,'' Brown said.
''Everybody loves the GM who is hot. A few years ago it was Bobby Beathard when San Diego went to the Super Bowl,'' said Katie Blackburn, Brown's daughter who handles the Bengals' salary cap as the club's top negotiator.
''Now where are the Chargers? I think he should stick with it. We've had some good years around here. I think my Dad knows as much football as anyone out there.''
''If you have the bell cow quarterback, it works,'' said Brown, who saw it work with Otto Graham in the '50s, Ken Anderson in the '70s and Esiason in the '80s.
''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,'' Brown said. ''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.''
''Some of what we do is required by our financial situation,'' Brown said. ''I don't apologize for it.''
Two decades later, It doesn't seem much at all has changed in terms of Mike's thinking.
