Poll: Which former Bengal "Bust" career would you most like to get a "do over" for?

[Shepdawg]

If you could somehow go back in time and "resurrect" one former Bengals career that was a "bust" for whatever reason, injury included, which Bengal would it be?  You get to exchange that players actual career with one that could be considered borderline HOF, maybe not a first ballot shoe in, but certainly in the discussion.  In other words much closer to the career you thought they would have had.

[Nicomo Cosca]

David Pollack

He would have been a good one for us for a long time.

[Shepdawg]

I went with Dave Rimington. He was supposed to be one of, if not the best center prospect ever. The award for the best center in college is named The Dave Rimington Trophy. He played with Munoz and Montoya in their prime, and Dave Lapham was the LG his rookie year. That team was loaded and Rimingtom turned out to be a weak link instead of the strength he was supposed to be to the interior line to put them over the top. The Bengals had Blair Bush as their starter before Rimington and he also was a former first round pick. Bush went on to start and play well for the Seahawks mean while Rimington went on to start and struggle here. Imagine borderline HOF playing center alongside Munoz and Montoya and the weapons some of the teams in the mid 80's had.

[Bilbo Saggins]

It was well before my time, but Greg Cook's story always struck me as being one of the all time worst tragedies in sports.  He could've been in the conversation for the QB who revolutionized the league, best player of his era, or even GOAT...but the level of medical proficiency in that day and age did not allow his story to unfold.  

[*pally*]

I chose Greg Cook. His success could have changed the entire history of the Bengals franchise. I don't think we could say that for any other player. Plus there is a direct correlation between that shoulder injury and his subsequent personal history so many "what ifs" surround him.

[SunsetBengal]

Easily Greg Cook. The original "what if" of Bengals lore. Who knows how Bengals history could have been written, had he been able to enjoy a long career?

[3wt]

(05-19-2018, 05:06 AM)Bilbo Saggins Wrote: It was well before my time, but Greg Cook's story always struck me as being one of the all time worst tragedies in sports.  He could've been in the conversation for the QB who revolutionized the league, best player of his era, or even GOAT...but the level of medical proficiency in that day and age did not allow his story to unfold.  

Well I voted before reading the original post.   I mean if I could have reversed the injury it's Greg Cook all the way.   Big time hall of famer would have totally changed the course of Bengals history and the image of this franchise.

[3wt]

But if I could just change the pick it would be Copeland.   Could have had Willie Roaf - all pro left tackle who could pass protect and totally pancake folks in the running game.   Copeland was a whiff.

[Yojimbo]

Finally got to vote for my Nole, P-Dub! Breaks my heart thinking about what might have been. My favorite college player of all-time on my favorite pro team.

[GreenDragon]

The league made an example out of Odell Thurman. He never had a shot to comeback after his suspensions.

[Jason_NC]

A lot of those guys weren't busts. Cook was a generational talent who had a bad injury at the wrong time, to me a serious injury is not a bust. Same goes for Carter and Pollack.

I think Peter Warrick could thrive in todays NFL so I'll go with him.

[BenZoo2]

I accidentally voted before reading the whole post, sorry. I voted akili thinking I could have a redo of the pick. For the career it would hands down be Greg cook. I believe he would have some playoff wins and possibly some super bowl appearances.

[Nebuchadnezzar]

I went with Ki'jana Carter off of impulse but have to say Greg Cook should be my choice.

Bob Trumpy said that if Greg Cook had not gotten hurt the Bengals would have multiple Super Bowl victories...I don't think you can say the same thing with any other choice listed although Carter was special and would have been fun to watch as a pro.

EDIT: I switched my vote to Greg Cook, I had too.

[fredtoast]

If Greg Cook is healthy maybe Bill Walsh stays with the Bengals.

[fredtoast]

(05-19-2018, 11:49 AM)GreenDragon Wrote: The league made an example out of Odell Thurman. He never had a shot to comeback after his suspensions.

You all know that I am usually the guy saying we need to give kids second chances when they mess up, but Thurman was hopeless.  He just never got it.  In college he messed up multiple times before they kicked him off the team for a full season and then when they let him come back for his final year he got kicked off again.  Then he just kept messing up in the NFL.

[Shake n Blake]

Greg Cook was well before my time, but could've reshaped the Bengals entire history. So I had to go with him.

That said, Ki-Jana was the biggest disappointment of my time as a fan. "Shake n Blake" was at it's peak when we took Ki-Jana. The thought was Blake/Pickens/Scott + a stud RB would lead us back to the playoffs. Ki-Jana was soooo hyped as the next big thing, so when he tore up his knee it was heart breaking. The Bengals still went 7-9 that year, then 8-8 and 7-9 the following years. So the 90's could've been completely different had we hit on that pick.

[*bfine32*]

Should be "other than Cook" and with my own self-imposed criteria I go Chris Henry.

[804 fan]

(05-19-2018, 11:40 AM)Yojimbo Wrote: Finally got to vote for my Nole, P-Dub! Breaks my heart thinking about what might have been. My favorite college player of all-time

Same here, got to meet him once and I told him "my boys keep saying you are not doing what you should but I always tell them you are the truth" and he said to me" I appreciate it but these folks not using me right". 

[phil413]

Ricky Dixon

-I'm not old enough to have been around when Greg Cook should have led them to rings and changed the course of the franchise.

-If Dixon has a HOF career then he's good enough to stop Taylor as a rookie and the Bengals are 1988 Super Bowl Champions.

-This is out there but a long HOF career could mean he never shows early stages of ALS, so he never has it, making him the first choice. If he has it anyway it may cause more awareness years before the shortsighted ice bucket social media "bust".

-A long HOF career CB means he allow's for guys like Fulcher to make big plays and turns a solid defense into a really good one, their backbone. This allows for more picks to be used for true BPA. That means were never bad enough to draft Klinger, so they either pony up to keep Esiason or say they draft Marc Brunell next year.

Maybe Mikey is still Mikey, but he would have a lot of good chips in his hands already without the high picks to mess up.

[*rfaulk34*]

(05-19-2018, 01:54 PM)Shake n Blake Wrote: That said, Ki-Jana was the biggest disappointment of my time as a fan. "Shake n Blake" was at it's peak when we took Ki-Jana. The thought was Blake/Pickens/Scott + a stud RB would lead us back to the playoffs. Ki-Jana was soooo hyped as the next big thing, so when he tore up his knee it was heart breaking. The Bengals still went 7-9 that year, then 8-8 and 7-9 the following years. So the 90's could've been completely different had we hit on that pick.

Dude was all pro at drinking gatorade on the sidelines though. 

Seriously, i went to a lot of games in the 90's and i'd watching him drink cup after cup of the stuff while standing on the sidelines.