THE MANSION

Another arrest has happened in the Cincinnati Bengals organization this past week. This has not been a great off-season for the Bengals.

If on-field matters of whether or not star quarterback Carson Palmer was going to come back from a severe knee injury were not enough to make this franchise have headaches in the off-season, try tackling a series of off-field incidents involving several players.

LB Odell Thurman was suspended for violating the leagues substance abuse policy, DT Matthias Askew was arrested for resisting arrest, AJ Nicholson for burglary, I still do not understand why an NFL player has to rob somebody, the league minimum must be 5 times my salary.

WR Chris Henry has had 5 arrests ranging from transaction with a minor, felony gun possession to marijuana possession. DE Frostee Rucker for spousal battery, and ERic Stein bach for boating under the influence.

Now this past week another arrest, and bingo the same guy I mentioned, Odell Thurman was arrested for driving under the influence on Monday morning.

Now the question is, does all this fall under Marvin Lewis hands. Is he to blame for all this. I have some experience with this arguement because I experienced this in the mid-90's with my Dallas Cowboys. Remember there were several incidents involving Michael Irvin, Erik Williams and Leon Lett among others. People at that time were quick to blame Barry Switzer. It was easy to blame Switzer. He ran a loose clubhouse with little or no regard to rules and clubhouse management and players were free to do whatever they want. He had the same way of doing things at Oklahoma, which eventually lead to his undoing at the University and as Cowboys head coach.

But I also recall a lot of Tom Landry's Cowboys' of the 70s had a lot of off-field issues. Landry is the opposite of Switzer. Landry ran a tight ship at the Cowboys headquarters and motivated by fear. But the players still got into legal trouble. Hollywood Henderson, Duane Thomas, Bob Hayes and Rafael Stepian ring a bell for anyone?

So how does this relate to Marvin Lewis' situation with the Bengals? A head coach can only do so much to prevent stuff. Hwe can't be blamed totally, but must use his influence to curb the problems. I have not really gotten a grasp for the style of coaching Lewis does. I do not know if he leand more toward Tony Dungy or towards Bill Parcells. But he needs to put his foot down. He needs to take control and hold players accountable for off-field issues.

A player is less likely to get in trouble if he is thinking "how is this going to affect my job?" If a coach is not assertive enough, the thought will not cross the players' mind at all.

More importantly, the other players are watching, and they are seeing nothing being done and soon the domino effect will happen. I mean if a Bengal player can get arrested 5 times and not be held accountable by the organization, then what else can a player get away with? Taking off plays, talking back, excessive penalties?

These Bengals will eventually make the 90's Cowboys look like boy scouts. Rememebr it was about the same amount of players that got in trouble for the Cowboys as the Bengals have had.

Lewis has reportedly have more power than any coach since Paul Brown, so he better start using that power to get his players under control. I feel Lewis gets a free pass because it took him a long time to get an NFL head coaching job even aftereing the architect behind the 2000 Ravens defense, being passed over until almost 3 years later. Also, he seems to be a stand-up guy when talking to the media. But that won't work in a clubhouse out of control. He has also turned around the worsat franchis of the ninties into a playoff contender. Honeymoon is over Marvin, settle it down, or lose the mansion you built.