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vancelot23
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Opening Statement: Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I intend to prove, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that the city of Cincinnati and, more specifically, the fans of the Cincinnati Bengals, deserve a change at head coach, and that the Marvin Lewis era needs to come to an end. I will present evidence to show that the team will be better off, and thus the fans will be happier due to a more successful team. Mr Lewis has now been here for 9 seasons, with a little more success than his predecessors, but still not a lot of success when compared to most other teams. I know he's beloved by a lot of Bengals fans, but the facts will show that his success isn't as clear as it may appear to be, and that they could be much better off. Good people of this jury, I will now present my case.
Exhibit A-The illusion of record.
If you just look at the record of the Bengals since Lewis was hired in 2003, you'd see that they only finished under .500 3 times. It should also be noted that they only finished over .500 3 times as well. More disturbing is the trend under Lewis of season-ending flops. Consider the way the seasons have ended:
2003-The Bengals were 7-5, then lost 3 of the last 4 to finish 8-8.
2005-They were 11-3 and in the hunt for an opening round bye, but lost their last 2, setting themselves up for the infamous Steelers game.
2006-The Bengals were 8-5 and in good shape to make the playoffs for a 2nd straight year, but lost their last three games and finished 8-8, while the 9-7 Kansas City Chiefs made took their spot.
2008-Cincinnati starts 1-11-1, but wins it's final three, possibly saving Lewis's job.
2009-They were sitting at 9-3, but again lost three of their last four and wound up with the 4th seed.
2011-They were 6-2 and in a virtual tie for 1st, but couldn't get it done down the stretch, finished 9-7, and earned the 6th seed only because the Jets collapsed.
Adding to those season-ending flameouts is a few other pieces of pertinent information. In 2009 and 2011, the Bengals had last place schedules, and in 2011, the Bengals had only 1 victory over a team that was over .500. Also, Lewis is credited with having the most wins in franchise history. It should be noted that he also has the most losses, and his career record is under .500. Additionally, in his three playoff trips, Lewis is 0-3.
Exhibit B-The inmates are running the asylum.
It's well documented that the Bengals have had legal issues. Since Marvin Lewis took over in January of 2003, the Bengals are 2nd in the league in arrests. Chris Henry was the biggest contributor to that number, but he had help. There were several DUI's, including stars such as Leon Hall and Ray Mauluga. Henry had a plethora of offenses, Cedric Benson's addicted to punching people, and it goes on. Now, some of the issues are from bringing in guys like Pacman Jones, who are known trouble-magnets, and Lewis isn't a babysitter, but there seems to be a lack of institutional control, and players seem to have no accountability. Lewis is a player's coach, which is fine, but the players seem to have no fear of punishment, which may have led to the recklessness. Again, Mike Brown has to accept a lot of the culpability here, but Lewis has to take a fair share as well. His inability to control Chad Johnson/Ochocinco is also well-documented.
Exhibit C-A red flag...literally
I don't have a success rate for challenges of Marvin Lewis vs the rest of the league. However, I feel comfortable when I say that he lacks good judgement in that area. In some cases, I'm sure he just takes the word of whatever Bengal assistant is in charge of such things, but once in awhile, he could use some common sense of his own. He often uses challenges on plays that he has no chance of winning, and on plays that weren't really that significant in the first place. Sometimes it's best to just let one go and save the challenge for a more important play later on. The unsuccessful challenges also cost the team precious timeouts.
Exhibit D-That other flag.
Not only do the players often seem to have no control off the field, but they often seem out of control on the field, generating penalties, often at backbreaking times. Again, the players have to exercise some control, but some of that has to fall back on the coaching. The Bengals racked up an inordinate amount of pre-snap penalties in the form of false start and delay of game most notably.
Exhibit E-The eye test.
Sometimes, you just have to watch the team to see that things aren't quite right. There are inexplicable timeouts, or sometimes the strange non-use of timeouts. Then there is the chronic non-agressiveness that permeates the team, especially in the past few years. The Bengals seem to always play to their competition's level. This is a good thing when playing the Ravens, who historically Lewis has had some success against, but not so good when playing the cellar-dwelling teams. The Bengals have often struggled against teams that they should be beating. This is usually because even if Cincinnati builds a lead, Lewis and company goes conservative far too early, allowing the teams to get back in the game. Lewis also seems to want to win games by running the ball and playing defense, but isn't able to do it successfully. The game has evolved, but Lewis seems content to be left behind. The lack of creativity and the predictability in the offense has long been a problem.
Exhibit F-Moving on up.
It's been 9 years since Marvin Lewis became the head coach of the Bengals. One division title and three playoff trips later, each without a win, and maybe it's just best to move on and try something different. Any other team would have already decided that they need to shake things up. If you are making the playoffs on a regular basis, then you keep your coach as long as possible. When you are the Cincinnati Bengals, maybe you need a new direction. With a rookie QB, and new offensive coordinator, and a lot of change, a new HC would be a good thing for everybody. The Bengals would likely need to take a shot at someone without head coaching experience, since established coaches might be reticent to work for Mike Brown, but it could be worth a shot. They reached out to Jay Gruden this past offseason for an offensive coordinator and it worked out pretty well, so they could have more good luck if they tried again. Change is good sometimes.
Closing argument: I've presented quite a bit of evidence, and am now turning it over to you, the jury, to decide if Marvin Lewis should remain as the head coach of the Cincinnati Bengals. The case against him paints a clear picture of having the illusion of moderate success, while in reality, it's been lots of mediocrity. I know a lot of Bengals fans think they should stick with him, because they can't get anybody better, but I think that's just a convenient excuse. I, for one, don't want to just accept mediocre play and a few one-and-done playoff appearances every 10 years. Lewis hasn't shown the ability to sustain success, so why give him the chance to go 6-10 or worse next season? Make the right decision and fire Marvin Lewis. Thank you.
Exhibit A-The illusion of record.
If you just look at the record of the Bengals since Lewis was hired in 2003, you'd see that they only finished under .500 3 times. It should also be noted that they only finished over .500 3 times as well. More disturbing is the trend under Lewis of season-ending flops. Consider the way the seasons have ended:
2003-The Bengals were 7-5, then lost 3 of the last 4 to finish 8-8.
2005-They were 11-3 and in the hunt for an opening round bye, but lost their last 2, setting themselves up for the infamous Steelers game.
2006-The Bengals were 8-5 and in good shape to make the playoffs for a 2nd straight year, but lost their last three games and finished 8-8, while the 9-7 Kansas City Chiefs made took their spot.
2008-Cincinnati starts 1-11-1, but wins it's final three, possibly saving Lewis's job.
2009-They were sitting at 9-3, but again lost three of their last four and wound up with the 4th seed.
2011-They were 6-2 and in a virtual tie for 1st, but couldn't get it done down the stretch, finished 9-7, and earned the 6th seed only because the Jets collapsed.
Adding to those season-ending flameouts is a few other pieces of pertinent information. In 2009 and 2011, the Bengals had last place schedules, and in 2011, the Bengals had only 1 victory over a team that was over .500. Also, Lewis is credited with having the most wins in franchise history. It should be noted that he also has the most losses, and his career record is under .500. Additionally, in his three playoff trips, Lewis is 0-3.
Exhibit B-The inmates are running the asylum.
It's well documented that the Bengals have had legal issues. Since Marvin Lewis took over in January of 2003, the Bengals are 2nd in the league in arrests. Chris Henry was the biggest contributor to that number, but he had help. There were several DUI's, including stars such as Leon Hall and Ray Mauluga. Henry had a plethora of offenses, Cedric Benson's addicted to punching people, and it goes on. Now, some of the issues are from bringing in guys like Pacman Jones, who are known trouble-magnets, and Lewis isn't a babysitter, but there seems to be a lack of institutional control, and players seem to have no accountability. Lewis is a player's coach, which is fine, but the players seem to have no fear of punishment, which may have led to the recklessness. Again, Mike Brown has to accept a lot of the culpability here, but Lewis has to take a fair share as well. His inability to control Chad Johnson/Ochocinco is also well-documented.
Exhibit C-A red flag...literally
I don't have a success rate for challenges of Marvin Lewis vs the rest of the league. However, I feel comfortable when I say that he lacks good judgement in that area. In some cases, I'm sure he just takes the word of whatever Bengal assistant is in charge of such things, but once in awhile, he could use some common sense of his own. He often uses challenges on plays that he has no chance of winning, and on plays that weren't really that significant in the first place. Sometimes it's best to just let one go and save the challenge for a more important play later on. The unsuccessful challenges also cost the team precious timeouts.
Exhibit D-That other flag.
Not only do the players often seem to have no control off the field, but they often seem out of control on the field, generating penalties, often at backbreaking times. Again, the players have to exercise some control, but some of that has to fall back on the coaching. The Bengals racked up an inordinate amount of pre-snap penalties in the form of false start and delay of game most notably.
Exhibit E-The eye test.
Sometimes, you just have to watch the team to see that things aren't quite right. There are inexplicable timeouts, or sometimes the strange non-use of timeouts. Then there is the chronic non-agressiveness that permeates the team, especially in the past few years. The Bengals seem to always play to their competition's level. This is a good thing when playing the Ravens, who historically Lewis has had some success against, but not so good when playing the cellar-dwelling teams. The Bengals have often struggled against teams that they should be beating. This is usually because even if Cincinnati builds a lead, Lewis and company goes conservative far too early, allowing the teams to get back in the game. Lewis also seems to want to win games by running the ball and playing defense, but isn't able to do it successfully. The game has evolved, but Lewis seems content to be left behind. The lack of creativity and the predictability in the offense has long been a problem.
Exhibit F-Moving on up.
It's been 9 years since Marvin Lewis became the head coach of the Bengals. One division title and three playoff trips later, each without a win, and maybe it's just best to move on and try something different. Any other team would have already decided that they need to shake things up. If you are making the playoffs on a regular basis, then you keep your coach as long as possible. When you are the Cincinnati Bengals, maybe you need a new direction. With a rookie QB, and new offensive coordinator, and a lot of change, a new HC would be a good thing for everybody. The Bengals would likely need to take a shot at someone without head coaching experience, since established coaches might be reticent to work for Mike Brown, but it could be worth a shot. They reached out to Jay Gruden this past offseason for an offensive coordinator and it worked out pretty well, so they could have more good luck if they tried again. Change is good sometimes.
Closing argument: I've presented quite a bit of evidence, and am now turning it over to you, the jury, to decide if Marvin Lewis should remain as the head coach of the Cincinnati Bengals. The case against him paints a clear picture of having the illusion of moderate success, while in reality, it's been lots of mediocrity. I know a lot of Bengals fans think they should stick with him, because they can't get anybody better, but I think that's just a convenient excuse. I, for one, don't want to just accept mediocre play and a few one-and-done playoff appearances every 10 years. Lewis hasn't shown the ability to sustain success, so why give him the chance to go 6-10 or worse next season? Make the right decision and fire Marvin Lewis. Thank you.
