Marvin Lewis Q&A

By Mark Curnutte
Enquirer staff writer

Bengals coach Marvin Lewis answered questions with The Enquirer late this morning before conducting an Online chat with Cincinnati.com.

Here is the text of The Enquirer’s interview with the fourth-year Bengals coach. It was done under the stipulation Lewis would not address questions of player character and off-field behavior – three players were arrested in the offseason – until the team’s pre-training camp luncheon Wednesday at Paul Brown Stadium.

Question: Are you looking forward to camp this year more than other years and just getting back to football?
Answer: Well, you always look forward to training camp. It’s no different this year. I think every year you look forward to doing football, no more this year than the first year (2003). I’ve always said you look forward to the part of the year that’s football.

Q: How trying has this been offseason been to you?
A: It’s not been any more trying other than the questions about (quarterback) Carson’s (Palmer) health. I don’t think anything else has been different than we’ve dealt with the other offseasons. I think time and time again. it’s part of the NFL; it’s part of the overall fact that people want to know. There are a lot of ways to gather information these days. There are a lot of competitive groups gathering information. Sometimes, the perception is not always good for my job. Or their need for information, and the perceived message isn’t necessarily consistent with what’s going on.

Q: You are the face and voice of the Bengals organization. You’ve taken a lot of heat this year. Is that blame deserved?
A: I’ve not done anything wrong. But if I am (taking blame), then it’s deserved. Being the one who is the head coach, that’s fine. You take the good and the bad, it’s all part of it.”

Q: Do you and team president Mike Brown agree on every draft pick. Word is out there among people in the league that Mike made the selection of linebacker Ahmad Brooks in the supplemental draft. True or false?
A: Ahmad has been great to work with. We’ve spent 10 days with him, whatever it has been. He has been fabulous to have, and he has the opportunity to prove that he can be an outstanding NFL player.

Q: So you agreed with Mike Brown and are happy to have Brooks here?
A: “Very happy to have him here.”

Q: Will Chris Henry be with the team when he is medically cleared from his knee injury?
A: Yeah, he should have no problems once he is medically cleared. But he has some things pending. We’ll see how that all comes down for him. As I said earlier, with these guys, they’re facing some things bigger than what I have to worry about. They have a long road to cover and a chance to see what happens from there.

Q: With Chris Henry specifically, and the number of problems he has had (four arrests in seven months), is one player worth that much trouble?
A: It’s not clear … let’s see what trouble he is in. Don’t prejudge him. You can’t prejudge him.

Q: Have you heard anything from the league about Odell Thurman’s four-game suspension for the second violation of the substance abuse policy?
A: There has been no correspondence about Odell, so you guys (media) are way ahead of us.

Q: The most recent arrest over the weekend of Matthias Askew (resisting arrest, obstruction of police business, two traffic violations), you and your team and organization are taking a lot of heat nationally. Is that deserved? Does that bother you? Does it diminish what you’ve tried to do?
A: I don’t think it …
(Here, Bengals PR director Jack Brennan interrupts and says, “I think we pretty much said we weren’t going to do interviews on this subject until Wednesday, to be even-handed with the media.”
A: What it comes down to is Matthias feels he was wronged. He’ll have his day.

Q: Will the off-field problems of some of your players negatively affect your team on the field?
A: Do you think it affects your drop in the 3 Technique?

Q: Will it affect your team on the field?
A: C’mon, that would be an excuse. What off-field problems? Has Willie (Anderson) had a problem? Has Carson (Palmer) had a problem? Huh? Has Chad Johnson had a problem? Rudi (Johnson)? John Thornton? Bryan Robinson? C’mon, that would be an excuse. It has nothing to do with any of these guys.
These (other) people are on the periphery. They don’t even matter. They’re not part of our football team. They haven’t made our football team. The core of our football team has not changed nor will it. Nor will any of this stuff ever. Every team is going through this stuff, some bigger than these. There are bigger issues out there. It’s just what we’re in. It’s the age we’re in. Guys have to make their decision, but you’ve just got to let it play out.

Q: Can you say anything about the injured players – Chris Perry, Chris Henry, Adam Kieft – have any of them been medically cleared to practice Saturday night at training camp?
A: We won’t do anything about that until Saturday.

Q: Are efforts ongoing to get one or two or anything of those offensive linemen (whose contracts will expire after the 2006 season: Eric Steinbach, Levi Jones, Willie Anderson, Rich Braham)?
A: Yes, they are.

Q: Any updates on signing any of the draft picks?
A: I think things are moving along. There has been a little bit of slowness for everybody to make sure how the CBA read. Some teams have a couple guys signed. I do think it’s import in Katie’s mind (Bengals executive vice president Katie Blackburn) to make sure she understands. She’s not one to act until we understand what we’re acting on. I don’t think we’ll have any problems. We’ll have everybody ready to go. If we don’t, they’re losing time.”

Q: Is this the best Bengals team of your four that you are taking to camp?
A: Yes, by far. This is our best team, from what we’ve began with. But it really doesn’t matter how good your team is on paper. It’s how good you go play, prepare and play.

Q: What encourages you the most about the team you’re taking to training camp later this week?
A: We return basically our whole football team, every starter. We’ve improved in areas through maturity, through new players, the depth with the new guys. We’re a team that knows now you have to play your best football each and every Sunday, or you get whupped. I think that’s important.
E-mail mcurnutte@enquirer.com