Bengals try to right ship

Captain Michael Abrashoff, author of "It's Your Ship," spoke to the Bengals in a team meeting Monday.

Abrashoff, captain of the USS Benfold, had struck up a friendship with Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis after Lewis had read the book. Quarterback Carson Palmer gave Lewis the book after Palmer had received a copy of the book from his father, Bill Palmer.

The full title is "It's Your Ship: Management Techniques from the Best Damn Ship in the Navy."

"He made everybody feel important," Carson Palmer said when asked for the primary message the captain delivered. "The guy on the ship who dealt with all the sewage ... they all had ownership of what was going on on the ship."

He drew that parallel to a football team: Everyone is important, whether it is a special teams player or a backup defensive back.

Bill Palmer sent the book to Carson after he read it. New England coach Bill Belichick has built some of his coaching principles on the book, Carson Palmer said.