Andrew Whitworth is by all accounts one of the best young players on the Bengals roster. He’s a pro bowl caliber left tackle, a four-year starter, and one of the more outspoken leaders of the team. In victory and defeat, Whitworth has been a stand-up guy with an old school attitude.
He’s also the team’s player’s association representative. And apparently the job is messing with his head. In a piece in the USA Today, Whitworth describes for us yet another reason why a CBA is needed–and fast.
“You’re going to ruin the chance for quality football,” if the lockout proceeds Whitworth explained. “There will be more injuries and things that affect the game. Period.”
Why do you ask? Well apparently because players are going to be a bunch of lazy bums without the threat of OTA’s and mini-camps looming over their heads.
“Guys are human beings. And if you tell guys ‘It doesn’t look like you’re doing anything until July or August,’ guys will lose a lot of incentive to train and to get better,” the former LSU Tiger said. “You will get a lot of guys who will say, ‘We’re not even going to play. I’m not going to work hard all the time.’”
So there you have it, folks. We need the owners to throw more millions at these players now! If not, they’ll become fat couch potatoes who don’t give a rip about their team, their career, or their legacy. They don’t fear losing their jobs or being beat out by a younger, hungrier guys. For them, they train hard only when they have a coach screaming in their ear. And the coaches only have the opportunity to yell when the players are buying new Bentleys.
Essentially, if the players aren’t being paid, they cease becoming professionals–in every sense.
Nice, Whit. We respect your game, but we aren’t sure this commentary is going to win too many friends from fans working double shifts.
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