http://www.yardbarker.com/content/player/3653 Recent articles about Odell Thurman en-us The headlines are filled with the failings of today's athletes. Everyone and their dog has heard about guys like Adam "Pac Man" Jones and Odell Thrumon having trouble staying out of jail, not to mention the colossal implosion of Michael Vick. Even the Oakland Raiders team was touched by problems when Javon Walker found himself unconscious in a Las Vegas alleyway. The other ways most players make headlines is by whining and crying about the "pittance" they are making because its only seven instead of eight figures. Brett Favre, who is a future Hall of Famer, has thrown himself into every lead-in to SportsCenter with his temper tantrum because his team took him seriously when he cried on camera that he was ready to retire. Nnamdi Asomugha, on the other hand, has had every opportunity to whine and cry about having been stuck with the franchise tag on a team that has been 19-61 in the last five years, but has instead handled himself with the utmost class and dignity. Sun, 27 Jul 2008 21:59:32 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/296665 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/296665 The assault charges that got former Bengals WR Chris Henry kicked off the team have been dropped. Meanwhile, police in Northern Ohio are hunting for former Bengal LB Odell Thurman, who allegedly punched a man at a waterpark. The Chickster says that NFL training camp rules hurt the Bengals this year. Another Brett Favre - Ocho Cinco [...] Mon, 14 Jul 2008 10:10:40 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/290160 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/290160 Lane Kiffin is asked to resign, Rob Ryan was supposedly fired, countless ex-Raiders have had negative comments reported about their time in the Oakland organization, and one of the newest and highest paid Raiders is found beaten and unconscious on a street in Las Vegas after having a controversial night on the town. If you're a pessimist, all of this could really get you down. It could, unless you were to look up from all of the Raider news and all of the Raiders pages to pay attention to the rest of the NFL news. Fri, 11 Jul 2008 03:34:43 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/288975 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/288975 Since the draft was next on my list of Marvin Lewis-era flashbacks, I suppose it's only appropriate that a back-and-forth has broken out between Cincy Jungle and WDR over who's to blame for Chris Henry and Odell Thurman. My view is that this debate constitutes a classic case of missing the forest for the trees. [...] Sun, 29 Jun 2008 13:36:55 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/283848 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/283848 The Bengals have certainly been in the news often this off-season for a number of reasons. Both Chad Johnson and T.J. Houshmandzadeh have expressed their displeasure over their current contracts and at one point it looked as if both were going to skip the team's mini-camp. The team also released oft-troubled WR Chris Henry and LB Odell Thurman - call it addition by subtraction - but both are gifted players who were looked to help the team contend again this coming season. Cincinnati failed to address its most glaring need in free agency, defensive tackle, but it's not like they didn't try. A deal for Shaun Rogers fell through, and he ended up coming here to Cleveland, and a deal for Dewayne Robison from the Jets also failed to materialize. And on top of all this the Bengals lost arguably their best defensive player in FA, Justin Smith. With all this in mind the Bengals' draft went as follows (Thurman was still with the team at the time of the draft): Round 1 – Keith Rivers, OLB, USC (9) Round 2 – Jerome Simpson, WR, Costal Carolina (46) Round 3 – Pat Sims, DT, Auburn (77) Andre Caldwell, WR, Florida (97) Round 4 - Anthony Collins, OT, Kansas (112) Round 5 – Jason Shirley, DT, Fresno St. (145) Round 6 – Corey Lynch, S, Appalachian St. (177) Matt Sherry, TE, Villanova (207) Round 7 – Angelo Craig, DE, Cincinnati (244) Mario Urrutia, WR, Louisville (246) The Bengals also signed three players this off-season: Darryl Blackstock, LB Antwan Odom, DE Ben Utecht, TE So what does all this mean to the Browns and the rest of the AFC North? Well, besides the FA signings and possibly Rivers, the rest of the off-season acquisitions will more than likely be role players. Simpson will fill the void left by Henry and may be a viable option in the red zone with his size, but he will still be a work in progress, having not played against top competition. It's no secret that this team had trouble on the defensive side of the ball last season, and I don't expect that to change either this year, mainly because they failed to address the defensive line in the early rounds of the draft (1st-2nd rounds). The pick of Rivers will help, if he was able to roam freely, but teams will be able to make sure he is limited in his involvement (much like teams were able to contain Kamerion Wimbley this past season). I don't think it's hard to predict this team going 6-10 or 5-11; they will win some games because they still have a potent offense, but that can only get you so far, as we found out last year with our beloved Browns. Draft grade: C - What were they doing taking three wide receivers when they certainly had bigger needs? Yes, at the time it looked like Johnson would not play, but three seems a bit much. Season prediction: 5-11, last in AFC North Mon, 23 Jun 2008 17:15:05 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/281348 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/281348 I wanted to be a scientist when I grew up. Don't ask me to specify which science. I just knew "scientist" sounded like a pretty cool job. Plus, there was always the hope I would some day get accidentally bombarded by gamma radiation. Then came calculus and I quickly realized "scientist" might not be my intended career path after all. I still admire what they do. When I was at Carnegie Mellon, I was always eager to hear about their advancements in robotics and artificial intelligence. When our evil metallic overlords rise up to enslave us all, you can safely direct a large amount of the blame toward that fine institution. I also enjoyed hearing about how their robotic creations were used to find and explore strange new worlds, seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before… Of course, some scientists do their exploring the old fashioned way. They use a big ass telescope. Recently, a Dr. Eric Mamajek , clearly a man of high moral character and good taste in that oasis of Massholes, peeked through his big ass telescope and saw something between Mars and Jupiter. They call it a "minor planet" although that sounds like calling something a "minor groin pull." Ain't nothing minor about either one. The International Astronomical Union, an organization which no doubt purchases pocket protectors in bulk, has officially named it 7835 Myroncope. Yes, Myron Cope has a planet named after him. A minor planet, but a planet nonetheless. No word yet on whether they plan to send a space probe over to plant a Terrible Towel in the soil. But they should. Other football related news: –Taking a cue from Carlton Haselrig, several Steelers decided to turn mini-camp practices into an MMA event last week. "I don't know, maybe they've been watching Georges Laraque," said OL Max Starks. No Max, if they'd been watching Laraque, they would've stood around watching other people start shit while waiting for the coach to tap them on the shoulder and remind them they're supposed to be an enforcer. –The Post-Gazette thinks Marvel Smith is in the same boat as Alan Faneca. I guess they're doing P.R. work for agents now. Sure, they're in the same boat. Unless you count the fact Faneca is a five-time Pro Bowler while Smith made it once and Faneca is relatively healthy while Smith is coming off major back surgery which caused him to pretty much miss the entire season last year. –Franco Harris spoke at Brashear High School. Meanwhile over in Hampton, Ben Roethlisberger visited Wyland Elementary. Luckily for Wyland, their second choice, Roger Clemens, declined their invitation. He already had a date for the weekend. —Ex-Steeler/Super Bowl Champion Plaxico Burress is holding out for more money. Who didn't see this one coming? He's an elite player when he's not missing every other game over some injury or totally disappearing in the playoffs. Burress did come up man-sized in bringing down the hated Patriots, though, so he'll always get my respect for that. –"Raven For Life," Jonathan Ogden retires. Know what that means? Whichever talentless scrub Baltimore decides to trot out there this season just got a little easier for us to sack. –The Bengals released both WR Chris Henry and LB Odell Thurman. If Cincinnati continues to remove all the criminals from their roster, they might not have enough players to field a team. –Bills RB Marshawn Lynch is in trouble over an alleged hit-and-run incident. The Curse of O.J. Simpson, perhaps? Sat, 14 Jun 2008 13:50:55 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/277989 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/277989 What a waste of talent, messing up your life and career cuz you cant stop smokin weed or whatever the hell drugs he was doing or is doing. This guy had a promising future but I guess gettin high is better than earning a paycheck that most of us can only dream of. Now he probably wont get another chance, I dont see how he will this is the third consecutive season that he'll miss because of his stupidity. I hope teh Bengals get rid of him because apparently he hasnt learned his lesson from the previous two suspensions. Sun, 08 Jun 2008 15:21:29 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/275875 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/275875 Being a glutton for punishment, I was watching the NFL Network today and caught them giving the Niners the same treatment that the Raiders got on 'their' day to be previewed on NFL Total Access…Cowboy and Parcells coverage along with an inside look of another team. Oh, and about fifteen minutes of Niner analysis. I thought they filmed in Los Angeles, but I'm starting to get the impression that they're really in Bristol, Connecticut. Fri, 06 Jun 2008 02:10:56 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/275181 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/275181 It seems like as soon as the Raiders are getting good press, reports begin to fill columns that aren't bearers of good omens. What intrigues the most is that these reports normally are started by men and women that follow the game as much as any football fanatic does, and probably more since their livelihood depends on it. When there isn't a good rumor, you can find the questions by some reporters geared towards stirring controversy, but none of that has been effective. Thu, 05 Jun 2008 02:30:59 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/274644 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/274644 Odell Thurman has failed his third drug test and now faces an indefinite suspension. Jerry Jones was seen calling his best bud Roger Goodell to begin the begging now.... Dallas Tri-fecta is almost complete. Wed, 04 Jun 2008 17:30:43 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/274497 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/274497 Jerry McDonald is reporting that Lamont Jordan was not allowed to practice today at the beginning of the Oakland Raiders mandatory mini camp. Really, it's no surprise that he wasn't allowed to practice since getting injured would put the Raiders on the hook for his contract that he's currently in. Tue, 03 Jun 2008 16:33:40 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/273954 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/273954 Since May 19, 2008 you have heard and read it on many a message board, news story, or analysis about the Raiders. Odell Thurman has been a wanted man in Oakland. It's questionable now since Jim Trotter of CNNSI.com has reported that Thurman has failed yet another drug test. Could this just be another Don Banksian rumor from the same web site that first reported that JaMarcus Russell was spending his offseason with his grandmother eating cupcakes and ho-ho's? Tue, 03 Jun 2008 02:16:07 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/273664 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/273664 It doesn't seem like it can happen but Odell Thurman has gotten into more trouble. He now faces an indefinite suspension for violating the league's substance abuse policy. Thurman is suspended indefinitely but was suspended the last two seasons for drug and alcohol use. It doesn't look like a team will be willing to take a risk on Thurman at this rate especially considering he hasn't played football for the last two years. Thurman was not available for comment on the situation. Mon, 02 Jun 2008 18:58:56 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/273530 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/273530 I am at a loss as to why Thurman has not been picked up yet. He is a talented linebacker who won't cost much dollar-wise. He has off-field baggage. Is there something more to his release from the Bengals than meets they eye? Mon, 02 Jun 2008 07:19:38 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/273240 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/273240 Almost daily, I read comments from the Raider Nation contemplating, proposing, and even campaigning for free agents that they'd like to see the Oakland Raiders sign. Until June 1st, it's unlikely the Raiders will sign many, if any free agents. According to Fox Sports, the Raiders are sitting at $106,555,076, while the cap is $116 million. That leaves only $9,444,924, roughly a little less that Nnamdi Asomugha is due when he signs his tender for being the Raiders franchise player. Since the Raiders somehow always find a way to fit everyone under the cap, it's not out of the realm of possibility that they may find a way to sign a few of these free agents still available. Tue, 27 May 2008 14:12:06 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/271445 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/271445