Another Bengals Blunder

Prophet · 06-21-2006, 04:23 PM

POSTED 8:11 a.m. EDT; UPDATED 9:14 a.m. EDT, June 21, 2006

ANOTHER BENGAL BLUNDER
Mike Florio

Prior to the NFL draft, most scouts would love to get a look-see at another team's draft board. If anyone working for an NFL team were to get a chance to eyeball the Cincinnati Bengals' wish list, the names would be a good indication of guys not to select.

ESPN reports that criminal charges have been filed against yet another Cincinnati selection, with defensive end Frostee Rucker facing allegations of battery and vandalism arising from an incident occurring a year before Marvin Lewis and company scribbled his name on a card in round three of the 2006 draft.

The Los Angeles district attorney has charged Rucker with two counts of spousal battery and two counts of vandalism. If convicted on all charges, he faces up to three years in jail.

Though Rucker isn't married, "spousal battery" charges can arise when violence occurs between boyfriend-girlfriend. (Or, we assume, boyfriend-boyfriend, but there's no indication that the complaining party is, you know, a dude.)

Rucker was regarded generally by league insiders as a turd prior to the April 2006 draft, and yet another player with first-round potential who slipped due in large part to off-field concerns.

As one league insider told us after the Bengals drafted Rucker and linebacker A.J. Nicholson, "What the f--- are the doing? Rucker and Nicholson? Give me a break. They are sabotaging the organization by picking bad players like [Odell] Thurman, [Chris] Henry, and those two."

In hindsight, our source looks like a genius. Since April 30, Henry has been arrested twice, and Rucker and Nicholson have been arrested once each.

**Bdubya** · 06-21-2006, 04:42 PM

Ouch, too bad for them. Glad it didn't happen to us, eventhough I kind of wanted A.J...I didn't really know the extent of his problems though.

**cajunvike** · 06-21-2006, 05:11 PM

Think about it though...many of the later draft picks don't make the squad anyway...so it isn't as much of a gamble at all. BUT, on the other hand, it does send the wrong message to players and teams...that it is OK to do stupid things because we will give you another chance as long as you are a good football player. What the NFL and other sports leagues should say is: If you want to play in this league, you are gonna have to prove that you are mature and serious before we will pick you...at least Randy stepped back and proved that he could be serious while he was at Marshall to make up for his earlier stuff in college and high school. His antics after being drafted by the Vikings were mostly harmless (except for bumping the crossing guard and having the weed in his ashtray). The "gamble" paid off for us...but in hindsight, it really wasn't much of a "gamble" even though Denny took him with the Vikings' first rounder.