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Chick Ludwig covers the Cincinnati Bengals. He also writes about his other passions: college football, basketball and golf.Home > Blogs > Chick Ludwig At Large > Archives > 2008 > March > 10 > Entry
‘Hamburglar’ calls out Bengals (consider the source)
Wherever Cleveland Browns defensive tackle Shaun “The Hamburglar” Smith goes, controversy follows.
It’s fairly safe to say Smith and Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis won’t be dining together anytime soon. And there likely won’t be any exchange of holiday greeting cards.
Smith, the ex-Bengal turned Cleveland Brown, blasted his former team last week at a Central Maryland Browns Backers meeting.
He unveiled details of the infamous locker-room fiasco at halftime of the Bengals’ 31-17 playoff loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Jan. 8, 2006, a game in which Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer’s left knee was wrecked on a hit from Kimo von Oelhoffen.
“He (Chad Johnson) swung at Marvin, and hit Marvin,” Smith said. “Look at his left eye in the press conference after the game. I was there in the training room. He shattered the training room glass. Then he tried to swing on (wide receivers coach) Hue Jackson as well.”
As far as news goes, it’s an oldie, but a goodie.
Smith didn’t stop there. He went on and on, claiming Bengals owner and president Mike Brown was the one who refused to match the offer sheet Smith signed with Cleveland during the 2007 offseason.
“Marvin doesn’t have control of personnel,” Smith said. “He didn’t have control of keeping me.
“It’s hard when you let certain people continue to get away with certain things,” Smith added, “and then it becomes a repeated pattern and the next guy feels he can do that, and the next guy.”
Hmmm. Sounds like a dig on Lewis & Johnson to me.
Bengals fans have to take what “The Hamburglar” says with a grain of salt. After the Bengals’ 19-14 victory over Cleveland on Dec. 23, 2007, an angry Smith blamed Bengals kicker Shayne Graham for Cincinnati’s failure to reach the playoffs in 2006.
Graham missed a late field goal in the ‘06 season finale against Pittsburgh and the Bengals lost in OT, 23-17.
“I blame (Graham) for the reason we lost last year and didn’t make the playoffs,” Smith said. “That’s why I have so much — how do you say it? — hatred toward him. It is what it is. I’m on to bigger and better things.”
Was Smith serious?
“Yeah,” he said. “I blame him. All he had to do was get the snap and kick the ball (against Pittsburgh in the 2006 regular-season finale) and we’d have been in the playoffs. I said the usual stuff I always say. I try to get guys ticked off during the game.”
Fast forward to Saturday, March 8, 2008.
SIRIUS NFL Radio host Alex Marvez spoke with Hue Jackson, the Baltimore Ravens QB coach, about Smith’s comments.
Marvez: “Shaun Smith was asked about a situation that happened a couple of years ago at halftime of that playoff game, Cincinnati-Pittsburgh. It is sort of interesting this is all getting re-lived now. Since people seem to be talking about this, what light can you shed on everything that has gone on with that situation? Was he accurate in the stuff that he said?”
Hue Jackson: “No, he’s not accurate. I’ve heard about it, obviously, someone called me to mention it to me. And if Shaun did say that I’m a little surprised because, first, Shaun doesn’t work in Cincinnati anymore. Shaun works for Cleveland and I don’t know how that would come back up again when it has been dead now for a couple of years. To shed light on it I’ll say the same thing I said before. Chad Johnson never hit Marvin Lewis. Chad Johnson never hit me. Chad Johnson never put anybody in a headlock. Chad Johnson was very emotional at halftime of that game.
“The true story to all that was Chad had an IV in his arm and me and him were talking about plans for the second half and he got emotional because he said, ‘Hey, coach, without Carson (Palmer) I’m not going to be able to get the ball.’ And that’s what it was and I told him, ‘Well, then you need to tell (offensive coordinator) Coach Bratkowski that.’ And he ripped the IV out of his arm and it’s like anything else, you see blood coming out of a person’s arm, people think the worst. And he went from there to go into the locker room to let Coach Lewis know that, ‘Hey, look, I want the ball.’ And that was it. And when he opened the door he stumbled out of the training room so he was flailing and people think that he was swinging on people. Chad wasn’t swinging on anybody. Chad would not hit Marvin Lewis and Chad sure would not hit me. So that is not what happened and I’m very disappointed that now, even after two years, we have to discuss this again. But that is exactly what happened.”
email cludwig@daytondailynews.com
Permalink | Comments (15) | Categories: Bengals
Comments
By Jim
March 10, 2008 9:35 AM | Link to this
What a sad excuse for an article. I’m a Bengals fan for life…However, we need to get over this crap. He was in the locker room. If he is telling the truth there is no was the Bengals would just agree. This author is garbage. When Carson went down our hearts skipped a beat. But get over the Kimo doing it on purpose stuff! It is football, people get hurt. This article is embarrassing to all Bengal fans.By KP
March 10, 2008 10:27 AM | Link to this
Jim, even more lame is Chick Ludwig’s hack journalism. That hit by KVO was in no way intentional, and he’s still whining about it two years after the fact. What lost that game was shoddy special teams and defensive play and dumb INTs by Kitna. People soon forget that the Bengals were up 17-7 in the second quarter with KITNA AT QB - who was playing quite well. Why didn’t the defense stop the Steelers then??By ms
March 10, 2008 10:28 AM | Link to this
If Smith’s story isn’t true then why hasn’t any Bengals player stepped up to protect Marvin?? Smith may be a jerk but the silence from Bengals Players tells me all I need to know…Yes it is old news but just verifies all that is about Marvin and his Bengals….Constant Chaos…By Brian
March 10, 2008 10:39 AM | Link to this
Yet more hostility from people that can’t stand your reporting so much they can’t help but read it. Keep up the good work Chick.By dlf
March 10, 2008 11:10 AM | Link to this
Hey Chick, Funny how most of your Bengal headlines seem to coming out of Cleveland in 2008, isn’t it?By Jeff
March 10, 2008 11:10 AM | Link to this
Smith needs to move on. First a rip on the kicker now this. seriously buddy the bengals gave you a shot and now you have your money. How bout being polite to the team that gave you the shot. Typical overpaid athlete forgetting his roots. Oh yeah remember all the trash he was talking while the Bengals were knocking him around when they knocked the browns out of the playoffs. Maybe if he worried more about himself and not his former team they wouldn’t have had to buy the NFC North to improve their D-line.By KP
March 10, 2008 3:11 PM | Link to this
Brian, I couldn’t care less who wrote the article. I have absolutely nothing against Chick Ludwig, but I do have something against hack journalism and illogical reasoning. The identity of the writer is irrelevant. If Stephen King wrote the article, I’d rip it all the same. The facts speak for themselves - shoddy defense, special teams and turnovers lose games. Few teams who lose in these area seldom win games. It’s a formula the Bengals know all too well - regardless of who’s calling the signals.By Taylor
March 10, 2008 3:13 PM | Link to this
I agree this is a waste of time, who cares what a “former” bengals says plus he is on a division rival come on Chuck move to cleveland…..hackBy UD?=WhoD?
March 10, 2008 3:34 PM | Link to this
The article might be an embarrassment to Bengals fans, but the Bengals are an embarrassment to football.By the daug pound
March 10, 2008 7:01 PM | Link to this
the ben-gaals where a one game wonder anyway they couldn’t beat anyone else anyway in the playoffs thw browns just just got caught up in the normal easy schedule for the bengals being the last 5out of 6 games are at home and all the hard teams that the browns play away are at home to the bengals. get rid of marvin and cuz chad and you might get a chance again down the road!!!!By pervin
March 10, 2008 7:27 PM | Link to this
Whahhhhhhhhh!! Listen to the Bengal Bitches whine..now convince me that Marvin has control of Chad or any players for that matter. Marvin has never had control of the players or his teams only leading statistic would not be # of arrest. Chad hit Marvin and Marvin took it just like he always does from Chad… long and hard. It’s your story Hue so tell it like you want we just aren’t buying it!!By Peej
March 10, 2008 8:27 PM | Link to this
Maybe I am coming late to the game and maybe the article was edited, but I dont’ see where Chick states the hit on Palmer was intentional. He simply mentions the hit by KVO wrecked Palmer’s knee. I don’t think anyone would dispute that piece of information. And I also don’t see where Chick posits that the reason the Bengals lost the game was due to that hit.By manuel vann sr.
March 10, 2008 8:30 PM | Link to this
All the browns fan who hate on the bengals are really gonna hate this year Who dey!!!!!!!!!!!!!By dave
March 11, 2008 9:57 AM | Link to this
Lockerroom scuffels are part of the game. Big deal, 2 overpaid ego’s bumped heads during halftime. The important issue is on the feild and obviously Marvin can’t coach professional atheletes. Send his butt down to the road if you want to continue to sell ticketsBy dave
March 11, 2008 9:57 AM | Link to this
Lockerroom scuffels are part of the game. Big deal, 2 overpaid ego’s bumped heads during halftime. The important issue is on the feild and obviously Marvin can’t coach professional atheletes. Send his butt down to the road if you want to continue to sell tickets