The Cincinnati Bengals signed Terrell Owens to a 1-year $2 million dollar deal this week.  I think Owens will be an asset to the Bengals receiving corps with his “homeboy” Chad Ochocinco on the other side.  Most fans and pundits will bemoan the signing of Owens, and the cries of how Owens is a cancer and will ruin the team chemistry will surely start.  Owens was correct when he said the media was one of the reasons he had not been signed by a team, all sportscasters have been saying on the radio is they don’t see how Owens will help a team.  They forgot the fact that he had no problems in Buffalo last year, and was a model citizen, and to top it off has never been in trouble off the field.

This article is not about Owens signing though; this is about the Bengals General Manager Mike Brown assembling probably the biggest group of misfits in the league.  I talked in a previous article about each team needing to have a certain element of “Bad boy” or flamboyant players on a team as a path to success.  There are a few teams who can make it without that element, but most teams need to have those fringe players who can cross the line anytime.  That is what makes these players good they play with confidence even bordering on cockiness that they will take risks to make plays that not many others will.

Maybe that is why the Bengals have taken the road less traveled and signed the NFL all trouble team over the past few seasons.  The Bengals have signed Adam “Pacman” Jones, Tank Johnson, Antonio Bryant, Cedric Benson, Matt Jones, Chris Henry, and Terrell Owens all of them had off the field issues with the exception of Owens.  Throw a unique and cocky Chad Ochocinco in there and you have a team of big personalities.  The haters have started commenting already, this will never work, these guys won’t function together, they are going to argue over catches and whatever other negative things they can come up with.

I like what the Bengals are doing here, they need to get over the hump and find a way to get past the Jets, Colts, Patriots, and Chargers in the AFC.  In the end it comes down to how many wins and losses you have, no one gives a crap about a team of good guys who never get in trouble when the team is 0 – 12.  Mike Brown is sending a message that he is trying to win this season, and adding a multiple time pro bowler like Owens is not a bad thing if you are trying to win games.

All the people doubting these moves are forgetting something, this is the NFL where the contracts are not guaranteed.  So if Johnson, Jones, or Owens become too much of a headache they can cut ties with them and not be forced to pay that player all that much in return.  There is a money side to this as well, you have two receivers on the same team who have reality T.V. shows, Pacman is known for “making it rain”, and Cedric Benson’s mugshots and police run-ins are legendary.  That all sounds like entertainment to me, and that is why people will buy tickets and tune in on television to watch the Bengals.    People want to see if that T.O. blow up comes, or if Pacman gets in trouble at another strip club, it is all for entertainment value.  When fans realize the NFL and other pro sports are entertainment businesses more than anything, then maybe they can see the hidden brilliance in these moves.