Corey Dillon article

[Gert T 0]

This was written by Paul Daugherty who has covered the Bengals during Corey Dillon's time with the Bengals. I am a huge Bengals fan, and I have no problem with the Patriots and Corey Dillon's success. I just felt like the ESPN article was a little biased.

 

 

We never met this guy

Patriots 'team player' never showed face as Bengal

 

By Paul Daugherty

Enquirer staff writer

 

The revisionist paint job on Corey Dillon is getting a little thick. If the New England Patriots return to the Super Bowl in 16 days, Dillon will be part halfback, part Dalai Lama. The notion that CD cured all of his personality ills by leaving the Cincinnati hellhole for the paradise of a Boston exurb is getting maximum run. It's a good story.

 

All this time, we here in Loserville thought CD was a pouty locker-room wrecker just because, well, just because that's who he was. Some babies are born with hair. Corey Dillon was born with anger.

 

As a Bengal, Dillon rode permanent shotgun on the last train to Jerkville. It was, we thought, a personality trait.

 

Boy, were we dumb.

 

Actually, Corey was just a frustrated young man who needed only the sunshine of winning to bloom and re-emerge as the Prince of New England. Corey Dillon, prince. Who knew?

 

Dillon's not the player who threw his shoulder pads into the stands after the last game of Cincinnati's 2003 season, who declared "it's all about me," who said he'd rather flip burgers than play for the Bengals.

 

(That last sentiment came in the midst of a contract negotiation, by the way, not because of Chronic Losing Fatigue. Just to be, you know, accurate.)

 

Dillon's not that guy. He's Mr. Touchdown. He's Mr. Team.

 

He's not the guy who a few years ago winged his Ohio driver's license at a clerk at a drive-through convenience store because the kid had the nerve to ask him for identification. "Don't you know who I am?" Dillon asked.

 

The clerk didn't. Evidently, none of us did.

 

We didn't understand him. Corey Dillon doesn't think the world is out to get him. He isn't the guy who stiffed the media and his coaches the day he was drafted, so offended was he to have been picked in the second round.

 

He's the Sunshine Man, a real Team Guy. A "classy dude," in the words of the Patriots' Rodney Harrison.

 

It's great that Dillon has found his inner bliss in New England. Patriots coach Bill Belichick has a habit of teaching team football and getting everyone to play nice together. Dillon has adapted well. Good for him.

 

But c'mon.

 

"This is about losing and how it can ruin a man," notes a recent ESPN the Magazine CD story.

 

That would be true if Dillon had jumped off the plane in Cincinnati humming a happy tune, but he didn't. It's amazing he did so well here, considering he had to carry the football and the boulder on his shoulder.

 

Dillon showed up with an attitude. It helped define him as a runner. He ran mean.

 

Losing didn't help his disposition. It didn't help anyone's disposition. To hear Dillon, Dillon was unique in feeling losing's dull, aching pain. He was special.

 

If Dillon were so consumed with losing, if he were so eager to win, why did some of his classic gripes come in his last season here, when the Bengals finished 8-8 and went into the last regular-season Sunday still in playoff contention? Mr. Winner bailed just when winning was poised for a comeback.

 

If losing were so cancerous to his spirit, how come Dillon's best year as a Bengal was 2000, when the team finished 4-12?

 

What ate at Dillon was Rudi Johnson. What ticked him was the notion, held by some in power, that he was past his prime. What riled him was a coach who stood up to him.

 

Dillon made up stuff about the offensive line not wanting to block for him. He decided Marvin Lewis was "messing" with him by asking him to talk with the media during training camp in 2003. He called Willie Anderson a "bum." Anderson is a very good player and an even better human being. Dillon, in comparison, is a cardboard box.

 

Mr. Winning didn't pull for Johnson because the Bengals were winning with Rudi in the backfield. He rooted for Rudi because he knew the better Rudi played, the more expendable Dillon would be. "Rudi was my ticket out," Dillon said.

 

"He was the face of the franchise," ESPN the Magazine claims. Not exactly. Dillon was its best player. The face is out there through bad and badder. Dillon was the face when he had a complaint he needed to air.

 

And so on. Congratulations to Corey Dillon, Team Guy. Never heard of him.

[Guest The Shadow Behind You]

Daughtery is the biggest idiot to ever write professionally. Not one single good article in all the time I've been reading the guy's "work".

[Guest Vitamin X]

Man, does he sound bitter.

[Gert T 0]

Usually I do not like his articles or his radio interviews, but he was pretty dead-on with this one.

[kkktookmybabyaway 0]

When I lived in Southwestern Ohio, it seemed Dillon just got pissed at being a Bengal last season. I'm sure he's not a saint, but he seemed to play hard when I saw him...

[Gert T 0]

I think Daugherty is more upset with the media coverage and portrayal Dillon is getting.

 

On the Dillon ESPN article I'll say this, it was wrong of Bengals management if someone leaked that as a group they thought he was "washed-up" and then deny it happened when confronted by Corey.

[The Man in Blak 0]

It's a hit piece, but it's a disturbingly accurate one. I think he's right on, but I also think that Dillon's attitude is genuine, likely because of the Patriots' organizational attitude and dedication to winning. I'd say that coming to New England humbled/reformed him a little bit.

[HarleyQuinn 0]

That and come on, how can a player get excited when his team continues to suck year in and year out and he puts up 1,000+ yard years every season.

 

1997(Rookie year): 7-9(1,129 yards)

1998: 3-13(1,130 yards)

1999: 4-12(1,200 yards)

2000: 4-12(1,435 yards)

2001: 6-10(1,315 yards)

2002: 2-14(1,311 yards)

2003: 8-8(541 yards in 13 games)

 

They didn't even finish at .500 until 2003 and ironically, they finished at .500(8-8) again this year. Their last winning season was 1990(9-7 record).

[nl5xsk1 0]

Even most Pats fans don't think that the 'new' Corey Dillon is the saint that the ESPN article portrays him as being ... we all recognize that he's one outburst away from being a malcontent once again. But having said that, this writer sounds like a whiner in this article, like someone that's pissed that Dillon was able to turn-around the public perception of him. It's almost like he wanted Dillon to come to New England and act like an asshole to prove that he really is one, and not just that he became one after years of being in Cincinnati.

 

In one of the games earlier this year, Dillon fumbled the ball. He went to the bench bullshit with himself, and had a bunch of teammates come over individually to tap him on the pads and tell him that it was Ok and that other teammates would do what they could to cover for his mistake. And, then Belichick came over and gave him instructions (I think it was "you're standing too tall, and holding the ball wrong. Change your mechanics to how you normally have them and you're all set" or something comparable.) Dillon went on to say how things like that didn't happen in Cincy, but that he was left out to dry for the fumble. So, it sounds to me like it's more than just earning the W in the standings, but the sense of winning that surrounds the team.

 

Just my opinion.

[The Man in Blak 0]

Well, I think the Cincinnati fans would have liked to have seen the Dillon that current resides in New England in a Bengals uniform, but I don't think that's necessarily Dillon's fault. Remember, before Marvin Lewis came around, this team was competing with the Bidwells in Arizona for Most Poorly Ran NFL Organization. Dillon was a malcontent, but nobody really helped him or gave him any motivation to not be a dick.

[Sass 0]

During Dillon's Cincy to New England period off, he showed up on the Best Damn Sports show wearing a Raiders jersey. I think it was a Marcus Allen throwback. He's the type of RB that they need. The team's RB's were hurt all year and there was never a consistent starter.

 

He's a warrior. If he knows that he is playing for a crummy team than that can fuck with a guy like Dillon. He has the tools and the mindset to make it as a playmaker. But he needs help. He didn't get it and that affected his game.

 

New England made the pick-up of the year along with Philly and TO.

[Damaramu 0]

I mean yeah losing all the time can make someone go crazy.

The only thing I don't agree with was him flipping his ID at the kid. I mean that's pretty egotistical.

[Gert T 0]

He's a warrior. If he knows that he is playing for a crummy team than that can fuck with a guy like Dillon. He has the tools and the mindset to make it as a playmaker. But he needs help. He didn't get it and that affected his game.

 

New England made the pick-up of the year along with Philly and TO.

I will not argue that he is a warrior, he plays on attitude and with a chip on his shoulder, always has. He had his chance to leave Cincy back in 2000, but he stayed for the 28 million dollars. He knew full well that the Bengals were at the time the worst structured and organized team in the league. And that wasn't going to change when the new coach kept getting hired from within.

 

Geoff Hobson of bengals.com has a more balanced article about Corey Dillon. It talks how the Bengals are split on their stance of CD's success, but most would rather see someone happy, if he really was pissed last year.

 

What do you guys think about the actual trade; Dillon, 29 for the 56th? overall pick. I don't see how this was the worst trade ever (Shannon Sharpe). It was a great move by the Pats and the Bengals got a second round pick, when considering his age at running back, is a pretty good deal. Plus Madieu Williams ended up being one of the Top 5 defensive rookies.

[Kaertos 0]

As a life-long Bengals fan, here is my take:

 

Corey Dillon is an incredible running back. He is a huge factor in any good games the Bengals had while he was here and is obviously a major reason the Pats have steamrolled through the playoffs so far. I do not deny that this guy is an upper-echelon RB.

 

But here's the thing:

For years this guy bitched and moaned to anyone that would listen that the Bengals stunk and that they needed to change the management and culture of the team. he said they needed to make a commitment to winning. And he was right, 100% dead-on accurate.

 

But then Mike Brown apparently woke up. He gave up some power, he hired Marvin Lewis and took a back seat to the new coach. Lewis came in and changed the culture of the team, made them better and made a firm commitment to winning. No longer was losing acceptable in Cincinnati. So in 2003 they are better than they have been in years, they are almost in the playoffs, but still finish with an optimistic 8-8.

 

And Corey Dillon wanted out. He went so far as to throw his pads and helmet into the stands after the last game of 2003. He demanded a trade.

 

What did I get out of all of this? That Dillon is an egotistical, selfish jerk. To which I say, "To hell with him." I hope he does well in New England, because for all of the good things he did in Cincy he deserves that ring. But I have a feeling that if something doesn't go his way, if the Pats have a losing streak as even good teams occasionally do, he will snap again. I'm glad we're rid of him and actually have guys in Cincy that want to play, and want to play for the Bengals.

[Kaertos 0]

Read this at the Dayton Daily News website.

 

Tom Archdeacon: Dillon's past still haunts

JACKSONVILLE, F LA . | While Corey Dillon was sitting at his Super Bowl podium telling everyone how he's embraced an all-for-one concept his entire career — "Even in Cincinnati, I always was a team guy... I've never been an I person," — he was asked how many of his old Bengals teammates had called to congratulate him.

 

"None," the New England running back mumbled, his smile suddenly evaporated.

 

None?

 

"No, not one."

 

The silence speaks volumes. It says Dillon's former teammates are either jealous or maybe he just wasn't such a good teammate after all.

 

I'll go with the latter because another former Bengal playing in Sunday's Super Bowl — Philadelphia tight end Jeff Thomason — has heard from some old Cincinnati teammates and he was just a back-up player there.

 

Maybe the Bengals remember the Dillon who claimed his offensive line wouldn't block for him his last season in town. Maybe they read the article in ESPN the Magazine this past season where he again singled out the Bengals' offensive front — the group that helped him run for a club record 8,061 yards in his seven Cincinnati seasons — saying it blocked harder for Rudi Johnson.

 

Maybe his old teammates remember how he called Willie Anderson, the heart and soul of the team "a bum," or how, right from the start, he refused to buy into Marvin Lewis' plan no matter how much the coach initially tried to embrace him as a leader of the team.

 

Maybe they remember how Dillon said he'd rather flip burgers than be a Bengal, how he became a locker room distraction, how he never warmed to the city that cheered him every Sunday and how, after the final game of the 2003 season, he took off his shoulder pads as he walked off the field and threw them into the crowd in an act that said good bye and good riddance.

 

His antics, his posturing, his smoldering resentments finally got him what he wanted — a ticket out the door. Last April he was traded to New England for a second-round draft pick and that led to his Extreme Makeover season. While his image got rebuffed, the past was being rewritten or, in some cases, just totally erased.

 

"I had that stigma of being a bad guy in the locker room and being selfish," he said. "That's never been me and I don't know where it came from. I was never that person in Cincinnati. I've always been a team guy. I really didn't care about individual stats and don't now.

 

"A lot of hurtful things were said about me. The thing that irritated me the most was when they said I was a cancer to the team That really ruffled me a little bit. For a guy who, for seven years, went out and put his heart and soul on the field and at the end of the day to be looked upon as the reason why we weren't successful, that rubbed me the wrong way."

 

Part of the problem was that Dillon wanted to be "the man," but refused to realize that for that to happen, it required more from him than just what he did on the field.

 

In the dressing room, he often brooded and pouted on his own or he simply left as quickly as he could. He didn't want to be a team leader and didn't like it when Lewis first tried to coax him into the role. At his very first team meeting, Lewis reportedly said "we've got a stud at tailback and we're gonna ride him." Dillon responded by skipping Lewis' first voluntary mini-camp, the only veteran player to do so.

 

Lewis tried to smooth the rift going so far as making every player and staffer go to Dillon's charity golf outing to ensure its success. The coach then pushed him to talk to the media — knowing it would be a public relations boon for a guy who needed one — but Dillon resisted, saying he thought his coach was "messing" with him.

 

The ESPN story interpreted it all as the result of "losing and how it can ruin a man." And Dillon furthered the argument again Wednesday by saying all he ever cared about was winning.

 

But that doesn't quite ring true. When Lewis took over and Cincinnati actually did begin to win — going 8-8 last season and contending for a playoff spot in the last game of the regular season — Dillon got more and more sullen.

 

He didn't like the emergence of Johnson and he didn't like a coach who held him accountable.

 

In New England, Dillon joined the closet thing the modern day NFL has to a dynasty and found success beyond his dreams. He's on a 16-2 team, rushed for a franchise and personal best 1,635 yards and is in the Super Bowl.

 

All of Dillon's new teammates say he has fit in seamlessly. Then again, he didn't have a choice. "Hotdogs get weeded out here," veteran safety Rodney Harrison said earlier this year. With the Patriots, no one player is bigger than Bill Belichick's system.

 

Dillon admitted the New England coach met with him before the trade and asked: "Are you willing to buy what we're selling?"

 

What also helped was that the tailback wasn't required to be a team leader like Lewis hoped he would with Cincinnati. Dillon said being the highest profile player on the team — as he was with the Bengals — "is not a good feeling because all the pressure is on you... It's a big burden. It's too much pressure for one guy. When you're in a bad situation and everyone's under pressure, bad things sometimes get said.

 

"Sure there are some things I wish I hadn't done, and yes, I did have some good times in Cincinnati and I played with some good guys... But for years I had really lost hope. I can say for about seven years. I never really thought I'd get to this stage.

 

"Nothing against the Bengals, but the difference with the team I'm with now is night and day And I think people are seeing me for who I really am now. In some aspects I think me and Randy Moss get the same kinds of (bad) rap. He just wants to compete, just wants to win, same as me."

 

You want to be happy for Dillon — want to believe the whole story of reclamation and reward — but it's tough when you know the past. So much has changed and yet, when you hear him keep playing the misunderstood and martyr cards, you realize so much remains the same.

 

"The way I look at it, people didn't think Jesus was Jesus," he said, "So who am I?"

 

For one thing, he's the guy who's getting no calls from his old teammates.

 

I thought it was interesting and relatively unbiased, all things considered.

[nl5xsk1 0]

Is there so little going on in Ohio that multiple articles have to be written about former players? Jeez, Dillon coming to NE is getting the "Roger Clemens as a Yankee" type of coverage that we had to deal with in Boston ... and maybe more of it.

 

Get over it, the guy left Cincy and burned some bridges on his way out. Worry more about who the Bengals will draft in April or which FA's might help them. Worry less about Dillon's personality transformation.

[USC Wuz Robbed! 0]

Daughtery is the biggest idiot to ever write professionally. Not one single good article in all the time I've been reading the guy's "work".

Choken/SBY is the biggest idiot to ever post. Not one single good post in all the time I've been reading the forum.

 

 

Hey! Something similar between you two!

[USC Wuz Robbed! 0]

On another note, both articles are accurate. However, the Bengals must move on. They have a budding disgruntled running back in Rudi Johnson to worry about now.

[Precious Roy 0]

I think the fact that none of his old teammates called to congratulate him says it all, but personally all I care about is how he handles himself with the Patriots, which by all accounts has been as a professional, and the shit with the Bengals is history.

 

It reminds me of how sportswriters tried in vain to discredit Latrell Sprewell after he landed in NY, like they thought it was their mission as the keepers of integrity to turn the NY fans against the guy. Message to the self-important sportswriters: Fans only care about off-court shit when on-court performance suffers, and the only ones who care about what happened in the past are the ones who got burned by it (ie. Bengals and Warriors fans).

[Crimson Platypus 0]

Both of those writers come off as bitter crybabies who feel the need to attack someone who left their team for greener pastures. No matter what Dillon ever said or did OFF the field, he always gave 100% ON the field, for a team that was well below bad. There is no way anyone can doubt that. He never got in trouble for anything like drugs or smacking his woman around, never got drunk and drove around like an idiot, so who cares if he wanted his team to show they were dedicated to winning?

 

I'm neither a Bengals fan or a Patriots fan (in fact, as a Dolphins fan for about 22 years now, I have a rather intense hatred for the Pats) but I do like Dillon, he's one of my favorite RBs in the NFL and I think that he is getting unjustly dumped on by the Cinn. media for leaving a terrible organization for a great one, and for no other reason than that.

[USC Wuz Robbed! 0]

Both of those writers come off as bitter crybabies who feel the need to attack someone who left their team for greener pastures. No matter what Dillon ever said or did OFF the field, he always gave 100% ON the field, for a team that was well below bad. There is no way anyone can doubt that. He never got in trouble for anything like drugs or smacking his woman around, never got drunk and drove around like an idiot, so who cares if he wanted his team to show they were dedicated to winning?

 

I'm neither a Bengals fan or a Patriots fan (in fact, as a Dolphins fan for about 22 years now, I have a rather intense hatred for the Pats) but I do like Dillon, he's one of my favorite RBs in the NFL and I think that he is getting unjustly dumped on by the Cinn. media for leaving a terrible organization for a great one, and for no other reason than that.

And the fact his attitude changed to that of a saint when he joined New England. The Cincinnati media simply are wishing the current Corey Dillon suited up for Cincinnati all those years, not the crybaby "Aww this team sucks! Fuck them!" Dillon that they had the displeasure of knowing.

[Precious Roy 0]

Yeah, the time for these articles was when he was traded in the off-season, or even early in the season when it was clear from the first game (when the Pats started off with 11 straight passing plays and didn't even have Dillon in the game, which Dillon was very cool about with the media) that Dillon was going to be a team guy. It comes off as sour grapes to publish hit-piece articles during the playoffs.

[nl5xsk1 0]

Maybe if Cincy had developed an environment like the one that New England has right now he wouldn't have been such a disruptive member of the team.

 

All of Dillon's new teammates say he has fit in seamlessly. Then again, he didn't have a choice. "Hotdogs get weeded out here," veteran safety Rodney Harrison said earlier this year. With the Patriots, no one player is bigger than Bill Belichick's system.

[2GOLD 0]

Yeah, the Patriots players gave up individual glory for rings and wins. A perfect example is the Pro Bowl, where barely any of the Patriots made the team despite many deserving spots on the team.

 

The Patriots are all about team. If the head of a player gets too big, they either burst his bubble or trade him to a team that has players just like him where he'll lose all the time.

[USC Wuz Robbed! 0]

Yeah, the Patriots players gave up individual glory for rings and wins. A perfect example is the Pro Bowl, where barely any of the Patriots made the team despite many deserving spots on the team.

 

The Patriots are all about team. If the head of a player gets too big, they either burst his bubble or trade him to a team that has players just like him where he'll lose all the time.

Then by that definition, Ty Law should have been gone the last offseason. Though his flare-up was probably overblown.

[2GOLD 0]

Yeah, the Patriots players gave up individual glory for rings and wins. A perfect example is the Pro Bowl, where barely any of the Patriots made the team despite many deserving spots on the team.

 

The Patriots are all about team. If the head of a player gets too big, they either burst his bubble or trade him to a team that has players just like him where he'll lose all the time.

Then by that definition, Ty Law should have been gone the last offseason. Though his flare-up was probably overblown.

 

It was, and Ty will be gone very soon.

When he's not playing football, Ty just seems to be...well partially a nutcase.

 

When he's playing football, he's a team player to the max. It's his off-season is where at the end of every season he snaps, demands a trade and then patches things up before the start of a new season. If you're a Patriots fan, you just shrug your shoulders and look at the calendar.

 

It never changes with him. He'll be dealt for high draft picks this off-season, don't know to where but I highly doubt he's coming back.

[USC Wuz Robbed! 0]

Yeah, the Patriots players gave up individual glory for rings and wins. A perfect example is the Pro Bowl, where barely any of the Patriots made the team despite many deserving spots on the team.

 

The Patriots are all about team. If the head of a player gets too big, they either burst his bubble or trade him to a team that has players just like him where he'll lose all the time.

Then by that definition, Ty Law should have been gone the last offseason. Though his flare-up was probably overblown.

 

It was, and Ty will be gone very soon.

When he's not playing football, Ty just seems to be...well partially a nutcase.

 

When he's playing football, he's a team player to the max. It's his off-season is where at the end of every season he snaps, demands a trade and then patches things up before the start of a new season. If you're a Patriots fan, you just shrug your shoulders and look at the calendar.

 

It never changes with him. He'll be dealt for high draft picks this off-season, don't know to where but I highly doubt he's coming back.

If a team gives up high draft picks for him, I will not feel sorry for them when they finish 1-15. There are younger and cheaper corners about to hit the market (Surtain and Rolle being two of them).

[nl5xsk1 0]

The only reason that Law wasn't cut lose before this year was that Belichick, Crennel, etc. didn't have a really good CB ready to slot into that role. When they let Milloy walk, it was because they knew that they had Wilson ready & able to convert to S and fill that role. When this year began, they evidently weren't extatic about having Poole & Samuel as their starting CBs with Gay coming off the bench. Lo and behold, they had no choice but put Samuel as a starter (and not just a starter but basically their #1 CB).

 

This year has proven that the team could survive without Law ... if Samuel can learn to convert these passes defended to pick-offs (way too many dropped balls) then I'd have no issue with him starting and then either Gay or a newly signed FA on the other side.

[USC Wuz Robbed! 0]

The only reason that Law wasn't cut lose before this year was that Belichick, Crennel, etc. didn't have a really good CB ready to slot into that role. When they let Milloy walk, it was because they knew that they had Wilson ready & able to convert to S and fill that role. When this year began, they evidently weren't extatic about having Poole & Samuel as their starting CBs with Gay coming off the bench. Lo and behold, they had no choice but put Samuel as a starter (and not just a starter but basically their #1 CB).

 

This year has proven that the team could survive without Law ... if Samuel can learn to convert these passes defended to pick-offs (way too many dropped balls) then I'd have no issue with him starting and then either Gay or a newly signed FA on the other side.

I would think Pats picking up Rolle would be a good move. As KingPK said in AIM, Rolle didn't have the best year last year, so he should be able to come in for a slightly reduced price. He'd be a good #2 at the least.

[Precious Roy 0]

Ty Law was in the Jungle today, good interview, but Rome didn't ask him about where he might end up next yeat, which surprised me. Priest Holmes was the next guest, and he immediately started recruiting Ty for the Chiefs