The Bad News Bengals

Get ready for empty Sundays and a forced interest in other sports, we've now entered football withdrawal. One man who probably knows all about withdrawal is Matt Jones, the most recent addition to the Cincinnati Bengals. Jones, the former wide-out for the Jacksonville Jaguars was arrested in July of 2008 for having 6 grams of cocaine on him. Because of the arrest, he didn't participate in the 2009 season after the Jaguars cut him from the roster. The trend for the Bengals this off-season seems to be them trying to create the most controversial NFL team in history.

Another player that the Bengals are interested in adding is Adam "Pacman" Jones. Pacman Jones has found himself in even more legal problems then Matt has. He has been arrested on numerous occasions during his NFL career. His crimes include things such as possession of marijuana, fighting with his bodyguards, punching a woman in the face, and his worst incident yet, as described by Mike McD from BleacherReport.com:

The grand-daddy of Pacman's charges, this was the one that got him kicked out of the league. Jones was in the middle of a fight and a shooting. Allegations were that while he was in the club, he was "making it rain" on the strippers with over $80,000 (hopefully not all in singles), and knocking strippers' heads against the bar while saying that he was going to kill one of the employees.

Although McD may have simplified the incident, this is in no way how a professional athlete should behave. Needless to say, the fight, shooting, death threats and slamming strippers heads into the bar had him ejected from the NFL. He probably would have never found an NFL team that would even consider him anymore, but luckily for him there's the Cincinnati Bengals.

The Bengals have been known to hire some of the more troubled players in the NFL. Their late wide receiver Chris Henry was arrested several times. His crimes included drug and gun charges, a DUI and battery. In 2009 he seemed to have been cleaning up his life, and wasn't caught up in any illegal activity until his tragic death this last December in which he fell out of a truck after a domestic dispute with his fiance.

The Bengals don't just like the criminal type players, they also seem to enjoy having massive egos on their team as well. Their number 1 wide-out Chad Ochocinco (formerly Chad Johnson) is always flaunting his ego in a controversial, yet extremely entertaining fashion. He has been fined thousands of dollars for excessive celebrations, among other things such as using twitter in the locker room. He also was fined $5,000 dollars for putting a patch over his last name on his Jersey that instead of "Johnson" read "Ochocinco" in "honor" of Hispanic Heritage Month. Instead of leaving it at that, he changed his last name to Ochocinco so he could wear it on his Jersey fine-free.

There have been some rumors that Terrell Owens could also be a target for the Cincinnati Bengals this year. TO, like Ochocinco also has an extremely bloated ego, and has left almost every team he's been on with bad terms due to it. I'm somewhat worried about having two giant egos in one city and the effect it may have on the structure of the universe.Though most likely the world will not end if these two forces join, but it is bound to make for an entertaining season of football. I say season because I doubt Ochocinco and TO will work together harmoniously for very long.

If all of these players do join the ranks of the Cincinnati Bengals, we are bound to have an interesting season both on and off the field in the fall. The Bengals are sure to give the rest of the U.S. some quality entertainment. Unfortunately for Cincinnati though, they may give the city another thing to be less than proud about.