The Bengals are officailly a mess. Add linebacker Odell Thurman to the list of Bungals screwups. The second round pick out of Georgia has been suspended for the first four games of the season for for violating the league's substance abuse policies. Thurman led the team in tackles in nine games last season, and seemed primed to be a fixture in the Bengals defense for several years. He was released from the team's minicamp last month for personal reasons. Obviously Thurman was unable to get things straightened out during his time off.
The good news is the Bengals D, which showed plenty of signs of weakenss last year, will be effected significantly by the loss of Thurman. The bad news is we have to hear about the Benglas for another couple of weeks. This string of screw-ups is entertaining, but it's also getting old.