LeCharles Bentley appeared on Michael Reghi’s show on WKNR on Wednesday.
He was forthright, candid and honest. Bentley always was that way when he played, and one of the great losses from his injury – aside from on the field of course – was that Cleveland fans could not hear more from him.
Bentley “gets it.”
And he showed that in his interview.
Bentley called the Braylon Edwards trade a “knee-jerk reaction to what happened on Sunday and (the Browns) just had to do something drastic.”
But he also said that the Browns made a good trade and got great value in acquiring a third-round pick.
The most interesting discussion came when Reghi asked Bentley if the Browns could win with nothing but “buy-in” guys, i.e. Mangini guys.
The answer was direct.
“Yeah you can win that way in high school but you can’t win that way in the pros,” Bentley said. He elaborated, then went on to explain that he believes Edwards will thrive in New York, the Browns will regret the trade and the Browns will never win if they do not allow one player to be bigger than the coaching staff or the team.
“Imagine,” he said, “if the Cleveland Cavs felt that way about LeBron.”
His comment on Brady Quinn was interesting as well.
The interview is well worth hearing in its entirety.
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Who loves the sound of Michael Reghi's voice more than Michael Reghi? It made me laugh out loud around the 3:00 to 3:40 mark, when Reghi droned on and on and on, and Bentley basically went, "I have absolutely no idea what you just said." Reghi's intro calling Bentley "man" was unintentionally smile-inducing, too.
Yeah, but notice the Le Charles said "talented guys. Guys who might act up off the field but show up on Sunday.." not an exact quote but enough of it is. News Flash To Pat: THAT GUY IS NOT BRAYLON! He is no LT, or anybody else other than the over rated receiver he has always been. I pretty sure teams (TEAM ) named the New England Patriots, and also the Pittsburg Steelers have done o.k. without over rated guys who put themselves before the team. It's called walking the walk. And BE never did.
And knee jerk? Did he hear about the whole Donte Stalworth incident? Dropped passes? Poor rout running? Lame blocking? Reading the QB the riot act on the sidelines while jerking him around by the jersey? Etc., etc… Yeah, real knee jerk.
sean, ever heard of randy moss? he plays for the new england patriots. i seem to recall people saying a lot of the same things about him as they do about braylon. oddly enough, the patriots traded FOR him. didn't seem to hurt the team either. braylon will be just fine in new york. the browns on the other hand….destined for another decade of garbage.
Randy Moss stepped out of the limelight when he joined the Pats. No more dope smoking or running over meter maids for R Moss. He is not a good choice to compare B Edwards.
A good comparsion for B Edwards is that pitcher for the St. Luis Cardinals who had that melt down and couldn't pitch anymore. He can't catch anymore, a pity, but that's life.
Regardless of what I think of Mangini, I want the trade of Edwards to benefit the Browns, I want B.E. to fail or better yet to continue with his " stone hands" ways.
rich, perhaps you don't remember randy moss with the oakland raiders. particularly the 2006 season. moss quit trying too but his play was so horrendous he made edwards look like a saint in comparison.
mangini just gave braylon what he's been dreaming about for years. a chance to play in new york far away from people who never completed 11th grade but blindly root for ohio state he'll be just fine with the jets.
That's the part that really astonishes me. Mangini is so bad at his job, that he actually REWARDED Edwards and punished THE TEAM just to get the guy out of his hair!
And is anybody really stupid enough to believe he even tried to find a deal elsewhere? Actually, come to think of it, I'll bet there are a lot of people stupid enough to believe it.
I'm pretty sure the Patriots won plenty of games before they got Randy Moss.
it just goes to show that not even the great bill belichick believes that you can win without talent.
The article brings up some good points to consider, even though the tone was a bit harsh. (Though appropriately so.) Here are my comments.
1. Though it seems like they were "rewarding" Edwards by sending him to the Jets, I'm not going to worry about it. The message to the team is buy-in or leave. As a fan, I can live with that.
2. It cannot be ignored that Mangini seems to be collecting "Jets", but in reality the guy is collecting players that have earned his respect and trust. As a fan, I can live with that too. (He just better be right about most of these pick-ups — but that is the case with any roster decision.)
3. The concern that Mangini is not getting enough value for his trades bears watching. Time will tell on his drafts, free agent pick-ups and trades – - but there may be something to this. Too early to tell.
4. The saddest part of Edwards' time in Cleveland is how avoidable his negative actions were. When it is all said and done, Edwards will realize that he's hurt himself more than anyone else.
5. I don't see Edwards thriving in New York. Whether the guy knew it or not, he had a great opportunity in Cleveland and blew it. Say what you want about Lerner, Crennel, Mangini, Anderson, the fans, etc. – - but they gave him every opportunity to thrive . . . and he didn't.
6. Players and coaches come and go, but as a fan, I just can't stop being a fan for this team. That might be the most unexplainable situation of all.
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