Scribe Session Series: Akili Smith

The Scribe Session podcast series catching up with former Bengals from the 90s and early 2000s continues with the fourth edition to see what they are up to now, hear stories from old days, opinions on what went wrong (and occasionally right) as well as the challenges in the changing landscape of post-football life.
This week I chat with quarterback Akili Smith, a centerpiece of the The Lost Decade and third overall pick of the 1999 draft. Smith spent four seasons in Cincinnati going 3-14 as a starter, completing 46 percent of his passes with five touchdowns to 13 interceptions.
These days he helps run two football player preparation organizations, Akili Smith Training as well as Combine5 training and is a high school football coach in San Diego.
Scribe Session Podcast Series: Adrian Ross (6.5.14)
Scribe Session Podcast Series: Ashley Ambrose (6.12.14)
Scribe Session Podcast Series: Tony McGee (6.19.14)
Smith discusses being depressed while with the Bengals, battling drinking and excessive partying in the offseason. These days he says he'll talk about anything -- and does -- from the parties to his biggest mistake to seeing Johnny Manziel make the exact same poor choices he did.
Mostly, though, Smith talks about taking responsibility for how his NFL career flopped. And how he changed from finger-pointing to growing up and accepting his own failure.

"Was just a realization about five, six years ago. At one point I said, I'm about to stop drinking, I'm about to get married, start a family and that type of stuff. I started doing some reading and trying to fix my mind before I ended up dead somewhere or in jail somewhere. It just clicked. Next thing you know I woke up and I'm looking in the mirror and saying my whole career is my fault. It's nobody's fault but my fault. Even if it didn't work out in Cincinnati if I would have kept my nose clean for four years in Cincinnati I could have possibly gone somewhere else and played for another team."

Smith went on to tell stories about his disastrous first season, the first time he realized he screwed up holding out and why he decided to include himself in the concussion lawsuit.
Clearly, Smith has turned a corner, and it shows with his honesty throughout the 35-minute podcast which includes moments like this discussing his bad offseason habits.

"At the time our leadership wasn't as strong as it needed to be. It wasn't where it needed to be as far as the leadership was concerned. We did have guys like Willie Anderson and Takeo Spikes. Sometimes I would listen to them then sometimes I flat out wouldn't listen because I was so depressed about my NFL career and the way that things had transpired."

Keep an eye out over the coming weeks as the series continues.
Remember to subscribe to the podcast on iTunes by following the link here. Or if you want to listen on your drive to work or during the morning workout just download a free podcasting app on your phone, search Scribe Session and subscribe. The podcast will come directly to you the instant we post a new one.


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Scribe Session Series: Tony McGee

The Scribe Session podcast series catching up with former Bengals from the 90s and early 2000s continues with the third edition to see what they are up to now, hear stories from old days, opinions on what went wrong (and occasionally right) as well as the challenges in the changing landscape of post-football life.

This week I chat with tight end Tony McGee, who spent nine years in Cincinnati and two more in the NFL with the Giants and Cowboys.  He's currently the CEO of HNM Enterprises, a successful global logistics company with over 30 employees at the home office in Orlando and multiple locations, warehouses across the US.

He played 156 games with 322 receptions for 4,089 yards and 21 touchdowns, but by arriving in Cincinnati in 1993 never experienced a winning season or trip to the playoffs.

Beyond telling stories about his time as a player, McGee opens up about how he made one of the most successful transitions from football to the business world of anyone you will talk to from that era.

He also talks about frustrations in that despite that remarkable transition, valuable advice he could offer and a loyal nine-year career with the Bengals, the team has never invited him back once.

"Quite honestly, I can say I haven't been invited back to do anything or be a part of it or talk to the guys. There's been no outreach at all. And that's fine. At some point I will come to a game and buy my own ticket and take my daughter to a game just to show her where I used to play. It would be greatly appreciated if the team would reach out and put something together and invite us out. I know some teams have alumni functions and things like that, quite honeslty, I've never been invited to anything or heard anything. So, you just go on with your life."

Keep an eye out over the coming weeks as the series continues. Here are the previous two Lost Decade podcasts:

Adrian Ross (6.5)
Ashley Ambrose (6.12)

Remember to subscribe to the podcast on iTunes by following the link here. Or if you want to listen on your drive to work or during the morning workout just download a free podcasting app on your phone, search Scribe Session and subscribe. The podcast will come directly to you the instant we post a new one. 

Download Here

Scribe Session Series: Ashley Ambrose

The Scribe Session podcast series catching up with former Bengals from the 90s and early 2000s continues with the second edition to see what they are up to now, hear stories from old days, opinions on what went wrong (and occasionally right) as well as the challenges in the changing landscape of post-football life.

This week I chat with former free agent splash and All-Pro cornerback Ashley Ambrose, now the defensive backs coach at the University of Idaho.

Ambrose put together a 13-year NFL career with his greatest season coming in 1996, his first in Cincinnati. He collected eight interceptions that year and went to the Pro Bowl but the season goes down as one of the most interesting in Bengals history.

Why would a top player on the free agent market come to Cincinnati at that time? What was the locker room like during Dave Shula's final days before a move to Bruce Coslet was promoted to head coach? What is the internal struggle like decided whether or not to pursue coaching once an NFL career ends? What do you tell kids today chasing an NFL dream about concerns of the league and how it's changed?

Answers to all those questions and much more as this series rolls on.

Keep an eye out over the coming weeks as a string of former players will join me to discuss life after football and stories from The Lost Decade. Next week will be former longtime Bengals tight end Tony McGee.

Remember to subscribe to the podcast on iTunes by following the link here. Or if you want to listen on your drive to work or during the morning workout just download a free podcasting app on your phone, search Scribe Session and subscribe. The podcast will come directly to you the instant we post a new one. 

Download Here

Scribe Session Series: Adrian Ross

Scribe Session returns as we kick off the first in a special series that will take us up toward training camp in July. So often fans today complain about the frustrations rooting for a team that has made the playoff three consecutive years and four of the last five. How soon they forget what life used to be like around this franchise.

That's why I'm catching up with Bengals from 90s and early 2000s to see what they are up to now, stories from old days, opinions on what went wrong (and occasionally right) as well as the challenges of post-football life.

The series opens with former Bengals linebacker Adrian Ross. He spent six years with the team from 1998-2003 playing in 90 games with 34 starts, 127 tackles, three sacks and one memorable hairstyle.

Ross, now living in Sacramento as a sports agent, dishes on his real feelings about exactly why the Bengals could never get over the hump, how Marvin Lewis changed the culture, Akili Smith, Carl Pickens, Bruce Coslet and the stink of Spinney Field.

Keep an eye out over the coming weeks as a string of former players will join me to discuss life after football and stories from The Lost Decade. Next week will be former free agent splash and All-Pro cornerback Ashley Ambrose.

Remember to subscribe to the podcast on iTunes by following the link here. Or if you want to listen on your drive to work or during the morning workout just download a free podcasting app on your phone, search Scribe Session and subscribe. The podcast will come directly to you the instant we post a new one. 

Download Here