The Scribe Session podcast series catching up with former Bengals from the 90s and early 2000s continues with the fifth 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 punter Lee Johnson, he spanned nearly the entire life of The Lost Decade in his 11 seasons from 1988 to 1998, totaling 1,266 career punts. The 1985 selection of the Houston Oilers eventually rounded out his career with the New England Patriots and then enjoying a playoff run with the Eagles in 2002 at age 41.
These days he works as an Associate Athletic Director in charge of development at his alma mater BYU in Provo, Utah.
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)
Scribe Session Podcast Series: Akili Smith (6.26.14)
Johnson discusses the feelings joining the Super Bowl team in the tail end of 1988, his record for longest punt in a Super Bowl which still stands, the disbelief in the Stanley Wilson story and his theory on why players struggle to deal with post-football life.
Mostly, though, Johnson discusses his time in Cincinnati, his theory on why he holds the record as the losingest player in NFL history and the details on his controversial dismissal over words stated postgame that irritated management to the point of cutting him the day after they were spoken.
Johnson still holds regret over what he said answering questions about the funk of the franchise in 1998 that led to this Paul Daugherty column.
"We played the Bengals three years later when I was with the Patriots and I met Mike and John Sawyer and some of the owners at the 50-yard line and apologized. Look, Mike was great to me and my family and just to think that I was released because of comments that I made that made me seem so ungrateful for the opportunity. What I loser I was to come across that way. I was answering questions in a way I thought were truthful answers, but not vengeance, not spiteful, not bitter."
Johnson went on to discuss the situation further later in the podcast noting he never did speak with Mike Brown about the tone of his comments:
"He didn't want any part of me. He pulled me out of a meeting. I think it was a ploy to do all they could do to embarrass me. They knew exactly what they were going to do in terms of how they were going to cut me. It was a team meeting started, they grab me and pull me and Jim Lippincott ... pulled me out and let me go. I never talked to Mike. He didn't want to know how I felt. I think he felt like I betrayed him. And he was really good to me. Really, really good to me. One day I'll run into him again and I'll give him a hug and he'll probably hit me (laughs). I'll go buy him some Montgomery ribs or something."
Keep an eye out next Thursday as the series continues with offensive lineman Joe Walter.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
No comments:
Post a Comment