Will Hartwell succeed where others have failed?
It should be interesting to see how former Baltimore Ravens and Atlanta Falcons inside linebacker Ed Hartwell does lining up for the Cincinnati Bengals this season, provided his iffy health holds up.
Hartwell recently signed a one-year, $1.5 million contract to wear the striped helmet with pride.
When he was in Baltimore, Hartwell never hid the fact that he resented his lack of star status and was extremely jealous of Ray Lewis' tackle statistics. Hartwell repeatedly claimed that he was robbed of tackles by statisticians during games and coaches during film reviews.
Hartwell is a very nice guy and a gritty tackler when healthy, but he had an unhealthy chip on his shoulder about that perceived snub and really needed to get over it.
Hopefully, it's all behind him now.
It's unproductive to hold grudges, even when it feels justified.
Hartwell was usually hurt and didn't produce at all in Atlanta. Certainly not up to the expectations of a $25 million contract. Now, he gets a third chance with Bengals coach Marvin Lewis, the former Finksburg resident.
Hello Finksburg!
Always wanted to say that.
I've got to hand it to Big Ed, though. He had one of the best recruiting lines ever for a departing free agent when he told us that if you love the wires in your wall or the engine in your car that a football team would love Ed Hartwell, the helpful, hard-hitting hardware man.
Gotta love Hartwell's alma mater, Western Illinois, for having the best nickname in college sports outside of the Ragin' Cajuns formerly of Southwestern Louisiana. The sports teams at WIU, in Normal, Ill., where it's, um, normal I guess, are called the Leathernecks.
But I digress.
Meanwhile, it seems like defensive players who leave Baltimore as free agents never seem to blossom elsewhere. Re: Duane Starks, Hartwell, Sam Adams, Kim Herring, Corey Harris, Will Demps, Keith Washington and Lional Dalton, among others.
Jury's still out on Maake Kemoeatu, who might pan out pretty well for the Carolina Panthers, and Tony Weaver of the Houston Texans. Plus, Marques Douglas has done pretty well with the San Francisco 49ers as an undersized, run-stopping defensive tackle.
Here's a safe bet: All-Pro linebacker Adalius Thomas will find success with Bill Belichick's New England Patriots. If anything, he'll represent the exception to the rule about ex-Ravens defensive free agents.
Aaron Wilson covers the Baltimore Ravens for the Carroll County Times in Westminster, Maryland
It should be interesting to see how former Baltimore Ravens and Atlanta Falcons inside linebacker Ed Hartwell does lining up for the Cincinnati Bengals this season, provided his iffy health holds up.
Hartwell recently signed a one-year, $1.5 million contract to wear the striped helmet with pride.
When he was in Baltimore, Hartwell never hid the fact that he resented his lack of star status and was extremely jealous of Ray Lewis' tackle statistics. Hartwell repeatedly claimed that he was robbed of tackles by statisticians during games and coaches during film reviews.
Hartwell is a very nice guy and a gritty tackler when healthy, but he had an unhealthy chip on his shoulder about that perceived snub and really needed to get over it.
Hopefully, it's all behind him now.
It's unproductive to hold grudges, even when it feels justified.
Hartwell was usually hurt and didn't produce at all in Atlanta. Certainly not up to the expectations of a $25 million contract. Now, he gets a third chance with Bengals coach Marvin Lewis, the former Finksburg resident.
Hello Finksburg!
Always wanted to say that.
I've got to hand it to Big Ed, though. He had one of the best recruiting lines ever for a departing free agent when he told us that if you love the wires in your wall or the engine in your car that a football team would love Ed Hartwell, the helpful, hard-hitting hardware man.
Gotta love Hartwell's alma mater, Western Illinois, for having the best nickname in college sports outside of the Ragin' Cajuns formerly of Southwestern Louisiana. The sports teams at WIU, in Normal, Ill., where it's, um, normal I guess, are called the Leathernecks.
But I digress.
Meanwhile, it seems like defensive players who leave Baltimore as free agents never seem to blossom elsewhere. Re: Duane Starks, Hartwell, Sam Adams, Kim Herring, Corey Harris, Will Demps, Keith Washington and Lional Dalton, among others.
Jury's still out on Maake Kemoeatu, who might pan out pretty well for the Carolina Panthers, and Tony Weaver of the Houston Texans. Plus, Marques Douglas has done pretty well with the San Francisco 49ers as an undersized, run-stopping defensive tackle.
Here's a safe bet: All-Pro linebacker Adalius Thomas will find success with Bill Belichick's New England Patriots. If anything, he'll represent the exception to the rule about ex-Ravens defensive free agents.
Aaron Wilson covers the Baltimore Ravens for the Carroll County Times in Westminster, Maryland
posted by at 8:36 AM
3 Comments:
Hartwell is a me guy on a me team now. To answer your question Aaron...put me down for a resounding NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
7:43 PM
I've never really seen the value in Weaver. At least not what the Texans saw. Same with Kemo. Good guys but overpaid. Hartwell falls into the overpaid category but from what I've heard and read, he's not in the same class of people as Weaver and Kemo.
AD will do well, he'll be missed yet the Ravens will find a way to pick up the slack. I do believe he will be the exception to the rule and unlike other Ravens defenders that have left, he'll do well. I hope he does great and the Ravens get back that third round pick they lost in the McGahee deal.
Speaking of McGahee, I'll miss the AD show too. From what I've heard of McGahee, him and Anita Marx will be a train wreck. I'd rather listen to nails on a chalkboard.
Hey Willis spit out the marbles. Hey Anita, what's the over/under on how many times per show you say, "The U!"?
12:42 PM
Hartwell might still be whining about all the tackles that he didn't get credit for but the Falcons are the ones who really have a reason to bitch for all the tackles they paid Hartwell for but never received. Arthur Blank should stick to the home improvement business.
9:56 PM
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