Update: Ed Johnson Will Have to Possess Elsewhere

We like to deal in black and whites here rather than gray areas. No, we’re not talking about race and ethnicity, but the clear juxtapositions sports often allows us to to put together.

Yesterday we made mention of a Colts player that had been busted for possession and how rare it was to see such a thing on a squeky clean team. We compared that to the Bengals. It was very ironic, clever and at times funny. Or not.

Either way, the Colts handled the matter swiftly. They cut Ed Johnson, a starting defensive tackle, as discipline for his offense. This is what Colts president Bill Polian had to say in a statement:

“We consider every violation of a team rule or NFL policy on an individual case-by-case basis. If club discipline is appropriate, we consider the past record of the individual involved and the extent to which team rules were violated when imposing penalties.”

The case here is important, since Johnson ran into trouble a few times at Penn State. He was suspended for the entire 2005 season (details in the story) and the 2006 Outback Bowl.

It seems the Colts told him when they signed him as an undrafted free agent that if he didn’t clean up his act discipline would be harsh. Looks like he found out.

Now let’s compare this to the ridiculous Bengals. Here’s an the only (outdated) list I could find. It tells the story. And so does this.

The most hilarious part? Bengals owner Mike Brown decided to bring Chris Henry back even though he chose to cut him after Henry’s fifth arrest. Something about a soft spot for troubled players.

Vince Young is troubled. Ed Johnson made a mistake. Chris Henry is a repeat criminal.

This, friends, is why the Bengals are a joke and the Colts are consistent winners. No, not because they’re players don’t do as many stupid things as the players on other teams (we’re sure they do), it’s because they take care of business and don’t let their off-the-field shenanigans get in the way of winning.

What a waste of Carson Palmer.