Bengals' forgotten QB gets another chance

[Cntrygal]

On the day he was drafted, Akili Smith was set up to fail.

The Cincinnati Bengals took the elusive quarterback from Oregon with the third overall pick in 1999, then demonstrated again that they have no clue about the most important position on the field.

They tried to turn him into a pocket passer. They lined him up with two rookie receivers. They gave him a mentor who quit three games into his first season as a starter.

Finally, they gave up on him after only 10 games, deciding he'd never amount to anything. Instead of the franchise's future, he was a thing of the past -- just like that.

http://www.cleveland.com/sportsflash/browns/index.ssf?/cgi-free/getstory_ssf.cgi?s0343_BC_FBN--AkiliAgain&&sports&nflnews

[ArcticWildMan]

Akili will never amount to anything as long as he is on the Bungals (and possibly with any other team for that matter). They ruined his self confidence by throwing him to the wolves right away. The poor coaching and lack of talent also contributed to his failure as a starter.

His only hope is to be traded/cut so he could start over somewhere else.

[MissBuffalo]

I agree Artic. He definitly needs a fresh start. Maybe he'll surprise us on Sunday, but I doubt it.

[Pride]

Pickup for the bills? to replace Drew in a few years?

just throwin it out there...

[ArcticWildMan]

I wouldn't mind if the price was right. Give him some mentoring by Drew and with the talent we have on offense, and it could be a VERY good addition to the team!!