Why the Cincinnati Bengals should stay away from Cam Newton.

With the Cincinnati Bengals having the fourth pick in the upcoming NFL Draft, the Bengals are likely to look at the quarterback position. That's because Carson Palmer has threatened to retire. Heisman Trophy winner Cam Newton certainly should be on any team that needs a quarterback's radar. But hold on. Newton said to Sports Illustrated Peter King, "I see myself not only as a football player, but an entertainer and icon." That should send red flags to the Bengals. Of course, that won't stop owner Mike Brown from making another bonehead decision. But if he's listening, here's two reasons why he should not pick Newton in the first round and let him fall to the third.

1) Akili Smith- This disaster by Mike Brown bore more tragedy than most of his decisions. Smith had only one successful year at Oregon. Sound familiar? Newton basically had one year of success at the major college level and that was at Auburn. To make matters worse in the Smith draft pick, the New Orleans Saints offered all their draft picks to get the Bengals number one pick. While Smith was athletic and probably looked great in underwear football, he was a bust of epic proportions. He would only start seventeen games for the Bengals. And was released in 2002. His NFL career then went into a tailspin and crashed. (Wikipedia article.) Cam Newton smells like Akili Smith.

2) Chad Ochocinco or Chad Johnson or whatever his name- Chad Ochocinco had plenty of talent as a wide receiver. But he was more concerned about his post football life as an entertainer. Let' see there were three reality shows and more are probably coming. "Dancing with the Stars." Some dating show. "The TOchocino Show." He loves the Internet and tweets frequently. All that focus on himself and not working to get on the same page as Carson Palmer has hurt the team. After hearing the words of Newton, I'm convinced of one thing. Cam Newton Equals Chad Ochocinco.

Owner Mike Brown must not fall in love with just athleticism. Football is a team sport. It's won in the trenches, in the battle between offensive and defensive linemen. Mike, rebuild the offensive and defensive lines.