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Ask columnist Jason Williams anything − sports or non-sports – and he’ll pick some of your questions and comments from his inbox and respond on Cincinnati.com. Email: [email protected]
Message: I know your list (of biggest Cincinnati sports letdowns) is for the 2000s, but the Kenyon Martin injury is stated as the “biggest letdown in Cincinnati sports history.” Sorry, but that award goes to Greg Cook. Bill Walsh (Joe Montana’s coach) said that if Cook did not get hurt, he would have been hands down the greatest QB in NFL history.
Reply: Greg Cook crossed my mind when I wrote that about Kenyon Martin.
But Martin’s broken leg in the Cincinnati Bearcats’ conference tournament in 2000 gets the dubious nod as the biggest letdown in Cincinnati sports history. We knew that UC team was a bona-fide national title contender, having been the dominant team all season and just a handful of games away from glory.
Unfortunately, Cook hurt his shoulder long before he could lead the Bengals to even one great season, let alone the brink of a championship. He played 12 career games, 11 of which were in 1969. The Bengals went 4-6-1 in those games. Cook’s other NFL game came in 1973.
Certainly, Cook would rank somewhere on a list of biggest all-time Cincinnati sports letdowns. Just not sure how high, because he never had the opportunity to prove himself. We have to rely on the words of those who saw Cook up close to gain an understanding of how great he could’ve been. Meanwhile, we saw how great Martin was for four seasons, culminating in him being national player of the year in 2000.
I am glad you mentioned Cook, though. He has been a forgotten man in Cincinnati sports history. Cook shouldn’t be. My friend, Bill Koch, wrote a fantastic book about the late Bengals and UC quarterback a few years ago.
A couple quotes that stand out from “Unfinished Painting: The Untold Story of Bengals Phenom Greg Cook”:
Bengals owner Mike Brown: "If he had stayed healthy, we would have been the dominant team (in the NFL) for the course of his career. He was that good. He was, in my mind, as good as (John) Elway or Roger Staubach."
Paul Brown: "Greg can become as good as anyone who’s played the game. Our future is tied to Greg."
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Injury-riddled Bengals quarterback Greg Cook is biggest letdown story
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Subject: Injury-riddled Cincinnati Bengals quarterback is biggest all-time local sports letdown
Message: I know your list (of biggest Cincinnati sports letdowns) is for the 2000s, but the Kenyon Martin injury is stated as the “biggest letdown in Cincinnati sports history.” Sorry, but that award goes to Greg Cook. Bill Walsh (Joe Montana’s coach) said that if Cook did not get hurt, he would have been hands down the greatest QB in NFL history.
Reply: Greg Cook crossed my mind when I wrote that about Kenyon Martin.
But Martin’s broken leg in the Cincinnati Bearcats’ conference tournament in 2000 gets the dubious nod as the biggest letdown in Cincinnati sports history. We knew that UC team was a bona-fide national title contender, having been the dominant team all season and just a handful of games away from glory.
Unfortunately, Cook hurt his shoulder long before he could lead the Bengals to even one great season, let alone the brink of a championship. He played 12 career games, 11 of which were in 1969. The Bengals went 4-6-1 in those games. Cook’s other NFL game came in 1973.
Certainly, Cook would rank somewhere on a list of biggest all-time Cincinnati sports letdowns. Just not sure how high, because he never had the opportunity to prove himself. We have to rely on the words of those who saw Cook up close to gain an understanding of how great he could’ve been. Meanwhile, we saw how great Martin was for four seasons, culminating in him being national player of the year in 2000.
I am glad you mentioned Cook, though. He has been a forgotten man in Cincinnati sports history. Cook shouldn’t be. My friend, Bill Koch, wrote a fantastic book about the late Bengals and UC quarterback a few years ago.
A couple quotes that stand out from “Unfinished Painting: The Untold Story of Bengals Phenom Greg Cook”:
Bengals owner Mike Brown: "If he had stayed healthy, we would have been the dominant team (in the NFL) for the course of his career. He was that good. He was, in my mind, as good as (John) Elway or Roger Staubach."
Paul Brown: "Greg can become as good as anyone who’s played the game. Our future is tied to Greg."
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This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Injury-riddled Bengals quarterback Greg Cook is biggest letdown story
Continue reading...
