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September 7, 2010Indians 3 Angels 2: Choo, Carrasco and Pure Rage – A Lethal Potion
September 7, 2010
Was the pick of Montario Hardesty a good or bad idea? Depending on what argument you are intent on making, you could probably argue both sides. Hardesty received rave reviews from rookie sessions and from voluntary sessions prior to training camp. In his only and limited pre-season action, Hardesty did enough to impress at least a few fans that I heard from.
Of course, then he got hurt and the old negativity rose quickly and easily to the top. Hardesty tore his left ACL, which was incidentally the other knee from the one that the team was worried about and caused him to miss all but the final pre-season game. Naturally, then Hardesty became the worst draft pick in the history of the NFL to a lot of fans. On draft day Hardesty was known for his, shall we say, limited durability. Yet the new Browns front office with Mike Holmgren and Tom Heckert traded up to get him.
For a weary Browns fanbase, it instantly feels like another wasted draft pick. William Green and Lee Suggs all over again from a running back perspective, while seemingly Courtney Brown from a health perspective. Of course none of this judgment is really fair. Holmgren and Heckert weren’t even here when those other guys were picked. And just because all draft picks don’t work out doesn’t mean that this certain measured risk was a bad idea. If all ideas were judged on results alone, nobody would ever agree to be a decision-maker in this world. Thankfully, Heckert and Mike Holmgren seem prepared to roll with the punches.
They have strong enough history and conviction in their process that they will let the fears of Browns fans roll right off them. When Heckert was asked about Hardesty, he instantly invoked the dangers of playing football in general. “Obviously, he tore his ACL. Was it riskier drafting him rather than a guy who didn’t have a history? We felt comfortable when we took him he was going to be OK.” Additionally, Heckert doesn’t appear prepared to call the pick a bust either. “I’m sure everybody says this, but the doctors have said there is no reason the player can’t come back from this. We had Correll Buckhalter who came back and had two ACLs. We’re confident he’ll be back.”
It is nice that Heckert will be confident, but until Hardesty finds his way back onto the field, he will have to endure some groans from Browns fans. In that respect Heckert and Holmgren must have a thick skin so they can endure all the negativity created by their predecessors. They don’t necessarily deserve to be on such a short leash with fans, but they probably knew the situation before they took the job.
13 Comments
It’s disappointing that Hardesty won’t play this year, but it’s not the end of the world that some in the national media are making it out to be. He’ll be back next year and we’ll take it from there.
While I would have liked to see him on the field this season, it’s hard to miss what you never had.
At least he wasn’t Chris Perry!
Hardesty’s injury history is: an ACL reconstruct on his right knee, a sprained ankle, and an arthroscopic draining on the right knee.
Now the left knee injury. I don’t feel, opposed to the vast majority of fans in cleveland, that this guy is made of spun glass. It’s an impact game, and guys get hurt all the time.
He can and will rehab this knee, put on about 10 pounds of muscle in the time he’s rehabbing, and (knock wood) come back a beastly big fast back. Or he won’t.
The list of RBs that never made it back is long, but I’ve got a good feeling about Hardesty.
“The list of RBs that never made it back is long, but I’ve got a good feeling about Hardesty.”
Me too. Should provide an influx of cashflow to the Cleveland Clinic and surrounding medical providers. Mario Hardesty, supporting the economy one ACL at a time!
They also drafted Colt McCoy.
To be fair, how many players within the last 5-7 years or so that ruptured their ACL didnt come back? How many of those had other complications? You say a long list, lets see it. Point is, yes, an ACL is a devastating injury, but its not career threatening anymore. Jamal Lewis had 2 ruptured ACLs and had a heckava career until the past year or 2.
What is the over/under on when staff infection will set in?
I think it often helps in these types of discussions to look around the league for some perspective on teams that really did waste a draft pick. This is from Peter King’s MMQB column:
Denver coach Josh McDaniels and GM Brian Xanders, who last year dealt a 2010 first-round pick (14th overall) to Seattle for its second-round choice — to draft 5-foot-9 Wake Forest cornerback Alphonso Smith. Smith couldn’t crack the starting lineup, so he was shipped Saturday to Detroit for backup tight end Dan Gronkowski. This is how bad an error it was: Denver took the 14th overall pick in 2010 and traded it for the 255th pick in the 2009 draft. That’s ridiculous. The Broncos also cut defensive end Jarvis Green, who got $3.2 million in guarantees from them last spring and never played a regular-season snap.
So, the Browns taking a chance on Hardesty really wasn’t that bad a move in comparison.
AND they drafte Tim Tebow in the FIRST FREAKIN’ ROUND!!!!
Are people really upset that this happened in the preseason? I heard some gripes that he shouldn’t have played and whatnot. Hey, if it was going to happen wasn’t this the best time for it to happen? It makes the roster clear for the season at a time when things could have still been done, right?
People are upset that the Browns traded up for a guy with a sketchy injury history.
Of course, if the Browns had drafted Tebow he could have laid hands on Hardesty’s knee and cured him right there on the field.
So maybe there’s more to Denver’s strategy than meets the eye.
The Browns took a risk and got burned, period. I also think it doesn’t look good in light of the fact that they keep cutting/waiving draft picks from the past couple years; Veikune and Asante getting cut is just ridiculous for a team that’s trying to rebuild, in my opinion. This team MUST do a better job in the draft if they’re ever to really turn the corner.