While We’re Waiting…
October 26, 2010For Cavaliers Fans, Tonight’s NBA Tipoff Is a Bittersweet Affair
October 26, 2010Last night on Twitter, James Davis tweeted, “Finally was granted with my wish..” Â A day after being a healthy scratch for the Browns in their victory over the New Orleans Saints, it wasn’t too difficult to figure out what his wish was. Â Adam Caplan confirmed the move a few minutes later adding that the Browns signed Thomas Clayton off waivers from the Patriots. Â This is the same guy that the Pats took from the Browns’ practice squad a few weeks prior. Â It is also slightly ironic that the Browns took a runner from the Pats considering their running back situation might be one of the only ones in the NFL with more movement than the Browns this season.
Lawrence Maroney was traded from the Pats to the Broncos after he allegedly fell to fourth on their depth chart. Â This week, the Pats’ carries all went to BenJarvus Green-Ellis and Danny Woodhead while the ancient Fred Taylor is still nursing an injury. Â So while the Pats are thin at running back, apparently their cast-off Thomas Clayton, who they signed on June 11th, was good enough for the Browns to snap up while releasing “Mr. Opportunity Session” James Davis.
Already, I have probably written too many words on the topic of a 6th round draft pick (James Davis) and those who wish to supplant him on the Browns’ roster. Â Overall, though, it is such a strange picture that the Browns are creating at a position that was thought to be relatively strong coming into the year.
It should be noted that the Browns’ next opponent on the schedule is New England and Clayton might have been signed as a spy with the hopes of getting some intel for the Browns’ defense. Â Then again, on the heels of trading Jerome Harrison straight up for Mike Bell it is hard to figure out exactly what the Browns’ real goals are regarding the running back position.
33 Comments
I at least partially understood the Harrison/Bell trade.
I really don’t get this one…but I am willing to bet that Davis becomes a productive back in NE.
Davis seems like the type of player that will end up contributing in NE. Is there any possibility of getting a receiver? I realize we’re not going to pick up a big, or even medium, name but still, maybe it’d be fun.
Maybe MoMass will be back after the bye week? Any news?
Man, this makes me even more angry about the 2009 draft. That has to be one of the worst drafts in Browns history and that’s really saying something! Yes we got Mack but thats it. We traded away a franchise QB in Sanchez for a bag of magic beans. All 3 2nd rounders stink (at least the ones still on the team) and everyone else is gone. Great job Mangenious! He should be fired just for that fiasco alone. I’d like to see Frowns defend his boy on that disaster.
@BuckeyeDawg – I don’t think Davis has signed with anyone yet.
@1 – No trade, he was released.
@ Mark — honestly, the 2009 draft sucked for everyone. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_NFL_Draft
Look at the players? 2 pro-bowlers in the first round.
Why does everything think we traded him to New England?? He got released! He’s on waivers and whoever has the highest priority will grab him. We should know by about 4pm this afternoon.
Davis was a 6th round draft pick. I get that a lot of people liked him in college but this is the NFL. A 6th round pick not panning out happens. The coaches/holmgren/heckert saw Davis every day at practice. If there was something there they would have kept him.
The New England pick up is just depth and a chance to get some insight into the Pats play book before we face them in week 9.
The only need for outrage here is the lack of reading comprehension. This wasn’t a trade. Davis was released.
@oribiasi,
Great post. The 2009 draft has been awful so far. The Browns at least got a great starting center, a huge position of need especially considering the monster NTs we face 2x/year in the AFC North.
@4: He is no longer in charge of the draft. Just coaching. Let bygones be bygones. He is coaching this team very well thus far, given what he has to work with.
@Mark you should be angry about the 2009 draft, but not because of Mark Sanchez. I maintain that the amount of money he made was too big a risk for the player he is.
Last season in his rookie year, Sanchez ranked 28th in the NFL in passer rating behind Brady Quinn. He was 29th in completion percentage.
This season, on one of the best teams in the NFL with Santonio Holmes, Braylon Edwards and a rejuvenated LaDainian Tomlinson, Sanchez is currently 16th in the NFL with a passer rating of 86.4. His completion percentage is 55.4 and that is 29th in the NFL. He has 1100 yards passing so far which puts him 22nd in the league. His 98 completions also put him at 22nd in the league behind Jay Cutler, Josh Freeman, Matt Hasselbeck, Shaun Hill and others.
Let’s keep this in perspective people. You can be angry about David Veikune, and Brian Robiskie all you want. Mark Sanchez might turn out to be a solid NFL quarterback, but I really can’t blame Mangini and company for choosing to trade down in that draft for Alex Mack. Don’t take Mack for granted. Also, let’s not pretend that because Sanchez was on Hard Knocks that he is a real franchise QB already. The jury is still out.
The 2009 draft might also be termed a bust moving forward, but it isn’t because James Davis didn’t work out. You can’t count on SIXTH ROUND draft choices or get mad when your team decides to give up on one. Sixth rounders are the definition of longshots.
Lastly, Mangini didn’t make this call, presumably. Tom Heckert had something to do with it. Obviously they wanted Clayton back on this team. Assume that Mangini and Heckert were both on board, but that Heckert made this final call.
C’mon, Reggie Hodges can back up Hillis at running back. The man has moves!
Craig said everything I would have in response to Mark.
I don’t understand what we’re doing at RB this year, but no one should be up in arms about releasing a 6th round pick. If we were any other team (i.e. one that had good players on it) no one would give a [EXPLETIVE DELETED].
Besides, I think it was more-than-clear they did not think much of Davis when they traded up to draft Hardesty and traded for Hillis.
Thank you to Craig for the Sanchez reality check. It was/is needed.
Making room for Mark Ingram? 🙂
BTW…just playing devils advocate….not endorsing that pick at all lol.
Who knows what is going on behind-the-scenes in Berea lately with these RBs just being tossed away like nothing.
More and more draft picks down the drain. Yes, it was pre-H&H draft signings but just releasing picks really says a lot about this team and what is really here. Both Harrison and Davis had big potential when we took them and now both are outta here for 2 new guys, one of which was on the practice squad.
So our running game is 100% Hillis at this point now. We go where Hillis goes now. Should he suffer a major injury, we are toast. No passing game to speak of and if you take out our only legit RB, we won’t compete with gadget plays every game.
Mike Bell has been hugely unimpressive, and he still beat out Davis. Makes you wonder what else is going on.
Agree that Sanchez is vastly over-rated. I’m glad we didn’t take him.
BTW, Jimmy Clausen is back on the bench in Carolina. Makes me feel better about Colt, although I never thought Clausen was all that good at ND. He couldn’t finish games there.
“I don’t understand what we’re doing at RB this year, but no one should be up in arms about releasing a 6th round pick.”
I imagine we’re currently just bringing in depth to surround Hillis while waiting for Hardesty to heal. Management seems incredibly high on Hardesty and I could see them just trying to weather this year with Hillis while eventually planning to run by committee with H&H2 next year.
Sorry about the reading FAIL on the first post. I see that he was released, not traded.
Either way, it’s interesting considering I thought Davis looked decent when given a chance. Oh well, as mentioned, he was a 6th rounder.
@EZ: I like your theory. It has struck me that no one under Hillis on the depth chart seems very happy, and a good part of that might be that they’re being held out of an opportunity to prove themselves, because managment is already sold on H&H.
@Craig, ben and everyone else – I’m suprised I have to expand on what I commented but given how much everyone seems to be missing the point, here goes:
I don’t care about James Davis per say. Of course 6th rounders are longshots (although given the Browns lack of talent one would guess it it might be a bit easier to make a contribution). Clearly the upper management didn’t think much of him. Fine. It is what Davis REPRESENTS that makes me mad. And that is the complete and utter failure of Mangini and the Browns to use the best available resource for bad teams to rebuild – the draft!! 2009 was an unmitigated disaster. Out of the entire draft AND the Sanchez trade we got one good player in Mack. That’s it.
Craig – you totally miss the point on how bad the Sanchez trade was. I’m fine with trading that pick. I don’t think much of Sanchez and clearly the Browns didn’t think much of Sanchez but none of that mattered. What mattered was the JETS thought Sanchez would be a franchise QB. And if you are trading a top 5 pick to a team who thinks they are getting a franchise QB, you make them pay dearly for it! What did we get? A 3rd string QB who didn’t make the team this year, a saftey who was so good we promptly drafted 2 more the next year, a vet DE who no one will point to as the key to the deal and a draft pick who couldn’t make the team the next season. That is a DISASTER.
To anyone who thinks “let bygones be bygones” I like to point out that there isnt a week that goes by when someone asks why we are always so bad. Well, this is why we are so bad.
As far as the 2009 draft, there are plenty of players in that draft that would look good in a Browns uniform. Brian Orakpo has proven to be a great OLB in a 3-4. Just look at LeSean McCoy or Shonn Greene. By picking either of those guys we wouldn’t have had to make the trade for Hardesty. That would have allowed us to fill other areas this year.
Look, I don’t always want to lament on our failures but when it comes up I can’t help but vent.
Mark, well said.
@ Mark — Shonn Greene is so good that the J-E-T-S had to sign LT? Puh-lease.
Also I own SG on my fantasy league and I for one want him to do well too, since he comes from Big 10 country. But honestly, the ’09 draft was meh. Orakpo aside, I think that for the VAST majority of picks, they did not pan out as expected/wanted for many teams. Same thing for us. Mack is a seriously good center so we should be happy about that.
@22 Mark great points especially about that trade. Cleveland teams, no matter the sport, give away picks and players but pay through the nose the other way. I can’t help but remember the trade to move up one spot to draft Kellen Winslow.
ESPN reports we pick Demetrius Williams WR from Baltimore
@25 I agree we didn’t revceive much for the pick, but lets keep in mind that I doubt they agreed to the first thing offered, and if not wanting to be stuck and have to take someone they are not thrilled with at the 5 spot(and overpay for him) it may have been the best offer on the table.
Regardless of what happened prior to this past draft we can’t dwell on it. No one who made those mistakes is still in the position to do so, it’s just unfortunate we are still paying for the poor judgement so many years later. I am pleased with what I’ve seen from this draft class and no one can argue that the bottom half of our current roster is hands down tougher and better than in the past few seasons. Given another year or two the top half should be much stronger, which IMO is the way this team should be built.
@Mark,
I get it, we’re Browns fans, we have watched terrible drafting for the past decade.
2009 is over. Mangini isn’t running the draft anymore. The regime has changed. Playing the “we could have had this guy game” is a waste of time. Let’s move on.
Alex Mack > The San-chise
James Davis reminds me of Harrison a lot, though he didnt stick around as long obviously. Both showed potential in limited playing time, but rarely played. Both were apparently disgruntled. Both ultimately were let go within a week of each other. I guess neither were good in blitz recognition/blocking and that is probably why they are gone.
@Mark
You can’t blame Mangini for the failure of the Browns in the draft. This has been going on for years. Since their “rebirth” they have kept a grand total of 3 first round draft picks (Haden, Mack and Thomas). How do you expect to build a team by dropping so many players? First round picks are supposed to be impact players. Every time they bring in a new coach/gm everyone wants “their guys” so they cut everyone they can. The 2009 draft is bad..and can get worse if Robiskie and MoMass flame out but it’s not even the worst of the 2000’s. I’d go with 2008 being the worst with our first pick being in the 4th round and the only pick still with the team being Rubin from the 6th.
As far as them cutting Davis, the Browns must really like what they see in Hillis and Hardesty come 2011 (if there is even a season) to cut bait with Harrison and Davis.
@crobarred – I’m not blaming Mangini for the entire dearth of talent on the Browns but I am certainly going to blame him for completely blowing the 2009 draft. 2008 was bad (a consistant theme with our team) but mostly because there were no picks due to trades that Savage made because he thought we were on the verge of something good (I won’t debate the merits of those trades here). The reason 09 irks me so much is that we DID have the picks!4 in the first 2 rounds! We were in rebuilding mode! And we screwed up again! That is all on Mangini.
@MP34 – Look, I’m not sitting around crying everyday about the 09 draft but when we cut a guy a lot of people in this town were pointing to in saying “we’ve got RB depth” it just hits me as to how badly that draft turned out. As for the ‘just move on’ attitude so many are expressing here, well, it just leaves me shaking my head. If we don’t get the talent acquistion part down soon, this perpetual state of rebuilding will never end.
If you want to talk talent acquisition you can’t talk about the draft and ignore the rest of what Mangini did. Marcus Benard, undrafted free agent signed to the practice squad and promoted mid-year. He snagged Roth off of the waiver wire. Stuckey came over in the Edwards trade and Evan Moore was another waiver wire pickup. Kenyon Coleman was a part of the draft day trade. Without him our DL depth would be scary. He also brought in Barton, Bowens and Trusnik.
As for the draft, re-read oribiasi posts. Outside of the 1st round pretty much everyone’s 2009 draft sucked. And let’s not re-write history, Robiskie was widely touted as the most NFL ready wide receiver in the league. Also, watch the tape, Robiskie has been getting open and Colt is looking his way more. And when the ball is catchable, he holds on to it. To early to say he’s a bust.
RBs are a dime a dozen. Truly great guys like Chris Johnson and Adrian Peterson are unique but look at the guys producing in the NFL. Half of them are nobodys and are interchangeable. James Davis is not special. I think too many of us have the memory of Jamal Lewis rushing for 2 yards every carry burned into our brains.