I’m not going to lie. Last week, when Shaun Rogers found a way to disrupt nearly every play that he was in, I had a slight flashback of William “Refrigerator” Perry. Thankfully, reading today’s Plain Dealer made me realize that I am not alone. Tony Grossi had a chance to toss the idea of a position change to the Browns brass, and surprisingly enough, it was not shot down.
…Wouldn’t the mammoth yet agile Rogers look good in the Browns’ offensive backfield on goal-line plays?
“You know what? We talked about that a little bit,” coach Romeo Crennel disclosed on Wednesday.
Seriously?
“Well, yeah. We as coaches talked about it,” Crennel said.
Now, on the other side of the coin, I realize that simply being big and athletic is not exactly a recipe for success when running the ball. There’s a reason that guys like Ron Dayne and T.J. Duckett have had limited roles throughout their careers. But given a running start, tell me that Browns Stadium would not errupt if Rogers were to go Bo Jackson on Ray Lewis’ Brian Bosworth? I mean, just look at how pumped the guy gets when making a tackle.
Tony Grossi uses players like Mike Vrabel and Troy Brown as examples of players who had switched roles from time to time for their respective teams. Other players that were mentioned in the versatility ring were Eric Wright (former running back) and Josh Cribbs (at cornerback). The big difference, obviously, is that Rogers outweighs Vrabel by about 100 lbs and would be quite a spectacle in the backfield as opposed to an emergency fill-in at a given position.
You have to wonder how much of this is predicated by last week’s inability to punch it in from the 1-yard line after the Anderson-to-Steptoe play that led to a huge gain. Thankfully, Matt Jones bobbled the game-winning grab, and the Browns were able to hold on. Perhaps Romeo Crennel is trying to harness a little more of his New England roots, and coupling that with adding something a little more exciting to the mix? Regardless, I can’t imagine that our offensive line will be opening a hole big enough for Rogers to run through as opposed to the big man just creating a hole of his own.
Rogers at fullback? Browns coaches admit they brainstorm… [Plain Dealer]
Author: Scott
Scott is a co-founder/editor of Waiting For Next Year who resides in Cleveland, Ohio. Feel free to follow him on Twitter or email him at scott@waitingfornextyear.com.Scott has written 1700 articles for Waiting for Next Year.
I love it. Another idea, line him up as a TE like the Bucs did with Sapp? I’m sure he wouldn’t mind pancaking opposing defensive ends.
Why not use him as a lead blocker? I could probably run through the crater sized hole he’d open.
I’m also thinking i-formation with the big guy as fullback. Could also be one heck of a play action if needed…I’m willing to bet you can’t see the ball even when he does have it…
I’m with you on that, Scott. Putting him there as a decoy would open up some kind of TE play action, I think. I wouldn’t mind seeing him plow over Ray-Ray, honestly. Shoot, line up Harrison behind him, and the defense would never even see #35 until he was by them into the end zone.
whats funny is someone asked this exact question to Tony during the weekly podcast, and he literally chuckled and said something to the effect of: “That idea’s run it’s course”
funny….
Yes, we should definitely put our big-money free agent signing who happens to be the current heart of our D (and THE piece to build around for the future) on offense, instantly increasing the chances of him getting injured. Fantastic idea. How about we just enjoy how the guy does HIS job, and find some other people who can do THEIRS?
I am amused by this, naturally…..but I also kind of agree with B-bo on this. And then I realized, if I was a fan of pretty much ANY other city and sports franchise, I’d be all for it…..only in Cleveland would I worry about him getting hurt. But I do. Because stupid things like that happen all the freaking time.
B bo : I can’t see the chances of him getting hurt going up that much by him being on the field for 1 or 2 more plays… If he is going to get hurt it will happen regardless of O or D
All I’ve got to say is Rogers is a freaken BEAST man!!!!!
While I think he could do it, I wonder if it is needed. I simply didn’t like the play calling at the 1. Why not give it to Jamal 3 straight times. If I am correct (was working and only heard game) they gave it to Jamal only one of the three plays. When you have a back like Jamal, just give him the ball. My money says three shots, he can get you the yard. Best idea would be the him as a TE mentioned above. Make it even easier for Jamal, and you don’t worry about a guy fumbling who is not used to carrying a ball.
let’s reward the big guy with 6.
get hurt? the guy plays d-line, folks.
plus, i would love to see the look on ray-ray’s face after he gets run over by the shaun-line locomotive
[...] A big LeBron/Mo Williams backhand high five to (newly redesigned) HHR for watching a ton of television. This had to be one awkward segment. Can’t wait for the one about defensive linemen. Shaun Rogers is a shoe-in. [...]