Trent Richardson

[Canton Mike]

Just ask Cal, my choice at #4 has always been Richardson. He will do more to take pressure OFF the QB more than any other draftee. Here is some of what he brings...

http://www.rolltide.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/richardson_trent00.html

Mike

[PoeticG]

Let me try and address your concerns...

1)Injuries are a big concern for Runningbacks but injuries do happen. There is no way to predict that an injury will happen but there is also no way of really preventing an accident. In order to give yourself the best shot at staying away from an injury you must first look at RISK, whether someone is prone to being injured. Now, there are ways to help give yourself a better chance to avoid injury, such as being able to avoid contact by shaking someone. Being in really good shape and having sound development of all your muscles probably helps. I mean, having a huge upperbody and a slim lowerbody probably would equate to receiving more injuries on the lowerbody. Being symmetrical and in balance all around gives you the best chance. Some players get hurt doing things completely outside of football, take Kellen Winslow Jr. for example, he received his injuries before he ever stepped on the field. There is no way to really no, the best advice is to work as hard as you can and not to think about it. If you think about it(being injured) you will play differently, you'll play scared. When a player plays scared he'll compensate for this risk or that chance and this might actually increase his potential to being injured. When talking about injuries the most important thing is to accept that they do happen and to know that if they DO happen to a certain player, does that player have a strong mental willpower to rehab the injury and put in all the work required to get back to being 100%? I played football, basketball and ran track and field... the worst injury that I ever had happened to me during a game of H.O.R.S.E. with my pregnant girlfriend! I landed on an uneven part of the pavement and rolled my ankle snapping tendons and tearing ligaments. You just never know...

1)Risk

2)Ability to minimize contact with speed/elusiveness

3)Body type/Build

4)Does the player make sound descisions outside of football

5)Luck plays a role

6)Strong Mental Willpower to rehab and get back to where they were before the injury happened

It's possible that we hear a lot about runningback injuries because many times the runningbacks that we remember being hurt are a teams featured backs, guys that have a lot of value on a team. So when a feature back goes down you typically lose a good amount of the production that the player would give you. Teams that have a star runningback usually only carry one very good one. Where as 2, 3 or even 4 WR's are typically on the field, only one really good runningback usually dominates a teams HB spot. Yes, you'll have other plays there for depth but they are not usually on the level of your star runningback.

Second Concern- RB in the 1st vs. RB elsewhere in the draft

This is a complicated matter and could easily be the topic of an entire thread... and probably should be. I'm not an expert on this but I'd say, Yes. Runningbacks CAN be found anywhere, in the draft, at the park, in an office or with a fox eating green eggs and ham... in a box. What you have to look at is the individual player, his makeup, his "DNA" if you will. You have to look at the competition that he's faced. You have to look at work ethic, drive and determination. Will. Ability. The system he ran in. His blockers. The air game or lack there of in the team he's on. There are so many things that factor into where a guy goes in the draft, or if he is drafted at all. If this was a complete science Foster would have gone in the first, or is his success a factor of his system, his blockers... what is it that makes a runningback great? Can you tell just by looking at the guy if he gonna be Elite or Average? You have to factor in all the tools that he has in his disposal. Speed, Elusiveness, Power. Vision. Catching Ability. Blocking Ablility. Intelligence. Endurance... Rarely, you'll find a Runningback that has all of these traits rolled into one player. If you do, you could consider that the player may be Elite, a special talent- It's then that a player separates himself from the pack and becomes coveted... Coveted enough and the stock becomes much higher for the player. If there is a RB and he is slated to go in the third round, he might not have all the traits of an Elite RB, which would cause a team to pass on him multiple times, taking other players with more ability or filling more pressing team needs. It doesn't mean that he's not good just that he is not Elite.

If Cleveland is thinking about taking a runningback in the first round, you have a pick #4 and a pick #22. At four you have the chance to take a back that rates off the charts in every measurable trait(except maybe speed, however 4.4 is NOT slow) and is considered to be in that Elite group. If you pass on RB at #4 you'll have to wait until #22 for your next chance to grab a RB. At number 22 you will then be down to the 3rd runningback from this draft class, far removed from an Elite RB. Elite Runners only appear every once in a while. If Elite runners were to be had every year, every team would have one by now, it's simply not the case. Finding Elite players AT ANY POSITION is very difficult, when you have the chance to snag one, you do. People that say the value is not there in picking an Elite RB at 4 have a personal agenda. There isn't a team in the NFL that wouldn't love to have an Elite Runningback like Trent Richardson on their team. We are very lucky this year in that 2 very QB needy teams are picking ahead of us and two highly coveted QBs are there for the taking, which will go 1 & 2. QB being the most important position in football. The team just before we pick HAS an Elite Runningback(which I think they would still love to have Trent Richardson)and has a chance to take the best LT since Joe Thomas. Then it's us. We have an opportunity that really we are very lucky to be in this year. Usually the really valuable Elite guys get snagged up just before we get on the clock, well, not this year. There is still one left to be had. There is IMO, 3 Elite players this year- Luck, Kalil, and Richardson...

Trent Richardson WILL go in the top 10, possibly #5 to TBay if we pass on him. Then it's widely know the Bengals will be RB shopping and take the next best runningback(they have 2 picks before we get to pick again). When it finally our time to select we will then have to "reach" for a runningback.

As far as what is a good value at #4 or #22 it's all subjective. Tebow was picked in the first round and he's no longer with the team that drafted him. Every FO is different in the way they think about value. You might take a guy earlier than you'd like to because another team has targeted them and they'll be gone before you pick again. It's all about how much you like a certain player, if they have that IT factor, and if you simply HAVE to have them. When I hear people say an Elite runningback is not to be had at 4 because of the value of the pick, it doesn't make any sense. Elite IS Elite, when you can add an Elite player you do. Value is something you get when talkinga about Wal-Mart, it's cheap but what's it made out of?

Some would argue that "Blackmon is just as Elite"... this isn't true. A part about being Elite is that you're not going to find it in every draft. Last year, A.J. Green was considered Elite. If Blackmon came out in the draft last year and Green, Blackmon, and Jones are sitting there and you've got the pick... you take Green because he's Elite. If Blackmon and Calvin Johnson are there, same thing... there is NO question who's the pick. There will be other drafts and other Elite WRs that will come out. But force feeding us this "Blackmon is Elite" is untrue, he's good but he is not Elite. We can still get a "good" WR at 22, not Elite but good which is the same as we would get for a WR at 4... good.

So, the question I have is: With the fourth overall pick of the 2012 NFL Draft... do you select an Elite Runningback or a Good Wide Receiver? The answer for me, is obvious.

[Taco918]

@poeticg said:

I was just out scouting around some of the Bucs message boards and I'm seeing a lot of the same things as what's going on around here. There seems to be a divide over there as well about whether or not to take Richardson or address other needs. It's funny it's the same but add in the facts that there is less name calling and more discussion going on over there on this topic. It's funny that when children get mad they intend to call names and cry about stuff, whereas grown men can usually act mature and hash things out with facts and opinions... tells a lot about peoples character, I'm sure your mom still likes you... somewhat...

Just to save you the trouble and hassel of writing a complete sentence(I know how hard it is for you), I will NOT be going over there and joining their board. I like it here. Being called homo or fag doesn't bother me. Being told to shut up with swear words doen't scare me either, I'm not your 4 year old daughter that you can bully around "big guy".

I'm here to talk about the Browns. Talk about the draft, specific players and positions, strategy, coaches, other teams strengths/weakness, fads, forums and junkies. Why would you come into a Thread about Richardson if you don't want to talk about Richardson? Seems like you have an agenda my friend.

So, you don't like Richardson or you just not enough to pick him at four?...

Wait, let me try this another way... So basically you like and have your own "man-crush" on another player, is that it?

Here, let me subjubate myself again to your level of reasoning... Does your "mancrush" have bigger muscles than my "mancrush"? Or better yet... "I bet you your lunch money that my "mancrush" could kick your mancrush's butt"!

I didn't know that in order to be impressed by a player's ability or potential that you had to want to cuddle up with them and play doctor. I'm sensing some deep seeded anger in you, something that's eating at you just beneath the surface... Let's see here, why don't we start off by having you tell us a little about your father, did he... "touch you"? Did he play any... "strange games" with you as a child? It's okay, nobody's gonna hurt you anymore...

I wanted to reply when you said you cheered for Trent making that onehanded catch during his pro day (a catch any human being with any semblance of athleticism can make without being guarded) but I refrained. Unfortunately with your past post I have to reply. First off even insinuating that someones father "might" have touched them growing up is a bit overboard. I understand you're not happy about all the flack you've been receiving but child abuse isn't something to joke about. Secondly, nobody on this board, outside of RGiii-2-cleveland, has a bigger man-crush then you do. I get believing a certain player will have a huge impact, but you've been beating a dead horse for awhile now. I've recently been warming to the idea of taking TR at 4 but your constant "spread eagle" stance on TR is making me dismiss the idea of picking him up at 4. Think about that for a second.

Alright 5 spaces should be enough time to ponder a bit. Your undying belief in an unproven PROSPECT is completely turning me (and I'm sure I'm not alone on this) off to even the prospect of drafting him. I'll admitt I was all for trading up to take RG3 and I'm sure I bitched about it in previous post (most likely while drunk and not bringing home any strange) but it was nowhere near as close as you're admiration for TR. As a Browns fan, please stop being a homo-fag for TR so that if we do draft TR I wouldn't have a hard time rooting for him. Its bad enough having to root for a kid from UT QBing my Brownies. I don't need a reason to hate our possible RB of the future due to your man-crush.

And yes I called you a homo-fag considering neither term carried enough weight to prevent you from professing your man-crush again. Hopefully both insults put together will entice you to see the light.

P.S Now I know the train of thought all the naysayers were thinking about RG3.

[PoeticG]

awww... did I offend you?

...too fucking bad. Get a counselor = adviser on personal problems: somebody, usually a professional, who helps others with personal, social, or psychological problems... he's obviously suffering from all three if he feels the need to continuously attack me, besides, I'm just trying to help for free. So hop off my back unless you want to be the target of my next attack. Don't take my kindness for weakness pussies. Besides, what I said is cleaner than you'd find in an Eminem CD. Wanna bash me that's fine- but don't be surprise when I retaliate. There's only so many times you can beat your "dawg" until he turns on you. Now look what you've gone and made me do. Shame on you.

[calfoxwc]

It's really tough. But, in Indy, with a domed stadium... or New Orleans, Dallas- I'd pick Blackmon at four.

But this is Cleveland. And in the playoffs, in the snow, on the lakefront, with a lead and the ball, on third down - do you want to

try to throw for a first down at your forty yard line, in a strong wind? with a half yard to go? Or, would you rather have Richardson there,

and get a yard and a half and have that first down? And keep running that clock down to a win?

The problem is, we need both. The choice is, Richardson/wr? at 22? Or, Blackmon/Martin at 22.

Or maybe Richardson at four, an OT at 22, and a wr in the second?

Some of you guys need to cool your jets. We've been arguing the draft for years. We have fun trying to figure it out.

And every mock draft, including all the experts, are completely wrong. We divide up into camps.

Big deal.

My opinion? The Browns would have been better served years ago, by drafting the rb whatshisname@@ that went to

the Chargers, and drafting offensive linemen to block. There are wr's every year, etc.

But there aren't many guys, ever, to come out of the draft like an Adrian Peterson or Trent Richardson.

With Richardson, you could get a half yard in the snow, with five guys lined up to gang tackle him.

It's Cleveland Browns football. Add a few wr's who the defense can't keep up with on their cuts, with the breakaway ability for serious yac,

and those guys trying to stop Trent Richardson will be po'd because Colt just threw a completed pass over their heads.

and our wr is off to the races like Colt/Little did during a game last year. Little was on a midrange route, cut over the middle and came wide open, Colt nailed it, and Little sailed all the way to the end zone.

The Browns need another dynamic wr, and a rb who the defenses have to game plan against to try to stop on that third down.

Canton Mike, Poetic, and others are just seeing it as it is. Cleveland football = valuable Leroy Kelly, @@ Jim Brown, Mack and Byner,

Pruitt and Pruitt, etc football. When it counts, you must be able to run the ball for that first down in the snow.

But, this FO knows FOOTBALL. It's a breath of fresh air from the past idiots who any one of us could draft better than.

[Harry Buffalo]

@jnuh said:

I am truly torn on TR. The kid seems like a beast and the transition to the NFL should be relatively smooth.

My 2 concerns are...

The physical toll that is taken on a RB's body is greater then any other position which obviously increases the chance of injury. And it seems like every year rookie running backs drop like flies. Last year we saw Leshoure and Stphen Williams go down before the season started, and then Demarco Murry during the season ... the year before both Hardesty and Tate went down before the season and Jahvid best during the season ... you are getting the point. I would hate to see us grab a RB at 4 onlly to have hom go down during the pre season. Problem with that thinking is anyone could get hurt.

My second concern is it seems like you can get high quality running backs deeper in the draft. Aside from CJ and Peterson all the top running backs in the game were not first round picks.

The thing that does make me lean towards him though is if we pass on him and take Blackmmon I am going to be dissapointed as well. I don't think anyone who we can get at 4 gives us great value for the pick aside from Claiborne and Kahill. Kahill we obviously do not need, and if we take Claiborne we will most likely lose him or Haden after there rookie deals are up because keeping to high end corners will cost too much. I would really explore trading out of the pick if I was Heckert. It would be nice to end up at around 8 after making 2-3 trades to get there and picking up multiple teams second or third rounders in the process.

I would first like to talk about Claiborne since I have had this argument before already. What happens if we draft a CB in the 3rd round and he happens to be just as good? WE will have two great CB that we need to resign. That 3rd, 4th, 7th, or UDFA CB will still demand top money to be resigned, so where we draft him is pointless. Anyone who plays any position that is drafted at #4 can up and decide to leave Cleveland when his contract is up. We shouldn't be focusing on who we think we might be able to resign in 5 years we should just be focusing on making the team better.

No with Richardson vs. Blackmon, for me it comes down to this. Richardson LOOKS (notice I didn't say is) like an Elite RB who could well play up past his 30's at a high level. Blackmon looks like a second teir WR. By that I mean he is not Elite looking, he doesn't look like a Fitz, Johnson, Mega, or Green. He looks more like Holmes, Maclin, or Jackson type of guy. Someone who should eventually put together a few 1200+ yard seasons for 4 or 5 years at most. Now that is good and better than what we have, but not worth the 4th overall pick. If we had to take Blackmon I would want to trade back to #8 and see if he some how fell to us or just take Floyd there.

[Harry Buffalo]

@poeticg said:

awww... did I offend you?

...too fucking bad. Get a counselor = adviser on personal problems: somebody, usually a professional, who helps others with personal, social, or psychological problems... he's obviously suffering from all three if he feels the need to continuously attack me, besides, I'm just trying to help for free. So hop off my back unless you want to be the target of my next attack. Don't take my kindness for weakness pussies. Besides, what I said is cleaner than you'd find in an Eminem CD. Wanna bash me that's fine- but don't be surprise when I retaliate. There's only so many times you can beat your "dawg" until he turns on you. Now look what you've gone and made me do. Shame on you.

This is coming from me. I curse a lot on here and call people idiots when it is warranted. I haven't said anything to you about your behavior because I have been ignoring it and I like Richardson as a prospect for the #4 pick as well (obviously not as much as you though). But when you go around talking about child molestation that shit is seriously fucked up. Don't joke about that shit cause honestly seeing the statistics, more than likely someone on here was molested as a kid. Just cut that shit out.

(and in a less serious note, Richardson is only going to be turning 21 during camp this summer. He should have a solid 10 years in the league at the very least.

[Mark O]

@poeticg said:

So, I'm a homo because a player made a great play?

...Oh yeah, I'm supposed to snap my fingers and blink really fast like you do, so as to not be a homo... is that it? Or maybe I should should blurt out "CHECKMATE" and borrow your pocket protector while fantasizing about your mother? If none of this makes any sense to you, join the club because that's exactly the way I feel everytime I read anything you say... I bet you abuse animals and wear ladies underwear as well...

No...you're a homo for admitting that you "cheered" when a guy made a catch in a workout. It's not a great play if it doesn't happen in a game. Great..he caught a pass in shorts without anyone guarding him. BFD...

Your second paragraph makes no sense so I'll ignore it.

I hope we dont draft Richardson so we can stop hearing about your gay love infatuation with him.

[Tim Couch Pulls Out]

I'm assuming you directed that paragraph of pre-pubescent like insults and stupid trains of thought toward me, so I'll just respond with:

How hard will you cry when we don't draft Trent Richardson? How much pent up sexual frustration will be released onto the nearest girl (read: gay lover) in the room with you?

If your response is anything other than "I won't be that upset, there's still great value anywhere on the board at #4"... you, my friend, have a Retarded man-crush.

[PoeticG]

Yeah? I'm sure that I'd be disappointed a little, maybe a lot. But if we don't draft Richardson then life goes on my friend. I'm a Browns fan to the core, first and foremost... But, if we pick anyone other than Trent Richardson, Justin Blackmon or Morris Claiborn I'm seriously going to question this FO. It's obvious to many fans out there that one of these guys need to be the pick. Up to this point I've pretty much given the FO the benifit of the doubt, I think they know what they are doing... I think that Heckert is a great judge of talent. I'll trust Heckert to pull the trigger and give us the very best player.

...and about my comments late last night/early this morning, I was tired and kinda grumpy... I let my emotions get the better of me and for that I apologize for what I said. I'm very sorry if I offended some of you... that was in bad taste and a low blow, I can see that now. I do not think that molestation of a child is funny nor was it appropriate. It was a bad attempt at a joke which was in horrible taste. I would like to say that I'm sorry and ask you to please forgive me. I'm a follower of Christ... and I should know better than that. I... I apologize.