@toilet-cookie said:

Pisses me off to think we could've kept Vickers instead and had him lead blocking for Richardson. Vickers had a lot to do with Peyton Hillis' one solid year. It's fun to think about what Richardson could do with that extra blocker.

I agree completely.

A great FB is key when you want to have a dynamic rushing attack. If we're gonna throw 50 times a game, it would be nice to have an extra blocker or a guy who can actually fucking catch out of the backfield.

Zombo said:

Yes, I meant Heckert. I fixed it. And deleted the rest of your post ... c'mon, man.

Zombo

yo we gotta meet one day and when we do everybody gotta watch out cuz i don't think there's enough booze in cleveland to hold us down.

funny, clever and intelligent as always.

hats off sir!

@miktoxic said:

you mean heckert. yeah i liked mangini. wasn't he there for the 2010 draft?

Yes, I meant Heckert. I fixed it. And deleted the rest of your post ... c'mon, man.

Zombo

@mdmusch said:

Billy Winn should be in bold for sure. Considering the amount of rotation they'll have, he probably will play as many snaps as Taylor when/if everyone is healthy.

I am absolutely impressed with big bad Billy Winn, IMO he was the steal of the draft for the Browns this year. The best part about it is he's only gonna get better! We are gonna have one hell of a D line rotation especially if we are able to get a stud D.E. in next years draft or possibly via free agency.

Zombo said:

Savage's drafts haven't been world-beaters, but at least we are stockpiling decent players, even with a few marecic's. I think he really did his homework this year because both Winn and Hughes performed very well holding down the middle as rookies while the starters were out (and i guess Rubin is still out.)

2012 1 1 3 3 Trent Richardson RB Alabama

2 1 22 22 Brandon Weeden QB Oklahoma State

3 2 5 37 Mitchell Schwartz T California

4 3 24 87 John Hughes DT Cincinnati

5 4 5 100 Travis Benjamin WR Miami (FL)

6 4 25 120 James-Michael Johnson LB Nevada

7 5 25 160 Ryan Miller G Colorado

8 6 34 204 Emmanuel Acho LB Texas

9 6 35 205 Billy Winn DT Boise State

10 7 38 245 Trevin Wade DB Arizona

11 7 40 247 Brad Smelley TE Alabama

2011 1 1 21 21 Phil Taylor DT Baylor

2 2 5 37 Jabaal Sheard DE Pittsburgh

3 2 27 59 Greg Little WR North Carolina

4 4 5 102 Jordan Cameron TE USC

5 4 27 124 Owen Marecic RB Stanford

6 5 6 137 Buster Skrine DB Tennessee-Chattanooga

7 5 19 150 Jason Pinkston T Pittsburgh

8 7 45 248 Eric Hagg DB Nebraska

2010 1 1 7 7 Joe Haden DB Florida

2 2 6 38 T.J. Ward DB Oregon

3 2 27 59 Montario Hardesty RB Tennessee

4 3 21 85 Colt McCoy QB Texas

5 3 28 92 Shawn Lauvao G Arizona State

6 5 29 160 Larry Asante DB Nebraska

7 6 8 177 Carlton Mitchell WR South Florida

8 6 17 186 Clifton Geathers DE South Carolina

*Starters in Bold

**Skrine, Hughes, Winn and Cameron are not starters (Winn starts, but because of injury)however they are major contributors.

Zombo

you mean heckert. yeah i liked mangini. wasn't he there for the 2010 draft?

i know you only highlighted the starters but i think cameron should be starting @TE. don't get it. maybe he's not that good at blocking?

@gips said:

Marecic is a complete bust but then again so is the injury prone momass, you have to wonder how much more time this coach will waste on players that dont produce while leaving more productive players sidelined..

Marecik was a complete bust, but he was a 5th rounder, high for a fullback, but not a franchise-setting-back pick. The drafts that sent this team spiralling into the Dark Ages of which we are just trying to crawl out of now wre 2008 and 2009.

2008, Savages last year:

2008 1 4 5 104 Beau Bell LB Nevada-Las Vegas

2 4 12 111 Martin Rucker TE Missouri

3 6 24 190 Ahtyba Rubin DT Iowa State

4 6 25 191 Paul Hubbard WR Wisconsin

5 7 24 231 Alex Hall DE St. Augustine's

The reason we didn't have a pick higher than the 4th round was because Savage went "All In" on Brady Quinn and Eric Wright before ... two guys that haven't played here in years.

2009, The Mangini Year:

2009 1 1 21 21 Alex Mack C California

2 2 4 36 Brian Robiskie WR Ohio State

3 2 18 50 Mohammed Massoquoi WR Georgia

4 2 20 52 David Veikune DE Hawaii

5 4 4 104 Kaluka Maiava LB USC

6 6 4 177 Don Carey DB Norfolk State

7 6 18 191 Coye Francies DB San Jose State

8 6 22 195 James Davis RB Clemson

For those that miss Mangini as a coach, he sure wasn't much of a talent evaluator. The year that he and that little troll from Baltimore (name escapes me)held the draft we threw two second round picks completely out the door (Robiskie, Veikune) and threw a third one at MoMass (who I actually like more than most, he seems to have chemistry w Weeden ... when he's healthy).

I don't know if MoMass will start now, I suppose he'll be the third guy, so that is two starters in two years. If you draft one starter every year ... well, you'll be in last place.

Heckert's's drafts haven't been world-beaters, but at least we are stockpiling decent players, even with a few marecic's. I think he really did his homework this year because both Winn and Hughes performed very well holding down the middle as rookies while the starters were out (and i guess Rubin is still out.)

2012 1 1 3 3 Trent Richardson RB Alabama

2 1 22 22 Brandon Weeden QB Oklahoma State

3 2 5 37 Mitchell Schwartz T California

4 3 24 87 John Hughes DT Cincinnati

5 4 5 100 Travis Benjamin WR Miami (FL)

6 4 25 120 James-Michael Johnson LB Nevada

7 5 25 160 Ryan Miller G Colorado

8 6 34 204 Emmanuel Acho LB Texas

9 6 35 205 Billy Winn DT Boise State

10 7 38 245 Trevin Wade DB Arizona

11 7 40 247 Brad Smelley TE Alabama

2011 1 1 21 21 Phil Taylor DT Baylor

2 2 5 37 Jabaal Sheard DE Pittsburgh

3 2 27 59 Greg Little WR North Carolina

4 4 5 102 Jordan Cameron TE USC

5 4 27 124 Owen Marecic RB Stanford

6 5 6 137 Buster Skrine DB Tennessee-Chattanooga

7 5 19 150 Jason Pinkston T Pittsburgh

8 7 45 248 Eric Hagg DB Nebraska

2010 1 1 7 7 Joe Haden DB Florida

2 2 6 38 T.J. Ward DB Oregon

3 2 27 59 Montario Hardesty RB Tennessee

4 3 21 85 Colt McCoy QB Texas

5 3 28 92 Shawn Lauvao G Arizona State

6 5 29 160 Larry Asante DB Nebraska

7 6 8 177 Carlton Mitchell WR South Florida

8 6 17 186 Clifton Geathers DE South Carolina

*Starters in Bold

**Skrine, Hughes, Winn and Cameron are not starters (Winn starts, but because of injury)however they are major contributors.

Zombo

@d-bone said:

We scored a season low 7 points without Marecic.

We are 1-0 without him and 1-5 with him.

Mike

@d-bone said:

We scored a season low 7 points without Marecic.

Lol, he can put that on his resume after we cut him this week.

Healthy scratch? Not needed on special teams? See ya.

Zombo

T-Rich's career taking off since the benching

@darubes said:

A lex Smith is supposed to be ready today.They will use him at FB in place of Marecic if he is.That's what they are saying on pre-game.

I was so excited when I saw Marecik inactive. Then when I saw Smith at fullback I was happy to see him on the field because he always plays with purpose and energy ... and he can catch!

http://espncleveland.com/common/more.php?m=49&action=blog&r=17&post_id=7061

The Browns' new energy stems from a new owner but also from a new fullback

Oct 29, 2012 -- 4:50pm

By Tony Grossi

Extra Points …

Eureka!: The Browns quietly reached a milestone during their 7-6 win over San Diego on Sunday. They completed a pass to a fullback for the first time this year. Sad but true.

It happened on Brandon Weeden’s first pass of the game, second play from scrimmage. The quarterback play-faked, and as he turned and set his sights on the fullback flaring out to the right, there wasn’t the usual murmur from the home crowd.

It was Alex Smith playing fullback instead of Owen Marecic.

Smith caught the pass for a mere 1-yard gain. But the fact he did catch it was noteworthy. Marecic had been 0 for 4 on those same short routes, dropping each one, draining ounces of energy from the team and stadium.

It looks now as if the Browns have had enough. Marecic was a healthy scratch on Sunday. Smith appears to be the new fullback going forward.

All about the leverage: “I wanted to get Alex back on the field,” coach Pat Shurmur said on Monday. “I wanted to have a defined role for him because I think he brings some energy to our team.”

The Browns throw to the fullback only as a second or third pass option, so dropping 1- or 2-yard flareouts wasn’t the only reason Marecic was benched. The fullback has to lead block for Trent Richardson, primarily on short-yardage plays. This has been a problem for the Browns all year, whether it was Richardson hitting the wrong hole or Marecic missing the block.

Smith said he was told last Monday that he would work all week in practice as the fullback. “I definitely think there’s a chemistry involved in there (with Richardson),” he said. “That’s what I concentrated on at practice, seeing what he was seeing, getting that feedback from him.”

In the game, Richardson converted the first third-and-1, zipping over left tackle for 11 yards, but that was out of the three-receiver formation with Weeden in the shotgun.

On the second third-and-1, Weeden tried to catch the Chargers unawares with a quick snap and Richardson was stymied for no gain. Later in the game, another third-and-1 resulted in a 2-yard loss for Richardson. So there is work to be done. No way should Richardson not be able to gain a single yard when needed.

At 6-4, Smith is an unconventional fullback, to be sure, four inches taller than Marecic.

“One of the things I noticed watching the film today is I definitely need to get lower,” Smith said. “It’s just getting used to playing the position again. It’s so much different than playing tight end. I’ve got a good feel for it and will just keep working on it.”

Bringing the energy: Marecic is so introverted, he gave off the vibe of an isolated soul among 10 teammates on the field. Smith is more rah-rah.

“Emotion helps you, sure,” Shurmur said. “I’m not saying you can’t be a quiet guy and block. But I like emotion.”

Smith, a Stanford guy like Marecic, got into it with the officials when he called them on mistakenly allowing a Chargers timeout after they were caught with 12 defenders on the field. He was hotter about it than the Browns coaches. The Chargers should have been penalized.

“That’s something I’m going to do every game,” Smith said. “When I’m in there, I’m really into it – whether it’s talking to a ref or encouraging guys on the sideline, whatever it takes to be that energy spark guys need.”

Smith lined up in front of Richardson on the 26-yard touchdown run that proved to be the game-winner.

“It was funny,” he said. “That’s the play I ended up blocking three or four different people because it was one of those scrambling plays. Trent did a great job getting it through and had a little assist from the O-linemen.”

Smith marveled at the way Richardson ran the ball with still-sore ribs.

“I was excited just watching Trent run the ball,” Smith said. “That was really inspirational, as banged up as he was. I think he really lifted the whole team. Everybody fed off of his energy.”

Yes, energy. That’s what it’s all about in the Jimmy Haslam era now, isn’t it? He’s in the energy business. Richardson brings energy. And Smith as a blocker does, too.

@harry-buffalo said:

They are saying he is a healthy cut, but they didn't activate Smelley. If they were sitting him because they were tired on his shitty play then I think Smelley would have been signed off the practice squad. This makes me think that Marecic more than likely has a family emergency or something.

It could also be a good indicator that we're going pass heavy yet again this week. The Chargers are 25th against the pass, giving up 268 YPG through the air and 22 PPG.

With Richardson still banged up, we'll probably see another 45 attempt day from Weeden.

@harry-buffalo said:

They are saying he is a healthy cut, but they didn't activate Smelley. If they were sitting him because they were tired on his shitty play then I think Smelley would have been signed off the practice squad. This makes me think that Marecic more than likely has a family emergency or something.

thanks! yeah it is weird Smelley isnt active.

@wrrebel said:

Owen Marecic in active

Could it be that is because he sucks and the coaches finally caught on to it or is he hurt?

I couldn't find any information why he was in active.

They are saying he is a healthy cut, but they didn't activate Smelley. If they were sitting him because they were tired on his shitty play then I think Smelley would have been signed off the practice squad. This makes me think that Marecic more than likely has a family emergency or something.