Michael Crabtree

Flugel

Not for nothing, but I've been saying I don't think Crabtree is right for us even though I enjoyed watching him play in college. We could use the SPEED of Maclin or Harvin if WR is our choice of weapon.

What's to say a kid like Robiskie couldn't have done what Crabtree did vrs the Big 12 defenses within a Mike Leach scheme that alows favorable matchups for his best Receiver in 4 WR sets?

Hit or miss often involves the environment. If Joe Montana went to the Detroit Lions or Kurt Warner was in any other place besides St Louis - how different is history? If Warner came here, he wouldn't have had Orlando Pace to the left, Marshall Faulk's 4.2 speed to bury the blitz via the swing pass and receivers like Holt, Bruce, Proehl and Hakim. The right place, right coaching staff and right surrounding talent make it an ideal chemistry or nightmare induced-migraine.

Dalls didn't go from 1-15 with ONE high draft pick. They made a clever trade that produced a mutliplicty of draft picks. They made some blunders too but they had so many picks you forgot Russell Maryland required them to upgrade to Tony Castillas and Danny Noonan.

The tradedown or trading a BIG name idea is REALLY growing on me because we're gonna need more than 4 picks per draft as last year reminds us.

- Tom F. (The best thing that could happen to Crabtree is that he slides and gets pissed off enough to feel he has something to prove. Sliding will also plant his fanny on a better team. There's NOTHING wrong makign kids EARN the signing bonus first. Haven't we experienced this first hand?)

? mz.

It is already happening. A guy with a phenominal college career and "less-than-ideal" measurables falls in the draft and the team smart/lucky enough to get him wins the lottery. How often do we see this happen?

DTBH

Can the guy catch the football? That matters above all else, as we have leanred through Braylon the last season. Doesn't matter how fast they are and how tall they are if they can't consistently catch it... give me Hines Ward all day over Paul Hubbard.

DTBH

Mayock is reporting that Crab has a stress fracture in his foot and needs surgery.

Riffer X

@dtbh said:
Can the guy catch the football? That matters above all else, as we have leanred through Braylon the last season. Doesn't matter how fast they are and how tall they are if they can't consistently catch it... give me Hines Ward all day over Paul Hubbard.

Dawg, please refer to him ocrrectly. It's Paul "Glue Hands" Hubbard.

A receiver is the last thing the Browns need right now , they have to get this defense established with an identity and start playing some tough football. This is NE Ohio, the AFC North. Belichick had us in the playoffs in '94 with a marginal offense at best because the defense was kick ass. Drafting a WR reeks of Detroilet.

DTBH

I'm just hoping that he falls to 5 so we can trade down. But, now that this information on his foot is coming out ... and his shortness and slowness has surfaced ... I'm not sure we'll get all that we wanted out of a trade down.

Riffer X

Crabtree is overrated. He was the flavor of the year down there in the defenseless Big 12. I also have the distinct feeling he will be a huge prima donna.

Flugel

@riffer-x said:
Crabtree is overrated. He was the flavor of the year down there in the defenseless Big 12. I also have the distinct feeling he will be a huge prima donna.

During the year I couldn't get anyone interested enough to converse with me about TT's offense. Now all of a sudden, all these fans are filling me in at how good Crabtree was because Kiper has him #1. I watched 5 of their games and I'll bet I've seen more of him than anyone on this board. He's GOOD but I think ALOT of that was the conference he played in and the genious he played for.

You put him on our team last year and it's like askign someone to accomplish something significant durign an Iraqi Fire Drill. Not gonna happen. He needs the RIGHT system, coach, QB and compliments at WR. If he runs his forties as fast/slow as Kellen Winslow - we already have Kellen Winslow right?

If people SAW TT's offense they'd see Leach ran a 4 WR spread which enabled him to get his best WR (Crabtree) vrs the most favorable matchups. HOW can you double 1 guy in those formations? Unfortunately for Leach, he once worked for Stoops at Oklahoma so GUESS what Crabtree did vrs them? Let's just say at halftime the score was 42-7 and Crabtree had 2 harmless catches for 28 yards and no TDs. Stoops was the only guy in that conference that rolled their coverages in his direction BUT they were also the team most able to harass Harrell.

I think in the Ole Miss Bowl Game his first catch was a short TD right before half but he wasn't even the best offensive player on the field in THAT game. They weren't the least bit phased by Crabtree. If you put Percy Harvin in Crabtree's spot vrs those cruddy Big 12 defenses - well theyd be just as overwhelmed as Oklahoma found him. Speed kills and it counts. FORGET stonehands Hubbard people - he's in the same category as Mike Oliphant so let's outsource him for a football player with speed. Harvin averaged 13 TDs a year without playing a senior season and his coach thought he was good enough to use as a WR AND a RB. He'll be a WR in the pros and if the kid bench presses 450 pounds with the same speed as Joey Galloway - he might make a betetr first round pick than Crabtree. Aloy has made me aware there are some character flaws with Harvin but he's not the one people are talkign about as the 1st WR to be drafted. In addition, Crabtree is going to have a MAJOR adjustment where now he CAN get doubled in a league that plays defense with bigger, faster, stronger. The kid started out at 6'4" before they set it straight allegedly at 6'3" and change to now he's 6'1."

IMO, this stress fracture is a blessing because now he won't have the signing bonus telling him he has nothing to prove. He'll drop to a better team which will give him the kick in the pants to WANT to prove everyone wrong and someone will get a pretty m.otivated player. I'll go to my grave saying there's always something special about the guy that wants to prove alot of people wrong. Fire in the belly gives the performance some jelly.

- Tom F.