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RB Maurice Clarett (B1G Freshman of the Year, National Champion)

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The article mentions the Browns as one of the teams potentially interested in him? Uhhhh. I thought it was well known that Crennell and Savage are building the team around "team first" type players with CHARACTER.
 
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Shanahan admits to making mistake on Clarett
Associated Press

DENVER (AP) - The reason running back Maurice Clarett isn't with the Denver Broncos anymore is pretty simple.

"We have four guys I believe can play," coach Mike Shanahan said.

And Clarett never made his way into that mix.

The Broncos returned to practice Monday and Shanahan answered questions about why he decided to waive Clarett, the surprise third-round draft choice who was slowed by a groin injury and never made any impact in Denver's training camp.

That Clarett was a bust isn't a shock to most around the league. He was out of football for two years and performed badly at the NFL scouting combine - and that's to say nothing of the troubles he endured off the field.

In Denver, the pick is being viewed as a bad example of hubris for Shanahan, "the Mastermind," who has turned lower picks - like Terrell Davis, Rueben Droughns and Mike Anderson - into stars and probably thought he could do the same, even with a prospect as checkered as Clarett.

To his credit, Shanahan didn't linger on this mistake, deciding to cut ties quickly instead of forcing something to work. And the coach conceded he did err by picking the star of Ohio State's 2002 national championship.

"I think any time you cut somebody in the third round, you feel like you made a mistake," Shanahan said. "When you do that, you make a mistake and you go on. At least you evaluate it. That's not to say that Maurice doesn't have a chance to go to another football team and make that team and contribute. But in a true evaluation of your own organization, when you use a third-round draft choice and he does not make your team, obviously it's not good."

The Broncos had not officially announced their cuts as of Monday afternoon. When Clarett does officially land on waivers, teams will have 24 hours to claim him and the incentive-laden contract he signed with Denver.

More likely is that Clarett will become a free agent, free to negotiate a new deal with anyone.

"I'm not real confident of anything at this point," Clarett's agent, Steve Feldman said Sunday. "We'll see what happens now."

Clarett missed about two weeks of practice with a nagging groin injury that prevented him from making the trip to Houston, where the Broncos practiced three days and played the Texans in their preseason opener.

When the Broncos returned from the trip, Shanahan was no longer in the mood to defend the player he took a chance on, saying instead that he couldn't evaluate Clarett if he wasn't at practice.

Last week, Shanahan said he planned on getting Clarett some playing time Friday in Denver's preseason finale against Arizona. But when Quentin Griffin made his preseason debut last Saturday against the Colts and showed his surgically repaired knee was healthy, the Broncos knew they had their foursome at tailback: Griffin, Ron Dayne, Tatum Bell and Mike Anderson.

Meanwhile, Cecil Sapp can play tailback and fullback and will likely earn a roster spot.

"I felt so good about the running backs and what they've done," Shanahan said. "I wasn't going to give him playing time and take away from our other four."

Second-round draft pick Darrent Williams said Clarett got down about his lack of reps during practices.

"I tried to give him encouragement. At times he was down because he was used to starting," Williams said.

Hardly anyone thought he had a chance to start for the Broncos. That he never played a down, not even in the preseason, came as a surprise.

"We've made mistakes before," Shanahan said. "We'll make mistakes in the future. Just because we draft somebody in the third round doesn't mean they're automatically going to be on our football team. We've cut our first-rounders, second-rounders before. You don't feel very good about those scenarios, but they do happen."
 
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Andy Geiger was the first person in an athletic role to tell Clarett NO, and we all know how that played out. Shannahan has now become the 2nd person in an athletic role to tell Clarett NO. Let's see if the people around him are brave enough to final get into his face and encourage him to grow up double time. The NFL is a very forgiving league for malcontents, and Clarett's release speaks volumes about where this kid is on the malcontent meter. It would be a shame to see all of his potential go to waste, but the choice is his, and he is clearly at a crossroads where the chances wil be few and far between.
 
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Nobody is going to agree with this... But... I think PERHAPS Mo's (agent's) intention since he denied himself $410k was to purposely get cut in order to find a depth chart with less... depth...?

Look at Carolina or Pittsburgh. There are teams out there without a whole bunch of depth at RB that he could get on the field a lot earlier with. He didn't want to have to wait a year or two to get on the field in Denver. So he acts like a puss and forces their hand with a contract that won't hurt them to cut him.

If you're a kid going into college do you go to the team with 4 studs in front of you at your position or do you go the school where you get on the field earlier? Maurice Wells picked OSU and we didn't bring in any other RBs and that fact probably didn't make him unhappy. Some kids have got the cahones to try it out (the Michigan RB situation and the USC QB situation are 2 that immediately spring to mind), but most kids want to play. Just watch the rapidly depleting stockpiles at every major program when depth keeps them from getting a paycheck some day.

Back on topic; it doesn't seem far-fetched to me for this to have been the chess play on Feldman's (the agent) part. If you're a hot shot agent and you think you can get it done for your client- maybe you tell him to pout and try to get your way. That might be an original idea, right?

In fact, I'm willing to say that Denver's addiction to keeping a zillion RBs on the roster probably keeps them weak on defense. Shanahan's penchant for depth at RB has served him well in some regards as he's uncovered some true gems, but he was just getting greedy going after Clarett.

Clarett doesn't need to necessarily be the feature back, but being 3rd string will at least get him on the field in some scenarios and I'm sure he'd sign a $400k tender for that opportunity for a year. Just look at Shitsburgh. He'd definitely get some PT right about now to show others and himself what he could do.

Everybody in the universe seems awful quick to dismiss this episode as simply another stroke of stupidity, but the contrarian in me sees something different staring me in the face. Maybe it's my will to be wierd. What's fun about this theory is that I'll find out real soon if I'm way off base or not.
 
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Nobody is going to agree with this... But... I think PERHAPS Mo's (agent's) intention since he denied himself $410k was to purposely get cut
Click to expand...

Something similar to that was being bantied about when he first suffered the rumored 'fake' groin injury - that he was trying to get cut. If any of that is true it is even dumber than anything already confirmed. MC more than any other athlete on the planet needs to prove that he can stay focused, participate as part of ateam, and deliver something to somebody.
 
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Trying to get cut on purpose would be an awefully big risk for someone like MoC who already has a reputation for being lazy, selfish, and injury prone. Despite this, I cant say its that much of a stretch to believe he would try something like this, especially is he has an agent or others telling him hes first round talent and deserves first round money and a starring role on whatever team hes on.
 
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Commentary: Mike Lopresti
Clarett doesn't work out when it comes to the NFL
http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050830/SPORTS0303/508300378

A thousand pardons if memory serves me incorrectly.

But wasn't Maurice Clarett the guy who went to court to sue his way into the NFL, sounding as if he was so eager to play pro football, he'd walk barefoot over hot coals at the tailgate parties?

Wasn't he the supposed victim of injustice, held back from his dream by Ohio State and the NCAA and the NFL and all their rogues in suits?

Wasn't he the misunderstood future superstar who needed only a break from a cruel world to fulfill his stifled destiny?

Sure. That Maurice Clarett. The one the Denver Broncos cut Monday, without him showing his face in a preseason game.

Apparently, they had seen enough to know they had seen enough.

He got his break from the Broncos. Denver drafted him in the third round, when no other team would touch Maurice Clarett with a 10-foot tackling dummy. Presumably, coach Mike Shanahan figured he could find the right buttons to push.

Guess he's tired of looking.

He apparently didn't think much of Clarett turning a groin injury into an extended vacation from camp. NFL coaches are demanding cusses.

They like their players to show up for practice. Especially one supposedly eager to win a job. Especially one given a mulligan after his times at the draft combine in the RCA Dome looked as he were dragging a house trailer.

"I just don't want to make them look stupid," Clarett told the Denver media about the Broncos.

Stupid? Perish the thought.

Clarett, with not a game played since 2002, had everything to prove, and proved none of it.

A man with self-professed hunger for pro football apparently never showed much of an appetite for what is required to play it.

And so one of the era's more perplexing squanderers of talent is back on the open market, waiting on the waiver wire for the team that can finally figure out what makes him tick.

The Clarett trail has never been easy to follow. He was the gifted Buckeyes freshman who spent Fiesta Bowl week castigating his school and college football in general for its lack of sensitivity to social injustice.

Then he scored two touchdowns to help win the national championship.

That was his last football outing, you might recall. Followed by academic trouble, legal trouble, NCAA trouble. A messy divorce from his old school that included Clarett accusing the Buckeyes of everything short of the Lindbergh kidnapping. He might have first hurt that groin shoveling dirt on Ohio State.

The NCAA found few infractions, meaning either the investigators were blind, the Buckeyes had been able to flush all the evidence or Clarett had slandered his school in retribution.

On that cheery note, his NFL door opened. Now it is closed, as far as the Broncos are concerned. Other buyers beware, but at least Clarett will come cheap.

As for the outside world, Clarett is still the Buckeye enigma, after so many years and headlines. Where'd the talent and promise go? But then, maybe the applause came too quickly in the first place.

He was an outstanding freshman. Nothing less, and nothing more. He played 11 games. He scored 16 touchdowns. That was the beginning, and the end.

His cameo at Ohio State never provided proof of his durability. It never showed how he could handle fame or fortune or defenses set to stop him.

But he somehow transformed into a fascinating prospect by not playing. All the controversy and absence added to the mystique. Then the Broncos got a good look at him.

Apparently, they didn't find him so fascinating.

:lol:
 
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slickman said:
Nobody is going to agree with this... But... I think PERHAPS Mo's (agent's) intention since he denied himself $410k was to purposely get cut in order to find a depth chart with less... depth...?
Click to expand...

Slick--while I think you might be onto something with your theory, the problem that remains for young Mr. Clarett is this: if you're going to try to outsmart the NFL, you'd better be . . . well, er . . . smart.
 
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slickman said:
Nobody is going to agree with this... But... I think PERHAPS Mo's (agent's) intention since he denied himself $410k was to purposely get cut in order to find a depth chart with less... depth...?
Click to expand...
I'll agree with it being a distinct possibility. It wouldn't surprise me at all.

Maurice took the incentive deal, and turned down the bonus, because he thought he was going to come in and take over the starting RB position in Denver. Why else would he want that kind of contract? He thought he was the best RB in camp.

Once it became apparent to him that he was #5 on the depth chart, and doing NOTHING to improve his lot, I have no doubt he regretted his contract. Besides, he's still cocky enough to think 20 more teams are waiting to sign him. Maybe they are, but each chance he blows is one less coming his way. I'd suggest he better take whatever is offered him, and work his ass off to impress them. Otherwise, it's over...
 
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"Teams that may consider Clarett include Chicago, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, San Francisco, Cleveland, St. Louis and Dallas. The Rams and Cowboys considered taking him as early as the fourth round of the draft."

Did I read that right? Can teams still be interested in this flaky bust? How could any team with a GM with any smarts at all be interested in that cancer?
 
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gregorylee said:
Couldn't have happend to a better guy.
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my thoughts exactly. imagine if he would have stayed in school, out of trouble, and in shape. despite the fact that he helped bring a championship home, i cannot back a guy that publically trashes a school that i love. i am not saying whether said allegations happened or didn't, but there was no need to take his complaints in the direction he did. karma is a bitch mo.
 
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It's interesting to see Pittsburgh on the list of teams maybe interested in MoC. Ordinarily they stay away from characters like him, but I guess if you don't have a healthy starting running back on your roster.....
 
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