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I can't believe he married that whack job that stabbed him in the back...

Former Browns RB Green attempting comeback
By Jason Cole, Yahoo! Sports

Even when you don’t make the connection with William Green these days, you get the message.

“All things work for the good of those who love the Lord and are called according to his purpose,” the recorded voice of William’s wife, Asia, says on the couple’s answering service.

The 2002 first-round pick (No. 16 overall) has spent the past two seasons finding his way with God. Now, the question is whether Green will find his way back to the NFL. After two seasons out of the game, Green will be working out Tuesday at Boston College, his alma mater, in hopes of catching the eye of NFL scouts, coaches and executives.

There figures to be a good crowd in attendance at the Chestnut Hill campus. Matt Ryan, the top-rated quarterback in this year’s draft, is scheduled to work out along with the other draft-eligible players from BC. Ryan could go as high as No. 1 overall to Miami … or to another team if the Dolphins decide to trade out of the top slot.

For Green, the question is whether he will get a shot to resume a short-lived career. When the Cleveland Browns took Green in the first round six years ago, then-coach Butch Davis did so despite having a chance to select Clinton Portis, whom he coached at the University of Miami. Davis has forever been second-guessed for that move as Green became a draft bust. Green was released in training camp in 2006, having never reached 1,000 rushing yards in a season and carrying only 20 times in 2005.

Said one NFL scout who handles pro personnel: “He showed almost nothing as a player when he was in Cleveland. I mean, by the end, you couldn’t tell the difference between him and a bunch of guys who weren’t even drafted. Didn’t run hard, didn’t run fast, didn’t do anything that ever made you say he was anything special.”

The most significant news of Green’s career was a four-game suspension he served in 2003 for violating the league’s substance-abuse policy. Green readily admits to his past marijuana use and says he has continued to be tested regularly even while he has been away from the game. Until players officially retire, they continue to be tested after failing tests earlier in their career.

“What I say is that I’m glad it was only marijuana I was using and not something worse,” Green said. “I quit that and I’ve been clean for many years now.”

Now, Green wants another chance. He has been working out in Phoenix under respected trainer Brett Fischer for the past five months, quietly biding his time and getting in shape.

“I wasn’t prepared to play in the NFL the first time around,” Green said. Both he and his wife say he doesn’t have to play. He invested wisely enough and still has real estate holdings in New Jersey.

“We can live comfortably on what we have, that’s not it,” said Asia, who is raising five children with Green. “William was smart with his money. He’s not desperate to get back in the NFL.”

Instead, Green said he is simply determined. The fact that he has survived this long under Fischer may serve as proof. Fischer tolerates little at his facility and has reportedly dismissed another former first-round pick from his facility that was attempting to make a comeback. Green, claiming to be down to his college playing weight of 215 pounds, has survived only because he has taken the work seriously.

“I feel fast, I feel quick, I feel strong. My body feels phenomenal. Most important, I’m confident again and my head is in a good place,” Green said. “When I was with the Browns, I didn’t know how to be focused on what I was supposed to do … For so long when I was a kid and I was going through so many problems, I just kept thinking, ‘I’ll be in the NFL one day.’


“I thought being in the NFL would make me happy but it didn’t. I got to the NFL and I didn’t make better decisions. I didn’t find the kind of life I really wanted. Instead, I was more focused on going out and partying, not on what I had to do to be successful.”

Green’s story of tragedy and initial triumph were chronicled long ago. Both his parents died of AIDS when he was a teenager. He had his first child with Asia, his girlfriend of nearly six years before they got married in 2004, when he was in college. The reports of marijuana use go back to his college days.

Now, the 28-year-old Green says the days of him “chasing women and acting irresponsible” are gone. Asia Green, 26, said the claims are worth believing. Her own experience with him has proved that in her eyes.

“It was very hard for me to believe, at first,” said Asia, who met Green when they were in high school together in Absecon, N.J. “But over the past two years, he went from a person I couldn’t trust to a person I have allowed to let go and lead our family.”

In 2003, while Green was serving his suspension and before they were married, Asia tried to “scare” him into paying attention by threatening him with a knife. Green was cut in the incident, although both maintain some of the media’s accounts were overstated. Still, the two were apart for six months afterward.

Now, the couple is creating deeper bonds. They celebrated the birth of their fourth child together three weeks ago. Green returned to their home in Cleveland for a few days to help and then returned to Arizona to finish training. On Sunday, he headed to Boston to get acclimated to the field where he’ll work out Tuesday.

Getting to this point required a lot of Asia. Almost five years ago, Green informed her that he was having a child with another woman. This was before the couple married, but nonetheless heartbreaking for Asia.

“It was definitely a shock and then there was just trying to get through it, the frustration and the hurt,” Asia said. “But I prayed about it and found the strength through God to stay with him. Now, we raise her just like she was mine. There’s no difference.”

Still, the ultimate change for Green took longer. In the summer of 2006, he started to get the message Asia had found before him. Listening to tapes of popular and successful televangelist Dr. Creflo Dollar, Green began to understand that if he was going to make a life with Asia work, he was going to have to embrace God. The couple eventually went to Atlanta to see Dollar, who teaches what he calls “prosperity theology.” They sat in the front row for what Asia described as an “inspiring” sermon.

“William was baptized at that time and the Holy Spirit really touched him,” Asia said.

It was a startling change for Green.

“When you think you have arrived at the answer, it sometimes takes awhile to figure out that you don’t have a real answer. That’s the hardest part, when you work your way through and then discover that this, making the NFL, isn’t the answer,” he said. “I’m at peace with myself now. I come home and my kids are waiting for me and they love me. That’s what I wanted. That’s what I didn’t have when I was a kid.”

Green went to training camp later that summer, but his lot in football at that time was cast. When he injured his quadriceps, the Browns had finally lost patience with him.

He said he didn’t think about going back to the NFL at the time because he was focused on his spiritual life and family. Now, he claims to have that in order and is willing to try the league again.

“Hopefully the Lord will help me have another chance. If that happens, I believe I can be a powerful force,” Green said.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=jc-greencomeback031708&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

We Gotta.........nah.

Even when our first rounders come back in and try, I've noticed they don't really find a way to etch themselves back in....*cough* Jacksonville *cough*

At 28 he finally gets it? Too little too late bud.

I'm glad his life is in order but he's high as a kite if he thinks he can play in the NFL again.

I'm 35, 160lbs, slower then a turtle and have bruised ribs from a recent snowboarding accident.......and I have a better shot at playing with an NFL team in 2008 than W.Green.

Never was a big fan of drafting him, to put it lightly. Nonetheless, I wish him luck - would be a good story.

Quote:

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successful televangelist Dr. Creflo Dollar

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This made be laugh - is there a better name than Dr. Dollar for a televangelist?

William Green didn't run hard?

He ran hard...

I think the guy should get another chance... Behind this line, He would do pretty well for a guy who hasn't touched the field in a couple of years..

Quote:

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I'm 35, 160lbs, slower then a turtle and have bruised ribs from a recent snowboarding accident.......and I have a better shot at playing with an NFL team in 2008 than W.Green.

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LOL i doubt that....but whatever makes you feel better...


Goodluck to willi...if it wasn't for him we would have never made the playoffs the first time around...wait that is the ONLY time we made the playoffs

Yah...goodluck man! Glad to know ur wife/life gave you a 2nd chance...hope the league does the same!

Would be a nice feel good story if he could make it back in the NFL, but I don't see it happening. At least not on a team that could give him a line to be successful.

I was a fan of his then, and still am.

I wish him all the best!

Good Luck William,



Reading this all I could think of is wonder how things might have been diffrent if he would have had somebody like Willie Mcginnis around in the locker room.

I wish him nothing but the best.... Good luck WG!

WE GOTTA IGNORE this guy

All the best to the guy. Merely emerging from a horrific childhood like his to become a responsible adult would be victory enough. Making it back to the NFL would be icing on the cake, I would think.

Yah...his chances aren't that great...prolly why he could use our goodlucks! almost nobody gets a 2nd chance in this league....


He should go to rookie snynopsis and talk...tell the high draft picks that this isn't the end of the journey...it's the start...hell i'm sure he can get paid for talking there lol

Well it has been said that we could use a RB to sub Lewis who could be a power runner IMHO Green is probably Not it....Even IF he is healthy and still has the talent to make an impact in the NFL....IF he is to have any chance at a Comeback returning here would be a mistake....I know that he still owns a home in Cleveland and I wouldn't be shocked if Mr. Savage sent someone to take a look at Green....but only a League Min. offer might be considered ....

Quote:

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but only a League Min. offer might be considered ....

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According to the article, He doesn't need the money! hehehe I say it wouldn't hurt to bring him in for a looksee. If we sign him for league minimum and he shows something in training camp, maybe we can pack him off to another team and get something in return. JMHO Go Brownies!!!

In about 5 or 6 months we will see a topic pop up titled "William Green fails in an attempt to make it back to the NFL."

Run Willie Run!

I never liked his running style, but I am hoping that he is successful w/his comeback in the NFL and has continued success beating his demons. Good luck, William Green.

Maybe he and Suggs could offer themselves up as a package deal. LOL.

Good luck, William. The world can always use another reformed delinquent. Hope it all works out well for you and your family.

He wasn't really considered a reach at that pick.

I liked Willie. I thought he was a strong, hard runner. There just wasn't much a skill player could do on our teams of crappy OL's.

Unfortunately, he didn't have his mind right.

He would be a good fit with us right now. Won't command much money, be JL's backup. But as J said, we just won't be going backwards at this point.
I hope he does well in his comeback.

It sounds like he's made a complete turnaround in his life. That may be an even bigger victory than ever getting another shot in the NFL.

Good luck William.

I wish him luck. I don't hate the guy but did (and still do) hate the pick we used to get him. Sounds like he has his head on straight and I hope he can catch on here or the arena league maybe.

He gave us one of our only found memories (till this past season) since the return,, the infamous "Run William RUN!"

Dr. Dolla Dolla Bill y'all! What a name for a televangelist LMAO!

Not long ago I was wondering whatever happened to him, and hoped it was good things.
Glad to hear he's doing well I hope he makes it back to the NFL. He was a disappointment considering where we drafted him, but William always ran hard.
His 64-yarder vs. Atlanta was a pretty big moment for Browns fans, that's for darn sure. I remember it well.
Atta boy, willie.

It has to be done correctly at least once...


We really gotta get this guy...

... A pizza when he gets cut from some random team

He was a hard runner, but he lacked good vision, and when your on a team whose OL doesn't open holes where they're supposed to be (like ours), lack of vision is a killer. He had decent power, but when the holes weren't there, he'd slow or stutter and lost all of it... went down very easy. I could see him being productve on a team with a good run-blocking oline. Then again, a lot of backs are.

Man, did you hit it right on the nail, decent power and speed, just no vision. And can your really teach at 28 how to see holes or cut back lanes. If so, maybe he can catch on with some team. But his time in Cleveland, with the lack of maturity, crap coaching and no O-line was a bad mix if there ever was one.

Good luck Willie hope you succeed in your comeback.....

nordawg

With as deep as this year's RB class is, he picked a bad year to try a comeback. He'll likely get into camp with someone after the Draft at the latest.


Best of luck to ya William.

I always thought he would be great in Denvers scheme. I can't say I would be too suprised if they picked him up either.

What a waste. Butch Davis was a talking head who convinced Lerner that he was the savior. Problem was he was a legend only in his mind. Him and his sidekick Pete Garcia set us back 5 years easy.

Just think for a moment where we would be if Savage came in as GM and had the authority to hire the coach at that time.

William Green like Gerard Warren were paid alot money and produced nothing. Butch Davis went against what the scouts recommended and the results proved how worthless Davis was as a GM. William Green should never have been drafted by the Browns. I could care less about him.

Aw c'mon bone, tell us how you really feel.