DawgTalkers.net Forums The Archives 2013 NFL Season NFL Draft (2013) article...Browns jump start offense with Richardson, Weeden

Cleveland Browns jump start offense with drafting of Trent Richardson, Brandon Weeden

Published: Thursday, April 26, 2012, 11:22 PM Updated: Friday, April 27, 2012, 4:28 AM

BEREA, Ohio -- It's a new era in Cleveland Browns football, and it promises to be a wild and thrilling ride.

The Browns traded up a spot with the Vikings at No. 3 to select the best running back in the draft in Alabama running back Trent Richardson, and then came back with the No. 22 and made just as big a splash by taking Oklahoma State quarterback Brandon Weeden, the outstanding athlete who spent five years pitching in the minor leagues before college.

Together, Richardson and Weeden have a chance to completely transform the Browns' sluggish offense, one that averaged only 13.6 points per game last season.

"When we don't hand it to Trent, we'll have Brandon throw it in there," said head coach Pat Shurmur. "He's displayed the ability to get his team in the end zone and win games. We all know the importance of the quarterback position and we're addressing it to the point that we have a guy that we think is our guy as we move forward."

General Manager Tom Heckert acknowledged that Weeden was drafted to be the starting quarterback. He said the team would discuss whether or not to trade Colt McCoy Thursday night and Friday.

"Eventually [Weeden's] going to be a starter for us," said Heckert. "That's what we draft him for."

Added Shurmur: "We think he's going to project into being an outstanding NFL quarterback and we were able to see that in the way he competed in college. We felt he was going to make us and the position better."

As for Richardson, the Browns were so determined to land him that they surrendered precious picks -- a fourth-, fifth- and a seventh-rounder -- to trade up a spot with the Vikings. Heckert said his friend Rick Spielman, the Vikings GM, told him the competing offer he had for Richardson "and I beat it. We were pretty fired up. Trent was the guy we really wanted and I'm glad it worked out. He can run, catch and block. He's a tough, tough kid."

Shurmur said one of the things that sold on Richardson was his ability to overcome adversity. Richardson had surgery on both of his ankles in college and was told by doctors he might never run again. He also had the first of his two daughters in high school, and his mother has battled cancer.

"He's faced adversity and worked his way through it and excelled," said Shurmur. "It helps me like him more."

Richardson, who embraced his daughters at Radio City Music Hall, was so overjoyed during his conference call that he sounded near tears.

"Oh my God, I can't explain it to you," he said. "It's bigger than winning my national championship [in January over LSU]. It's incredible, man. I'm on Cloud Nine right now. I'm high on life right now, man."

He said the fact the Browns traded three picks to get him tells him "that I'm their guy and they want me. And I better do something to help them win. There's a lot of pressure on me. But I don't call it pressure. I call it opportunity."

He said Hall of Famer Jim Brown calling him "ordinary" on a radio show didn't hurt him.

"I'm going to try to prove him wrong," said Richardson. "I'm an ordinary human, but as a back, I'm going to be that special guy."

Shurmur said he received a glowing report on Richardson from Alabama head coach Nick Saban, whom he worked under at Michigan State. Richardson, who rushed for 1,679 yards and 21 touchdowns last season, was picked higher than any other Browns back. Brown was picked No. 6.

"He's passionate, he's productive, he's durable, and he's the kind of runner that we feel is going to help us put an offense together to win the games that we're going to win," said Shurmur. "He's going to be one of those players that our fans and our community will be able to watch run the ball for a lot of years."

Weeden told The Plain Dealer last week he had a feeling the Browns were going to draft him.

"The night went the way I hoped," he said. "When I got that phone call, it was special. It was one of the best moments of my life. I'm extremely excited about it."

He said he's looking forward to competing with McCoy for the starting job.

"That's just my nature," he said. "I'm going to give it all I have to be the best player I can be."

Weeden spent the day running some errands, trying to get his mind off the draft. The third-best quarterback in this draft, Weeden was projected by some to go in the second round, but Heckert said the Browns had to pounce become some teams behind them were prepared to do the same.

"I was standing by the phone when Mr. Heckert called and I got the phone call of a lifetime," he said.

The selection of Weeden takes some of the sting out of the Browns losing out to Washington on the Robert Griffin III sweepstakes. He went 23-3 in his two seasons at Oklahoma State and capped off his career with a thrilling overtime victory over Stanford in the Fiesta Bowl.

Weeden, operating in a spread offense, threw for more than 4,000 yards in each of his past two seasons with a total of 71 touchdowns. His favorite target was Justin Blackmon, whom the Browns also considered drafting.

"We relied on throwing the football," said Weeden. "I think that's what they saw, a guy that can make all of the throws. The NFL is such a throwing league. Fortunately that's my strength. I'm going to do everything I can to learn the system."

Weeden said he'll have no problem learning the West Coast offense that the Browns run.

"I was around it a little bit at the Senior Bowl [with Redskins coach Mike Shanahan]," he said. "I'm looking forward to learning it and getting the ball rolling."

He also said his age won't be a problem. "My body is fresh," he said. "I didn't get hit for five years while I was playing baseball."

He said when the Browns picked Richardson, he was hoping he was up next. Now, it's their team, their time.

web page

Now if Heckert can horse trade and land Glenn, Hill and Fleener I'd be ecstatic! (dreams, I know)

Looks like Heckert got played by his "buddy" Spielman then...the Vikings just wanted to trade down 1 spot as trading with TB would have risked losing Kalil to a team trading up to our pick...after all, the Vikings would have cost us our no1 target, so we might have taken an offer from BUF

They just wanted to rip us off some of our multiple picks...and they succeeded, Heckert blinked....should have stayed cool and call the bluff...you think Spielman would have risked losing Kalil for an extra 4th+6th from TB? No way...Heckert couldn't afford to lose another target though and went the "safe" route, paying the price...bummer, those 2 picks had some pretty decent value...now we have a huge gap between pick 100 and 159, but you never know...maybe we get something back

We got 2 players from my "approval" tiers, so I'm pretty happy with the draft right now....was "ok" with TR and wanted Weeden

Here's a list of previous Browns picks I wanted and got: Thomas, Haden, Rubin, Sheard, Pinkston....I feel good with Weeden looking at that batting AVG

according to Peter King you are wrong...I cant quote it though

He is wrong. Hell, Tampa traded up to get Martin so they had a running back. Schiano was in love with Richardson and was pressing to trade up to get him. And according to Speilman, Heckert, Peter King and pretty much every reporter in the universe is saying they had a trade and the Browns trumped it.

And who cares about what we gave up? When watching Trent Richardson, I'm not going to care about some backup Tight End we passed on to get him. This year was the year to start competing and ending the rebuild.

Quote:

---

Looks like Heckert got played by his "buddy" Spielman then...the Vikings just wanted to trade down 1 spot as trading with TB would have risked losing Kalil to a team trading up to our pick...after all, the Vikings would have cost us our no1 target, so we might have taken an offer from BUF

They just wanted to rip us off some of our multiple picks...and they succeeded, Heckert blinked....should have stayed cool and call the bluff...you think Spielman would have risked losing Kalil for an extra 4th+6th from TB?

---

DJ...did you read the article?

Did you miss this part?... Heckert said his friend Rick Spielman, the Vikings GM, told him the competing offer he had for Richardson "and I beat it.

Tampa Bay was the other team looking to jump to #3 to take Richardson. Spielman didn't have to say a word about what the Bucs were offering. Was Spielman lying to Heckert?...if they are friends, I doubt it.

The Browns gave up some picks, but got what many believe is the 3rd best player in the draft.

A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush...

and you believe it? He "told" him the competition's offer? Really? If TB really wanted TR, don't you think they would be willing to pay just a little more than a 4th?

It's way more probable that Spielman never really wanted to trade with anyone below us because that would have put their no1 target at risk....trading down 1 spot is ALWAYS a bluff game...Ozzie called Savage's one back then with Ngata and Wimbley and just paid a late 6th so that his buddy doesn't lose face...our supposedly counter "offer" was a bluff call at best, but a rather costly one at that....

it's like betting 2$ with the nuts after the river in a 100$ pot..that's what Spielman did by "telling" Heckert TB's offer...he kept it low because he knew Heckert would call just to make sure...if there really was a serious offer, he would have asked for more

By pretty simple deduction this was a bluff by Spielman

You should go work for the Networks. Everyone, including GM's and extremely respected writers are saying that Tampa had the trade, BUT YOU know differently. That's pretty impressive.

Quote:

---

and you believe it? He "told" him the competition's offer? Really? If TB really wanted TR, don't you think they would be willing to pay just a little more than a 4th?

---

DJ...do you know Spielman?

Truth is, you don't know anyone working in the Vikings front office or the Browns front office.

Heckert knows Spielman and considers him a friend....and here "you" are, you don't know anyone.

Should I believe "you"...or should I believe Heckert?

I don't know you DJ...but you seem to like to complain a lot about all kinds of Browns issues...

...I will put my trust in Heckert.

Something to consider...it's done...what good does it do to complain about it now?...you can't change it...it's done...

Mr Richardson is a Cleveland Brown...

Jesus mac, just for once give me a good reason to respond to your twisting...I don't know what you're trying to accomplish by trying to paint me a H&H regime hater....seems especially stupid since I've been VERY outspoken with my trust in Heckert since day 1 and am pretty much the only guy around here who liked our 1st round as a whole

I don't complain, I criticize and totally understand WHY Heckert did it, and if I was him...having already lost out on RG, I probably would have called "my buddie's" bluff price too....I think both knew it, Spielman knew that Heckert knew that he wasn't going to risk losing Kalil by moving further down, so he made it cheap enough that he had to call to see the hand...I just have a hard time believing that TB had TR clearly as their no1 target but were not willing to pay a 3rd+ to secure him....if they had multiple options besides TR they would have just take that guy at 5, but they didn't...looks like they had their eyes on Barron all the way....

just consider it my opinion, maybe that's cooler with you...I just think my reasoning makes a lot more sense than a seller telling one of his buyer's what the other supposed buyer was gong to offer...yeah, that makes more sense, lol....but who knows, maybe this was our "Shanahan-Fisher" buddy deal...I just have a hard time believing it...but when they say it it must be true, right? Didn't they also say they liked and will build around McCoy? Oh...

Quote:

---

Jesus mac, just for once give me a good reason to respond to your twisting...I don't know what you're trying to accomplish by trying to paint me a H&H regime hater....seems especially stupid since I've been VERY outspoken with my trust in Heckert since day 1 and am pretty much the only guy around here who liked our 1st round as a whole

---

DJ...what is this, if not criticism of Heckert?

Your words..."Looks like Heckert "got played" by his "buddy" Spielman"

"They just wanted to rip us off some of our multiple picks...and they succeeded, Heckert blinked....should have stayed cool and call the bluff.."

DJ...you said Heckert "blinked"...he got "played"...he did not stay "cool...the Vikings wanted to "rip us off" and Heckert allowed them to succeed...Heckert should have called the "bluff".

DJ, this is not criticism?

I just heard Speilman on Mike and Mike, and he confirmed he had multiple teams interested in moving up to draft Richardson...he indicated, more than one team beside the Browns...so that makes at least 3 teams were talking with the Vikings.

You say it was a bluff...think about this...had the Browns taken the attitude that Spielman was bluffing, Tampa Bay, who were picking #5, just behind the Browns could have offered the Vikings a 5th or 6th round pick and had Richardson.

Tampa Bay was in a position to get Richardson damn cheap, if the Browns had the attitude, Spielman is bluffing.

DJ...what would you be saying today if the Bucs were able to move to #3 to get Richardson giving up their #5 and say a 5th round pick.

If the Browns did what you wanted...assumed Spielman was bluffing and assumed Richardson would just fall to us...think about this...if you are the Vikings, do you refuse to take an offer from Tampa offer, even if it's just a 5th round pick.

...it's a free pick being handed to the Vikings from the Bucs...the Vikings would take it !

The Vikings were going to get their OT regardless if they stayed at 3 or traded with the Browns to #4 or traded down with the Bucs to #5.

The Vikings knew the Browns wanted Richardson and they knew the Bucs wanted Richardson and they were willing to deal with who ever offered the best deal because they knew they were going to get Kalil.

Do you understand now?

Quote:

---

and you believe it? He "told" him the competition's offer? Really? If TB really wanted TR, don't you think they would be willing to pay just a little more than a 4th?

---

1) Tampa might have offered more than we offered, but the prospect of the fourth pick over the fifth pick probably made the Vikings feel much better. While they would have taken Claiborne or Kalil, they prefered Kalil and knew they could get the guy they prefer if they trade with us.

So we dunno what Tampa offered them. Apparently not enough.


But the fact that Tampa traded up to get Doug Martin shows that they definitely had their eye on a RB. And that it was reported we were battling Tampa for that third pick really makes sense that Tampa (who wanted a RB), wanted Trent Richardson as well.

The trade up was absolutely necessary to get our guy. And so we did it, and we got our guy

yes, conspiracy theories certainly are "more probable" than reality....lmao

do you poop potpourri?

Quote:

---

They just wanted to rip us off some of our multiple picks...and they succeeded, Heckert blinked....should have stayed cool and call the bluff...

---

Maybe so, but after the egg on our face from the RGIII deal, we weren't going to lose the guy we wanted again.

The egg was so thick, that is the reason we pulled the trigger on Weeden at #22 rather than sweat it out, hoping he dropped to 37. At some point we would have had to move up again, leaving little for the rest of the draft.

The way the board sits, we still have a good RT prospect and good receiver prospect from which to choose at #37.

I think we can wait on the receiver until the 3rd round. There is still going to be some decent players, and our existing receivers just got better with Weeden now playing QB.

Quote:

---

I think we can wait on the receiver until the 3rd round. There is still going to be some decent players, and our existing receivers just got better with Weeden now playing QB.

---

Definitely depends on who's available. But a road grader RT (like we've discussed your desire for, where as me, I just wanted a good tackle playing RT) would be great for Trent Richardson.

An over the top WR would be great too though. Reuben Randle or Stephen Hill, let them stretch the field for us and give Weeden someone to throw to deep.

Whichever position is deeper though, I wanna go the opposite of that with our 2nd round pick (assuming the players are rated similarly. If there's a guy there at our 2 who we have rated higher than the rest, and he's a RT or WR, we gotta get him).

No doubt much depends on how the team projects things a round ahead, and my opinion on that doesn't matter. Go with whatever is deeper, later.

That can't happen. Cousin may start out, but we better have a young guy to bring in by game 3-4 once it is proven beyond all doubt Cousins is a rented mule and is simply going to get beat in every sort of way.

I think that you're wrong ..... but so what. I'm ecstatic with the Richardson pick.

The Bucs saw RB as such a pressing need that they traded from 36 to 31 to grab Doug Martin. They gave up their 2nd (swapped) and 4th rounders to make that move.

Why is it so hard to believe that they would have also thrown in a 5th and 7th in order to move up for Richardson earlier?

I think it makes perfect sense. I am certain that it would have cost the Bucs more to move from 5 to 3, then from 36 to 31. I certainly don't see it as some ridiculous statement on Heckert's part. The Bucs obviously wanted a RB, and weren't afraid to trade for him. Personally, I'm glad that they weren't able to trade for Richardson.

One other thing I heard while listening to the draft presser was that Heckert said that he had a chance to trade back into the 1st for a 3rd first round pick, but decided against it because of the way the board has fallen so far.

Good point. If one will give up a 4th to move up for Martin, tossing in an additional 5th and 7th for Richardson instead is a no-brainer.

I don't like giving up draft picks, but I have a tough time getting upset over giving up those late rounders. Yeah, it's great to hit on a 5th round guy, but how often does it happen?

I'd gladly give up a guy who "may" turn into something special, but will likely be no more than a rotational or special teams guy (or not even on the team after camp) for our "can't miss" guy.

j/c...

Is it really unbelievable to think maybe Tampa offered even more for the #3 pick, but part of our conversations with Minnesota went something like this ...

"Hey, here's the most we'll offer. We can't do anymore than this, because we'll be happy to take Kalil at 4"

Then Minnesota took less from us, to ensure they could still land Kalil?

Quote:

---

"Hey, here's the most we'll offer. We can't do anymore than this, because we'll be happy to take Kalil at 4"

Then Minnesota took less from us, to ensure they could still land Kalil?

---

I could see that, but good luck getting many on the board to admit that it's possible the Browns actually knew what they were doing and weren't screwed.

yeah, there are going to be folks claiming the sky is falling regardless. Everyone is an expert.

Quote:

---

They just wanted to rip us off some of our multiple picks...and they succeeded, Heckert blinked....should have stayed cool and call the bluff..

---

Yeah Yeah...

Jeff Fisher didn't blink. You know where that got him? He decided to stay put because he just KNEW that Blackmon was going to make it to 6.

WHOOPSIE DAISEY!!

The Jags traded up and stole his guy, and he reportedly slammed his glasses on the table because he lost out on the guy he REALLY wanted..

I'm absolutely, perfectly fine with the trade. We were never going to use all 13 picks. A team just can't carry that many rookies.

Heckert did great.

I think because it's not really common knowledge.

Most fans love watching the game. They know about the salary cap. They don't know 10% of how the cap works. Same thing with this situation. Most fans know you get rookies. Most people don't know that you can't carry 13 drafted rookies and 15 undrafted rookies on the roster.

But they're learning that now, just like we all did at some point...

So you're saying there is a rule against carrying that many rookies? You don't know anything!

Thanks for the article mac .... my local paper sucks (Springfield News - Sun). The only mention of a productive 1st round for our Brownies was a few paragraphs on page 3.


As for Richardson, the Browns were so determined to land him that they surrendered precious picks -- a fourth-, fifth- and a seventh-rounder

Precious? Hardly. Trent was not only the top RB in the draft, but there was a huge drop off after him. Good move, particularly considering we didn't have any semblence of a NFL capable starting back.

It appears that Richardson's ankles are no longer an issue. Here's to him breaking the opponent's ankles with a juke or two.

Tampa wound up trading back into the first round to get a RB. It cost them a 4th round pick, plus their 2nd.

Why do you find it so hard to believe that a team that traded back to get the 2nd best RB wouldn't try to trade to get the best RB?

As far as Blackmon, I keep hearing this "overrated" chant in the back of my head. I think that he'll be a capable receiver, but never a star. He'll do OK ..... but he'll be left in the dust by guys like Green and Jones. It won't even be close.

I would have much preferred RG3 to any of the potential scenarios available to us, but once that ship sailed, we had to look to the next best option. I think that we found that next best. We can now try a different QB , and see if he can do better. If the Browns never, ever draft another undersized and/or weak armed QB it will be too soon for me. Is Weeden the answer? Who knows? I do think that he stands a significantly better chance than McCoy would though.

try reading my post again, YT. I'll bold the important part.

I understand that you didn't want to give away a couple of low draft picks that would have a hard time making the team.

13 draft picks are not going to make ANY NFL team, unless they are a 1st year expansion team. No team is going to have almost 1/4 of their total roster as draft picks. It just doesn't happen.

10 picks will probably have one hell of a hard time making the roster. So let's throw away the "we should have kept those picks because we needed them" argument that so many have throws around.

The Browns obviously looked at the 2 players, and decided that Richardson was the far, far superior player. They gave away some low end picks just to make sure that they could get him instead of standing put and grabbing Blackmon. That should tell anyone paying attention how the team felt about the 2 players, and also how they felt about the depth at the 2 positions. The Browns obviously felt that Richardson plus a later WR would more positively impact the team than Blackmon and a later RB would.

I agree with them. I don't have a problem with giving up a few picks that won't fit on our final roster anyway.

As far as Tampa not trading up ..... well, they did trade up later in the round, giving up a 4th round pick to do so, and did so for a RB. This tells me that it is likely, as was reported, that Tampa was likely trying hard to get Richardson. I really don't know why you find it so hard to believe that they wanted to trade up for the best RB in the draft when they actually did so for the 2nd best RB in the draft. I really don't understand your thinking there.

Quote:

---

As far as Tampa not trading up ..... well, they did trade up later in the round, giving up a 4th round pick to do so, and did so for a RB. This tells me that it is likely, as was reported, that Tampa was likely trying hard to get Richardson. I really don't know why you find it so hard to believe that they wanted to trade up for the best RB in the draft when they actually did so for the 2nd best RB in the draft. I really don't understand your thinking there.

---

No, I think you just don't understand my typing. Maybe my communication skills are lacking.

I FULLY BELIEVE THAT TAMPA WOULD HAVE TRADED AHEAD OF US TO TAKE RICHARDSON. EVEN WITH THAT KNOWLEDGE, I THINK IT WAS A BAD IDEA TO TRADE THOSE PICKS TO MOVE FROM BLUE-CHIP SKILL POSITION PLAYER TO BLUE-CHIP SKILL POSITION PLAYER.

Because of that trade, we weren't able to angle our other picks. All our trade ammo was shot. See what I mean?