Looking at film of him and Tate I see a rough unpolished version. He needs a lot of mentoring but apparently LOVES running in the snow! Strengthen him up, train him to run more North-South w/ purpose, he may just be a good to great pick.
They ran pretty much the same zone scheme we will be running with stretch plays to the sidelines. He gets north south once he makes his first cut and thats is the important thng.
Tate, Lewis, West n Baker. Add Botanio the best Zone blocking OG prospect. This is what Shanahan is all about Run run...stretch it horizontal and then boot leg play action...hit the wide open WR or TE or RB for that matter! Send Benjamin long or Hawkins or Little or Cameron heck wheel route with Lewis
Solid pick up for us. Love the draft so far - don't know much about the LB but we got two of the best LB evaluators on this team in our HC n DC if they want a speed ILB for their system they got him! Good field speed.
We are going to have our opponents D huffing and puffing jmho
Defense wins championships. Watson play your butt off! Go Browns! CHRIST HAS RISEN! GM Strong! & Stay safe everyone!
STRENGTHS: Solidly-built throughout with good muscle build to shake off defenders. Smooth hips and lower body to stay balanced, working off and around blocks well with a good combination of power and foot quickness. Physical, tough and lowers his pads to finish through contact. Good vision, patience and natural feel as a ballcarrier to press the hole and attack the line of scrimmage, following his blocks. Strong cuts and breaks tackles at all levels . A chore to tackle. Good speed and won't slow down at the second level with long strides in the open field.
Workhorse and wears down defenses. Catches the ball well (31 career catches). Strong work ethic and devoted to the game with his head on straight, keeping his eyes on the prize. Extremely productive career (led the team in rushing each of the last three seasons) and leaves Towson as the school's all-time leading rusher (4,854), setting FCS single-season records in 2013 for rushing yards (2,509) and rushing touchdowns (41).
WEAKNESSES: Tends to run too high at times and needs to consistently keep his pad level low and keep himself small at the line of scrimmage without slowing down. Makes too much contact with his blockers inside. Lacks elite speed to routinely win the edge.
Not much burst and needs a few steps to get his full momentum going. Runs hard, but lacks shifty, explosive feet or twitchy moves. Needs to improve his awareness in pass protection to gain better positioning and show better technique. Needs to hold the ball high and tight and will get sloppy in this area, especially in space. Didn't face top-flight competition each week at the FCS level.
--Dane Brugler
PLAYER OVERVIEW
Despite a productive high school career, West, who has an infant son, struggled to qualify academically out of high school and attended Fork Union Military Academy, but he left prematurely because he was too far from home. He worked odd jobs while trying to walk on at Maryland or Clemson, but ended up walking on at Towson where he worked his way onto the field and rushed for 1,294 yards in a back-up role in 2011, setting the FCS freshman touchdown record (29).
West saw more playing time in 2012, but re-wrote the record books in 2013 as a junior when he finished with a FCS-record 2,509 rushing yards and 41 rushing scores, earning multiple All-American honors and finishing third in the voting for the Walter Payton Award.
Despite his numbers coming at the FCS-level, his career production is impressive with 4,854 rushing yards and 84 touchdowns in only three seasons, becoming a rare FCS underclassman to leave early. West is built very well and delivers hits with his natural power and initial momentum, staying light on his feet and finishing strong. He lacks elite athletic traits, but he is reminiscent of Joique Bell and fits a similar type of role where he can offer a nice power compliment.
PLAYER NEWS 05/08/2014 - 2014 DRAFT SCOUT FINAL TOP 100: 96/6. *Terrance West, RB, Towson, 5-09, 225, 4.50, 3...West covered a lot of rough road to overcome his tough home neighborhood in Baltimore. That included missing a couple of years of football, including one when he sold shoes. Walked on at Towson and last season led team to an FCS national championship game against North Dakota State. West pounded the ball relentlessly between the tackles to lead all FCS players with 2,519 yards rushing and 41 touchdowns last season. Has a son, Brendan. Frankly: Give him a chance and West will give you his best and hopefully he has enough tread left to crank out a few more miles after carrying 780 times the last three years. - Frank Cooney, NFLDraftScout.com
Quote: Fantastic pick, Browns clearly going to run a ton next year.
It sure is a great indicator. Pettine made a great point in the Farmer & him presser - they both can catch the ball so there is no reason that either him or Tate couldn't be on the field, regardless of what down or play call.
Whilst watching the NFL channel, Chas Casserly was literally stuttering on how good Terrence West will be. He said he'd push Tate to the bench on his way to 1000+ yards this year.
Quote: Whilst watching the NFL channel, Chas Casserly was literally stuttering on how good Terrence West will be. He said he'd push Tate to the bench on his way to 1000+ yards this year.
That was pretty interesting.
Micah 6:8; He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
John 14:19 Jesus said: Because I live, you also will live.
Quote: Whilst watching the NFL channel, Chas Casserly was literally stuttering on how good Terrence West will be. He said he'd push Tate to the bench on his way to 1000+ yards this year.
That was pretty interesting.
I hope that he's only half right. I'd like the returner of Byner & Mack with both Tate & West running for 1000 yards.
That was weird ..... he got stuffed at the goalline ....... but he also scored what ... 41 TD last year?
Micah 6:8; He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
John 14:19 Jesus said: Because I live, you also will live.
Quote: Easily the best game I saw from West. Incredible.
Saw some nice runs.
Also saw him get stuffed on 4th-and-two inside the opponent's 5, then on 3rd and short inside the opponent's 10.
We'll see. Hope the optimism is warranted.
Tate will be our goal line back... I know West scored a ton but I'm trusting Tate right now in short distances... I do think it will make a good 1-2 punch...
Everyone is picking this guy as either one of the biggest steals of the draft. I liked the kid but the praise he is getting is wow. When you hear Natrone Means, Ricky Williams comparison, thats saying something.
I'll be the first to say I really hadn't looked into any of the RBs before the draft but I went back and watched some highlights of West and liked what I saw as far as his vision of the field. He really seemed to make good cuts and decisions. Night and day from what we saw with Richardson. I'm pretty excited for this kid, even more so than any of our other picks to be honest.
- tough guy, always fights for extra yds - follows his blockers, good one cut runner, good scheme fit
Bad:
- lacks vision to hit small creases when running inside - needs a FB as lead blocker to follow to succeed. Every time he ran in a single back formation he got gobbled up quick and he just ran straight forward into the line. - doesn't creat runs on his own because of this
Crowell is more elusive, has more creativity and much better vision, but lacks the toughness of West. A mix of those two would be the perfect RB, lol West follows the theme of this draft: good scheme fit. I just hope Pettine stays on longer, because if he gets fired after 2-3 seasons, this draft class could be totally useless for the next regime. Pretty much all the picks were scheme specific prospects. Boom or bust baby. If they fail with their guys, the next regime will have little left from this class. Let's hope it works. I would have preferred D.Freeman over him and I think the was the next RB selected after West. Will be interesting for me to follow their careers
#gmstrong
"Players come along at different points in time" - Ray Farmer
Quote: - needs a FB as lead blocker to follow to succeed. Every time he ran in a single back formation he got gobbled up quick and he just ran straight forward into the line.
Towson only ran the ball. I'm pretty sure whatever game you were watching the D was selling out on the run.
A lot of their offense was actually out of sets with two fullbacks. They were a running team and their opponents knew it every game.
Thanks for the information. I only watched the cut ups available on the net, more closely the one vs UConn. Selling out or not, I saw him miss small holes inside often traying to plow through the LOS instead. That might have worked on his level, but it didn't vs UConn and it sure won't work in the NFL. He absolutely needs a lead blocker to run off of, be it a FB or pulling OG. That was a little disappointing to see, especially when you've watched Freeman as extensive as I did and he was still available at the time of the West pick. That guy did everything, on every down and formation, single back, lead back, he even worked as a lead blocker in two HB sets.
We will see, but I have this feeling me missed out on 2-3 key players at the time of our picks and the West pick was no different. Not sure he was worth two picks and a top100 selection in this class. Hope he works out
#gmstrong
"Players come along at different points in time" - Ray Farmer
A lot of people seem to love this pick. I don't. I just don't get drafting a RB at that point of the draft. I also don't remember you guys talking about him before the draft. Am I wrong?
The guy reminds me of Edwin Baker. That's not a bad thing, but we already have Edwin Baker. Don't get this move.
I would agree with you on not understanding why take any RB at that point with some of the names that were still available. My guess is the coaching staff and Farmer saw something that set him apart. I definitely didn't hear his name mentioned before the draft but I know some Baltimore people really wanted him. Maybe Farmer felt he had to jump ahead of them to get the guy he wanted which I applaud.
I think if they would have known Crowell would go undrafted they may redo that pick. Pure speculation on my part.
I am excited to see what this rushing attack looks like with Tate, West, Crowell, Baker, Obi, and Lewis. Also wondering whose the odd man out. If I were to guess I think Obi, Baker are gone and we try to stash Crowell. I think Lewis makes the squad as a 3rd down change of pace guy since none of the others look like receiving threats.
I like the pick but more importantly I like the team being proactive to get the guy they wanted. Instead of waiting for a player to drop to them only to have a knee jerk reaction when that player gets taken. Cough, Brandon Weeden cough.
Quote: In simple terms West is a mudder. He ran for 323 yards in the snow FBS championship game against eastern Illinois if I recall the opponent correctly.
They knocked out EIU in the FCS quarterfinals. EIU was ranked 2nd and Towson ranked 7th.
He had another snow game on that red turf at EWU in the semis. Played well in that one too. Nice comeback at the end of the game.
They lost to NDSU in the Championship. It was a much nicer day and he looked a lot faster that game. That was one thing I really liked about him is that he adjusted to the conditions well and maintained superiority.
I really like Baker as well. I think most just stopped paying attention to RB after we signed tate. I thought there were at least 8 starting rbs out of this class and west was one of them. Obi just fumbles as the worst times, bigger the moment more likely he is to fumble.
I will say this, Tate is not in a secure location. I think West, Crowell and even baker could take that #1 back spot.
Baker is nothing special as far as I am concerned and would expect he'll be the next one out the door barring an injury from another RB.
Ben Tate Terrance West Dion Lewis Isaiah Crowell Chris Obyannaya (sp?) Edwin Baker ...and Whittaker was just shown the door, who I thought was also nothing special.
Maybe they stick Baker on the practice squad but I don't see Baker in any way, shape, or form, being a serious contender to make the RB group, but I've been wrong before.
I think he falls in line with past players on this team considered "good" because the unit around them is completely worthless. We had that in our running back group last year with people coming and going and Baker just happened to stick around the longest...it doesn't make him worth keeping as far as I am concerned.
We're overhauling our entire RB unit in just a few months' time...I think there is a reason for that.
At DT, context and meaning are a scarecrow kicking at moving goalposts.
With Tate and West "locks", Baker is pretty much fighting for the 3rd RB job with Lewis and Crowell. The depth looks good on paper, but it's 90% "potential" and not much known as of now.
Baker was actually a surprisingly average runner and him looking so much better only highlighted how bad the unit was before he arrived and got carries.
If all RBs stay healthy, which they never do, he won't make the team by default, fair or not.
#gmstrong
"Players come along at different points in time" - Ray Farmer
I thought that Baker looked good as a 1 cut runner, and surprisingly effective as a receiver out of the backfield. I see no reason why he can't be an effective player for the Browns, especially in specific roles.
Micah 6:8; He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
John 14:19 Jesus said: Because I live, you also will live.
A lot of people seem to love this pick. I don't. I just don't get drafting a RB at t3at4point of the draft. I also don't remember you guys talking about him before the draft. Am I wrong?
The guy reminds me of Edwin Baker. That's not a bad thing, but we already have Edwin Baker. Don't get this move.
Yeah, a number of us talked about him pre-draft. He was my number 7 RB in the class. My number 3, 4, and 5 guys were stillavailable, but if they felt they needed another big back then I understand the move, though I disagree with the resources here as well.
They are all very polished professionals. They all truly love football, especially at the end of the draft, these guys have everything to lose with their NFL chances. Guys like Desir and West, are the kind of guys where one slip up could cost them a chance to provide for their families. They are all in and at the same time every one of them, despite their background are well spoken, seemingly intelligent men.
A lot of people seem to love this pick. I don't. I just don't get drafting a RB at that point of the draft. I also don't remember you guys talking about him before the draft. Am I wrong?
The guy reminds me of Edwin Baker. That's not a bad thing, but we already have Edwin Baker. Don't get this move.
Same here. Admittedly I am all for BPA but he was not a RB I had high and being a trade up it wasnt about BPA. I just don't see the burst needed at this level in him to be anything more than average. I have no problem being wrong I just don't see him as MUCH(keyword) better than Obi or Baker. Personally I would have stayed put and taken a guy like Kevin Norwood(a guy who visited us) then Seastrunk with the pick we traded. Time will tell. The move tells me they are not confident in Tate's ability or health to have to trade up.
Thanks for the vid Bpg. Good back story. Rooting hard for him to succeed.
As to your question I see hungry guys with something to prove. Hawkins, Trufant had similar stories. Out of football, had to work hard to get where they are. Even the vets we signed have something to prove.
I think that's why ownership and the FO are banging the Manziel will sit drum so loudly. I truly believe that if JM doesn't win the job outright he will sit. I just hope this fanbase is patient enough.
I also see us drafting leaders. Kirksey, Bitinio both were team captains.
I am excited, (yet cautiously optimistic) to see where the franchise is heading. I have been fooled before.
