DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Pure Football Forum Browns sign Tramon Williams

And that's the big question here. We signed a veteran whose production in allowing TD's and who QB's were very successful against last year. His effectiveness dropped off substantially last year from where it was the rest of his career.

Skrine on the other hand, is much younger who has gotten better every year. There is a point where if this trend continues, Skrine will pass up Williams. Skrine on the rise and Williams on the decline.

Skrine also, while being a better inside CB, also had enough skills to play the outside CB position. Quite versatile in that regard. A team not only picked up a quality inside CB, but also gained high quality depth at the outside CB position.

Now I do understand that they drafted Gilbert for the position Skrine was playing. I understand that they are going ahead with that plan and signed a stop gap CB in Williams simply to fill a temporary role. So IF Gilbert develops as they hope he will, then this shouldn't be a problem in the long haul.

However, if Gilbert doesn't develop into more, we will be back at square one and looking for a CB sooner rather than later. I also find it funny how so many considered signing Skrine as a priority......until we didn't.

Then suddenly it was no big deal. How building through the draft and keeping those players were important...... until we didn't.

Things change like the wind around here.

Letting Skrine go will be just another epic failure in this abyss known as the "New" Cleveland Browns.

How many players have we let go, either in cuts, or in free agency, who have come back to haunt us?

Look, Skrine is a nice player, and I respect the heck out of the way he managed to improve every single year. He has reached the point where he is a quality CB. That said, though, let's not pretend that he is Revis Island in his prime.

Skrine is gone, he left the team, and we effectively replaced him with Williams. I don't have a problem with that.

Legit question. Whew... only one I can really think of is Dimitri Patterson when we axed him and Miami picked him up. He had two INTs on us and was a force against us in that game. But then, he became forgotten haha. I don't even think he's on a team and last I believe of him was to have gone crazy there in Jets land for not getting a starting job. So, a nightmare? Just for that one game hahaha.

Lets face it. If the Browns cut you then your career is probably over or should be.

Like Charles Johnson?

Lance Moore, Andrew Hawkins. . .

Which posters make up the "many" you are referring to?

I think if you care to look back, there were many who said that re-signing Skrine and Gipson were what they considered to be the teams top priority in retaining our own FA's. I'm not going to go look it up, but there were many who felt this way and posted such. You can deny that if you wish, but it's certainly there for anyone who cares to look it up.

I was one of the posters that wanted to resign Skrine. I wasn't very vocal about it before, and I haven't really commented on the fact that we didn't, but I'm just wondering if I should be ranting and raving about it.

Chris Matthews. He looked pretty good in the super bowl!

Sean O'Hara?

David Patten as well.

The point is that, over the past 15 years, there have been very few players who left here and went on to fame and glory elsewhere.

Could it happen? Of course. We brought in guys like Dansby, Kruger, Bryant, and Whitner, all who have done really well for us. Could our former players play well for other teams? Of course, That's why teams sign free agents. It will suck for us, but hopefully it balances out in the end.

there is a reason GM's are targeting our players..

After all these years we are finally getting players with enough talent that other teams actually want them.. something we are not used to.

Ward
Jackson
Skrine
Hoyer

All had varying levels of talent, but each has enough that they were coveted by other teams... in the larger scheme of things that seems like a positive step.

Losing good players sucks... ya I know... but players leave teams for a multitude of reasons... in general some times it is because of their dissatisfaction with their current team... money, culture, location, coaches, scheme... but sometimes a player leaves because of a positive reason... money, go home, relationship.

Notice what is on both sides of the ledger?

WE lost some nice pieces, but to always extrapolate that into a " woe is us... nobody wants to be here" mantra is one sided or sight sighted.

NE Loses players
Seattle loses players
Pittsburgh
Baltimore
the list goes on

these teams listed above are winners, with varying methods of coaches, GM.s schemes etc ... their lost players opted out to, in their minds better themselves, their families, their positions in life... ours leave for the same reasons.

Yes we need to get better, there isn't a fan on here that disputes that; and losing players makes that more difficult but that is the lay of the land... you lose good players.

We fans clamor for wins... to achieve those we need direction, we need a plan, mostly we the stones to ride it out if we see movement in the right directio... I look at this team as compared to two tears ago and I believe we are better in culture, coaching, direction, GM players and yes even owner. ( are we such revisionist that we want to write out of history was a crappy owner Lerner was?), all have warts and need to get better, in some areas MUCH better... cant we offer them some time?

jmho

Williams was also covering the #1 WR all year, unlike Skrine. Anyone who thinks Williams is a downgrade on Skrine is fooling themselves.

OTOH, if Gilbert or Desir do not pan out, then we may regret it in the long run, although Skrine is mostly suited for the slot anyway. And whether you choose to believe it or not, I'd take Williams over Skrine and his inflated contract anyway.

That's possible, eo, but in that scenario would it not be Bademosi who steps in at SS?

based off last years.. I believe so.

But its a warm spring morning, with a slow rain and I have cold pizza and coffee sitting on my back porch...so I am agreeable to anything

I believe there's a huge difference in pointing out something that was so obvious than there is ranting and raving about it. It's very hard to interpret someone's intent in the written word. I often times find it more humorous than anything. However, when people read it, they don't get that sense through the written word. That and often times people are defensive in nature.

I do find it humorous how people can do a complete 180 in their views and opinions the moment a FO makes a move.

I haven't ranted or raved about it, but I do wonder if the fact that with Skrine improving every year and the fact that Williams stats fell off so much last year, if the FO may not have made a mistake here. Only time will tell.

It could be either Tab. I guess only time will tell. However, with his age in combination with the drop off, I do believe it's a legitimate cause for concern.

I wanted Cribbs to play safety.

I could see Cribbs at Safety. I could also see him at running back. He was just a very good football player.

Seemed natural for safety to me. His STs success especially made me want to see him cut somebody in half.