Maurice Clarrett

[halp]

MAR-ASS clarett. bet you know what's coming. a resounding NONONO. we don't need to baby sit. don't need big mouths who haven't done much except run their mouth. and don't need people, players, who think they are more than they really are. 'nuff said? oh, hey billy take it off, take it off. iv'e got beads for you!!

[redsfan2]

Don't make it too easy  for me......

The simple fact that Matt Mayock was quoted from Nfl Network saying that the Bengals were one of the teams that met with Clarett at the Combine for the longest periods of time says to me that Marvin Lewis has a distinct interest in him..

M.L. also has to respect the opinion of Alexander, because if anyone can turn a running back into a thousand yard workhorse it's him... Hell  he made big 'ol fat Larry Kinnebrew (no offense) look good...

Secondly.. I never said he'd do it his rookie year... although, I do think that Rudi will struggle this year... I could be wrong, but going from Dillon to Rudi (despite last year ).. is still nerve racking to me,and to a lot of Bengal Fans...

As I said before.. the play that typifies Clarett as a running back to me was the fumble he caused on Sean Taylor in the Championship game.. Taylor has game breaking Speed, and had a sure touchdown... Clarett didn't give up on the play and took the ball away from him... Not only did he run hard when given the ball, but he made a play for his teammates....

Have the rules changed for him.. yes.. Has he changed the rules.. Yes... Does he have Questions yes..?  But I can't take away from his football talent. When He works out next month and shows off that 4.45 speed at 6'0 230... he's gonna wow GM's and coaches...

and considering we'll be losing the greatest running back in Bengal history this offseason.. If i can get a guy of his abilities in the third round ( also with a chip on his shoulder ) I'd take him in a heart beat..

forget next move... that's  checkmate son !

Not so fast there. That's a little fast with the checkmate ............. a little premature even, one might say.

The fact that the Bengals spent a lot of time with Clarett reinforces my statment that he would be heavily scrutinized before any real thought was given to drafting him. The other thing about the interview was that I don't remember a ringing endorsement coming out of it. The only one who was taken with Clarett was Vermeil, and he ( sniff sniff ) loves everybody. We'll wait on the talk aspects til we see if Clarett gets another audience with The Lewis.

Alexander is good. Fact is that The Brew was a big strong runner who ran over most anyone who got in his way. I guess another way of putting this would be that Brew was physically and mentally ready for life in the NFL, and gave Alexander a lot to work with.

Rookie season - an assumption on my part becasue you didn't say something like " he ends up running for " you simply said " IF we draft him and he runs for." Your projections were also very similar to what he had done in his first year with Ohio St, adding to my belief that you were referring to his rookie season. So, if you want to backpedal on this one then I understand. After all you couldn't expect him to come into the NFL at this stage and equal the accomplishments of soneone like say .... Dillon who spent 4 years preparing before he set the NFL rookie rushing record.

Rudi is another subject, and we can talk about him on another thread. I was thinking about starting one anyway on who we're glad is staying and who we're happy to see go. I was just trying to wait til we got a resolution on the ones we have hanging.

The fact that you use a single play in which Clarett is not even the ball carrier to establish his worth as a player is disappointing. I was expecting a reference to a game or even a series as a basis for your confidence in him. Obviously I wasn't expecting an entire season because he hasn't had one. As to his talent though, this may be an assumption on your part. I never said the kid didn't have talent. You don't start for Ohio St or any other major school if you don't have talent. I've said that the level of his talent and durability are debateable.

He's shown flashes, I agree. The point is now though can he do it for the long haul and the answer is not there because he hasn't spent the time in college to get an accurate assessment.

When he works out next month..... I love it. You gotta love the absolute brass of this. The whole sentence should be when he works out next month at Ohio St. Lets put this in perspective. This guy runs afoul of the program .... sues everybody in the state and now wants to use their facility and venue to showcase his " talent ". He would have been a lot better served to show his abilities at the combine, except he didn't bother to get into shape for it. If he's going to show up at 6' and 230#'s, and run a 4.4 anything, then he better grow an inch drop 7 or 8 pounds and get into shape.

The guy had one good year. I think we've learned our lesson on 1 year wonders ...... can you say Akili Smith ? He does have hype. Can you say " the Boz " ???? or Mandarich ????? Fact is that the football landscape is littered with these types of wannabe's.

Checkmate ?????????? you haven't even strengthened your position with a basic king side castle yet. Play on

[chrishcovga]

Boy , you talk about a glutten for punishment...LOL

Here we go again.. The fact that he pushed himself to attend school and play in the fall was let alone startting at 18 was an attribute to his character as well.. but how quickly we forget that..

---to say that a running back that starts in Division1, must have talent is just assinnine......There are hundreds of guys that start, and most of them would probably be better served playing other positions.. i.e.... Marshall Faulk was originally recruited to play cornerback, however, he convinced coaches that he could run the ball as well...-----i.e.. Genos D.J.Williams,the stud linebacker from Miami(fla) was a highschool running back in California.. De LeSalle High (should sound familiar )...He went to the Hurricanes to play fullback,but asked to be switched to Defense, because as he says...." It's better to be the Hammer, than the Nail "...

Kinnebrew had one season where he rushed for 200 straight times without a fumble... That was a historic point of interest considering in his few years with the Bengals he ranks as one of the highest in that Catagory..---I personally remember a game against the JETS, that his fat sorry ass had a sure 60 yard touchdown run, but fumbled the ball ,when it bounced against all that lard, He wasn't even hit, and the Jets recovered...I could also bring up the fumble against the Oilers in '86.. but Brooks did help us win that game despite the 96 yard fumble return off of "brew's " gut.

But back to Clarett....If you're not honestly willing to draft a player with his abilities especially in the 3rd for God Sakes'..,then that might be the reason why you can write about him, and not scout him !.

-----And this point just doesn't make sense.." he has to grow an inch and lose 7 or 8lbs, because he wasn't ready for the Combine..??? Hello McFly'... His case against the Nfl was won just 4 days before the Combine started..??? He wasn't supposed to be prepared because his deadline for an invite was already passed. He only showed up for the interviews as an exemption... That's like knowing you should be ready for a math test on Saturday when the school's closed !. Why should he have been prepared if he didn't know he was going to win the case in the first place and back in January ,(Reported on this website as a matter of fact )...he was preparing to rejoin his buckeye teammates....

--let alone the fact , that he should take the time just like several elite players did , to wait until their respective "Pro-Days" to show off their skills.. It's just smart... You could be a 1st round talent, but you're not in shape,and you work out , perform terribly, and cost yourself Millions..??? That's just stupid !!.. Why shouldnt' he take the same time that guys that did play 3 or 4 years do to make sure he gets all that he can..??

----and as for " ONE YEAR WONDERS "..... Dillon was a 1 year wonder... 1 year at Juco...and 1 great year at Washington.. along with the bad press from his "troubled " past when he was 15 and got busted with a friend selling crack cocaine.are the main reasons why he slipped to us in the 2nd round '97 in the first place.

Man do some research... You make good points.. but what is the point you're trying to make.. We're trading Dillon , and might be able to "steal" a very good running back in return; and you actually have a problem with that..????

--Get off your high'horse and let the kid play..? Who are you to say ... yeah he's good, but because ....... ( I ) ... don't like him, he shouldn't come here to help us out and prove himself..???

There is no move to counter this.. just turn your King over !!

[KitnasBengals]

I think drafting maurice would be ahuge mistake. I don't understand how anyone (especially Marvin) can want someone who isnt prepared for the combine and hasn't even played an entire season of college football.

If we spend a 3rd round pick on this guy because of his potential to be good (which albeit at this point is very small IMHO) then what about our defense? Not to mention the fact that we are tendering Rudi 1.8$ million to be our featured back, why would we go out and pick up another one.

If you want to utilize the philosophy of taking the best player available then Marvin would never take Maurice because there are too many unknowns.

[redsfan2]

-----And this point just doesn't make sense.." he has to grow an inch and lose 7 or 8lbs, because he wasn't ready for the Combine..??? Hello McFly'... His case against the Nfl was won just 4 days before the Combine started..??? He wasn't supposed to be prepared because his deadline for an invite was already passed. He only showed up for the interviews as an exemption... That's like knowing you should be ready for a math test on Saturday when the school's closed !. Why should he have been prepared if he didn't know he was going to win the case in the first place and back in January ,(Reported on this website as a matter of fact )...he was preparing to rejoin his buckeye teammates....

--let alone the fact , that he should take the time just like several elite players did , to wait until their respective "Pro-Days" to show off their skills.. It's just smart... You could be a 1st round talent, but you're not in shape,and you work out , perform terribly, and cost yourself Millions..??? That's just stupid !!.. Why shouldnt' he take the same time that guys that did play 3 or 4 years do to make sure he gets all that he can..??

----and as for " ONE YEAR WONDERS "..... Dillon was a 1 year wonder... 1 year at Juco...and 1 great year at Washington.. along with the bad press from his "troubled " past when he was 15 and got busted with a friend selling crack cocaine.are the main reasons why he slipped to us in the 2nd round '97 in the first place.

--Get off your high'horse and let the kid play..? Who are you to say ... yeah he's good, but because ....... ( I ) ... don't like him, he shouldn't come here to help us out and prove himself..???

Picked these because they were my favorites. After this, I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree.

Reference to growing an inch and losing 7 or 8 pounds was in response to your statement that when he comes into the workouts at 6' and 230 pounds and wows the gms with a 4.45 40, because he showed up at the combine at 5'11 and 237 or 238 ( depending on which article you read while not researching ) and ( reportedly ) not in good enough shape to run a 4.45 20.

What does the time reference to the combine and the court case have to do with being in shape ??? He knew when it was scheduled and should have prepared himself if he was interested in making a good showing. It's like using Saturday to prepare for the math test when the school is closed. You do it on your own to be prepared. You don't wait til the day the test is given if you're serious about doing well.

Whether I like Clarett or not is absolutely beside the point, and it's up to Lewis whether he come here not me. Truthfully, I could give a rats ass one way or the other. I'm way more interested in the guys we have, are trying to pick up in the market , and the ones that we are likely to draft than I am in any of the Claretts of the world.