And Cleveland wept. Trent Richardson was sent to the Colts yesterday for a first-round pick next year. Everyone is sad. How could this happen? Another cleaning of house only two weeks into the season? US BROWNS FANS DON'T DESERVE TO KEEP HAVING THIS HAPPEN! I agree, but feing about this year aside, this move shows a massive level of competence and insight from the front office. This is probably the best thing the expansion Browns ever did. Trent Richardson was a bold play from the beginning, and it took the boldest trade of the decade to reverse that decision. AND I LOVE IT. I personally never liked much of anything about Richardson's tenure as a Brown, and I'm glad Jim Irsay found that last bottle of Gentleman Jack in time to award the Browns with a chance to bail out BEFORE shit goes down for once.
-It all started when Richardson was drafted with the 3rd overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft. The Browns were faced with an issue. They had two first-round picks that year, along with several others they were willing to deal to the St. Louis Rams (who were picking second) for Robert Griffin III. They offered 5 total picks for RG3, but the Redskins still managed to out bid them. It happens. The Browns still picked fourth in the draft though, and had their eyes on Richardson. Picking ahead of them though were the Minnesota Vikings. Now, the Vikings have a running back named Adrian Peterson. Though he was coming off of season-ending knee surgery from the year prior, AP is the best running back of the last decade. So, being the smart front-office they are, the Vikes threatened to take Richardson at number three. This sent the Browns into a goddamn frenzy for some reason and gave up THREE picks to move up one spot. The Browns took Richardson, and the Vikings took who they wanted from the start, offensive tackle Ryan Kalil. Right from the start, Richardson was supposedly worth FOUR FUCKING PLAYERS.
Kalil goes on to be a Pro-Bowler in his first year, AP comes back with an unprecedented season on the ground, and the Vikes are set up with solid young talent for a while now (with the glaring exception of Christian Ponder). The Browns got a running back in a passing league where the next highest selected RB was Boise State's Doug Martin at number 31. This draft also included David Wilson (32), Bernard Pierce (84), Lamar Miller (97), Vick Ballard (170), Alfred Morris (173), and Daryl Richardson (252, which is one pick away from the final pick in the draft). All of whom have either played significant time since entering the league or are currently starting RBs for their teams. Keep that in mind as we go forward.
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So the Browns have their guy. Its at at a great, useless cost, but they still have their guy. But on August 9th, 2012, Richardson had to have surgery on his left knee to remove cartilage fragments. He misses the whole preseason. But he's on the field for Game 1 against the terrible Philadelphia Eagles. He managed 39 yards on 19 carries, but this is to be expected from someone recovering from a knee injury just a month prior that missed the whole preseason. He bounces back the next week and gains 109 rushing yards and 36 receiving yards with two touchdowns. Problem solved, right? Well, the reality is that Richardson has a very up-and-down year. He finishes with 950 rushing yards, 367 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns. However, the production is incredibly uneven. 134 yards against San Diego, 19 yards against the Colts, 124 against Baltimore, 31 and two scores against Washington. He breaks his ribs mid-season and was listed on the injury report in all but two games. Often times he looks lost in the backfield, missing lanes and generally being indecisive. He also lacked explosiveness behind what was at the time a competent offensive line. On 267 carries, he had two plays of over twenty yards or more, the same amount as Robert Turbin and Lamar Miller and less than Pierce, Ronnie Hillman, Ballard, Wilson, Martin, Daryl Richardson, Brandon Bolden, Bryce Brown, and Morris (again, all of whom were drafted after him). 950 rushing yards was 18th best in the league and was 3rd best amongst ROOKIES. But his 11 touchdowns are clearly his biggest achievement from last year, and that's what was important. This made Cleveland going 5-11 tolerable.
Everything could be blamed on Cleveland's other first round pick, QB Brandon Weeden, who looked unplayable quite often, or Pat Shurmur for poor coaching decisions and not getting Richardson the ball enough (even though he averaged about 20 touches a game), or Mike Holmgren because he didn't provide talent around him. So the Browns clean house. New Owner, GM, Head Coach, Offensive and Defensive Coordinators. Complete fucking overhaul of the entire organization. Everyone is excited because, you know, new guys, when Richardson gets fucking hurt again. Same fucking knee, same fucking story. No preseason. On top of that, now he has a hamstring issue and he injured his shin. But he again would be ready for the season opener.
So, as the season gets under way and it quickly becomes apparent that Richardson wasn't the biggest injury on the team. Not by a long shot. The biggest injury was that of starting guard Shaun Lauvao, because the Browns offensive line was shredded by the vicious Miami pass rush, led by Cameron Wake. Tackle Oneil Cousins played out of position to fill in for Lauvao, and his inexperience was obvious. Throw in a huge regression on the part of second year tackle Mitchell Schwartz, and there was little hope of any offensive success. Richardson does little in the defensive shootout, and then the complaints began. Richardson is upset in his role on offense, saying he isn't getting the ball enough. This sentiment carries over into another ugly loss to Baltimore, where suspended WR Josh Gordon became the sorely missed playmaker as no Browns receiver (especially Greg Fucking Little) could get separation from Baltimore's defensive backs, leading to multiple Weeden coverage sacks. Richardson now has 105 yards and no touchdowns through two games. This is when the Colts came calling. They offered Cleveland a chance to hit the refresh button on a guy with no noticeable burst through the line, an extensive injury history, and a discontentment for his new system.
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I'd accept in a heartbeat and send him a fruit basket full of cheap bourbon.
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The point I've been leading up to is that great running backs are relatively easy to attain. Great QBs are not, and they are the more important position in the league today. So few top tier running backs are drafted in the first round anymore. You can get great running backs in much later rounds these days. Fuck, you've got 7 picks in the first four rounds, get two if you want to hedge your bets. The priority is QB for the Browns. Seriously, LOOK AT THIS LIST OF NONSENSE. The Browns need to great an elite QB, and they need it NOW. The AFC North looks like a nuked graveyard at this point. Fuck, even if the Browns lose again on Sunday, they're still likely only one game out of the AFC North lead, with Baltimore playing the Texans and Cincy playing Green Bay. This division is going to be down for a while, and the Browns have enough around them to make that run to the top.
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So the Browns have their guy. Its at at a great, useless cost, but they still have their guy. But on August 9th, 2012, Richardson had to have surgery on his left knee to remove cartilage fragments. He misses the whole preseason. But he's on the field for Game 1 against the terrible Philadelphia Eagles. He managed 39 yards on 19 carries, but this is to be expected from someone recovering from a knee injury just a month prior that missed the whole preseason. He bounces back the next week and gains 109 rushing yards and 36 receiving yards with two touchdowns. Problem solved, right? Well, the reality is that Richardson has a very up-and-down year. He finishes with 950 rushing yards, 367 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns. However, the production is incredibly uneven. 134 yards against San Diego, 19 yards against the Colts, 124 against Baltimore, 31 and two scores against Washington. He breaks his ribs mid-season and was listed on the injury report in all but two games. Often times he looks lost in the backfield, missing lanes and generally being indecisive. He also lacked explosiveness behind what was at the time a competent offensive line. On 267 carries, he had two plays of over twenty yards or more, the same amount as Robert Turbin and Lamar Miller and less than Pierce, Ronnie Hillman, Ballard, Wilson, Martin, Daryl Richardson, Brandon Bolden, Bryce Brown, and Morris (again, all of whom were drafted after him). 950 rushing yards was 18th best in the league and was 3rd best amongst ROOKIES. But his 11 touchdowns are clearly his biggest achievement from last year, and that's what was important. This made Cleveland going 5-11 tolerable.
Everything could be blamed on Cleveland's other first round pick, QB Brandon Weeden, who looked unplayable quite often, or Pat Shurmur for poor coaching decisions and not getting Richardson the ball enough (even though he averaged about 20 touches a game), or Mike Holmgren because he didn't provide talent around him. So the Browns clean house. New Owner, GM, Head Coach, Offensive and Defensive Coordinators. Complete fucking overhaul of the entire organization. Everyone is excited because, you know, new guys, when Richardson gets fucking hurt again. Same fucking knee, same fucking story. No preseason. On top of that, now he has a hamstring issue and he injured his shin. But he again would be ready for the season opener.
So, as the season gets under way and it quickly becomes apparent that Richardson wasn't the biggest injury on the team. Not by a long shot. The biggest injury was that of starting guard Shaun Lauvao, because the Browns offensive line was shredded by the vicious Miami pass rush, led by Cameron Wake. Tackle Oneil Cousins played out of position to fill in for Lauvao, and his inexperience was obvious. Throw in a huge regression on the part of second year tackle Mitchell Schwartz, and there was little hope of any offensive success. Richardson does little in the defensive shootout, and then the complaints began. Richardson is upset in his role on offense, saying he isn't getting the ball enough. This sentiment carries over into another ugly loss to Baltimore, where suspended WR Josh Gordon became the sorely missed playmaker as no Browns receiver (especially Greg Fucking Little) could get separation from Baltimore's defensive backs, leading to multiple Weeden coverage sacks. Richardson now has 105 yards and no touchdowns through two games. This is when the Colts came calling. They offered Cleveland a chance to hit the refresh button on a guy with no noticeable burst through the line, an extensive injury history, and a discontentment for his new system.
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I'd accept in a heartbeat and send him a fruit basket full of cheap bourbon.
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The point I've been leading up to is that great running backs are relatively easy to attain. Great QBs are not, and they are the more important position in the league today. So few top tier running backs are drafted in the first round anymore. You can get great running backs in much later rounds these days. Fuck, you've got 7 picks in the first four rounds, get two if you want to hedge your bets. The priority is QB for the Browns. Seriously, LOOK AT THIS LIST OF NONSENSE. The Browns need to great an elite QB, and they need it NOW. The AFC North looks like a nuked graveyard at this point. Fuck, even if the Browns lose again on Sunday, they're still likely only one game out of the AFC North lead, with Baltimore playing the Texans and Cincy playing Green Bay. This division is going to be down for a while, and the Browns have enough around them to make that run to the top.
People have begun to remove blame from Richardson for ONLY GAINING 105 YARDS IN TWO GAMES THIS YEAR. I say fuck that. Oh, he had a bad O-Line and no passing game? Tell it to fucking CJ Spiller, Doug Martin, Adrian Peterson, Maurice Jones-Drew, and Darren McFadden, because they all seem to find a way to move fucking forwards every once in a while, and those teams can do dick in the air. Maybe he's having trouble because he's just a moderately above-average player that is quickly realizing that the NFL isn't fucking Alabama, where the holes are as wide as a five lane highway.
Oh, and good luck with the O-Line in Indy. Did you know that they only dressed seven linemen last Sunday, and that one got hurt and the other was Anthony Fucking Castonzo? The Colts aren't winning the Super Bowl anytime soon. That defense has been terrible for years, and there is no plan to fix it. Fuck, this team may not even make the playoffs this year. Their schedule is fucking brutal, and with the Chiefs making a resurgence this year, the division is not nearly as clear cut as it would seem. Cleveland may very well end up with a mid-first round pick when its all said and done.
Browns nation is furious right now. I've never in my life seen so many people declare that this is it. They're done being a Browns fan. This is what sealed the deal for them. On that, I obviously call bullshit. You've watched Brady Quinn bury 30 balls in the dirt in a single game, Brian Robiskie drop pass after pass, and Gerard Warren get pushed around like he's on roller skates and you're telling me THIS is what ends your fandom? Fuck you. This is nothing. You want to keep being considered some hardscrabble tough town that's loyal to it's teams despite the lack of collective championships? Then don't abandon a team because they traded away Reggie Bush 2.0. You can't have it both ways.
THIS ISN'T A DAY OF MOURNING, PEOPLE. Perk up. You are better than that. Who cares if they tank the season? They were going to win 4 games anyway. The Richardson trade mattered so little to this season that the fucking Vegas line didn't even change after he was traded. EVEN VEGAS THINKS THEY WERE GOING TO SUCK WITH RICHARDSON. So you wait another year. Who fucking cares? Your Richardson jersey's useless now? Hang it up next to your Quinn and Frye jerseys, suck it up, and stop buying jerseys you fucking weirdo. You are a Browns fan. You got your franchise back after that cunt Art Modell stole it, and now you want to abandon it? I say no, and you will too when Sunday rolls around. Waiting For Next Year actually means something for once. Keep the faith.
And anyways, the Tribe's only a half game back in the playoffs.
Browns nation is furious right now. I've never in my life seen so many people declare that this is it. They're done being a Browns fan. This is what sealed the deal for them. On that, I obviously call bullshit. You've watched Brady Quinn bury 30 balls in the dirt in a single game, Brian Robiskie drop pass after pass, and Gerard Warren get pushed around like he's on roller skates and you're telling me THIS is what ends your fandom? Fuck you. This is nothing. You want to keep being considered some hardscrabble tough town that's loyal to it's teams despite the lack of collective championships? Then don't abandon a team because they traded away Reggie Bush 2.0. You can't have it both ways.
THIS ISN'T A DAY OF MOURNING, PEOPLE. Perk up. You are better than that. Who cares if they tank the season? They were going to win 4 games anyway. The Richardson trade mattered so little to this season that the fucking Vegas line didn't even change after he was traded. EVEN VEGAS THINKS THEY WERE GOING TO SUCK WITH RICHARDSON. So you wait another year. Who fucking cares? Your Richardson jersey's useless now? Hang it up next to your Quinn and Frye jerseys, suck it up, and stop buying jerseys you fucking weirdo. You are a Browns fan. You got your franchise back after that cunt Art Modell stole it, and now you want to abandon it? I say no, and you will too when Sunday rolls around. Waiting For Next Year actually means something for once. Keep the faith.
And anyways, the Tribe's only a half game back in the playoffs.
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