Thread: Maurice Clarett: His Story Needs To Be Told To Every NFL Rookie

Maurice was in Denver last week, and Vic sat down with him. Here is video. I am so glad that he got his life together.

http://denver.cbslocal.com/video/106...ry-nfl-rookie/

I will read this later at home, where I can get my Goose on.

I forgot the BRONCOS drafted that guy.

I didnt, hated the pick then and still hate that we wasted a pick on him. Good that he got his shit together though. Is he working with Tatum?

I didnt, hated the pick then and still hate that we wasted a pick on him.

I know, especially due to the fact that we could have had Frank Gore, but we drafted three CB's instead. Clarett was never in Gore's league. Frank would have been top-5 in the draft if he didn't get hurt, like McGahee would have in 03.

Good for him. Like to see story's like this instead of the Ryan Leafs and other morons. I hope he continues with his success!

Originally Posted by 7DnBrnc53

I know, especially due to the fact that we could have had Frank Gore, but we drafted three CB's instead. Clarett was never in Gore's league. Frank would have been top-5 in the draft if he didn't get hurt, like McGahee would have in 03.

Yeah, but we NEEDED those CBs because Manning kept torching us 41-10 in the playoffs; same reason we traded Portis for Champ—but even he couldn't play three positions simultaneously (at least not every down; he DID make a habit of dropping his man once the ball was thrown and crossing the width of the field for an Int.)

Frankly, I think any rookie who needs to hear Claretts story needs it before Draft Day; by then, it's probably too late, and the only tutor that can still help is the experience all fools choose.

Originally Posted by Joel

Yeah, but we NEEDED those CBs because Manning kept torching us 41-10 in the playoffs; same reason we traded Portis for Champ—but even he couldn't play three positions simultaneously (at least not every down; he DID make a habit of dropping his man once the ball was thrown and crossing the width of the field for an Int.)

Frankly, I think any rookie who needs to hear Claretts story needs it before Draft Day; by then, it's probably too late, and the only tutor that can still help is the experience all fools choose.

Well, we did need Darrent Williams, but we also needed a pass rush, and Shanny never really got the players to provide one. That's why we were torched as much as anything.

Originally Posted by 7DnBrnc53

Well, we did need Darrent Williams, but we also needed a pass rush, and Shanny never really got the players to provide one. That's why we were torched as much as anything.

Reading this on the heels of your other comment really confuses me. It wasn't that our DEs were bad so much as that our DTs were awful, so the DEs couldn't do much. This is the part where I rante about how much I hate the abbreviation "DL."

Nice to see a feel good story amongst all the chaos in the world. Thanks Carol.

Originally Posted by Joel

Reading this on the heels of your other comment really confuses me. It wasn't that our DEs were bad so much as that our DTs were awful, so the DEs couldn't do much. This is the part where I rante about how much I hate the abbreviation "DL."

Yes, Joel, you are right. In 2003 and 04, the defensive tackles weren't that great, either. We had luminaries like Mario Fatafehi, Darius Holland, and Daryl (IHOP) Gardener on the line.

Then, in 05, Shanny brings in an average D-line from Cleveland along with too many corners. People like Courtney "no first step" Brown and Gerard "Big Lazy" Warren are not going to make you better.

Originally Posted by 7DnBrnc53

Yes, Joel, you are right. In 2003 and 04, the defensive tackles weren't that great, either. We had luminaries like Mario Fatafehi, Darius Holland, and Daryl (IHOP) Gardener on the line.

Then, in 05, Shanny brings in an average D-line from Cleveland along with too many corners. People like Courtney "no first step" Brown and Gerard "Big Lazy" Warren are not going to make you better.

Since EA ended PC versions of Madden after '08, and I refuse to by a second computer that can ONLY play games, I'm still rocking '07 and thus still regularly reminded of two things about those teams:

1) I wasn't the only one who thought we had the NFLs best starting 4-3 LB trio; Wilson, DJ and Gold are all rated >90.
2) We weren't the only ones who thought Denvers DTs were awful, even worse than the DEs. Seriously, Brown has trade value (he somehow avoids the injury prone tag, and the actual Courtney Brown was decent when healthy) but Michael Myers or Demetrin Veal? "Veal" is a baby cow beaten till soft; IMHO, that's a good description of our Veal.

I love Shanny to death and still consider him a great coach—but any team hiring him should get a restraining order to keep him 100 yds from the defense at all times, because he has NO clue how to draft or run one. The 'Skins were overloaded with defensive talent when he took over but turned into Swiss cheese almost immediately; even high octane Shanny offenses couldn't make them competitive. More than his general draft decisions, this is the best argument against granting Shanny GM power (again, IMHO.) Remember trading up for Jarvis Moss? *shudder*

The thing is, without those space eaters in the middle it doesn't matter how good the DEs are at pass rushing: Opponents don't NEED to pass if they can consistently run up the gut for 5-6 yds at a time, and even if they can't, someone has to demand doubleteams so those smaller faster DEs don't get them instead, or get pushed past QBs who just step up into a nice comfy pocket as safe as their mothers womb.

In the 15 years between our last SB win and last SB appearance, the best DT we had was Trevor Pryce: A DE who hated being forced to play DT so much he left for more money at his preferred position. That's another depressing thing about playing Madden '07: Pryce and Keith Traylor are still in the league, but not in DENVER.

Happy days are here again on D now though; we've got elite starters at EVERY position, and plenty of quality depth behind most of them (the one thing our great starting LB trio didn't have a decade ago was decent backups, hence my screams for someone good enough to step in "if anything happens to Wilson" and our total lack of ANY Mike once injury ended his career.) Really, the only thing I'd change if I could is better run blocking inside (I'd like to have Moreno, but we wouldn't need him with good run blocking.)

I was (and still am) one of the few that didn't mind the Clarett pick. IIRC, it was a "gimme" pick anyway and the potential upside was worth it. Too bad, because he had all the talent in the world, but ended up another Ryan Leaf. Glad to see him turn his life around.

Originally Posted by BroncoJoe

I was (and still am) one of the few that didn't mind the Clarett pick. IIRC, it was a "gimme" pick anyway and the potential upside was worth it. Too bad, because he had all the talent in the world, but ended up another Ryan Leaf. Glad to see him turn his life around.

Remember the Clarett thread over at the Freak. That was a doozy.

I cant see how anyone would be ok with that pick. Dude was trouble coming into the NFL. I kept laughing at people who thought we might draft him and low and behold we did. Was so ******* pissed and knew he was going to suck. So so hated that pick.