ITHIKA Posted November 1, 2011 Report Share Posted November 1, 2011 http://www.footballnation.com/content/cleveland-browns-should-sign-kevin-smith/10449/ At the beginning of the season, the running back position was one of the Cleveland Browns’ strongest areas. Star running back Peyton Hillis is one of the few three-down backs left in the league. Brandon Jackson was signed in the offseason to add much-needed speed to the running back corps. Montario Hardesty, a second-round pick in 2010 who missed the entire season with an injury, had healed and was ready to contribute as well. However, injuries and contract disputes have taken their toll. Jackson suffered an injury in training camp and is out for the season. Limited by greedy agents, the Madden Curse, injuries, or some combination of the above, Hillis has had a miserable season that shows no signs of getting better anytime soon. Hardesty recent suffered a torn calf and will miss a few games. As of right now, the Browns are left with third-year backup running back Chris Ogbonnaya and rookie running back Armond Smith on the practice squad. This week, the Browns will be working out running backs to add to the roster. Who should they sign? There are a variety of decorated free agent running backs on the market—Larry Johnson, Willie Parker, Clinton Portis, Tiki Barber, and Julius Jones are just a few of the free agent running backs on the market. Although these running backs come with a high degree of name recognition, none of those running backs make sense for the Browns. All of them are old, injury-prone, and towards the end of their careers. However, one frequently overlooked free agent running back would be a perfect fit for the Browns: Kevin Smith. After a decorated college career at the University of Central Florida, Smith was drafted in the third round in the 2008 NFL Draft by the Detroit Lions. Smith rushed for 976 yards and 8 touchdowns in his rookie season and proceeded to rush for 747 yards and 4 touchdowns in his second year in the NFL. Smith was limited by injuries during the remainder of his time in Detroit and was let go this past offseason. Although Smith has tried out for a number of teams, he remains a free agent. The Browns could do a lot worse than to sign Kevin Smith. Smith is young, hungry, and talented, and signing him to a contract for the rest of the year could be a great move for the Browns. Smith could step right in and be a solid compliment to Ogbonnaya. He has 35 games of NFL experience over three seasons and his learning curve would be minimal. He can catch the ball well, which is a necessity for backs in the West Coast offense. Anyone who has watched the drop-prone Hardesty make life even harder for quarterback Colt McCoy and the Browns offense can testify to the importance of pass-catching skills in the West Coast offense. There is no downside for either the Browns or Smith in this deal. Smith is still determined to prove that he can play in the NFL. Ideally, Smith would view the remainder of the season as a nine game audition to show the rest of the league that he can still play at a high level in the hopes of obtaining a multi-year contract from another team this offseason. The Browns would be getting a motivated, experienced player who could contribute right away and who would be inspired to play hard and perform well on the field. The Browns will be working out running backs on Tuesday. Browns fans should hope that Smith is among them, because he would be a great fit for the team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loyalty Posted November 1, 2011 Report Share Posted November 1, 2011 At this point I would take Jerome Harrison's tumor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
USFBrown Posted November 1, 2011 Report Share Posted November 1, 2011 I watched some of this kid at UCF. He did really good against CUSA talent (or lack there of). It wouldn't hurt to see what he has. Problem is, no one can run behind a line that couldn't block Ray Charles from a piano. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tampadawgs Posted November 1, 2011 Report Share Posted November 1, 2011 He was a really good running back at UCF, I am really suprised he is not on a roster in the NFL. He got screwed Det. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zombo Posted November 1, 2011 Report Share Posted November 1, 2011 Sounds good to me. Z Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pumpkin Eater Posted November 1, 2011 Report Share Posted November 1, 2011 He's not on an NFL roster? Sign him! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loyalty Posted November 1, 2011 Report Share Posted November 1, 2011 Time for Maurice Clarett...lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miktoxic Posted November 1, 2011 Report Share Posted November 1, 2011 smith seems like the best out of those who were mentioned. IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jnuh Posted November 2, 2011 Report Share Posted November 2, 2011 Smith sucks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7moses7 Posted November 2, 2011 Report Share Posted November 2, 2011 Charles White is still walking around Los Angeles talking to garbage cans, lets resign him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pumpkin Eater Posted November 2, 2011 Report Share Posted November 2, 2011 Smith sucks. you swallow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marcus Posted November 2, 2011 Report Share Posted November 2, 2011 http://www.footballnation.com/content/cleveland-browns-should-sign-kevin-smith/10449/ At the beginning of the season, the running back position was one of the Cleveland Browns’ strongest areas. Star running back Peyton Hillis is one of the few three-down backs left in the league. Brandon Jackson was signed in the offseason to add much-needed speed to the running back corps. Montario Hardesty, a second-round pick in 2010 who missed the entire season with an injury, had healed and was ready to contribute as well. However, injuries and contract disputes have taken their toll. Jackson suffered an injury in training camp and is out for the season. Limited by greedy agents, the Madden Curse, injuries, or some combination of the above, Hillis has had a miserable season that shows no signs of getting better anytime soon. Hardesty recent suffered a torn calf and will miss a few games. As of right now, the Browns are left with third-year backup running back Chris Ogbonnaya and rookie running back Armond Smith on the practice squad. This week, the Browns will be working out running backs to add to the roster. Who should they sign? There are a variety of decorated free agent running backs on the market—Larry Johnson, Willie Parker, Clinton Portis, Tiki Barber, and Julius Jones are just a few of the free agent running backs on the market. Although these running backs come with a high degree of name recognition, none of those running backs make sense for the Browns. All of them are old, injury-prone, and towards the end of their careers. However, one frequently overlooked free agent running back would be a perfect fit for the Browns: Kevin Smith. After a decorated college career at the University of Central Florida, Smith was drafted in the third round in the 2008 NFL Draft by the Detroit Lions. Smith rushed for 976 yards and 8 touchdowns in his rookie season and proceeded to rush for 747 yards and 4 touchdowns in his second year in the NFL. Smith was limited by injuries during the remainder of his time in Detroit and was let go this past offseason. Although Smith has tried out for a number of teams, he remains a free agent. The Browns could do a lot worse than to sign Kevin Smith. Smith is young, hungry, and talented, and signing him to a contract for the rest of the year could be a great move for the Browns. Smith could step right in and be a solid compliment to Ogbonnaya. He has 35 games of NFL experience over three seasons and his learning curve would be minimal. He can catch the ball well, which is a necessity for backs in the West Coast offense. Anyone who has watched the drop-prone Hardesty make life even harder for quarterback Colt McCoy and the Browns offense can testify to the importance of pass-catching skills in the West Coast offense. There is no downside for either the Browns or Smith in this deal. Smith is still determined to prove that he can play in the NFL. Ideally, Smith would view the remainder of the season as a nine game audition to show the rest of the league that he can still play at a high level in the hopes of obtaining a multi-year contract from another team this offseason. The Browns would be getting a motivated, experienced player who could contribute right away and who would be inspired to play hard and perform well on the field. The Browns will be working out running backs on Tuesday. Browns fans should hope that Smith is among them, because he would be a great fit for the team. Don't know a great deal about Smith other than he was supposed to produce for Detroit until the injury bug came along. It'd be nice to see a lot of players find their niche. It'd be even better to see them find that niche with the Browns. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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